Mystery Melange

During the recent Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival held in Harrogate, England, the crime fiction website, Dead Good, announced the recipients of its 2022 Dead Good Reader Awards. The Something in the Air Award for Most Atmospheric Novel went to I Know What You’ve Done by Dorothy Koomson; The Love is Blind Award for Most Twisted Couple was won by The Couple at No 9 by Claire Douglas; The Cold as Ice Award for Most Chilling Read is The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse; The Race-Against-Time Award for Best Action Thriller went to Hostage by Clare Mackintosh; The New Kid on the Block Award for Best New Series was presented to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series; and The Dead Good Recommends Awards for Most Recommended Book was The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths.

Goldboro Books have announced the shortlist for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award. Administered by independent bookshop Goldsboro Books, the Glass Bell Award rewards storytelling in all genres, and is awarded annually to "a compelling novel with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised." The shortlisted novels include: We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan; Sistersong by Lucy Holland; Ariadne by Jennifer Saint; Mrs March by Virginia Feito; The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper; and Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson. The winner, who will receive both £2,000, and a beautiful, handmade glass bell, will be announced on Thursday, September 8.

The shortlist for the Lindisfarne Prize for Crime Fiction, which celebrates outstanding crime and thriller storytelling of those who are from or whose work celebrates the North East of England, was announced this week. The honored titles include Can't Hide by Clare Sewell; Sharp Focus by Duncan Robb; Salted Earth by Katherine Graham; The Children of Gaia by Jacqueline Auld; and The Taste of Iron by Ramona Slusarczyk. The winner will be announced on August 31 and will receive a cash prize to support the completion of their work, along with membership of the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

Muslim women have long been sidelined in publishing – but now a new wave of writers from Saima Mir to Ambreen and Uzma Hameed are breaking through.

Some twenty-plus authors, from Megan Abbott and Lee Child to Karin Slaughter, were approached by The Guardian to reveal what makes a great crime novel and to name some of their favorites.

Writing for Book Riot, Katie Moench compiled "An Introduction to Irish Crime Fiction."

This week's crime poem at the 5-2 weekly is "Maze" by Matthew Sorento.

In the Q&A roundup, Amina Akhtar, the author of Fan Club, and Erin Mayer, the author of Kismet, interviewed each other on Crime Reads to talk about their experiences, and why, exactly, fashion inspires so much rage; The Guardian snagged Frankie Boyle and Denise Mina to talk about writing crime fiction, what makes a great crime novel, celebrity authors getting in on the act, and their shared affection for comics; and GM Today chatted with Sara Paretsky, the pioneering Chicago crime author, who has recently turned 75 but has no plans to stop writing.