Another crime writer who appeared at Kirkcudbright Book Week 2025 was shortlisted for a major award.
Hot on the tail of news that D V Bishop had been shortlisted for two Crime Writers’ Association Daggers, just missing out on winning, came the inclusion on the shortlist for the Harrogate International Festivals Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025 of Chris Brookmyre.
Chris, a past winner of the award, was shortlisted for his book The Cracked Mirror. The result were revealed on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on Thursday July 17. Unfortunately, Chris missed out on the top prize.
The six books shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025, now in its twenty-first year, are:
The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown Book Group, Abacus)
The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)
The Last Word by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Books, Quercus Fiction)
Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage; Harvill Secker) – named as the winner
Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (Bonnier Books, Zaffre)
All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Orion, Orion Fiction)
Chris gave a talk at Broughton House during the Kirkcudbright book festival in March 2025 with Marisa Haetzman. They write crime novels together as Ambrose Parry.
Kirkcudbright Book Week 