THE SITE FOR DIE HARD CRIME & THRILLER FANS
News

A Rising Man – Telegraph compo winner

1 Mins read

Photo by Hilary StockCongratulations go out to Abir Mukherjee, who has won the Telegraph Harvill Secker crime writing competition with a novel set in India in 1919, during the period of the British Raj. A Rising Man involves a brutal murder, political underpinnings, and a conflicted Indian police investigator who weighs up justice for the dead and justice for his people. Here’s a snippet for you:

“His body lay twisted, face up and half-submerged in an open sewer. Throat cut. Limbs at unnatural angles. A large brown bloodstain on a starched white dress shirt. Some fingers missing from one mangled hand and an eye pecked out of its socket. This last act the work of some hulking black crows that now kept angry vigil from the rooftops above.”

Over 400 would-be authors took part, sending in the first 5000 words of their novels to be judged by Alison Hennessey and Bethan Jones from Harvill Secker; Richard Reynolds, veteran crime fiction buyer at Heffers Bookshop in Cambridge; literary agent Sam Copeland from Rogers, Coleridge & White; and author Jon Stock.

Abir Mukherjee (pictured) has won a publishing deal with Harvill Secker and a £5000 advance to complete the novel. A highly-commended runner-up was Susanna Drury for Trust and there were four shortlisted entries: Guy Bolton for The Pictures, Josephine Jarman for Patience, Janet Olearski for Foreigner and Elle Wild for Strange Things Done. Names to watch in the future. You can read more about A Rising Man here and here.


2 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related posts
Features

The Crime Fiction Lover Awards 2022: The Winners

2022. What a year. We have emerged from COVID only to sink into a cost of living crisis, an energy shortage and the potential for World War III. But it’s not all bad – at least there are still bounteous crime fiction novels to enjoy,…
Features

Best crime novel of 2022 shortlist

We had no idea how popular the Crime Fiction Lover Awards would be when we launched them last year, but they’re back for 2022 and nominations have closed. Now it’s down to the final six in our Best Crime Novel category and as a crime…
iBookKindlePrintReviews

The Shadows of Men by Abir Mukherjee

The fifth Wyndham and Banerjee mystery is a delight to read because author Abir Mukherjee is such a wonderful storyteller. It’s a narrative that’s easy to get lost in. The 1920s colonial India setting is rich and colourful but also ripe with all the best…
Crime Fiction Lover