15 August 2008

ITV3 crime thriller shortlist announced

Via the Bookseller, 12 novels have been shortlisted for the three fiction prizes at ITV3’s inaugural Crime Thriller Awards. The winners will be announced on 3 October in a ceremony which will be broadcast on ITV3 on 6 October. The 12 novels fall into three categories: breakthrough author award, international author of the year and author of the year. I guess from the shortlist that "international" means "not British". From the shortlist, I'd choose The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but if they'd shortlisted Karin Slaughter's excellent standalone Triptych instead of the far weaker series novel Skin Privilege, I'd have been stuck. The "author of the year" is a hard one: I haven't read Exit Music or The Ghost yet (though I intend to). Lee Child and Peter James have both written books that I've enjoyed more than these two examples. I haven't read any of the "breakthough" shortlist, though I've read Stuart MacBride's first book in the series of which Broken Skin is the fourth. Based on the blogs I read, Michael Robotham must be the favourite. But I don't know what defines "breakthrough" -- Heartsick is a first crime novel (previously the author wrote the Nancy Drew parody Confessions of a Teen Sleuth).

The shortlists in full:

Breakthrough Author Award    
Chelsea Cain Heartsick (Pan)
Stuart MacBride Broken Skin (Harper)
Michael Robotham Shatter (Sphere)
Anne Zouroudi The Messenger of Athens (Bloomsbury)

International Author of the Year    
Jeffery Deaver The Sleeping Doll (Hodder & Stoughton)
Stieg Larsson The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Quercus)
Karin Slaughter Skin Privilege (Arrow)
PJ Tracy Snow Blind (Penguin)

Author of the Year    
Lee Child Bad Luck and Trouble (Bantam)
Robert Harris The Ghost (Hutchinson)
Peter James Not Dead Enough (Pan)
Ian Rankin Exit Music  (Orion)

15 Aug 2008 15:00:16 | Books

1 Comment

Kerrie Smith

Not sure why Michael Robotham is on the list he is on, but sure hope he wins. He is my pick for Australia's Ned Kelly Awards too.

Posted by: Kerrie Smith | 17 August 2008 at 06:41

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