NGAIO MARSH AWARD WINNERS 2021

Tonight the winners of New Zealand's four 2021 Ngaio Marsh Awards for crime, mystery, and thriller fiction (and crime non-fiction) in conjunction with WORD Christchurch Festival were announced. I was thrilled to participaae in the awards as a judge for the Best First Novel. Thanks, Craig Sisterson for all you do for mysteries, especially in New Zealand. Congratulations to all!

Best Novel: Sprigs, by Brannavan Gnanalingam (Lawrence & Gibson)

Also nominated: The Murder Club, by Nikki Crutchley (Oak House Press); The Tally Stick, by Carl Nixon (Penguin); The Secrets of Strangers, by Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin); and Tell Me Lies, by J.P. Pomare (Hachette)

Best First Novel: For Reasons of Their Own, by Chris Stuart
(Original Sin Press)

Also nominated: The Girl in the Mirror, by Rose Carlyle (Allen & Unwin); The Beautiful Dead, by Kim Hunt (Bloodhound); Where the Truth Lies, by Karina Kilmore (Simon & Schuster); and While the Fantail Lives, by Alan Titchall (Devon Media)

Best Non-fiction: Black Hands: Inside the Bain Family Murders,
by Martin van Beynen (Penguin)

Also nominated: Weed: A New Zealand Story, by James Borrowdale (Penguin); Rock College: An Unofficial History of Mount Eden Prison, by Mark Derby (Massey University Press); From Dog Collar to Dog Collar, by Bruce Howat (Rangitawa); and Gangland: New Zealand’s Underworld of Organised Crime, by Jared Savage (HarperCollins)

Best YA/Kids Book: Katipo Joe, by Brian Falkner (Scholastic)

Also nominated: Red Edge, by Des Hunt (Scholastic); A Trio of Sophies, by Eileen Merriman (Penguin); and Deadhead, by Glenn Wood
(One Tree House)