A shortlist has been released for this year's Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, which celebrates "the very best in crime fiction" and is open to U.K. and Irish crime authors. The award is produced and curated by arts charity Harrogate International Festivals and is presented in partnership with T&R Theakston, WH Smith and the Express. This year's shortlisted titles are:
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Worst Case Scenario by Helen Fitzgerald
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Joe Country by Mick Herron
The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee
The shortlist will be promoted in an online campaign from WH Smith, digital promotional materials will be made available for independent bookstores, and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival's online community--You're Booked--features interviews and interactive content. This forms part of the Harrogate International Festival virtual season of events, HIF at Home.
A public vote is now open. The winner, set to be revealed July 23 in a virtual awards ceremony, receives £3,000 (about $3,800) and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain's last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.