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The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award celebrates excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction by UK and Irish authors. A highlight of the literary calendar, it is recognised as one of the most prestigious accolades in the genre.
Discover our panel interview with the six shortlisted authors for 2025: Chris Brookmyre, M.W. Craven, Elly Griffiths, Abir Mukherjee, Marie Tierney and Chris Whitaker
About the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award
Each year, a longlist of 18 titles is carefully selected by a panel of industry experts. The public is then invited to take part in two key stages of the voting process: first, to help determine the shortlist of six novels from the longlist, and later, to help choose the overall winner from the shortlist.
In both stages, the public vote is combined with the judging panel’s decision to reach the final outcome. The 2025 winner will be revealed at the Opening Ceremony of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on Thursday 17 July 2025, hosted by broadcaster and author Mark Lawson, who will interview the shortlisted authors live on stage before announcing this year’s champion. The winner will receive a £3,000 cash prize and a hand-engraved oak beer cask, crafted by one of Britain’s last remaining coopers at Theakston’s Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire. Past winners include Mark Billingham, Denise Mina, Lee Child, Val McDermid, M.W. Craven and 2024’s winner, Jo Callaghan.
The 2025 Shortlisted titles include:
- The Cracked Mirror by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown Book Group, Abacus)
- The Mercy Chair by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group, Constable)
- The Last Word by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Books, Quercus Fiction)
- Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage; Harvill Secker)
- Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (Bonnier Books, Zaffre)
- All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Orion, Orion Fiction)