Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2026 Special Guests revealed

Crime writing superstars’ and ‘new faces’ headline Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival

as 2026 special guests revealed

Festival Dates: 23-26 July 2026

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

#TheakstonsCrime

Harrogate International Festivals have announced the full line up of Special Guest headliners for the 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime fiction, taking place 23-26 July 2026.

Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn, Anthony Horowitz, Holly Jackson, Chris Brookmyre, Chris Whitaker, Jane Harper and LJ Ross join previously announced headliners Nadine Matheson, Gillian McAllister, Steve Cavanagh, Alice Feeney and David Baldacci on a thrilling line-up of crime writing legends and international bestsellers from the UK, Australia, Ireland and the US, curated by 2026 Festival Programming Chair, Lisa Jewell.

Now in its twenty-third year, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (23–26 July 2026) is the jewel in the crown of the global crime fiction community, offering readers from around the world a unique opportunity to hear from literary superstars and discover stunning new talent. Taking place at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate, a packed programme of fascinating panels, talks and inspiring creative workshops showcases the very best of the world’s most popular genre.

Headline events include:

An unmissable event for Vera fans as writer Ann Cleeves and actor Brenda Blethyn, who played DCI Vera Stanhope for fourteen years, take an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the much-loved TV series, and Cleeves unveils her latest Vera Stanhope novel.

Hugely successful author and TV writer Anthony Horowitz returns to the Festival hot on the heels of smash-hit BBC TV dramas Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders to showcase his latest novel.

Making her Festival debut Holly Jackson, mega bestselling author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, introduces her new unputdownable thriller, Not Quite Dead Yet.

‘Queen of the psychological thriller’ and 2026 Festival Chair Lisa Jewell in conversation with Lee Child, iconic creator of the Jack Reacher novels.

Two of the most original voices in crime fiction, and previous winners of the Theakston Old Peculier Novel of the Year, Chris Whitaker and Chris Brookmyre make a welcome return to the Festival to discuss their latest novels, as Chris Brookmyre celebrates his 30th year as a published author.

Homegrown phenomenon LJ Ross and internationally celebrated Australian author Jane Harper, both multi-million-copy sensations, showcase their much-anticipated new novels.

Lisa Jewell, 2026 Programming Chair of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival says:

“I came to my role as this year's Chair of programming for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival with a golden wish-list of crime writing superstars, and I can barely believe how many of them we have now confirmed as headliners. It's a brilliant mix of new faces, perennial favourites and a surprise or two and I think readers are going to be blown away by this year's line-up. I am so excited to be there, in the moment, sharing this programme in all its glory with our attendees; so many incredible headliners, so many fascinating conversations, so much to look forward to. Roll on Harrogate 2026!”

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is delivered by the north of England’s leading arts Festival organisation, Harrogate International Festivals, and forms part of their diverse year-round portfolio of events, which aims to bring immersive cultural experiences to as many people as possible. Harrogate International Festivals celebrates six decades of arts Festivals in 2026, marking the milestone with more headline names than ever and exciting developments, set to make it the biggest Festival yet.

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston Ltd, said:

“It is a huge honour to support the world’s biggest and best crime writing Festival for an incredible twenty-third year. After our most successful year ever in 2025, we are delighted to welcome a bumper crop of exceptional Special Guests who include icons of the genre, chart topping authors and writers behind some of the most watched TV adaptations in recent years to our one-of-a-kind Festival this summer.”  

Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“I’m so proud of the incredible roster of Special Guest headliners curated by Lisa Jewell and the team. Readers have always been at the heart of the Festival and in the National Year of Reading, the 2026 programme is unapologetically reader-led, celebrating some of the most-read authors in the world whose books showcase the enduring appeal of crime fiction. Watch out for some more big reveals when we share the full programme in April and we hope you’ll join us at the Festival in July!”

Weekend Break Packages are on sale now. To book, please call the Festivals team on +44(0)1423 562 303 or email info@harrogate-festival.org.uk. Rover tickets and individual event tickets go on sale in Spring 2026. More information about tickets and packages can be found here.

2024 CWA Dagger Awards Announced

Una Mannion, Jordan Harper, Jo Callaghan, and Anthony Horowitz receive CWA Dagger Award.

The 2024 winners of the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger Awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, have been announced.

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest and most respected awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

The awards were announced [11pm, 4 July] at a CWA gala dinner at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London.

The Gold Dagger, which is awarded for the best crime novel of the year, went to Una Mannion for her second novel, Tell Me What I Am.  The Irish-American author has won numerous prizes for her poetry and short stories.

Mannion beat stalwarts of the genre shortlisted for Gold, including Dennis Lehane and Mick Herron. Past winners of the coveted Gold Dagger, include Ian Rankin, John le Carré, Reginald Hill, and Ruth Rendell.

The judging panel praised it for being ‘haunting and beautifully written’ saying the character-driven thriller ‘expertly examines the boundaries of love, power and control and will stay with you long after you turn the last page.’

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, showcases the thriller of the year. This year it went to Jordan Harper, with his second thriller, Everybody Knows.

Judges said Harper’s novel was ‘brilliantly constructed and fast-paced’ taking readers into the ‘heart of the darkness of Hollywood, guided by a sensationally atypical protagonist.’

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the Daggers Committee, said: “Yet another remarkable year of crime writing in which our impartial judges have uncovered a crop of wonderful books. In a year in which many of our 'big beasts' had new books, it's refreshing to see so many new names and talents winning. And a momentous occasion for independent publishers who have swooped on the majority of the awards and, in particular, Faber & Faber who have achieved a rare double of Gold and Steel Daggers.”

The much-anticipated ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger highlights the best debut novels. 2024’s recipient is Jo Callaghan with her BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick, In the Blink of an Eye, praised for being ‘fresh, original and gripping.’

The Historical Dagger goes to Jake Lamar for Viper’s Dream, a daring look at the jazz-scene of mid-century Harlem and the dangerous underbelly of its drug trade. Judges praised its skilled plotting and ‘elegantly spare prose’ creating a ‘pungent sense of the jazz age’.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction was awarded to Nicholas Shakespeare’s Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, praised as a ‘panoramic biography of the creator of the most charismatic 20th century hero’. Judges found it a ‘deeply felt and meticulous portrait’ that adroitly shows how Bond emerged from Fleming’s own life and career.

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger was awarded to Maud Ventura’s My Husband, translated by Emma Ramadan, which was a sensation in France, likened to Patricia Highsmith and Gone Girl. Judges praised its ‘sharp twist in the tail’.

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story. This year the accolade goes to Sanjida Kay for The Divide in The Book of Bristol, edited by Joe Melia and Heather Marks. Judges said it was a ‘tale of social division, loneliness, and how our desire for connection can make us vulnerable, with a bittersweet conclusion.’

The Dagger in the Library nominees are voted by librarians and library users, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries, and was awarded to Anthony Horowitz.

The CWA judging panel said: “Renowned for Foyle’s War and Midsomer Murders on the screen, Anthony’s books are triumphs too; the Alex Rider series, his James Bond, and his Sherlock Holmes novels. Now the author has surpassed himself with standalone mysteries and the endearing, inventive Hawthorne, and Horowitz series.”

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, goes to Pushkin Vertigo (Pushkin Press). 

The CWA Diamond Dagger, awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2024 it was jointly awarded to Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke.

The Daggers also recognise individuals whose contributions to the crime genre deserve special merit. The Red Herring Award dates back to 1959, and have been awarded to over 40 recipients. This year it goes to Jean Briggs and Dea Parkin. Darren Wills also received a Red Herring award, which was presented to him privately earlier in the year. 

The awards were co-hosted by the Sunday Times bestselling author of Truly Darkly Deeply, Victoria Selman, and the barrister and bestselling author, Imran Mahmood, whose debut You Don’t Know Me was adapted by the BBC.

Guest speaker on the night was the New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over 25 languages, Lisa Jewell.

The Winners in Full:

GOLD DAGGER 

Tell me What I Am by Una Mannion (Faber & Faber)

IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER 

Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper, (Faber & Faber)

 ILP JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

In The Blink of An Eye by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster UK)

 HISTORICAL DAGGER

 Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar (No Exit Press)

 CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

My Husband by  Maud Ventura translated by Emma Ramadan, (Hutchinson Heinemann)

 ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

 Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, by Nicholas Shakespeare (Vintage)

 SHORT STORY DAGGER

The Divide by  Sanjida Kay from The Book of Bristol edited by Joe Melia and Heather Marks, Comma Press

 DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

 Anthony Horowitz

 PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

 Pushkin Press

Congratulations to all the nominated authors and winners.

 

Forthcoming Books from Penguin Random House (Incl Century)

January 

The Woman on the Ledge is by Ruth Mancini. A woman falls to her death from a London bank's twenty-fifth-floor roof terrace. You're arrested for her murder. You tell the police that you only met the victim the previous night at your office party. She was threatening to jump from the roof, but you talked her down. You've got nothing to do with tragedy. You're clearly being framed. So why do the police keep picking holes in your story? Even your lawyer doesn't seem to believe you. It soon becomes obvious that you're keeping secrets. But who are you trying to protect? And why?

One happy couple. Two divided families. A wedding party to die for. On the private island of Castle Fiore - surrounded by the glittering waters of Lake Garda - the illustrious Heywood family gathers begrudgingly for their son Laurence's wedding to Italian influencer Eva Bianchi. But as the ceremony begins, a blood-curdling scream brings the proceedings to a devastating halt. With the wedding guests trapped as they await the police, old secrets come to light and family rivalries threaten to bubble over. Everyone is desperate to know...Who is the killer? Murder on Lake Garda is by Tom Hindle.

Holmes, Marple and Poe is by James Patterson & Brian Sitts. Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple and Auguste Poe run the most in-demand private investigation agency in New York City. The three detectives make a formidable team, solving a series of seemingly impossible crimes - from a priceless art theft and a decades-old unsolved murder, to mysterious disappearances that expose corruption and bribery at the highest levels of power. But it's not long before their headline-grabbing breakthroughs, unconventional methods - and untraceable pasts - attract the attention of the NYPD and the FBI. After all, it's no surprise that there's a mystery or two to unravel in the city that never sleeps . . . not least, who really are Holmes, Margaret and Poe?

February 2024

The List of Suspicious Things is by Jennie Godfrey. Yorkshire, 1979. Maggie Thatcher is prime minister, drainpipe jeans are in, and Miv is convinced that her dad wants to move their family down South. Because of the murders. Leaving Yorkshire and her best friend Sharon simply isn't an option, no matter the dangers lurking round their way; or the strangeness at home that started the day Miv's mum stopped talking. Perhaps if she could solve the case of the disappearing women, they could stay after all? So, Miv and Sharon decide to make a list: a list of all the suspicious people and things down their street. People they know. People they don't. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible. What if the real mystery Miv needs to solve is the one that lies much closer to home?

The 24th Hour is by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. Trouble is never far away . . . The Women’s Murder Club is out celebrating an engagement at San Francisco’s finest restaurant when a blood-curdling scream interrupts the festivities. They soon discover a young woman who has been the victim of a violent assault. Sergeant Lindsay Boxer makes an arrest. Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano takes the case. But assigning blame is made impossible due to the victim’s chaotic version of events – and the shocking reason behind her ever-changing memory. As Yuki argues the toughest case of her career, Lindsay must chase down a high-society killer whose target practice may leave the Women’s Murder Club short a bridesmaid . . . or two.

Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a palatial house in the heart of Lagos and a glamorous group of friends. She left London and a troubled family past behind to become part of a community of expat wives. But when Nicole disappears without a trace after a boat trip, the cracks in her so-called perfect life start to show. As the investigation turns up nothing but dead ends, her aunt Claudine flies to Nigeria to take matters into her own hands. As she digs into her niece's life, she uncovers a hidden truth. But the more she finds out about Nicole, the more Claudine's own buried history threatens to come to light. The Lagos Wife is by Vanessa Walters.

The Ghost Orchid is by Jonathan Kellerman. Some secrets are worth killing for. In an upscale Bel Air property, two lovers are found dead in a swimming pool. The man is the playboy heir to a business empire, and the woman is his even wealthier married neighbour. An illicit affair is the perfect motive. But the house is untouched - no forced entry, no forensic evidence - and so LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis and asks psychologist Alex Delaware to help unpick the case. It quickly becomes clear that both victims had troubled pasts. Now Alex and Milo must confront LA's darkest side as they unravel a trail of deadly secrets . . .

How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace? In New York City, a sniper dubbed 'The Longshot Killer' is taking out impossible targets. Nothing links the victims - except the brutal circumstances of their deaths. Detective Michael Bennett quickly develops a profile of the killer. Great with a gun. Probably ex-military. A profile that his new partner, Rob Trilling, fits to a terrifying degree. With Trilling taking ever more suspicious absences from duty, Bennett must find out the truth - before the Longshot Killer strikes again. Crosshairs is by James Patterson and James O Born.

March 2024

Prima Facie is by Suzie Miller. ‘This is not life. This is law.’ Tessa Ensler is a brilliant barrister who's forged her career in criminal defence through sheer determination. Since her days at Cambridge, she’s carefully disguised her working class roots in a male-dominated world where who you know is just as important as what you know. Driven by her belief in the right to a fair trial and a taste for victory, there’s nothing Tessa loves more than the thrill of getting her clients acquitted. It seems like Tessa has it made when she is approached for a new job and nominated for the most prestigious award in her field. But when a date with a charismatic colleague goes horribly wrong, Tessa finds that the rules she’s always played by might not protect her, forcing her to question everything she's ever believed in.

A remote tropical island. Countless dangerous secrets. No way to call help. Missing persons specialist Frankie Elkin is on an isolated island off the coast of Hawaii. Her mission: to find Lani, the missing sister of a Death Row serial killer known as the Beautiful Butcher who is awaiting execution in just three weeks’ time. According to the Beautiful Butcher’s sources, Lani is being held captive by her millionaire ex-boyfriend on the island. The only way to gain access is for Frankie to go undercover. But can Frankie really trust the word of a serial killer? Plus, this island is no paradise with deadly creatures and suspicious co-workers at every turn, and an incoming tropical storm about to cut her off from the outside world. Could this be Frankie Elkin’s most dangerous case yet? Still See You Everywhere is by Lisa Gardner.

No1 Lawyer is by James Patterson and Nancy Allen. Stafford Lee Penney is the best defence lawyer in Mississippi - he's never lost a case. Until now. Hot on the heels of his latest courtroom victory, his wife is brutally murdered. Devastated, Stafford Lee spirals into a losing streak that forces him to abandon his once brilliant career. But his wife's killer is still on the loose and they seem determined to frame Stafford Lee for their crimes. Rising from rock bottom, he makes a bold return to court - to defend himself in the biggest murder trial this town has ever seen. Stafford Lee must crack the toughest case of his career. And this time, it's personal.

April 2024

A Beginner's Fuide to Breaking and Entering is by Andrew Hunter-Murray. Property might be theft. But the housing market is murder. My name is Al. I live in wealthy people's second homes while their real owners are away. I don't rob them, I don't damage anything... I'm more an unofficial house-sitter than an actual criminal. Life is good. Or it was - until last night, when my friends and I broke into the wrong place, on the wrong day, and someone wound up dead. And now... now we’re in a great deal of trouble. Featuring crooked houses, dodgy coppers and a lot of lockpicking, A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering is a gripping thriller about what it's like to be young, skilled, unemployed - and on the run.

Richmond, London. Six attractive houses are tucked away in an exclusive and very upmarket gated community: Riverside Close. Surrounded by flowers and shrubbery, they're sealed off from the busy main road and the realities of urban life. At weekends, with the gate locked, the residents enjoy the sound of birdsong, the whirr of mowers, the occasional snatch of opera through an open window. Everyone knows each other. Everyone gets on. That is, until the Kenworthies arrive. With their four big gas-guzzling cars, their noisy children and their plans to build a swimming pool in their garden, they quickly offend every one of their neighbours. When Charles Kenworthy is found dead on his porch, the bolt of a crossbow through his chest, Daniel Hawthorne is called in. But how do you solve a murder when everyone has the same motive? Close to Death is by Anthony Horowitz.

Private Monaco is by James Patterson and Adam Hamdy. The clock is ticking. To save her life you must take another. When Jack Morgan is invited to the luxurious Monaco coast to set up a new Private office, it seems like the perfect opportunity to relax in an iconic destination. But the vacation is quickly cut short when Jack's partner Justine is abducted. The kidnappers send Jack clear instructions - and a gun. If he wants to see the woman he loves again, he must take a life in exchange for hers. Jack soon becomes entangled in a dangerous conspiracy that will come to a head at the Monaco Grand Prix. Hours from disaster, Jack must find Justine and her kidnappers - and put a stop to whatever they have planned next.

May 2024

London, 1833. Doctress Hester Reeves has been offered a life-changing commission. But it comes at a price. She must leave behind her husband and their canal-side home in Kings Cross and move to Tall Trees – a dark and foreboding house in Fitzrovia. If Hester can cure the ailing health of its owner, Gervaise Cherville, she will receive payment that will bring her everything she could dream of. But on arriving at Tall Trees, Hester quickly discovers that an even bigger task awaits her. Now she must unearth secrets that have lain hidden for decades – including one that will leave Hester’s own life forever changed…House of Shades is by Lianne Dillsworth.

'Where is Greg Downing?' Sports Agent Myron Bolitar is in his new office on the top of a skyscraper in New York when two FBI agents ask him this very question. The man they refer to is a top basketball player and Myron's former client and old rival. Greg's DNA, they tell him, has been found at the scene of a high-profile double-murder, and he is now their main suspect. It can't be Greg, Myron tells the two agents: the reason he is Myron's 'former' client is because Greg is dead. He died three years ago of a heart attack. Myron went to his funeral and gave the eulogy. So how can a man who's already dead be wanted for murder? But the closer Myron and his sidekick Win get to the truth about Greg Downing, the more dangerous their world becomes. Secrets, lies, and a murderous conspiracy lie at the heart of Think Twice by Harlan Coben.

June 2024

The Switch is by Lily Samson. Two couples. Elena and Adam are housesitting in Wimbledon and are instantly seduced by their new upscale surroundings. Sophia and Finn are their beautiful, enigmatic neighbours who invite them into their world. One twisted game. When Sophia proposes a wicked game to Elena whereby they will swap partners in secret, it's not long before Elena starts to experience a sexual awakening that blossoms into an illicit love affair. But Sophia's plans are far more complex and dangerous than Elena could ever have imagined.. Who will survive.

When coroner-turned-private investigator Clay Edison is approached to work on a fraud case, he uncovers more than he bargained before: a decades-old scheme targeting the vulnerable. His investigation leads him to a strange town in the remote California wilderness where the residents don't care much for outsiders. They certainly don't like Clay asking questions. And they'll do just about anything to keep him quiet. . .The Lost Coast is by Jonathan and Jessie Kellerman.

The Suspect is b Rob Rinder. When the UK's favourite breakfast TV presenter dies live on air in front of millions of viewers, the nation is left devastated.  More devastated still when it becomes clear that her death was not an accident. The evidence points to one culprit: celebrity chef Sebastian Brooks. But junior barrister Adam Green is about to discover that the case is not as open-and-shut as it first seemed. And although her angelic persona would suggest otherwise, she was not short of enemies in the glittery TV world . . . Can Adam uncover the truth?

Capital Crime 2024 headliners announced: Ian Rankin, Irvine Welsh, Ann Cleeves, Anthony Horowitz and Kellye Garrett

 IAN RANKIN, IRVINE WELSH, ANN CLEEVES, 

ANTHONY HOROWITZ AND KELLYE GARRETT TO HEADLINE CAPITAL CRIME 2024

Capital Crime 2024 to be held in Spring at the Leonardo Royal Hotel 

for second year, from 30th May to 1st June.

Capital Crime, the celebrated crime and thriller festival led by Goldsboro Books’ co-founder and managing director David Headley, has announced that it will be returning in 2024 to its new home of the Leonardo Royal Hotel, from 30th May until 1st June 2024.

Authors and speakers confirmed so far are:

Ian Rankin, creator of Inspector Rebus

Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh

Ann Cleeves, author of the Vera and Shetland series

Author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz

Rising star of US crime fiction Kellye Garrett

Author and barrister Rob Rinder

Elly Griffiths, creator of the Ruth Galloway series

Silo creator Hugh Howey

Alex Michaelides, author of the global bestseller The Silent Patient

An unforgettable new voice in cosy crime Paula Sutton, otherwise known as the queen of cottage-core and the face behind Hill House Vintage.

The full line-up will be announced early next year.

Also returning are the festival’s Fingerprint Awards, which this year saw authors including Erin Kelly and Adele Parks celebrated for the first time ever; and the social outreach initiative, which aims to demystify the industry for young state-school Londoners considering a career in publishing. Early bird weekend tickets for next year are on sale now at www.capitalcrime.org.

In August 2023, Capital Crime returned triumphantly to London, in its brand-new home of the Leonardo Royal Hotel St Paul’s, with a star-studded three days of panels, events and launches with over 100 leading voices from crime fiction, including a sold-out event with Richard Osman and Miles Jupp.

Capital Crime co-founder David Headley said:

‘Next year’s line-up is already shaping up beautifully, with some of the most talented writers from all around the country signed up – and from the US, we’re delighted to welcome the enormously exciting Kellye Garrett and Silo creator Hugh Howey. I'm so delighted that Capital Crime champions authors not only on stage, but with our Fingerprint Awards where the readers vote for their winners in each category – every year our line-up reflects what fans are reading and this year's line-up is very exciting.’

Capital Crime Festival Director Lizzie Curle said:

‘We loved our brilliant new venue in St Paul’s, and from the feedback we’ve received from authors and attendees, so did everyone else! I’m honoured that we’ll be welcoming some of the best crime writers from around the world to join us in London, to celebrate crime and thriller writing with the authors, readers and fans who make Capital Crime possible. Our 2024 festival promises to be bigger and better than ever before.’

Back From The Dead: The Golden Age Revival by Tom Mead

In a field as diverse as crime fiction, “Golden Age” means different things to different people. To some, it’s an intractable term for murder mysteries written between the World Wars. Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley, John Dickson Carr, E.C.R. Lorac, Christianna Brand, et al are all exemplars of the Golden Age crime novel. But to others – myself included – it is in fact a considerably looser term which refers to a certain style of murder mystery, and one which has been enjoying a well-deserved renaissance in recent years. 

To me, the Golden Age is synonymous with the puzzle mystery, where a detective is tasked with identifying a criminal through the use of logic and deduction. There are bonus points, too, if the reader is able to play along and have a crack at solving the case themselves. 

Even after the Golden Age officially ended, this type of mystery did not go away. Throughout the latter decades of the twentieth century, several high-profile authors produced numerous works that fall within that category. For example, Simon Brett’s Fethering mysteries feature amateur sleuths in a village setting – thematically speaking, pure Agatha Christie. Meanwhile, Paul Doherty’s mysteries are set hundreds or even thousands of years in the past, but nonetheless employ classic Golden Age plotting techniques, such as the “closed circle” of suspects, the sifting of alibis, and the “impossible crime.”

Other authors have interpolated Golden Age-style puzzle plotting in contemporary police procedurals. Think of Peter Lovesey’s Peter Diamond series, Martin Edwards’s Lake District mysteries, or Kate Ellis’s Wesley Peterson series. All of these bear the deductive hallmark of the Golden Age, albeit subtly. 

As for my own experience, I grew up in a house full of Agatha Christie novels; they were among the first "grown up" books I actually read. So the Golden Age was a constant presence throughout my formative years, both in book form and on TV thanks to the ITV Poirot adaptations, plus the frequent repeats of films like Murder on the Orient Express. But when I went to university and studied English lit and creative writing, there was a tendency to lean away from "genre" fiction and toward the more overtly literary. 

However, the Golden Age has a funny way of creeping back into your conscious mind. Inevitably, I delved into the past, and returned to the authors I’d loved when I was younger. To my surprise and delight, I found that I enjoyed them more, not less. But not only that; there were heaps of “new” authors (new to me, anyway) whose works had been out-of-print for almost a century but were now enjoying posthumous rediscovery. Authors I’d never heard of before, like John Bude and J. Jefferson Farjeon. 

This boom in Golden Age reissues over the last ten years or so has been largely spearheaded by Martin Edwards’s British Library Crime Classics series and Otto Penzler’s American Mystery Classics series. Coupled with certain high-profile critical reassessments by genre scholars like Edwards himself (The Golden Age of Murder), John Curran (The Hooded Gunman), Curtis Evans (Masters of the “Humdrum” Mystery), and Jeffrey Marks (Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography) – not to mention A-list Hollywood movies like Knives Out – it’s fair to say the Golden Age whodunit is back with a vengeance. 

Anthony Horowitz, for instance, has recently commenced a wonderful new series which is not only Golden Age in style, but about the Golden Age. I’m talking about Magpie Murders, where a vintage mystery pastiche is coupled with a present-day murder plot, perfectly encapsulating the spirit of the revival. Meanwhile, authors like Janice Hallett and Vaseem Khan write complex puzzle mysteries which offer the same level of reader satisfaction as the classics. Pleasingly, the trend appears to be global, with authors such as Sulari Gentill (Australia) and Ovidia Yu (Singapore) combining the puzzle plot and the historical fiction milieu to excellent effect. Additionally, the way in which the Golden Age style is evoked can be startlingly diverse – ranging from the cosy crime of Robert Thorogood to the Scandi-noir of Ragnar Jonasson.

Whichever way you look at it, there is a steadily growing crowd of authors who are endeavouring to recapture the style, the distinctive characters, the period detail, and the great plots that made the Golden Age golden. My own books Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel are my attempts to engage with this revival. As both a writer and a reader, I’m eager to see where we go from here. 

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead (Head of Zeus) Out of Now

In London, 1938, young and idealistic lawyer Edmund Ibbs is trying to find any shred of evidence that his client Carla Dean wasn’t the one who shot her husband dead at the top of a Ferris Wheel. But the deeper he digs, the more complex the case becomes, and Edmund soon finds himself drawn into a nightmarish web of conspiracy and murder. Before long he himself is implicated in not one but two seemingly impossible crimes.

First, a corpse appears out of thin air during a performance by famed illusionist “Professor Paolini” in front of a packed auditorium at the Pomegranate Theatre. Then a second victim is shot dead in a locked dressing room along one of the theatre’s winding backstage corridors. Edmund is in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, and attracts the suspicion of Scotland Yard inspector George Flint. Luckily, conjuror-turned-detective Joseph Spector is on the scene. Only Spector’s uniquely logical perspective can pierce the veil of deceit in a world of illusion and misdirection, where seeing is not always believing.

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead is published by Head of Zeus on 12th October at £20

More information about Tom Mead and his work can be found on his website. You can also find him on Facebook and on X @TomMeadAuthor and on Instagram @tommeadauthor

Edgar Award Winners Announced

Mystery Writers of America have announced the winners for the 2023 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2022. The 77th Annual Edgar® Awards were celebrated on April 27, 2023, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square and livestreamed on YouTube.

BEST NOVEL

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor (Soho Press – Soho Crime)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Or Else by Joe Hart (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
 
BEST FACT CRIME

Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse (Flatiron Books)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins – Collins Crime Club)
 
BEST SHORT STORY

"Red Flag," Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Gregory Fallis (Dell Magazines)

BEST JUVENILE

Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse by Marthe Jocelyn (Penguin Random House Canada - Tundra Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

The Red Palace by June Hur (Macmillan Children’s Books – Feiwel & Friends)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Episode 1” – Magpie Murders, Written by Anthony Horowitz (Masterpiece/PBS)

 ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"Dogs in the Canyon," Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Mark Harrison (Dell Magazines)
 
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
Hideout by Louisa Luna (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group – Doubleday)

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD

Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)

SPECIAL AWARDS

GRAND MASTER

Michael Connelly

Joanne Fluke
 
RAVEN AWARD
Crime Writers of Color
Eddie Muller for Noir Alley and The Noir Foundation
 
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
 The Strand Magazine

Crime Programme at the FT Oxford Literary Festival

 

The Oxford Literary Festival once have again got a crime fiction programme. The programme can be found here.

The highlights include

Simon Mason and Cara Hunter – Chaired by Peter Guttridge

Writing in the Shadow of Morse on Saturday 25 March 2023 at 10:00am in the Weston Lecture Theatre.

Val McDermid and Sue Black:- 

The Facts of Fiction: The Author and the Forenscis Anthopologist on Saturday 25 March 2023 at 12:00pm in the Sheldonian Theatre.

Cara Hunter, Andrew Thompson and Joey Giddings:-

Ask the Experts: Everything you Wanted to Know about Crime Investigations on Saturday 25 March 2023 at 4:00pm at the Oxford Martin School: Seminar Room.

Anthony Horowitz:-

Thrills and Spills:From the Diamond Brothers to Alex Rider on Sunday 26 March 2023 at 10:00am in the Sheldonian Theatre.

Mick Herron interviewed by Chris Pattern

The Chancellor's Lecture: A Life of Crime on Wednesday 29 March 2023 at 6:00pm in the Sheldonian Theatre.

Capital Crime launches 2022 Festival Programme and announces new venue

 

Capital Crime launched their 2022 programme with a bang last night at leading independent bookshop, Goldsboro Books, at a party to announce their stellar line up and spectacular new location. 

Taking place in the shadow of the iconic Battersea Power Station from 29th September – 1st October 2022, Capital Crime will bring together readers, authors, industry figures and the local community for the first major literary festival held on the site for a weekend of fun, innovation and celebration of crime fiction. 

Consisting of over 40 events and over 150 panelists, the line-up will include appearances from Peter James, Kate Mosse, Mark Billingham, Richard Osman, Robert Harris, SA Cosby, Dorothy Koomson, Jeffrey Archer, Anthony Horowitz, Charlie Higson, Jeffery Deaver, Lucy Foley, Bella Mackie, Ragnar Jónasson, Paula Hawkins, Reverend Richard Coles, Mark Edwards, Claire McGowan, Ben Aaronovitch and Former President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Lady Hale, in conversation with Harriet Tyce. 

Their full schedule of innovative panel talks will be announced later in the summer. 

As part of the live festival this year, Capital Crime’s Social Outreach Initiative will be returning for a third year with the aim to create an inclusive, safe space where state school students with an interest in books can engage with authors, agents, editors and publishers to help demystify the publishing industry. 

The festival will also be launching the coveted Fingerprint Awards, which celebrate the best in genre, as chosen by readers. In 2022 the Fingerprints will present eight awards as well as a prestigious lifetime achievement award. 

Co-founded by David Headley, the owner of one of London’s destination bookshops, which attracts visitors from all over the world, Capital Crime 2022 will serve as a major London attraction, following the regeneration of the local Battersea area and improved transport links. 

Festival Founder, David Headley, said: “I am so delighted that Goldsboro Books and Capital Crime, along with our valued festival sponsors, will be working in partnership this year to bring a bigger and better live celebration of crime fiction back to London. We were so proud of what we achieved at our inaugural festival, and look forward to welcoming authors and readers to our new, exciting venue.” 

Festival Director, Lizzie Curle, said: “After what’s been an emotional few years, we are so grateful to our readers, authors and sponsors for their support, and are thrilled to be reuniting household name authors, new voices in fiction and their fans at our new home in Battersea Park. Though this Capital Crime event may look a little different from the outside; diversity, inclusivity and accessibility remain at the heart of our festival. We can’t wait to celebrate the best genre in the world, and hope everyone will agree it’s been worth the wait.” 

With diversity, accessibility, inclusivity and readers at the heart of the festival, Capital Crime this year will take place in a series of large stretch-tented venues for multiple panel events, signing area, a stunning bar area central to the festival, a pop up Goldsboro Books bookshop in the iconic Pump House Gallery, and an array of London’s tastiest street food traders. 

Weekend and Day Passes are available from the Capital Crime website: 

www.capitalcrime.org/product/capital-crime-festival-2022

Books to Look Forward to From Vintage (Incl Harvill Secker)

 

January 2022

Two Storm Wood is by Philip Gray. The guns are silent. The dead are not. 1919. On the desolate battlefields of northern France, the guns of the Great War are silent. Special battalions now face the dangerous task of gathering up the dead for mass burial. Captain Mackenzie, a survivor of the war, cannot yet bring himself to go home. First he must see that his fallen comrades are recovered and laid to rest. His task is upended when a gruesome discovery is made beneath the ruins of a German strongpoint. Amy Vanneck's fiance is one soldier lost amongst many, but she cannot accept that his body may never be found. She heads to France, determined to discover what became of the man she loved. It soon becomes clear that what Mackenzie has uncovered is a war crime of inhuman savagery. As the dark truth leaches out, both he and Amy are drawn into the hunt for a psychopath, one for whom the atrocity at Two Storm Wood is not an end, but a beginning.

April 2022

Their mission is murder. His is revenge. Suzuki is just an ordinary man until his wife is murdered. When he discovers the criminal gang responsible he leaves behind his life as a maths teacher and joins them, looking for a chance to take his revenge. What he doesn't realise is that he's about to get drawn into a web of unusual professional assassins, each with their own agenda. The Whale convinces his victims to take their own lives using just his words. The Cicada is a talkative and deadly knife expert. The elusive Pusher dispatches his targets in deadly traffic accidents. Suzuki must take each of them on, in order to try to find justice and keep his innocence in a world of killers. Three Assassins is by Kotaro Isaka.

The Hippocratic Oath: First, do no harm... Dr Rea Dharmasena is devastated when she loses out on her dream research job to her med-school rival, Dr Julia Stone. When it comes to light that Julia got the job using Rea's own cutting edge research, Rea just can't let it go. Until finally, just after a life-changing medical discovery, Julia is found dead. Now Rea has the dream job she's always wanted. A job she would kill for. Deadly Cure is by Mahi Cheshire. 

May 2022

Kamil Rahman is a cook in a Brick Lane restaurant. But he used to be a detective back in Kolkata. And somehow trouble still knows how to find him. When a young woman Kamil knows is murdered the police are convinced her boyfriend is the culprit. Kamil isn't so sure and feels he has no choice but to start his own investigation. Meanwhile, his friend and restaurant manager, Anjoli, is troubled by a rise in the number of homeless deaths in their local area. The cases seem unrelated and as the duo dig deeper, discovering tentacles that stretch from Lahore to London, they find themselves in grave danger. Together they take on the indifference of the authorities to the homeless and the casual racism that pervades the investigation of killings of Muslims - all while a supremely intelligent murderer is manipulating events to stay several steps ahead of them. The Cook is by Ajay Chowdhury.

A Line to Kill is by Anthony Horowitz. It is M’s funeral. One man is missing from the graveside: the traitor who pulled the trigger and who is now in custody, accused of M’s murder – James Bond. Behind the Iron Curtain, a group of former SMERSH agents want to use the British spy in an operation that will change the balance of world power. Bond is smuggled into the lion’s den – but whose orders is he following, and will he obey them when the moment of truth arrives? In a mission where treachery is all around and one false move means death, Bond must grapple with the darkest questions about himself. But not even he knows what has happened to the man he used to be.

June 2022

Deception. Theft. Murder. All you need is confidence. When Lisa Lee, a vulnerable young woman, vanishes from a pretty Scottish seaside town Anna and Fin find themselves at the centre of an internet frenzy to find her. But Lisa may not be the hapless victim her father thinks. She had an unsuccessful YouTube channel and her last film showed her breaking into an abandoned French Chateau with other UrbExers and stumbling across a priceless Roman silver casket. One day after Lisa vanishes that casket gets listed for auction in Paris, reserve price fifty million euro and a catalogue entry that could challenge the fundamental principles of a major world religion. On a thrilling chase across Europe, Anna and Fin are caught up in a world of international art smuggling, billionaire con artists and religious zealotry. Confidence is by Denise Mina.

Sweet Dreams is by Anders Roslund. Two little girls go missing on the same day in Stockholm. Their disappearances are never explained. In time, the investigations are abandoned. A chance discovery puts Detective Ewert Grens back on the trail five years later. His own personal trauma makes him determined to find out what happened to these children who were snatched from a supermarket and a car park and never seen again and whose coffins lie empty in the local graveyard. His search leads him into the most repulsive recesses of the dark web and the discovery of a paedophile ring that can only be cracked from the inside. Grens is forced call upon his retired partner, Piet Hoffman, the best undercover operative he knows, to try to infiltrate the group. They will have only one chance - but are they up to the darkest challenge of their lives?