Ian Rankin and Mark Billingham are among those on today's longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award.

Organised by Harrogate International Festivals, the award is widely regarded as the most prestigious in crime fiction.

This year’s 18-person longlist transports readers around the world from California to Sweden and Calcutta to a remote Irish island and explores every subgenre from Scandi noir to murderous families.

The line-up of returning champions is led by crime fiction titan Ian Rankin, who has received a nod for his A Song for The Dark Times, Mark Billingham, hoping for a third win with his Cry Baby, and Steve Cavanagh looking to beat the competition with Fifty Fifty.

Elly Griffiths has received her seventh nomination for The Lantern Men.

New names include Lucy Foley with her number one Sunday Times Best Seller 'The Guest List' and Chris Whitaker with 'We Begin at The End'.

The winner of the awards, which are being held for the 17th year, will be announced on July 22 at the opening evening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

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Read more:

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• Harrogate International Festival appoints new honorary president

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People can vote for the winner here.

The longlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers and members of the Theakston Old Peculier crime writing festival programming committee. Representatives from sponsors T&R Theakston Ltd, the Express, and WHSmith also took part.

The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel from Theakston Old Peculier.

The full longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021 is:

• Cry Baby by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)


• The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish (Simon & Schuster)


• The Cutting Place by Jane Casey (HarperCollins, HarperFiction)


• Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh (The Orion Publishing Group, Orion Fiction)


• Black River by Will Dean (Oneworld Publications, Point Blank)


• Between Two Evils by Eva Dolan (Bloomsbury Publishing, Raven Books)


• The Guest List by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins, HarperFiction)


• The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)


• The Big Chill by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)


• Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton (Penguin Random House UK, Viking)


• Still Life by Val McDermid (Little, Brown Book Group, Sphere)


• The Last Crossing by Brian McGilloway (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)


• Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee (VINTAGE, Harvill Secker)


• Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent (Penguin, Sandycove)


• A Song For The Dark Times by Ian Rankin (Orion, Orion Fiction)


• Remain Silent by Susie Steiner (HarperCollins Publishers, The Borough Press)


• We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)


• The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (Quercus, Quercus Fiction)