The shortlist for the 2024 McIlvanney Prize at Stirling’s crime writing festival has been revealed.
The prestigious award, named in honour of the iconic late writer William McIlvanney, will be presented on 13 September – the opening night of Bloody Scotland.
The shortlist includes Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre and Abir Mukherjee. D V Bishop and Kim Sherwood are also finalists for the accolade, which is -awarded to the best Scottish crime book of the year.
BBC Scotland presenter Bryan Burnett, category manager for Waterstones Angie Crawford and journalist and editor Arusa Qureshi were this year’s judges.
D V Bishop got his first big break at Bloody Scotland when he won Pitch Perfect with his first book in the Cesare Aldo series. A Divine Fury is the fourth. Originally from New Zealand, he teaches creative writing at Edinburgh Napier University.
The judges said: ‘A pungent and complex slice of intrigue set 16th century Florence. A brilliant historical novel which feels strangely contemporary and a worthy addition to this series.’
Chris Brookmyre, whose 30th crime novel will be published next year, won the inaugural McIlvanney Prize with Black Widow in 2016. The Cracked Mirror is described as a cross-genre hybrid of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly.
Chris Brookmyre. Credit: Bob McDevitt Photography
The judges said: ‘A truly original idea, executed with skill and imagination. The combination of Perthshire and Los Angeles shouldn’t work but it does!’
Val McDermid is one of the most revered crime writers in Scotland today. Among her many awards are the CWA Diamond Dagger recognising lifetime achievement and the Theakston’s Old Peculier award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Writing. Past Lying is the new novel featuring Karen Pirie, the first of which is now a major TV series.
The judges said: ‘A welcome return for the much-loved Karen Pirie in this satisfying novel which contains a few in-jokes for lovers of Scottish crime writing.’
Abir Mukherjee was brought up in Hamilton near Glasgow and now lives in Surrey. He has previously won the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel for his Wyndham and Banerjee series set in 1920s India. Hunted is a timely thriller set in the run up to the US election.
Abir Mukherjee
The judges said: ‘An excellent, topical thriller with verve, pace and style aplenty and something completely different for this author. A kind of British Baldacci.’
Kim Sherwood is a novelist and lecturer in creative writing at the University of Edinburgh. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Described as a ‘Fleming for the 21st Century’ – A Spy Like Me is the second in a trilogy of Double O novels expanding the James Bond universe.
The judges said: ‘An exciting addition to the Bond canon which brings a fresh new set of characters brilliantly to life.’
Read more of The Good Books here.
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