Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the shortlists for the 2022 Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women.
The shortlisted titles in each category are:
Adult Crime Novel
Unforgiven by Sarah Barrie, (HQ Fiction)
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz, (A&U)
You Had It Coming by B M Carroll, (Profile Books)
All That I Remember About Dean Cola by Tania Chandler, (Scribe)
Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down, (Text)
Shelter by Catherine Jinks, (Text)
The Beautiful Words by Vanessa McCausland, (HarperCollins)
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy, (Hamish Hamilton)
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald, (A&U)
The Second Son by Loraine Peck, (Text)
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart, (Viking)
Young Adult Crime Novel
The Gaps by Leanne Hall, (Text)
Dirt Circus League by Maree Kimberley, (Text)
Sugar Town Queens by Malla Nunn, (A&U Children’s)
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, (Penguin)
Children’s Crime Novel
Night Ride into Danger by Jackie French, (HarperCollins)
The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg, (Affirm)
Ella at Eden #6: The London Thief by Laura Sieveking, (Scholastic)
Nonfiction Crime Book
Empowering Women: From Murder and Misogyny to High Court Victory by Susie Allanson with Lizzie O’Shea, (Wilkinson Publishing)
Larrimah: A Missing Man, an Eyeless Croc and an Outback Town of 11 People Who Mostly Hate Each Other by Caroline Graham & Kylie Stevenson, (A&U)
The Winter Road: A Story of Legacy, Land and a Killing at Croppa Creek by Kate Holden, (Black Inc.)
Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide’s Family Murders by Debi Marshall, (Vintage)
Debut Crime Books
Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz, (A&U)
Shadow Over Edmund Street by Suzanne Frankham, (Journey to Words)
Larrimah: A Missing Man, an Eyeless Croc and an Outback Town of 11 People Who Mostly Hate Each Other by Caroline Graham & Kylie Stevenson, (A&U)
The Waterhole by Lily Malone, (Lily Malone Publishing)
Unsheltered by Clare Moleta, (Simon &Schuster)
The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald, (A&U)
The Second Son by Loraine Peck, (Text)
Shiver by Allie Reynolds, (Hachette)
Crime Writer by Dime Sheppard, (Ruby Books)
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland, (Penguin)
The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart, (Viking).
This year’s judging panel was made up of medical autopsy expert Philomena Horsley; YA expert and reviewer Joy Lawn; Sisters in Crime’s president Moraig Kisler; and authors Janice Simpson, Emily Webb and Jacquie Byron. The judges selected the 33 shortlisted titles from a longlist of 169 books.
The six category winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Melbourne on Saturday, 27 August. No prize money is attached to the Davitts; the winner of each category receives a trophy.
Last year’s winners included Sally Hepworth for The Good Sister (Macmillan) and Leah Swann’s Sheerwater (Fourth Estate).
For more information, see the Sisters in Crime website.
