2018 Dead Good Awards

The 2018 Dead Good Reader Awards were announced during the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival this weekend. These awards are sponsored annually by the British crime-fiction book site Dead Good. Congratulations to all!

The Holmes and Watson Award for Best Detective Duo:
Ruth Galloway and Harry Nelson, created by Elly Griffiths

The Whodunnit Award for the Book That Keeps You Guessing:
Let Me Lie, by Clare Mackintosh

The Cabot Cove Award for Best Small-Town Mystery:
The Chalk Man, by C.J. Tudor

The Wringer Award for the Character Who’s Been Put Through It All: Jack Reacher, created by Lee Child

The House of Horrors Award for Most Dysfunctional Family:
Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewell

The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book:
The Dark Angel, by Elly Griffiths

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Hat Tip: J. Kingston Pierce at The Rap Sheet

Dead Good Reader Awards 2017

The winners of the Dead Good Reader Awards 2017 were announced at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate,

At a ceremony presided on by Mark Lawson with a guest appearance from Kathy Reichs, six authors were honored with being best in class as voted for by crime readers.

The Kathy Reichs Award for Fearless Female Character:
Winner: Helen Grace, M J Arlidge

Shortlist:
Lori Anderson, Steph Broadribb
Erika Foster, Robert Bryndza
Ruth Galloway, Elly Griffiths
Helen Grace, M J Arlidge
Isabella Rose, Mark Dawson
Jane Rizzoli, Tess Gerritsen

The Case Closed Award for Best Police Procedural:
Winner: The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly

Shortlist:
Let The Dead Speak by Jane Casey
Love You Dead by Peter James
Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin
The Taken by Alice Clark-Platts
Written in Bones by James Oswald
The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly

The Hidden Depths Award for Most Unreliable Narrator:
Winner: The Escape by C L Taylor

Shortlist:
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
The Escape by C L Taylor
Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land
My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry
My Sister’s Bones by Nuala Ellwood
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

The Page to Screen Award for Best Adapted Book:
Winner: Never Go Back by Lee Child

Shortlist:
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
The Black Echo by Michael Connelly
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Never Go Back by Lee Child
The Night Manager by John le Carré

The Cat Amongst The Pigeons Award for Most Exceptional Debut:
Winner: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

Shortlist:
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
Deep Down Dead by Steph Broadribb
The Dry by Jane Harper
Rattle by Fiona Cummins
Sirens by Joseph Knox
 
The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book
Winner: The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

Shortlist:
The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths
The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
The Escape by C L Taylor
Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent
My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Dead Good Reader Awards

The UK crime fiction website Dead Good announced the winners for the 2016 Dead Good Reader Awards. Winners were announced on July 22 at Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England. Congratulations to all!


The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book:
• Career of Evil, by Robert Galbraith (Little Brown)

The Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series:
• Roy Grace, created by Peter James (Macmillan)

The Linwood Barclay Award for Most Surprising Twist:
• Little Black Lies, by Sharon Bolton (Transworld)

The Papercut Award for Best Page Turner:
• The Girl in the Ice, by Robert Bryndza (Bookouture)

The Hotel Chocolat Award for Darkest Moment:
• In the Cold Dark Ground, by Stuart MacBride (Harper Collins)

The Mörda Award for Captivating Crime in Translation:
• Nightblind, by Ragnar Jonasson (Orenda Books)

HT: Erin Mitchell

Dead Good Reader Awards Shortlist 2016

The UK crime fiction website Dead Good announced its shortlist of nominees in 6 categories for the 2016 Dead Good Reader Awards. Readers anywhere can vote for their favorites HERE. Winners will be announced on July 22 at Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England. 

The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book:
• Career of Evil, by Robert Galbraith (Little Brown)
• Die of Shame, by Mark Billingham (Little Brown)
• In Her Wake, by Amanda Jennings (Orenda)
• The Missing, by C L Taylor (Avon)
• Tastes Like Fear, by Sarah Hilary (Headline)
• Untouchable Things, by Tara Guha (Legend Press)

The Tess Gerritsen Award for Best Series:
• Jack Reacher, created by Lee Child (Transworld)
• Roy Grace, created by Peter James (Macmillan)
• Marnie Rome, created by Sarah Hilary (Headline)
• Logan McRae, created by Stuart MacBride (Harper Collins)
• Ruth Galloway, created by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• George Mackenzie, created by Marnie Riches (Maze)

The Linwood Barclay Award for Most Surprising Twist:
• Disclaimer, by Renee Knight (Transworld)
• The Ice Twins, by S.K. Tremayne (Harper Collins)
• I Let You Go, by Clare Mackintosh (Sphere)
• The Kind Worth Killing, by Peter Swanson (Faber & Faber)
• Little Black Lies, by Sharon Bolton (Transworld)
• When She Was Bad, by Tammy Cohen (Transworld)

The Papercut Award for Best Page Turner:
• Broken Promise, by Linwood Barclay (Orion)
• Career of Evil, by Robert Galbraith (Little Brown)
• Follow Me, by Angela Clarke (Avon)
• The Girl in the Ice, by Robert Bryndza (Bookouture)
• In a Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware (Vintage)
• Splinter the Silence, by Val McDermid (Little Brown)

The Hotel Chocolat Award for Darkest Moment:
• Behind Closed Doors, by B.A. Paris (Mira)
• The Darkest Secret, by Alex Marwood (Sphere)
• In the Cold Dark Ground, by Stuart MacBride (Harper Collins)
• Little Boy Blue, by M.J. Arlidge (Michael Joseph)
• The Teacher, by Katerina Diamond (Avon)
• Viral, by Helen Fitzgerald (Faber & Faber)

The Mörda Award for Captivating Crime in Translation:
• Camille, by Pierre Lemaitre (MacLehose Press)
• The Crow Girl, by Erik Axl Sund (Vintage)
• The Defenceless, by Kati Hiekkapelto (Orenda Books)
• I’m Travelling Alone, by Samuel Bjork (Doubleday)
• Nightblind, by Ragnar Jonasson (Orenda Books)
• The Undesired, by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir (Hodder & Stoughton)


HT: J. Kingston Pierce, The Rap Sheet

Dead Good Awards Shortlist

Awards. Awards. Awards. So many. I still think awards help guide reading, so I'm an advocate. Awards also help authors by getting their good books noticed. So here's a new one for the books! I'd never heard of the Dead Good Reader Awards, but now that it's been explained by The Rap Sheet  (and thanks for posting!)--that the creation of this new award was only announced in April by the crime fiction UK Web site Dead Good. There are six prizes in total, each “celebrating a unique element in crime writing” and in some cases a specific author who has gained renown in the genre. Winners are to be selected through online polling as well as by a vote among attendees at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England, July 16-19.

The Dead Good Reader Awards Shortlist

The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book:
• The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins (Transworld)
• I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes (Transworld)
• The Defence, by Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
• I Let You Go, by Clare Mackintosh (Sphere)
• The Lie, by C.L. Taylor (Avon)
• No Other Darkness, by Sarah Hilary (Headline)

The Lee Child Award for Best Loner or Detective:
• Cormoran Strike, created by Robert Galbraith (Little, Brown)
• John Rebus, created by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• Harry Hole, created by Jo Nesbø (Vintage)
• Lacey Flint, created by Sharon Bolton (Transworld)
• David Raker, created by Tim Weaver (Michael Joseph)
• Vera Stanhope, created by Ann Cleeves (Pan Macmillan)

The Val McDermid Award for Fiendish Forensics:
• Bones Are Forever, by Kathy Reichs (Cornerstone)
• Die Again, by Tess Gerritsen (Transworld)
• The Ghost Fields, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Flesh and Blood, by Patricia Cornwell (Harper)
• Rubbernecker, by Belinda Bauer (Transworld)
• Time of Death, by Mark Billingham (Sphere)

The Reichenbach Falls Award for Most Epic Ending:
• The Defence, by Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
• The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins (Transworld)
• The Nightmare Place, by Steve Mosby (Orion)
• I Let You Go, by Clare Mackintosh (Sphere)
• Personal, by Lee Child (Transworld)
• The Skeleton Road, by Val McDermid (Sphere)

The Dr. Lecter Award for Scariest Villain:
• The Shining Girls, by Lauren Beukes (Harper)
• Into the Darkest Corner, by Elizabeth Haynes (Myriad)
• An Evil Mind, by Chris Carter (Simon & Schuster)
• The Stand, by Stephen King (Hodder)
• You Are Dead, by Peter James (Macmillan)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Quercus)

The Patricia Highsmith Award for Most Exotic Location:
• Amsterdam, The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, by Marnie Riches (Maze)
• Bardsey Island, The Bones Beneath, by Mark Billingham (Sphere)
• Boston, The Kind Worth Killing, by Peter Swanson (Faber)
• Greece, The Long Fall, by Julia Crouch (Headline)
• Nepal, The Lie, by C.L. Taylor (Avon)
• Oslo, Police, by Jo Nesbø (Vintage)

To vote for all your favorites, use these links:

The Dead Good Recommends Award for Most Recommended Book
The Lee Child Award for Best Loner or Detective
The Val McDermid Award for Fiendish Forensics
The Reichenbach Falls Award for Most Epic Ending
The Dr. Lecter Award for Scariest Villain
The Patricia Highsmith Award for Most Exotic Location

Winners will be announced at Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on Friday, July 17.