THE ANTHONY AWARD WINNERS: Bouchercon 2024

Anthony Award Winners: Bouchercon 2024. Nashville. Congratulations to All!

Best Novel: All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

Best First Novel: Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

Best Paperback/Ebook/Audiobook: Hide by Tracy Clark

Best Children's/Young Adult: Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer

Best Critical/Nonfiction: A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

Best Anthology/Collection: Killin’ Time in San Diego, edited by Holly West

Best Short Story: Ticket to Ride by Dru Ann Love & Kristopher Zgorski

SHAMUS AWARD WINNERS 2024: Private Eye Writers of America

The Private Eye Writers of America 2024 Shamus Award Winners were presented on Thursday Night at Bouchercon in Nashville. Congratulations to all!

BEST HARDCOVER P.I. NOVEL
Heart of the Nile by Will Thomas 

BEST ORIGINAL PAPERBACK P.I. NOVEL
Liar’s Dice by Gabriel Valjan 

BEST P.I. SHORT STORY

“Errand for a Neighbor” by Bill Bassman  (January/February 2023, EQMM)

Thanks to Gabriel Valjan for the following Graphic! 

Cartoon of the Day: Novelist

 From Tom Gauld

LABOR DAY MYSTERIES and LABOR UNION CRIME FICTION

Labor Day Weekend! I'm only aware of a few mysteries set during the Labor Day Holiday, and I've updated my list accordingly: 

Sandra Balzo's Running on Empty

Nancy Coco's Forever Fudge

Lee Harris's Labor Day Murder
Meg Macy's Bearly Departed
Sharyn McCrumb's Highland Laddie Gone

Tonya Kappas' Forests, Fishing, & Forgery
Mary Jane Maffini's The Devil's in the Details (Labour Day Weekend-Canada). 

There's also the short story "Labor Day" by R.T. Lawton in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. 

There are a few other "Summertime Mysteries" that take place Labor Day, but not as the main theme.

Labor Unions, on the other hand, are rife with settings and situations for crime fiction. This is an UPDATED Crime Fiction list involving Labor Unions with links to two great articles. Please let me know any books that should be added to this list.

LABOR UNION CRIME FICTION

The Knife Behind You by James Benet (Department Store Union Organizer)
For the Love of Mike by Rhys Bowen (Garment Workers Union)
White Hot by Sandra Brown (Labor Dispute)
Big Boned by Meg Cabot (Graduate Student Union)
Double Indemnity by James M. Cain (Insurance)
All Men Fear Me by Donis Casey (IWW)
Beneath It All by Lee Conrad

Cactus Blood by Lucha Corpi (Farm Workers' Union)
Airframe by Michael Crichton (Union Trouble)
Red Herring by Jonothan Cullinane (Waterfront Strike)- coming out this Fall
The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (Union Group called the Scowrers)
Third Strike by Philip Craig and William Tapply (Steamship Authority Strike)
October Heat by Gordon DeMarco (1934 San Francisco General Strike-Longshoremen)
Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (The Scowrers)
The Bramble Bush (aka Worse than Murder) by David Duncan (San Francisco General Strike)
American Tabloid by James Ellroy (Teamsters)
LA Quartet by James Ellroy (Movie Unions)
The Man Who Changed Colors by Bill Fletcher Jr. (investigative reporter -shipyards)

A Place Called Freedom by Ken Follett (Coal Mines)
The Peripheral Son by Dorien Gray
Dead Reckoning by Patricia Hall (Union Strike)
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett (IWW organizer & Copper Workers; Strike Breaking)
"Busting Red Heads" by Richard Helms in EQMM (short story)
A More Perfect Union by J.A. Jance (Iron Workers' Union)
As Dead As it Gets by Cady Kalian (Creative Artists' Union)
The Longer the Thread by Emma Lathen (Garment Workers)
Death at the Old Hotel by Con Lehane (Hotel Workers' Union)
The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (Police Union)
Through a Glass Darkly by Donna Leon (Unsafe environmental pollution in Venetian glass factories effecting workers)

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (Long Shoremen's Union)
Deadly Dues by Lulu Malone (Actors' Union)
Stiff by Shane Maloney (Meat Packing)
Lorraine Connection by Dominique Manotti  (Union rep in Cathode-ray Tube industry)
Champawat by Lia Matera A Novella in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Labor Unions & the Clash between Anarchists & Democrats)
Organize or Die by Laura McClure (Union organizing)
Conferences are Murder by Val McDermid (Journalists' Union); Darker Domain (UK Miners Strike)
Death at Pullman by Frances McNamara (American Railway Union)
The Viewless Winds by Murray Morgan (Murder of a Labor Leader's wife)
A Red Death by Walter Mosley (Aircraft Manufacturer and Labor Union organizer)

Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely (Domestic Workers)
Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky
Mr Campion's Fault by Mike Ripley (Mineworkers)
Death and Blintzes by Dorothy and Sidney Rosen (Garment Workers Union)
A Bitter Feast by S. J. Rozan (Restaurant Workers' Union)

Waterfront by Budd Schulberg
Some Cuts Never Heal, All Bleeding Stops Eventually, One Foot in the Grave, This Won't Hurt a Bit and others (The Shop Steward Series) by Timothy Sheard (Shop Steward)
Judas Incorporated by "Kurt Steel" (Rudolf Kagey) (Pro-Union)
The Big Both Ways by John Straley (Lumber)
The Labor Union Murder aka Fourth of July Picnic by Rex Stout (novella)
Absolute Rage by Robert K. Tanenbaum (Coal Miners' Union)
Fallout by Paul Thomas
The Porkchoppers, Yellow Dog Contract by Ross Thomas (Politics & Unions)
Killy by Donald Westlake (Manufacturing Union)

Short Story: Richard Helms's Busting Red Heads (EQMM)

For further reading:

The Strange Connection Between Detective Fiction and Union Busting by Erica Eisen

Radical Noir: 26 Activist Crime Novels by Molly Odintz

Have a great Labor Day Holiday!

NGAIO MARSH AWARDS 2024

A trio of superb New Zealand writers were honored at WORD Christchurch Festival as they scooped the 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards for novels offering readers insights into people and place alongside cracking crime tales

In the fifteenth instalment of Aotearoa’s annual awards celebrating excellence in crime, mystery, thriller, and suspense writing, Rotorua author Claire Baylis won Best First Novel for her harrowing examination of jury beliefs and biases in Dice (Allen & Unwin), while Scotland-based DV Bishop scooped Best Novel for his Renaissance Florence-set mystery Ritual of Fire (Macmillan), and Wellington writer Jennifer Lane joined rare company by winning Best Kids/YA for smalltown mystery Miracle (Cloud Ink Press).

“I’m stoked we have a special award this year recognising writers of crime, mystery, and thriller tales for younger readers,” says Ngaios founder Craig Sisterson. “Many of us owe any lifelong passion for books, and all the good that come along with that, to the children’s authors we read when we were youngsters ourselves. Aotearoa has amazing kids authors, across many genres. In future we plan to award our Best Kids/YA Book prize biennially, alternating with our Best Non-Fiction prize that returns in 2025.”

***

For more information on any of our 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards winners or finalists, or the Ngaios in general, please contact ngaiomarshaward@gmail.com, or founder Craig Sisterson, craigsisterson@hotmail.com

GRANITE HARBOUR, Series 2, BritBox

Season 1 of  Granite Harbour aired on Britbox in 2022, and at last we have Season 2. Granite Harbour, Season 2, premiered on August 15. It's a strong series, different from other British police procedurals. The series revolves around RMP Sergeant Davis Lindo (Romario Simpson), who arrived in Aberdeen in Season 1 as a new recruit to Police Scotland and worked alongside DS Lara 'Bart' Bartlett (Hannah Donaldson).

Set and filmed in Aberdeen, Granite Harbour, Season 1, followed ambitious, and determined ex-Royal Military policeman Davis Lindo as a fresh recruit working for Police Scotland. Not everyone understood his methods,  his assigned partner, DS Lara “Bart” Bartlett, saw his potential and helped keep him out of too much trouble. They are an odd but compelling pair, and both characters return in Granite Harbour’s second series.
 
Season 2, like the first season, consists of three hour-long episodes which unravel one overarching case. I binged Season 2 as I needed to know how it would unravel! Terrific. I think Season 2 is even better than Season 1. Wish each season were more than 3 episodes, and I certainly hope there will be a Season 3..and more. 

The Official Synopsis of Season 2:

Granite Harbour returns to Aberdeen for a new three-part second series as Lindo, Bart, and the police team investigate two fatal cases with dark consequences at their heart, immersing the Major Investigations Team in the granite city’s criminal underworld. When drug kingpin Grace McFadden’s notorious fixer turns up dead, the MIT have their work cut out to find the source of a new cocaine and ketamine compound flooding the streets. Fearing an impending drugs-turf war is brewing, the team fights to uncover the truth.

ANN CLEEVES: THE DARK WIVES - Book Launch and TV news!

I'm a huge fan of all of Ann Cleeves' mysteries, but my favorite is the Vera Stanhope series. Today marks the launch of Ann Cleeves' latest Vera Stanhope crime novel, The Dark Wives. I was lucky enough to read it last month, and it's another standout novel. It kept me reading late into the night. As always, the police procedure is spot on, and we learn more about Vera and the cadre of characters we've grown to love. The Dark Wives deals with the problems in Britain's child welfare system.

FYI: This is not the final Vera Stanhope mystery. The next one will be published in 2026. 

But here's some Vera TV news: Brenda Blethyn will be retiring from the TV show "Vera,"  and her final episode, airing in 2025, will be based on The Dark Wives. 

Read The Dark Wives now and get a sneak peak into what will be the final showing from Brenda Blethyn, BAFTA winner and Oscar nominated actress, as Vera.

Be sure to scroll down to view Ann Cleeves discussing Female Detectives. 

***

Ann Cleeves is the award-winning New York Times and multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series—the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn, and The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge. All three are available on Britbox. 

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Cleeves was the recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award in 2017. In 2022 she was awarded the OBE for services to reading and libraries. 

Candice Renoir: Season 10 News!

I'm a big fan of Candice Renoir, the French TV mystery series, starring Cecile Bois. AcornTV has the first nine seasons, and if you watched the final episode of Season 9 (currently available), you know it ended with a cliff-hanger. Well, good news. You won't have long to wait for Season 10. Season 10 will start on AcornTV on September 16, 2024. FYI: There are 11 seasons, and we should have access to Season 11 in the near future. 

Not familiar with the series? Well, you have a treat in store. Currently AcornTV is airing the first 9 seasons. Start with the first series. Enjoy!

Victoria Thompson: R.I.P.

Victoria (Vicki) Thompson passed away in her home Friday morning. The cause of death was complications of Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. A memorial is being planned.

Thompson began her writing career as the bestselling author of 20 historical romance novels, which gave her great admiration for life in the 19th Century. She then wrote the bestselling historical Gaslight Mysteries series, which has been nominated for six Agatha Awards, an Edgar® Award, and a Bruce Alexander Award. The Gaslight Mysteries follow midwife Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy as they solve murder mysteries in turn-of-the-century New York City.

Thompson also wrote the historical Counterfeit Lady series, which was nominated for the Sue Grafton Memorial Award by Mystery Writers of America. The series features Elizabeth Miles, a young con woman who finds herself embroiled in intrigue in turn-of-the-century New York City.

Vicki was a wonderful writer, great researcher, supporter of other writers, and a genuine good woman. She will be missed.

For a complete listing of her wonderful historical mysteries, go HERE. 

Cartoon of the Day: Cats!

 Happy Caturday! 

Cartoon of the Day: Nature Writer

 

The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 3 Premiere News

The Lincoln Lawyer, Season 3, will premiere on Netflix, Thursday, October 17. 

The new season sees the return of series stars Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson and Yaya DaCosta, all reprising their roles. Recurring/guest stars in Season 3 include Neve Campbell, Merrin Dungey, Elliott Gould, Devon Graye, Michael Irby, Maisie Klompus, Allyn Moriyon, Wolé Parks, John Pirruccello, Fiona Rene, Philip Anthony-Rodriguez, Jon Tenney and Krista Warner. 

Garcia-Rulfo teased that viewers can expect to see Mickey having to keep a whole lot of plates spinning at the same time. "We see Mickey struggling with so many things at the same time — with romance, with the wives, with the cases. You never expect what's going to happen, who's going to be bad, and who's going to be guilty." 

The 10-episode third season is based on the fifth book in Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer series, The Gods of Guilt. Can't wait? Read The Gods of Guilt or go back and watch Seasons 1 and 2. 

SOUTHERN FRIED CRIMECON: September 26-29, 2024

Join the Southeast Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America for a weekend retreat and mini conference at The Lodge at Lake Oconee, Eatonton GA. Our keynote speaker is the marvelous Wanda Morris! For more information, scan the QR code or follow the links. 

The Marlow Murder Club TV Series: Mark your Calendar!

You're going to love The Marlow Murder Club on PBS Masterpiece Mystery! It's fabulous! Great acting, wonderful tight plot line, stunning setting. It has it all. Just what I love in a British mystery! Thank you, Masterpiece Mystery! I just binged all 4 episodes! Lucky Me! What terrific viewing! The Marlow Murder Club is adapted by Robert Thorogood from his novel The Marlow Murder Club. Watch on Masterpiece on PBS broadcast, streaming at PBS.org, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel, premiering October 27, 2024 at 9/8c

Robert Thorogood is also the creator of Death in Paradise, another great British mystery hit! The Marlow Murder Club series stars Samantha Bond who is joined by Jo Martin, Cara Horgan, and Natalie Dew. Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey, Home Fires) takes the lead as Judith Potts, alongside Jo Martin (Doctor Who, Back to Life) as Suzie Harris, Cara Horgan (The Sandman, Traitors) as Becks Starling, and Natalie Dew (Sandylands, The Capture) as DS Tanika Malik. Steve Barron (The Durrells in Corfu, Mrs Sidhu Investigates) directs. Airing in four parts on MASTERPIECE in the US, the series is a UKTV co-production with MASTERPIECE on PBS, produced by Monumental Television in association with ITV Studios.

Robert Thorogood said: “After over a decade of working on Death in Paradise, I’m thrilled to be creating a brand-new murder mystery series for TV. I can’t wait for audiences to join Judith, Becks, and Suzie on their adventures as they solve a series of fiendishly puzzling murders.”

Susanne Simpson, MASTERPIECE executive producer, added: “The Marlow Murder Club is exactly the kind of show that our MASTERPIECE Mystery! viewers will love. We’re thrilled to be working with Samantha Bond again and to partner with Monumental Television on this exciting new series.”

The Plot:

Retired archaeologist Judith Potts (Bond) lives alone in a faded mansion in the peaceful town of Marlow, filling her time by setting crosswords for the local paper. During one of her regular nude swims in the Thames, Judith hears a gunshot coming from a neighbor’s garden and believes a brutal murder has taken place. When the police are reluctant to believe her story, Judith finds herself forming an unlikely friendship with local dog-walker and empty-nester Suzie (Martin) and unfulfilled vicar’s wife Becks (Horgan) as they start an investigation of their own. Eventually asked to assist with the official police investigation, headed by newly promoted Tanika (Dew), the women must piece together clues, grill suspect witnesses, and face down real danger as they work against the clock to stop the killer in their tracks.

Here's the Trailer. 

Mark your Calendar for The Marlow Murder Club premiering October 27 on Masterpiece Mystery! In the meantime, read the Marlow Murder Club mystery series by Robert Thorogood: The Marlow Murder Club (2021); Death Comes to Marlow (2023), The Queen of Poisons (2024); Murder on the Marlow Belle (2025)

Cartoon of the Day: Books

NEVER!

 

Deutscher Krimipreis 2023

Deutscher Krimipreis 2023. Better late than never! These awards were announced on December 31, 2023. Congratulations to All!

NATIONAL
[Original German language crime fiction]

1st Place: Wie Sterben geht (How Dying Works) by Andreas Pflüger, Publisher: Suhrkamp

2nd Place: Antoniusfeuer (St. Anthony’s Fire) by Monika Geier, Publisher: Ariadne/Argument

3rd Place: Die Guten und die Toten (The Good and the Dead) by Kim Koplin, Publisher: Suhrkamp

INTERNATIONAL
[Crime fiction translated into German]

1st Place: Fünf Winter (Five Decembers) by James Kestrel, translated by Stefan Lux, Publisher: Suhrkamp [Winner of the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel]

2nd Place: Aus der Balance (The Turnout) by Megan Abbott, translated by Karen Gerwig and Angelika Müller, Publisher: Pulp Master

3rd Place: Sekunden der Gnade (Small Mercies) by Dennis Lehane, translated by Malte Krutzsch, Publisher: Diogenes

MURDER TAKES A HOLIDAY: VACATION FOR MURDER

 

Going on Vacation soon? Hope to have a pleasant time at the beach or mountains with some good mysteries to read? Grab a copy of Mystery Readers Journal:Murder Takes a Holiday (40:2) to guide you in your choices. Scroll down to see the Table of Contents of this issue.

Mystery Readers Journal is a quarterly thematic review Journal. Each issue contains articles, reviews, and author essays on a specific theme, as well as special columns and other mystery related material. Journals run an average of 100 pages. Subscribe.

Murder Takes a Holiday: Available in print or as a downloadable PDF.

Recent Issues: Southern California Mysteries (Spring 2024); Animals in Mysteries II (Winter 2023); Animals in Mysteries I (Fall 2023); Hobbies & Crafts in Mysteries (Summer 2023).

Murder Takes a Holiday

Volume 40, No. 2, Summer 2024

Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ARTICLES

• The Odd Travel Note: John le Carré on Mysteries Real and Fictional by Rona Bell
• Death on the Water by Bev Hankins
• Agatha Christie Rides the Rails by Bradley Friedman

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• Please Proceed to Your Gate—To Begin Your (Murderous) Journey by Cathy Ace
• Monkey Business Meets the Flying Dutchman by Donna Andrews
• Travel Writer’s Revenge: A Novel Way of “Booking” a Trip by Dawn M. Barclay (D.M. Barr)
• Travel as Transition? Or Not? by Anne Louise Bannon
• Wanderlust by Kimberly Belle
• How I Learned to Write More Than Thirty Pages by Simon Brett
• When Art Imitates Life by Sally Carpenter
• On the Road Again by Taffy Cannon
• A Fatal Fan Fest by Maya Corrigan
• Too Many Deaths, Too Few Holidays by James R. Coggins
• Haunted Ofu by John Enright
• Holiday Time? No Lazing in the Sun for My Characters by Elizabeth Elwood
• Nero Does Nero by Cordelia Biddle and Steve Zettler (aka Nero Blanc)
• Crossword: Nero Does Nero 
• Sun, Sand… and Sleuthing by Kate Fellowes
• A Vacation at the Paris Exposition of 1900 by Dianne Freeman
• A Killer on Board by Jan Gangsei
• Murder on Vacation by Peter Heller
• Murder Takes a Holiday in Caper Cove by Elle Jauffret
• Mysteries Without Borders by Maria Hudgins
• An Academic Brat Settles Down and Finds Her Paradise by Leslie Karst
• Vacations and Holidays by Gay Toltl Kinman
• A Detective Takes a Holiday by J. R. Lindermuth
• Hot Grudge Crimes by Larry and Rosemary Mild
• Never Go on Vacation with Miss Marple by Catherine Mack
• From Action Scene to Ocean Liner by Edward Marston/Conrad Allen
• A Golden Getaway with Raúl and Rita by Richie Narvaez
• Murder Takes a Honeymoon by Neil Plakcy
• Murder Takes a Lot of Holidays… by Josh Pachter
• Creating the Vacation from Hell: The Origins of Devils Island by Midge Raymond
• How Is Anyone Still Alive? by Philipp Schott
• Have Pen, Will Travel by Tom Straw
• Charlie Chan Takes a Holiday by John Swann
• Crime Fiction and the Trip of a Lifetime by Leonie Swann
• Someone Else’s Vacation by Sarah Stewart Taylor
• Murder Across the Ocean by Charlene Wexler

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Lucinda Surber, Lesa Holstine, Dru Ann Love
• Crime for the Holidays by Gay Toltl Kinman
• Crime Seen: Vacation Video by Kate Derie
• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph

---

Bad Monkey: Apple TV+ series

Bad Monkey is now on AppleTV. I've seen the first two episodes, and I thought they were great -- intense, quirky, funny--just like Carl Hiassen's mystery on which the series is based. Apple’s comedy Bad Monkey stars and is executive produced byVince Vaughn with executive producer Bill Lawrence. It's a 10-episode series with the first two episodes available now. New episodes will drop every Wednesday through October 9.

Bad Monkey is the story of Andrew Yancy (Vaughn), who has been bounced from the Miami Police Department and is now a health inspector in the Florida Keys. But after stumbling upon a case that begins with a human arm fished up by tourists, he realizes that if he can prove murder, he’ll be back in. He just needs to get past a trove of Floridian oddballs and one bad monkey. And, it goes from there. The humor isn't for everyone, but I'm a huge fan of Carl Hiassen, so it is for me. 

Let me know what you think. 

 

 

Cartoon of the Day: Edgar Allan Poe in a Moment of Writer's Block

 

What are LARDY CAKES? Grantchester, Season 9, and a Recipe!

Are you a Grantchester fan? Grantchester,  now in its 9th season on Masterpiece Mystery! - PBS, is a British Mystery Series. If you've been watching Season 9, you may have been baffled by Mrs. C's mention of selling Lardy Cakes for the Church fundraiser in Episode 4. Lardy Cakes are not common on this side of the Pond. I had heard of them because they were a bake on the Great British Bake-Off one season, but I've never made them. So I did some digging. 

Lardy Cakes date back to mid-nineteenthcentury England and, simply put, lard is used instead of butter to enrich a white dough. The dough is sweetened, spiced, and filled with dried fruit, then rolled out and dotted with lard. Next, it’s folded or rolled so that while baking, it forms distinct, flaky layers. Once you know lard actually has less saturated fat than butter, you realize this cake just has a branding problem! 

According to the Great British Bake-Off, where I first heard of Lardy Cakes, the Lardy Cake bake is a cross between a Danish pastry and a bread. As mentioned above, it combines sugar, lard, butter, and fruit, and it's a British Classic. 

So maybe you want to make a Lardy Cake to accompany your viewing of the next episodes of Grantchester? Here's Paul Hollywood's recipe from Series 14 of the Great British Bake-Off. Glad I wasn't a contestant on that episode. You can't go wrong with Paul Hollywood --and Grantchester!

LARDY CAKES

Ingredients 

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast 

1 cup warm water, plus more if needed 

1 pinch white sugar 

4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon salt 

6 tablespoons lard, divided 

6 tablespoons butter 

1/2 cup sultana raisins 

1/2 cup dried currants 

1/4 cup thin strips of orange zest 

1/4 cup white sugar 

 

Directions 

Sprinkle yeast into warm water, then add a pinch of sugar. Let stand until frothy, about 15 minutes.  

Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in 1 tablespoon lard with two knives or pastry blender. Make a well in the center and pour in yeast mixture. Beat with an electric mixer until a dough forms and starts to pull away cleanly from the sides of the bowl, adding more warm water if necessary. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place into a clean bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. 

Turn risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Dot 1/3 of the remaining lard over the surface, then sprinkle with 1/3 each of the raisins, currants, orange zest, and sugar. Fold the bottom third of the dough up, fold the top third down, then give the dough a quarter turn on the work surface. Repeat the process twice more, starting with the rolling. 

Grease an 8x10-inch pan with lard and butter. 

Roll out the layered dough to fit and place into the pan. Cover and leave in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes. 

Score the top in a criss-cross pattern with a knife. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bake in the preheated oven until well risen and golden brown, about 30 (+) minutes. You want a nice golden color, but you don't want the fruit to burn or the the centre to be raw.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately or leave to cool on a wire rack. 

***

 Enjoy Grantchester and this very British treat!

2024 NGAIO MARSH AWARD FINALISTS

Now in their fifteenth season, the Ngaio Marsh Awards celebrate excellence in mystery,
thriller, crime, and suspense writing from Aotearoa New Zealand storytellers. The 2024
finalists were announced today in Best First Novel, Best Novel, and Best Kids/YA categories.

The finalists for the 2024 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Kids/YA

• CAGED by Susan Brocker (Scholastic)

• KATIPO JOE: WOLF’S LAIR by Brian Falkner (Scholastic)

• MIRACLE by Jennifer Lane (Cloud Ink Press)

• NIKOLAI’S QUEST by Diane Robinson (Rose & Fern Publishing)

• NOR’EAST SWELL by Aaron Topp (One Tree House)

Finalists for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel

• DICE by Claire Baylis (Allen & Unwin)

• EL FLAMINGO by Nick Davies (YBK Publishers)

• DEVIL’S BREATH by Jill Johnson (Black & White/Bonnier)

• A BETTER CLASS OF CRIMINAL by Cristian Kelly

• MAMA SUZUKI: PRIVATE EYE by Simon Rowe (Penguin SEA)

Finalists for the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel

• DICE by Claire Baylis (Allen & Unwin)

• THE CARETAKER by Gabriel Bergmoser (HarperCollins)

• RITUAL OF FIRE by DV Bishop (Macmillan)

• PET by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press)

• DEVIL’S BREATH by Jill Johnson (Black & White/Bonnier)

• GOING ZERO by Anthony McCarten (Macmillan)

• EXPECTANT by Vanda Symon (Orenda Books)

The 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards finalists will be celebrated and this year’s winners announced at a special event held at the WORD Christchurch Festival on Wednesday, 28 August.

For more information on any or all of our 2024 Ngaio Marsh Awards finalists, or the Ngaios in general, contact ngaiomarshaward@gmail.com, or founder Craig Sisterson, craigsisterson @ hotmail.com