Why do we keep returning to the Island by Bonnie Burke-Patel

Everything you have with you, already in your heart, arrives with you on the island, and only becomes amplified, greater, in such isolation.

And so the story begins. Eight lonely souls on an island off the English coast; spending Christmas at the house on Saints’ Climb because, whatever their superficial reasons, they have nowhere else to be.

Between a cast of wealthy recluse father and traumatised adult son (George and Xavier Starvely), a taciturn archaeologist (Ryefield), documentary-makers Nathan and Chris, French widower Victor, groundskeeper Rik, and housekeeper Marianne… I’m proud to set my third gothic crime novel somewhere entirely unoriginal. In fact, it was sort of the point.

Whether it’s the Queen of Crime’s unbeatable And Then There Were None, literary gems like Elizabeth O’Connor’s Whale Fall, or delightful romps like Louise Minchin’s Isolation Island, the island holds an enduring appeal for reader and writer alike. And when a setting becomes such a cultural artefact, it also becomes self-perpetuating, because nosy writers like me want to know why.

Pull up for my TED Talk, and I’ll tell you why I brought you back to the island…

As a psychology

By its nature, the island is a separate thing. An isolated piece of land, cut off by sea on all sides. And more often than not, in crime fiction, it’s just within view of the mainland’s shore. Tantalisingly close, and when the bodies start dropping, it’s all the more agonising that help is just out of reach. When a storm blows in, the inhabitants of Saints’ Climb could almost reach help if they tried, couldn’t they?

Physically and psychologically, the island acts as a liminal space; land in the water, adjacent to but not part of the main. We see the island from the shore, and we see the mainland from the island. And so the island doubles the psychology of the lonely characters, stranded on their own emotional bits of rock and wondering if there is a way to connect with each other amid the violence.

The specifics of Saints’ Climb as an island were also inspired by that most Freudian pit, childhood. Growing up in the West Country, islands were quite literally on the horizon whenever my family took a jaunt to our local seaside, Weston-super-Mare. A rundown coastal town in the British tradition, I love it with all my heart. Between cold sloppy sandcastles and donkey rides, my three siblings and I would look at the horizon and see two mysterious lumps out at sea - Flat Holm and Steep Holm islands. Only as an adult would I discover their fascinating records as seabird colonies, cholera isolation hospitals, pieces of radio history… As a kid, they stuck in my mind as gothic lacuna just out of reach, and full of magical potential. Anything at all might fill them. Perhaps it’s not surprising that as an adult, they would re-emerge in a novel.

As a writer

Being a writer is about choices - of the infinite possible stories in the universe, you have to choose, winnow, erode all the possibilities until you’re left with the story you want to tell. And because of this immense freedom, I actually find it useful to have a containing framework. Stick eight people on the island. Now some of them have to die without anyone knowing how. Make me work for it. Make me give you something new in a space that’s already a densely populated fictional landscape. How much new ground can I find on a rock?

 And that’s where the literary tradition that might seem like it restricts the writer, opens it up. Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a masterpiece. Her ten victims trapped on the island die off like flies as every possibility evaporates as soon as the reader has thought of it. It has also sold 100 million copies worldwide; commonly cited as the bestselling crime novel of all time. The majority of the readers of We Search the Island for Grace will have read it or seen a TV adaptation… and some still won’t. Now I have the additional challenge of writing a novel for two distinct audiences. Is George Starvely an echo of one of Christie’s characters? What about Ryefield? Marianne? Are these tropes about to be subverted or leaned in to; are they breadcrumbs or traps? Does this still compel a reader who has never touched a Christie in their life?

It’s the author’s joy of never having a singular unitary reader. A book is a new story under every set of eyes that reads it, and all the associations, experiences, and pre-existing knowledge they bring. We’re all our own islands, and we’re all connected by the act of reading.

We Search The Island For Grace by Bonnie Burke-Patel (Bedford Square  Out Now

They gather at Saints’ Climb, the only house on an island off the Somerset coast. Seven men with nowhere else to be at Christmas. Father and son George and Xavier Starvely; James, a taciturn archaeologist uneasy with the living; Victor, a French widower; Rik, the groundskeeper; and Chris and Nathan, the two men who want to make a documentary about this place and its extraordinary collection of medieval art. And the housekeeper Marianne, who seems to find peace in serving. Erected around the stone labyrinth built into the floor by monks, Saints’ Climb is a house heavy with loneliness. Xavier Starvely is a successful academic with a real life elsewhere. Yet he is wracked with guilt over the fragmentary memories of a childhood tragedy, and when his guests arrive on the island for Christmas, the deaths begin afresh. A labyrinth is different from a maze. There are no false turns or dead ends: there is only one winding path, which, followed faithfully, will always lead to the centre. What will each find at the centre of the labyrinth? And can it save them?

 You can find Bonnie Burke-Patel on Instagram @bonnieburkepatel

 

 

Comedy Frightened Me More Than Murder By David Fennell

There is a thing that happens when a book wins an award. For a short time, the world feels settled. The years of doubt, the imposter syndrome, the loneliness and the career uncertainty all resolve, briefly, into something that looks from the outside like validation. You wrote the right book. Critics acclaimed it. Readers loved it. They still talk about it.

Most writers, at that moment, would do the sensible thing. They would stay in the same lane and write the next book. It would be the safe and smart choice. I chose not to do that.

A Violent Heart won the 2025 Capital Crime Fingerprint Thriller of the Year. It is the darkest book I have written, the sharpest and the one I am proudest of in terms of what it demanded from me. Yet I knew I was not going to write another book like it. I was going to write something funny. Obviously. And I say that with my tongue lodged firmly in my cheek.

People often ask whether it is difficult to write darkness. Scenes of violence and grief. The final hours before a beloved character’s murder. The interior world of someone who has done something unforgivable. My honest answer is yes. To make those moments feel authentic, writers must put everything into them. But darkness also carries its own gravity. The reader understands instinctively that these scenes matter. They know they are being asked to feel something real. That is why they spend their hard-earned cash on books.

Comedy frightened me more than murder. I had written six novels filled with death, violence and darkness. I knew how to build tension. I knew how to unsettle a reader. Then, after receiving the most public confirmation of my career, I chose to write a book designed to make people laugh. A murder scene has shadows to hide in. A joke does not. It lands, or it lies there in full view while the reader quietly closes the book.

This was the risk at the heart of All Killers Aboard. The cruise ship was new. The cast of serial killers was absurd. Neither worried me as much as the promise hidden inside the premise. The book had to be funny. I had spent six novels learning how to frighten readers. Now I had to discover whether I knew how to make them laugh.

Every book is a risk. I have understood this since my first novel was published in 2017. When you begin, you have no idea whether what you are writing will find its readers or become one of those quiet disappearances that haunt every writer’s understanding of the industry. But there is a particular risk in changing direction when your current direction is working. What made me do it was the desire to push myself out of my comfort zone. 

There is a version of a writing life in which you follow the path laid before you, book by book. You do it well, and it is enough. I respect that version. It takes discipline and produces good work. But I have never written a book that did not frighten me a little.

All Killers Aboard frightened me in a new way. There was the fear of the joke that failed. The fear of the reader who loved A Violent Heart picking it up and finding something entirely different. The fear of stepping away from the thing I had finally been told I was good at.

But I had to be true to myself and my instincts. So, I wrote it anyway and enjoyed every minute of writing it. I hope that comes across when you read it.

All Killers Aboard by David Fennell (Orion Publishing) out now

A shocking murder. A ship full of suspects. On a luxury cruise from Southampton to New York, the annual gathering of the mysterious Midnight Chorus Society is in full swing. Unbeknownst to the rest of the innocent passengers, the deadly convention is made up entirely of serial killers, wannabes and their fans. Travelling on board is Hollywood royalty Jacqui Dulac, star of the television show Lady Detective, and her latest ghost-writer, Martha Hammond. Yet when Martha witnesses a shocking murder on deck, with a single red button found near the crime scene, the quarrelling duo must put aside their differences to become real-life detectives... But with a cruise liner full of the world's most notorious serial killers, they both know that when there's been one murder, another is sure to follow. And as a storm rocks the ship, can Martha and Jacqui identify the killer before it's too late?

More information about David Fennell and his books can be found on his website. He can also be found on Facebook. He can also be found on Instagram @mrdavidfennell and X @davyfennell

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Andrew Taylor

 Name: - Andrew Taylor

Job: - Author

Website: - www.andrew-taylor.co.uk

Twitter and Instagram: - @andrewjrtaylor

Facebook:- andrew.tayloratlydmouth.9

Introduction

Andrew Taylor is the author of six different series (Dougal, Sergeant Jim Bergerac (written as Andrew Saville), Blaines, Lydmouth, Roth Trilogy and Marwood and Lovett).  He is also the author of over half a dozen standalone novels and half a dozen children’s books to name a few.  

His books have been nominated and won numerous wards with his first novel, Caroline Minuscule (1982), wining the John Creasey Memorial Award of the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain. He is the only author to have won the CWA's Historical Dagger three times with Office of the Dead (2000), The American Boy (2003) and The Scent of Death (2013). The American Boy a gothic mystery linked to Edgar Allan Poe's boyhood years in England, was one of the ten titles featured in Channel 4's Richard and Judy Book Club 2005 and was also selected for The Times Top Ten Crime Novels of the Decade.

In 2009 Andrew Taylor received the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. In 2016 he started a series set in Restoration England featuring James Marwood a government agent and Clerk in the court of King Charles II and Catt Lovett an architectural designer. The first book in the series being The Ashes of London (2016). In 2020 The King's Evil (2019) won the Historical Writers Association (HWA) Gold Crown for best historical novel of the year. The seventh book in the series Treason is due to be published in March 2027.

His most recent book A Schooling in Murder (2025) was a Times/Waterstones No 1 bestseller and was long-listed for the 2026 Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year.

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

I’ve just finished Alexander Starritt’s Drayton and Mackenzie, which is a weird bromance set in the world of high finance in the last 50 years and featuring all too historical figures, including tech billionaires and at least one chairmen of the Fed. Not a crime novel but weirdly, hypnotically readable. As for writing, I’ve just been tidying up my new 17c novel, Treason, which comes out next March. I’ve also been working on two side projects, as yet under wraps. After that comes a return to the 17c.

Why do you think anti-heroes are so interesting to readers?

I suppose they fascinate us partly because they have the uncomfortable power to enact our darkest desires and deepest fears. 

Which two anti-heroes or enemies would you invite to dinner and why?

Tom Ripley, of course, who’d probably be charming and present you with a bottle of very nice wine while eying up your valuables (he’d be out of luck with us). And perhaps Professor Moriarty. Conan Doyle presents him (when he mentions him at all) as a convenient blank labelled ‘Evil Mastermind’. But I bet he’s got a rich and fascinating interior life, as well as some interesting tales to tel about the dark side of Sherlock Holmes.

How do you relax?

In a variety of ways. 

Which anti hero would you like to be on your side in a difficult situation.

Tom Ripley again. He tends to wriggle out tricky situations in the end. I’m hoping he would help me do the same.

If you were to write a book involving an anti-hero where would you set it and why?

I have cleverly anticipated your question by already writing several novels featuring an anti-hero, including my very first, Caroline Minuscule, which was set when it was written – ie 1980-1. (Rereading it makes me feel slightly queasy today.) I’ve no idea where I’d set another book involving an anti-hero. You’ll have to come back to me on that one…

How would you describe your latest published book?

A Schooling in Murder is a pastiche of a Golden Age whodunit set in a third-rate girls’ boarding school in 1945. The twist is that it’s narrated by the murder victim, who is already dead at the start of book. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed writing this novel. 

With Bad Apples: crime fiction’s enemies and anti-heroes theme at St Hilda's this year, who are your three favourite anti-heroes

Tom Ripley (there’s a theme emerging here), Richard III (if he actually is a villain), and the chillingly evil Jack Havoc in Allingham’s The Tiger in the Smoke. 

Which 3 films or television series featuring anti-heroes would you rewatch and why.

The Sopranos. Breaking Bad. And (some way behind) The Wire. Because all three explore the moral and social consequences of evil in such a chillingly plausible way. 

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

I’ve been coming the Crime Fiction Weekend for nearly 30 years and for the same reasons: meeting old friends and making new ones; discussing crime fiction with people who share this strange passion of ours; and coming away with a good reading list. Also, two days without doing any washing up. 

A Schooling in Murder by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins Publisher)

England, May 1945. In the last days of World War II, Monkshill Park School for Girls stands far apart from the violence in Europe. Yet a woman has been murdered in its grounds. Annabel Warnock, a teacher with a secretive past, has disappeared. The teachers and girls whisper that she’s run away, but in fact she has met a violent end. Replacement tutor and amateur crime writer Alec Shaw arrives to find a school riven with bitter rivalries and dangerous tensions. He begins to suspect there is a real-life mystery waiting to be solved… and these echoing halls hide a killer.

Information on how to buy online tickets can be found here. The programme can be found here.

The Good, The Bad and The Morally Ambiguous – Creating Anti-Heroines in Thriller Fiction by Claire Parkin

I love writing about ‘difficult’ females. Women and girls who don’t fit into the ‘good’ or ‘bad’ trope, but adapt their behaviour depending on circumstance – even if that means behaving abominably. Alas, becoming a published author taught me something important about myself. 

I need to be seen as a ‘good’ girl.

Who’d have thought it? Fifty-seven-year-old-feminist me – who worked in the cutthroat world of women’s magazines for twenty years, raised insomniac twins, lifts weights (albeit not very heavy ones) and can force a worming tablet into the mouth of a cat that can’t retract its claws – falls apart when people think she’s anything other than ‘nice’. In short, I like to be liked. And, when you’re writing thriller fiction featuring morally ambiguous women, this can become a bit of a problem.

My debut novel, The Final Hours of Muriel Hinchcliffe, featured two such ambiguous characters: sparky, opinionated carer Ruth and her ‘charge’, the tragic, glamorous Muriel, both equally capable of eliciting sympathy and revulsion, sometimes within the same sentence. I loved the fatally flawed pair of them to pieces. Both my future agent and my publisher at Pan Macmillan clearly loved them too – as did many readers. 

But a handful of readers didn’t, and I can see why. Ruth and Muriel are all kinds of messed-up and, at times, downright evil. ‘Thoroughly unlikeable characters’ was one reader comment. ‘So unpleasant!’ was another. For all the reviews praising the novel’s humour, plot, twists and turns and character development, it was the few bad ones I remembered – and took personally. ‘Horrible’, ‘unlikeable’, ‘unpleasant’. It didn’t help when a family member emailed me to say, ‘Loved the book, but blimey – those women you’ve created! What on earth goes on in that mind of yours? I hope I’m never left alone in a dark room with you!’

Then the penny dropped. I was finding negative responses so upsetting because I felt readers were conflating my characters with me.

The grown-up inside me said, ‘Suck it up, buttercup. It’s nothing personal.’ But the good girl kept wailing, ‘I’m nice! And my characters aren’t “bad” – they’re misunderstood!’ (I tried to shut her up with wine and chocolate, but to no avail.) Do male writers, I found myself wondering, struggle with the same level of self-doubt? Or face censure for creating morally ambiguous male characters?

Meanwhile, I was trying to get my head into Book Two – the book that would become my latest novel, Tell Tale, which featured, of course, a morally ambiguous female character. Only this time, the character was an eleven-year-old child – an outspoken busybody, gossip and stirrer. Oh, how I loved her. Not least because this child was also sharply observant, funny and had real chutzpah despite being brought up in less-than-ideal circumstances. And she does some truly terrible things. She – and I, as her creator – well, we just couldn’t help ourselves. But all the time I was writing her story, I couldn’t help self-censoring. Was Debbie-Marie Tunstall being too bad in this particular chapter? Would she come across sympathetically enough to the reader? Of course, it wasn’t Debbie-Marie’s reputation with readers I was worried about at all. It was my own. And that, I realized, was doing Debbie-Marie a disservice.

The first draft was shelved. I started on a second. It was weak, because Debbie was weaker, and therefore my writing was too. I just didn’t have the same belief in the world I was trying to build. I needed Debbie to remain her deliciously flawed self. I started a third draft – this time, my mind in a slightly happier place. I had adapted to being a debut author, having my book out in the world and feeling ‘exposed’ (yes, I had many recurring dreams about being naked in public during this time). My skin was thickening up. I told myself, ‘Remember who you were before you got the agent and the publishing deal. You were writing in obscurity and had the freedom to tell your characters’ stories honestly. You owe it to Debbie-Marie Tunstall, and all the other characters in Tell Tale, to do the same – warts and all. And if that means not being a “good” girl – which, at 57, you’re frankly wise and confident enough to deal with – well, so be it.’

Because being ‘authentic’ (I’ve been told by my young-adult twins that this is a buzzword in social-media land) is a moral victory in itself, and means I’m being ‘good’ after all.

And now that Debbie-Marie Tunstall is out in the world – well, it turns out that readers like her very much indeed.

Which, in spite of the above musings, I’m VERY relieved to hear.

 

Tell Tale by Claire Parkin (Pan Macmillan) Out now

How do you catch a serial killer when no-one believes you’re telling the truth? Wales, 1984. Llanfair's most notorious busybody, Debbie-Marie Tunstall, has really gone and done it this time. Her snooping and merciless announcements of observations written in her Kajagoogoo notebook have gotten her into so much trouble that even her mum can't defend her. She has no choice but to run away. And then finds herself the sole witness to a murder. From a decades-old tragedy to the immediate danger of a potential serial killer on the loose, Debbie takes it upon herself to piece together the mysteries. But even if she uncovers the truth, will anyone believe the village’s biggest tell-tale? Because in Llanfair, secrets are buried just beneath the surface, and what Debbie has inadvertently stumbled upon could unravel the very fabric of her community .

You can find Clare Parkin on Instagram @Clairepauthor. 

 

 

 

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026 Announced

Fan favourite Elly Griffiths' The Frozen People wins

THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2026

With US legend David Baldacci honoured for outstanding contribution to crime fiction

Festival Dates: 23 – 26 July 2026

www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com

#TheakstonsAwards #TheakstonsCrime

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths has been announced as the winner of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026, the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime fiction award, presented by Harrogate International Festivals at a special ceremony compèred by writer and broadcaster, Steph McGovern, on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

The Frozen People is the first book in a new series with a time-travelling spin, as an unsolved mystery takes cold cases investigator Ali Dawson back to the frozen Victorian London of January 1850 to explore a series of killings that have twenty-first century consequences for politicians and Ali's own family. The judges described The Frozen People as 'bold,' 'superbly plotted' and 'highly original'.

Crime fiction phenomenon Elly Griffiths, from Sussex, has been shortlisted for the Award eight times and was Highly Commended in 2023 for The Locked Room. She received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award in 2025. Griffiths is the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries; the Brighton Mysteries and the Detective Harbinder Kaur series. Her intricately plotted novels told with wry humour and featuring engaging characters have sold over 5 million copies worldwide, winning her fans across the globe. 

Elly Griffiths receives a £3,000 prize, as well as an engraved beer cask handcrafted by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakston’s Brewery.

On winning the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, Elly Griffiths said:

‘I’m so excited and just so grateful to everybody. I’ve been honoured to be shortlisted eight times but to win is just incredible. A bigger twist than I’ve ever dreamed up in my books.’

The Frozen People was selected by a judging panel made up of journalists, broadcasters and representatives from the Award’s sponsors, with the public vote counting as the eighth judge. This incredibly strong shortlist also included The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani, The Death of Us by Abigail Dean, Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, Clown Town by Mick Herron and Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan.

The McDermid Debut Award, named in recognition of world-famous crime writer Val McDermid, was won by Frances Crawford for A Bad, Bad Place, it was also announced. 

A gritty and atmospheric thriller set in 1970s Glasgow, A Bad, Bad Place centres around 12-year-old Janey Devine who discovers the body of a murdered woman - the daughter of a local gangster – while walking her dog on a disused railway track and becomes irrevocably tangled up in the police investigation. Scottish writer Frances Crawford graduated from Glasgow University aged sixty, before becoming a writer. She receives a £600 cash prize and an engraved beer casket. The award was presented by Chair of Judges, Val McDermid, and Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston.

Playwright Mel Pennant was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ for A Murder for Miss Hortense, a mystery novel featuring a formidable, retired nurse turned amateur detective, whose sharp eyes and sharper wit uncover truths buried deep within her quiet Birmingham suburban community.

Val McDermid, Chair of Judges, said:

“The 2026 shortlist for the McDermid Debut Award was exceptional, and the judges struggled to say goodbye to any of the contenders. But we couldn’t resist Frances Crawford’s ‘A Bad Bad Place’, a moving and engaging thriller set in Glasgow’s Possilpark in the 1970s. It’s an engrossing read, and a remarkable debut from a first-time author in her 60s. The judges also wanted to give a Highly Commended nod to ‘A Murder for Miss Hortense’ by Mel Pennant.  Miss Hortense is a stalwart of her Jamaican community who refuses to accept the obvious solution when her nemesis is murdered, and Mel Pennant takes us deep into her world with wit, intelligence and irresistible storytelling.”

On winning the McDermid Debut Award, Frances Crawford said:

‘I am incredibly proud to have been on such a diverse and inclusive shortlist. Every one of the writers could have won. And the fact that it’s named after Val McDermid makes me extra proud to have won the Award.’

Globally bestselling US novelist, David Baldacci, received the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition for his exceptional contribution to the crime thriller genre, honouring a remarkable career that has captivated millions of readers worldwide and helped shape modern suspense fiction.

Former trial lawyer David Baldacci is a renowned global no.1 bestselling thriller writer, with over 150 million books sold worldwide. His first book, Absolute Power, became an instant international hit, with the movie starring Clint Eastwood a major box office success. He has since written more than fifty novels featuring a variety of characters including Walter Nash, Travis Devine, Amos Decker and Aloysius Archer. His most recent novel is Hope Rises, the sequel to Nash Falls, featuring anti-hero Walter Nash who is out for revenge against the ruthless FBI leader responsible for his daughter’s death.

David Baldacci said:

“Having cut my youthful teeth on British crime fiction, this award has special significance for me. Having read and loved The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, I recall hoping at the time that this Conan Doyle person had written more stories. A lot more. To join a group of some of the finest writers of any genre is humbling but also immensely thrilling. And it’s also a reminder that we need to continue our collective mentorship and inspiration of new voices in our writing community. Indeed, we need storytellers from across the human spectrum perhaps now more than ever, for reasons that are all too apparent for anyone who has lifted a pen or turned a page. Thank you again for such an honour."

Baldacci is the latest in a line of acclaimed authors to have received the coveted award, with previous winners including Sir Ian Rankin, Lynda La Plante, James Patterson, John Grisham, Lee Child, Val McDermid, P.D. James, Michael Connelly, Martina Cole and last year’s recipient, Elly Griffiths.

2026 AWARD WINNERS:

WINNER of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026: The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Books) 

WINNER of the McDermid Debut Award: A Bad, Bad Place by Frances Crawford (Transworld, Penguin Random House)  

HIGHLY COMMENDED for the McDermid Debut Award: A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant (Baskerville, John Murray)  

Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award: David Baldacci (Pan Macmillan)

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

“Congratulations to all of our brilliant winners. This was another outstanding year for crime fiction, and we judges faced a difficult task selecting winners from phenomenal shortlists, which truly showcased the depth, breadth and originality of the genre. Our Novel of the Year winner, ‘The Frozen People’ by Elly Griffiths, an enthralling and endlessly entertaining high-stakes mystery by one of our very best storytellers, had me gripped right from the start. We are delighted that global crime fiction icon, David Baldacci has been awarded the Theakston Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of his stellar writing career, and we’re honoured that he has travelled to Harrogate to receive the award in person and take part in the Festival.”

The award winners were revealed at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, during the opening ceremony for the world’s largest celebration of crime writing, Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (23-26 July), which this year features a stellar line up of bestselling authors including Ardal O’Hanlon, Andi Osho, Denise Mina, Adam Kay, Abir Mukherjee, Elly Griffiths, Anthony Horowitz, Holly Jackson, Jane Harper, Nadine Matheson, Alice Feeney, Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn.

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2026 is presented by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones, and is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026.  The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

Extract from The Hotel Manager's Guide to Murder

  ‘Who is this guy? Is he staying here?’

          Torfi had dealt with more than a few dead guests in his years of working in hotels. But this one hadn’t tumbled down a flight of stairs at the end of a raucous company annual party or quietly failed to wake up. This person looked too young to be one of the Bristol Hotel’s usual cohort of guests, a slim youth with dark hair that spread across the pillow, while his blue eyes were wide open and staring, and his clothes were scattered around the room.

          Everything about this was wrong. There was a proper procedure for this, and Sigríður definitely wasn’t following it. As well as that, dead guests tended to be found by the chambermaids, not by senior staff during the night, letting themselves into rooms with a swipe of a master pass key.

‘No,’ Sigríður said. ‘He’s not a guest.’

‘All right. We need to get an ambulance here right away. Isn’t Ásbjörn here?’

  Sigríður shook her head.

  ‘No. And, yes.’

  ‘Who’s the duty manager? They should be dealing with this. And there should be paramedics here by now.’

  Sigríður looked at him almost pityingly. 

  ‘This is down to us.’

  Torfi’s confusion was making him dizzy.

  ‘Who’s the duty manager tonight?’ he asked again, as if this wasn’t happening.

  'That’s Ásbjörn, but he’s busy right now.’ Sigríður scowled and looked him up and down, as if measuring him for a coffin. ‘He’ll be here in a few minutes.’

  ‘He has something more important than this to deal with? And if this person isn’t a guest, whose room is this?’

  Sigríður shook her head, shrugged and shivered. Her voice had a brittle quality to it when she replied. 

  ‘Torfi. This is Alberto’s room. Was Alberto’s room. Understand? It’s up to us, you and me, right now, to make this go away. Understand?’

  ‘Fuck… I…’ Torfi stuttered. ‘I don’t think I can…’

  This time Sigríður’s eyes glinted as she fixed him with a piercing gaze.

  ‘Listen. You’re in too deep already to back out of anything. So stop acting like a frightened schoolgirl and go fetch a laundry basket. One of the big ones on wheels​’

  Between them, he and Sigríður dressed the dead man, collecting his clothes from the bedroom floor before Ásbjörn arrived, his face flushed and serious. They bundled the corpse into the basket. Sigríður deftly stripped the bed and stuffed the soiled sheets on top of the body.

  The three of them accompanied the young man on his undignified journey to the basement, leaving him just inside the big delivery doors. 

  Sigríður issued terse instructions. 

  ‘Get the van from the front,’ she said in a hoarse whisper. ‘Take it round here. You know what to do. Dump our friend somewhere and come straight back here.’

  ‘Where do I go? You want me to go alone?’

  ‘Anywhere he won’t be found for a day or two, or longer,’ Sigríður told him. 

  ‘Hvalfjörður, out in Hvassahraun somewhere. Up to you. Just be discreet and don’t get stopped by the police.’ 

The Hotel Manager's Guide to Murder by Erlendur Arason (Blekverk) trans Quentin Bates Out Now

The smarter a place looks, the darker the secrets it hides… Guests at one of Reykjavík’s smartest hotels never know what happens behind the scenes –including what brings a group of the city’s homeless to the Bristol Hotel every winter night while the rest of the world sleeps. When overworked supervisor Torfi finds himself given an unexpected promotion that comes with a respectable pay rise, he takes it as a lucky break – until he’s told to make a murder victim disappear, and that he doesn’t have any choice. That’s when his life rapidly gets a lot more complicated. What isn’t he being told? Torfi doesn’t know, but when police officers Haukur and Dagný start asking awkward questions, he needs to find answers – even though he knows only half of the story. Longing desperately to go back to his old, boring life, Torfi finds himself desperately out of his depth as his family are threatened and his problems spiral far out of his control.

Guilty Secrets with Martin Edwards

 Martin Edwards is an award-wining novelist and short-story writer. He is also a well-known editor of numerous anthologies. He is a former Chair of the Crime Writers Association and current President of the Detection Club. Aside for awards for his books, in 2011 he was awarded the CWA Red Herring Award in recognition of his services to the Association. In 2018 he was awarded the Dagger in the Library and in 2020 he was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger. The most recent anthology he edited is the CWA Guilty Secrets.

Ayo:- Congratulations on editing Guilty Secrets which is of course the latest CWA Anthology. How many anthologies have you now edited and does it get any easier?

Martin:- I just counted, and this one is my sixtieth anthology. As with most things, experience does help, in that you get a better sense of which stories work together to form an appealing mix, and you feel a bit more confident about your selection judgments. 

Ayo:- Guilty Secrets is about folklore and mythology with the emphasis on the Supernatural, science and speculative fiction along with the mysterious. How did you decide on the theme?

Martin:- I like to devise anthologies of stories with fairly broad themes that can be interpreted creatively and perhaps in unexpected ways. My general approach as an editor is to have a fairly light touch on the tiller, so that the contributors have the freedom to exercise the full range of their talents. I chose this particular theme because it seemed to me to offer lots of interesting possibilities.

Ayo:- You clearly like writing short stories as you have written so many, what made you want to write short stories?

Martin:- I love reading short stories and I love writing them. When I was about thirteen, I was given a CWA anthology as a Christmas present, and it fascinated me. At that point I’d never heard of the CWA, but I already knew I wanted to be a crime writer and I felt I’d love to join an organisation full of people who did what I yearned to do. Of course, I never dreamed that I’d become Chair of the CWA, or win CWA awards, or edit the CWA anthology for thirty years. So I’ve been very lucky. And a constant element during all that time has been my enthusiasm for writing short stories, partly inspired by that first CWA book. And there’s no doubt that some ideas work better in short stories than in novels. Also, you can take risks in a short story, and experiment in ways that would be difficult, perhaps impossible, in a full-length novel. Which I find very exciting. 

Ayo:- Can you remember the very first short story that you wrote and your feelings about it once you had written it

Martin:- Definitely. It was a story called ‘Are You Sitting Comfortably?’ and it won first prize in a Southport Writers’ Seminar competition. It felt absolutely thrilling, an unforgettable joy! The judge was the fiction editor of Bella and she published the story in the magazine. At that time, I hadn’t had a novel accepted, so it really was a breakthrough moment. What’s more, Robert Barnard was in the audience, and he recommended the story to the editor of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine¸ with which I’ve had a long and happy association. This was a wonderful start to my career as a published author of crime fiction and despite my extreme inexperience at the time, I still feel that it was a good story and ‘different’ from the norm. And I still like to try to be inventive and not follow a predictable path with my writing. This approach possibly has its downsides in commercial terms, but I believe it has kept me fresh as a writer, and perhaps it is why I can honestly say that I take at least as much pleasure in my writing now as I have ever done.

Ayo:- Is there a theme you would like to put together for an anthology.

Martin:- For years, I’ve had the idea of editing a book of mysteries inspired by the music of Burt Bacharach, who for me is pop music’s equivalent to Agatha Christie (i.e. ground-breaking and subtly sophisticated, under-estimated by some, but loved by many more). And I’m pleased to say that What the World Needs Now will soon be published, and that proceeds will go to autism charities in the UK and US. A worthy project, in my opinion, and it’s a book I’m extremely proud of, with great stories by the likes of Mark Billingham, Charles Todd, Sarah Hilary, and Ragnar Jonasson. And a foreword by Rupert Holmes, ace crime writer and composer of ‘The Pina Colada Song’!

Ayo:- Since short stories are compact, every element must work hard to build a specific world do you find this difficult?

Martin:- Not really. Writing short stories seems to come fairly naturally to me. I love writing novels as well, but I find them harder work, simply because the scale is much larger.

Ayo:- Short stories force you to omit more than you include. Have you ever written a short story that you would like to expand to a novel.

Martin:- Not exactly, but when I created the character of Rachel Savernake, and had the idea of writing a very different kind of novel about her, I was conscious that she was a very unorthodox individual, not really like anyone else in the crime genre. So I wrote a short story about her, just to see how much I enjoyed writing the character. I never tried to get that story published, but I proved to my own satisfaction, at least, that she was a strong character who would sustain an intricate novel. This gave me the confidence to write Gallows Court and the next five (so far) Rachel Savernake novels. And I still love writing about her. 

Ayo:- Short stories often end on a lingering note rather than a neat resolution. How do you know when a story is truly finished? 

Martin:- I sometimes wonder if any good piece of writing is ever truly finished. You can always try to improve what you’ve written (or what someone else has written - I did have the temerity to write a new ending for Anthony Berkeley’s brilliant classic mystery The Poisoned Chocolates Case!). I am very, very committed to revision and making my work better. But realistically, you have to draw a line somewhere, with both novels and short stories, or you’d never publish anything. I must admit, though, that five minutes after I submit something to a publisher, I have an idea about how I could have improved what I’ve written! And it’s this quest for constant improvement that helps to keep me energised and enthused as a writer.

Ayo:- With all the short stories that you have written, do you have a favourite?

Martin:- There are quite a lot that I’m very fond of, including some that never attracted a great deal of attention, perhaps because the books they appeared in didn’t get much publicity. The stories that have won or been shortlisted for prizes, such as ‘Murder and its Motives’, ‘Acknowledgements’ and ‘The Bookbinder’s Apprentice’, are all stories I’m proud of, but there are others, such as ‘Squeaky’, ‘InDex’, ‘The Woman Who Never Was’, and perhaps especially ‘The Outsider’, that I think are just as good. And I’m pleased with my two recent reverse chronology stories, ‘Don’t Look Back’ and ‘The Scares’; the former just got a great review in Publisher’s Weekly and the latter is in Guilty Secrets.

Ayo:- Writing short stories is incredibly difficult would you rather write a short story or a novel?

Martin:- I love writing both, but of course short stories take less time, which is a point in their favour! I enjoy subverting readers’ expectations, and a good short story can do that – so can a good novel, of course. I suppose writing a novel that works really well is especially satisfying – in my case, books like The Crooked Shore or Hemlock Bay would, at least in my opinion, fall into that category, as would the novel I’m doing edits on right now, Fever Island.

Ayo:- What would you say to someone who is considering writing a short story but is hesitant.

Martin:- As with so many things in life, I think that one should ask oneself what one really wants to do, and be clear about that, before wondering how to go about doing it. If you really want to write a short story, then I’d say: definitely go for it, and the chances are, you’ll find the experience very rewarding, in artistic if not necessarily financial terms. If you’re not sure you really want to do it, perhaps find something else you feel really enthused about instead. For me, commitment is a very important thing for a writer. There’s nothing whatsoever wrong with being committed to writing a story that sells, either. But I think being committed to writing a story that has that precious element of difference and is not like lots of other stories is even more appealing.

Ayo:- When can we expect to read your next short story.

Martin:- What the World Needs Now is due out soon, and it includes my story ‘Who Gets The Guy?’, inspired by a rather lovely if little-known song by the great Dionne Warwick. It’s a tale about the music business in the 60s and I really enjoyed writing it.

Guilty Secrets: From the Crime Writers Association - Beyond and Within (Flame Tree Publishing) Out Now

Editor Martin Edwards has commissioned an entertaining range of stories from the membership of the world's most celebrated group of crime and mystery writers, the Crime Writers' Association (CWA). Founded over 70 years ago by John Creasey, the Crime Writers’ Association supports, promotes and celebrates this most durable, adaptable and successful of genres, while supporting writers of every kind of crime fiction and non-fiction. In this new collection, enjoy 23 original, thrilling mysteries packed full of enthralling characters, drama and intrigue, by the following authors: Martine Bailey, Christine Poulson, Dea Parkin, Martin Edwards, C.J. Carver, Kate Ellis, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Phil Lecomber, L.C. Tyler, Glenda Young, Antony Johnston, Simon Dinsdale, Renita D’Silva, Paul Gitsham, Yvonne Eve Walus, Brian Price, Pam Plumb, Nick Guthrie, Margaret Holbrook, Andy Sykes, Cath Staincliffe, Roland Moore and Rachel Amphlett.

The Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative.

In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Ajay Chowdhury

 Name: Ajay Chowdhury

Job:- Author, Businessman and Theatre Director

Website:- https://ajaychowdhury.com

Instagram:- ajaychowdhury.author

Facebook:- ajay.chowdhury

X:- @ajaychow

Introduction:- Ajay Chowdhury is the author of six novels in the Detective Kamil Rahman his novels. He was the inaugural winner of the Harvill-Secker Bloody Scotland crime fiction award. His debut novel The Waiter and his third book The Detective were Sunday Times crime books of the month. His fourth book The Spy was longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Novel. His fifth novel The Invitation is a free interactive novel. His sixth novel The Shadow was shortlisted for the Eastern Eye Crime Novel of the Year 2026. 

His most recent book is his first standalone novel entitled Eden Falls.

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

I’ve just started writing the eighth Kamil Rahman novel, which still feels slightly surreal. At the moment, all I know is that it’s about the pernicious influence of social media and is set in London’s East End. One of the joys of writing crime fiction is discovering the story as I go, so I’m excited to see where it leads. I’m also reading Len Deighton’s Billion-Dollar Brain, which is absolutely delightful.

Why do you think anti-heroes are so interesting to readers

The best anti-heroes are intelligent, charismatic and often strangely relatable, despite doing terrible things. They let us explore our darkest impulses from the safety of an armchair, which is both unsettling and oddly cathartic.

Which two anti-heroes or enemies would you invite to dinner and why?

Tom Ripley and Hannibal Lecter. I’d cook them a nice Indian meal (no liver), pour the Chianti and then sit back to watch the psychological sparring.

How do you relax?

Listening to music and watching television, mostly. At the moment I’m enjoying the Rolling Stones’ new album and Your Friends & Neighbours, which is enormous fun.

Which anti hero would you like to be on your side in a difficult situation.

Dexter Morgan. Assuming the person causing the difficult situation deserves it, his code should ensure everything works out rather well.

If you were to write a book involving an anti-hero where would you set it and why?

I already have. The Patriot, the next Kamil Rahman novel, is published in November. Its antagonist is a charming Sikh historian plotting an audacious theft of the Koh-i-Noor diamond from the Tower of London to return it to India. Much of the novel is told from his point of view, and writing someone so intelligent, persuasive with a powerful, if misguided, moral compass was a joy.

How would you describe your latest published book?

Eden Falls is my first standalone thriller and is a bit like Thelma & Louise at 100 miles an hour. A quantum physicist disappears, forcing his wife and his ex-girlfriend (who can barely stand each other) to race across America in search of him. Standing in their way is a tech trillionaire trying to weaponise AI, setting up a battle of immense power against determination, ingenuity and courage. 

With Bad Apples: crime fiction’s enemies and anti-heroes theme at St Hilda's this year, who are you three favourite anti-heroes

Leaving aside the ones I’ve already mentioned, and broadening the definition to include master criminals, I’d choose Professor Moriarty, A. J. Raffles and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. They each embody a different kind of villainy: intellect, charm and sheer audacity.

Which 3 films or television series featuring anti-heroes would you rewatch and why.

If HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey counts, then definitely HAL. It’s one of my favourite films, and HAL remains one of cinema’s greatest antagonists. I’d also happily rewatch The Sopranos and Breaking Bad any time. Tony Soprano and Walter White are two of the finest anti-heroes ever created.

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

This will be my first visit, so I’m really looking forward to it. I love that the festival favours talks over panels, it’s equal parts terrifying and invigorating. And I suspect I may have a slightly different take on “Bad Apples” from some of the other speakers…

Eden Falls by Ajay Chowdhury (Vintage Publisher)

After the murder of his best friend, newlyweds Adam and Aisha cut their honeymoon short. But just as they are about to board a flight home from Delhi, Adam disappears at the airport – seemingly kidnapped – leaving Aisha stranded without her passport, her phone, or answers. When the FBI and India’s intelligence agency begin interrogating her, it becomes chillingly clear they know far more about Adam than she ever did. Her only clue is his final, haunting message: I’m sorry. Thousands of miles away, Sara Wolf, a scientist stuck on a dead-end project at Princeton, receives a message she never expected from her former lover. It contains two words: Help her. Bound together by suspicion, rivalry, and a man they both love, Aisha and Sara are forced into an uneasy alliance. Decoding Adam’s clues, they follow a trail that leads them across the United States - into a shadow world of weaponised AI, tech billionaires, and a secret no one is meant to find. Eden Falls is a gripping, high-stakes thriller that spans continents and asks how far we will go - and who we will trust - when the truth can destroy everything.

Information on how to buy online tickets can be found here. The programme can be found here.