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Prize-Winning Fiction

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  • Best Crime Fiction

Prize-Winning Crime Fiction

Would Something Different Kill You?

The shelves of every bookshop and newsagent are crammed with crime books.  There is nothing like a bit of murder and mystery to take you away from the drudgery of everyday life.  But those shelves have the same novels by the same few authors, and they have all been published in the last couple of years.

We are all busy reading the same books by the same people, making some authors and publishers a very comfortable livelihood.

What Are You Missing?

I enjoy Ian Rankin or Jo Nesbø as much as the next man, and I have shelves full of John Grisham and  Patricia Cornwell novels… and so does everybody else.  It is like visiting the Costa del Sol or Florida for your holiday every year.  It is lovely; you and the crowds are bound to have a fabulous time, but what are you missing?

Prize-Winning Crime Fiction

I decided to change my habits, stop picking up the books the publishers are pushing and read the novels the critics raved about instead. I wanted to find out if prize-winning crime fiction is worth reading. What was so special about the Deutscher Krimipreis Kategorie International, and is the Last Laugh Award funny? 

I resolved to read only one book by a prize-winning author and then move on to another writer. I’ve written some notes about each author and then added a couple of alternative recommendations of their other work — just in case the reviewed book doesn’t appeal or because I decided to break my one-book rule (listening to a book tape isn’t really reading, is it?)

Here is the challenge, try reading a book by somebody you haven’t heard of and see if you like it.  You might find your next favourite author. Imagine how superior you will feel when you start spouting to your friends about the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière; you too can be a crime book bore.

Don’t Know Where to Start?

How about one of these? Go on; life is too short to read a bad book…

Prize Winning Crime Fiction
Reviews
Authors
Reading List

Reviews

The Truth Behind the Lie Sara Lövestam

The Truth Behind the Lie

Human Trafficking, Lost Identities and Belonging
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Jorn Lier Horst The Hunting Dogs

The Hunting Dogs

Disquietingly Credible Norwegian Police Procedural
Read More
Dead Souls Ian Rankin

Dead Souls

The Sins of The Parents Curse the Children
Read More
The Darkest Room Johan Theorin

The Darkest Room

A Hauntingly Gothic Scandinavian Crime Drama
Read More
A Dance At The Slaughterhouse Lawrence Block

A Dance at the Slaughterhouse

Banal Brutality, as Black as Noir Can Be
Read More
Rain Gods James Lee Burke

Rain Gods

Elegant Scenery and Graphic Violence
Read More
Briarpatch Ross Thomas

Briarpatch

Crime, Corruption and Politics, Served Extra Dry
Read More
The Godmother by Hannelore Cayre

The Godmother

Ça, C'Est du Bon Shit...
Read More
We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal

We Know You Remember

Tragic Injustice in Small-Town Sweden
Read More
Troubled Blood Robert Galbraith

Troubled Blood

Plenty of Plot, People and Paper
Read More
One Step Behind by Henning Mankell

One Step Behind

A Dour Detective Hunts a Serial Killer
Read More
A Time to Kill by John Grisham

A Time to Kill

Racism and Revenge in Rural Mississippi.
Read More
Three Seconds by Roslund & Hellström

Three Seconds

An action thriller that challenges perceptions of right and wrong.
Read More
We begin at the End by Chris Whitaker

We Begin at the End

A fiery teenager faces down tragedy after tragedy.
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A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine

A Fatal Inversion

Teenage Immaturity, Selfishness, Greed, and Murder
Read More
The False Inspector Dew by Peter Lovesey

The False Inspector Dew

The cleverest ending of any detective novel? Possibly...
Read More
Dead Man's Time by Peter James

Dead Man’s Time

Premium pulp fiction, the perfect airport read.
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Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

Gorky Park

Vodka, propaganda, murder and a glimpse behind the Iron Curtain.
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Other Paths to Glory by Anthony Price

Other Paths to Glory

The past lays bare present-day treachery.
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Dirty War Dominique Sylvain

Dirty War

Frivolous, fanciful, far-fetched and phoney, but fun.
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The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre

The Great Swindle

The winner of France's highest literary honour. A macabre tale of deception.
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Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Dead Lions

Untraceable poison and a sleeper cell of spooks.
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Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas

Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand

Logic, intuition and a murderous octogenarian.  
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The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

The Talented Mr Ripley

Limitless obsession, self-delusion and greed.
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The Second Life of Inspector Canessa by Roberto Perrone

The Second Life of Inspector Canessa

Italy’s answer to James Bond, though a little older.
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Lorraine Connection by Dominique Manotti

Lorraine Connection

A disturbingly authentic tale of corporate corruption.
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Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama

Six Four

Realpolitik in the Japanese police force.
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Killed in the Ratings by William L. DeAndrea

Killed in the Ratings

Witty, smart-talking, 70s mischief, with an ingenious finale.
Read More
The Seeker by S.G. Maclean

The Seeker

Spies, exiles and assassins in Cromwell's London
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Farewell, my Lovely by Raymond Chandler

Farewell, My Lovely

Intoxicating prose and barb-encrusted wisecracks.
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the chalk pit by Elly Griffiths

The Chalk Pit

Character-driven intrigue and subterfuge.
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The Fatherland Files by Volker Kutscher

The Fatherland Files

Historical thriller set at the birth of the Third Reich
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A Time of Predators by Joe Gores

A Time of Predators

A cautionary tale of escalation and revenge.
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The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr

The Hollow Man

Is this the best locked room mystery of all time?
Read More
Metropolis by Philip Kerr

Metropolis

History, politics, sex, violence and spectacular cynicism.
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The Lewis Man by Peter May

The Lewis Man

A Steady Drip of Discordant Information. It Will Taunt Your Thoughts.
Read More
Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh

Thirteen

A read-in-one-sitting thriller, just don’t think about it too hard.
Read More
Trick Baby by Iceberg Slim

Trick Baby

The slickest hustler Chicago has ever seen.
Read More
Uniform Justice by Donna Leon

Uniform Justice

An impeccably bleak depiction of corruption.
Read More
A Morbid Taste For Bones by Ellis Peters

A Morbid Taste for Bones

Medieval grave robbing, all in the name of religion.
Read More
Cops and Robbers Donald E. Westlake

Cops and Robbers

This will keep both you and your nerves guessing.
Read More
Shroud for a Nightingale by P.D. James

Shroud for a Nightingale

I didn't see that coming... Classic British detective fiction
Read More
The Incredulity of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

The Incredulity of Father Brown

Miss Marple meets Scooby-Doo.
Read More
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid

The Distant Echo

Suspects, witnesses or victims? Sometimes it is hard to tell one from another.
Read More
The Face on the cutting-room floor by Cameron McCabe

The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor

A “detective story with a difference” or too clever for its own good?
Read More
Maigret and the Headless Corpse by Georges Simenon

Maigret and the Headless Corpse

Some corpses, headless or not, deserve everything that they get.
Read More
Dark Winter by Andy McNab

Dark Winter

Three letter acronyms make an unbelievable plot disturbingly real.
Read More
Out by Natsuo Kirino

Out

Brutality and poverty in Japan, no cherry blossom in sight.
Read More
You by Zoran Drvenkar

You

Savage, bleak, but elegantly phrased, brutality
Read More
One Two Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie

One Two Buckle My Shoe

Are Your Little Grey Cells a Match for Poirot’s?
Read More
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël Dicker

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair

More hairpin turns than an alpine pass
Read More
Broken by Martina Cole

Broken

More volatile than an episode of EastEnders after a bad acid trip
Read More
The Shadow District by Arnaldur Indriðason

The Shadow District

Rape, murder and seventy years of Icelandic history
Read More
Sideswipe Charles Willeford

Sideswipe

The darkly funny story of a detective enjoying a midlife crisis
Read More
Soft Target Stephen Leather

Soft Target

A high paced thriller that asks surprisingly deep questions
Read More

Authors

James Lee Burke

James Lee Burke

Iceberg Slim

Iceberg Slim

Philip Kerr

Philip Kerr

Peter James

Peter James

Natsuo Kirino

Natsuo Kirino

John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr

Martina Cole

Martina Cole

Chris Whitaker

Chris Whitaker

Fred Vargas

Fred Vargas

Ellis Peters

Ellis Peters

Roberto Perrone

Roberto Perrone

Joe Gores

Joe Gores

John Grisham

John Grisham

S.G. MacLean

S G MacLean

Dominique Sylvain

Dominique Sylvain

Martin Cruz Smith

Martin Cruz Smith

Dominique Manotti

Dominique Manotti

Ross Thomas

Ross Thomas

Peter Lovesey

Peter Lovesey

Johan Theorin

Johan Theorin

Joël Dicker

Joël Dicker

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin

Jørn Lier Horst

Jørn Lier Horst

Georges Simenon

Georges Simenon

Sara Lövestam

Sara Lövestam

Anthony Price

Anthony Price

Mick Herron

Mick Herron

Ruth Rendell

Rith Rendell

J.K. Rowling / Robert Galbraith

Robert Galbraith

Val McDermid

Val McDermid

Charles Willeford

Charles Willeford

Donna Leon

Donna Leon

Zoran Drvenkar

Zoran Drvenkar

Cameron McCabe

Cameron McCabe

Donald E Westlake

Donald E Westlake

P.D. James

P.D. James

Roslund and Hellström

Roslund and Hellström

Peter May

Peter May

Tove Alsterdal

Tove Alsterdal

Volker Kutscher

Volker Kutscher

G.K. Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton

William L DeAndrea

William L. DeAndrea

Pierre Lemaitre

Pierre Lemaitre

Andy McNab

Andy McNab

Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler

Steve Cavanagh

Steve Cavanagh

Hannelore Cayre

Hannelore Cayre

Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block

Elly Griffiths

Elly Griffiths

Arnaldur Indriðason

Arnaldur Indriðason

Stephen Leather

Stephen Leather

Hideo Yokoyama

Hideo Yokoyama

Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell

Patricia Highsmith

Patricia Highsmith

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Reviews

  • The Distant Echo
  • Dark Winter
  • Six Four
  • Trick Baby
  • Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand
  • A Morbid Taste for Bones

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