Need a hand choosing your next book? If you love a good crime novel, this year’s winners of CrimeFest are the best short-list to make it easy on yourself.
Held annually, CrimeFest is one of the best festivals in the world for those that know a thing or two about a good crime novel. Since its inaugural beginning in 2008, CrimeFest has been at the forefront of bringing debut and seasoned crime authors to the attention of the world.
A stellar lineup of crime novelists was in the running for this year’s awards, including Abigail Dean for best debut with Girl A, and best eBook nominee Australian author, Liane Moriarty with Apples Never Fall. Making the announcement from the CrimeFest convention in Bristol on Saturday, the winners received a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award, and a $1,000 (UK) cash prize.
David Heska took home the Best Debut Crime Novel, for Winter Counts. A gripping story about a long-ignored part of American life, that follows vigilante Virgil Wounded Horse, a local enforcer on the Rosebud Native American Reservation in South Dakota. When the American legal system and the tribal council deny him justice, Virgil takes matters into his own hands. Things become personal when heroin makes its way onto the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew. Enlisting the help of his ex-girlfriend, he sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop. As Virgil’s journey leads him to the Cartel, Virgil finds he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity – but being a Native American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.
Richard Osman’s novel The Man Who Died Twice, and reader Lesley Manville, known best for her roles in Mike Leigh’s films, Grown-Ups, High Hopes, and Secrets & Lies, took home this year’s Audible Sounds of Crime award. Osman’s second novel in the number one bestselling Thursday Murder Club series follows a new mystery. Elizabeth receives a letter from an old colleague, a man with whom she has a long history who is being hunted and desperately needs her help. She enlists the help of her fellow retiree village residents, to solve the case of stolen diamonds, all whilst avoiding runs-ins with a violent mobster, and a body count that keeps piling up as they go. The Man Who Died Twice makes for a very gripping and captivating read.
Mick Herron won the Last Laugh Award for his award-winning, seventh instalment of the Slough House series. Herron’s much-loved band of disgraced spies and their notorious leader Jackson Lamb, take on a new populist movement overwhelming London’s streets. Lamb, and his team of failed spies, who are reeling from recent losses, are worried they’ve been pushed further out into the cold, as fatal accidents continue to keep happening. The wise move would be to find a safe place and wait for the troubles to pass. But Lamb and his crew aren’t famed for making wise decisions.
You can find the full list of award winners for this year’s CrimeFest here
In the mood for more crime? Check out 31 of the best crime novels of all time
Really honored to win the Debut Crime Novel Award here in the UK at CrimeFest! Very grateful to the wonderful UK crime fiction community, who have been so welcoming to this American. Many thanks to @simonschusterUK and @eccobooks, and congrats to all the nominees.#CrimeFestAwards https://t.co/rzZuYE9sjC
— David Heska Wanbli Weiden (writing! semi-hiatus) (@WanbliWeiden) May 15, 2022
