It’s always a pleasure to welcome new crime writers into the fold, and 2024 has been a vintage year for first class debuts. CFL readers are a discerning lot, and this super sextet they have nominated offer an eclectic mix, to say the least. Let’s review the shortlist for Best Debut Novel in the 2024 Crime Fiction Lover Awards. Now’s the time to pick your winner!
CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON OUR SHORTLISTS!
Helle and Death by Oskar Jensen
A group of friends meeting in a remote Northumbrian country house? A snowstorm that leaves them stranded?? A murder??? It all sounds a little too familiar to we crime fiction lovers, so what makes Oskar Jensen’s Helle and Death worthy of its place in this list of best debut hopefuls? How about a cheerful Danish art historian, a very welcome Danish glossary, a mix of Golden Age and contemporary, clues scattered like breadcrumbs throughout its pages, and a newbie author whose unique writing style keeps the chapters flying by. See our review here. Will this one win your vote?
Buy now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
To Brits of a certain age, Yorkshire and 1979 can mean only one thing – the Yorkshire Ripper, a serial killer who terrorised communities in the north of England back in the day. Yorkshire, 1979 is the setting for The List of Suspicious Things – but author Jennie Godfrey’s book focuses on people on the periphery of it all, and in particular teenager Miv, whose life is about to be turned upside-down with a move down south… gulp! This is an engaging mix of crime and social commentary seen through the eyes of a naive young protagonist, that tugs on the heartstrings and may well require a tissue or two.
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Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin
The Bear has taken TV audiences by storm in recent years, with its visceral and hyper-realistic peek behind the scenes of a top class restaurant. Could cosy cookery crime be the next big thing on the menu? If so, Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin is about to bubble over, featuring as it does a down-on-his-luck chef who steps in to take over a class in a cookery school. Soon he’s in the frame for murder, quelle surprise. This author is a former Masterchef contestant with several cookery books to his name, so the addition of recipes woven into the story make it a tasty prospect. Bon appetit!
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Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
Marie Tierney won the inaugural Val McDermid Crime Debut Award in Harrogate this summer with her unique debut, Deadly Animals, which has a teenage girl with an unusual interest in roadkill as its lead character. Ava is 13, and unlike anyone you’ve every met before within the pages of a novel. She’s intelligent, wily, and utterly engaging – and this is one of those books that stays with you well after the final full stop. Brummie author Tierney says that Ava is based on her as a child and that we can expect a sequel. Maybe a win here would spur her on to writing it faster!
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Crow Moon by Suzy Aspley
The marvellously named Martha Strangeways is a former investigative reporter who is in the throes of grief after her young twins die in a house fire, and she takes centre stage here. Shortlisted for the Val McDermid Crime Debut Award, this thriller by Scottish author Suzy Aspley is both unsettling and atmospheric – and the opener for a series. There’s a real gothic feel to this one, with sweeping landscapes and the addition of crows to set the nerves on edge. After all, when they get together there’s always a murder, isn’t there?
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A Reluctant Spy by David Goodman
The Cold War is in the past, but its influence is writ large in this spy thriller by Scottish debutant David Goodman. Think le Carre with a liberal dash of modern day tech, and you get some idea about what’s in store. At the heart of this book is a man with a secret, and when his chance in the limelight finally comes, Jamie Tulloch finds himself in all sorts of trouble – yes, there’s more than a hint of the River Cartwrights about him, Slow Horses fans! Pacy and packed with thrills, this is a book that has been winning high praise from some of the genre’s big hitters. If you agree, then get voting!
Buy now on Amazon or Bookshop.org