We are delighted that SHIVER by Allie Reynolds has been shortlisted for the 2022 Davitt Awards ‘Best Debut Crime’ category.
The Davitt Awards are literary awards which are presented annually by the Sisters in Crime Australia association. They were established in 2001 to mark the 10th anniversary of the association, and were designed to bring some ‘much needed recognition’ to Australian women crime writers.
The other shortlisted titles for the ‘Best Debut Crime’ category are: BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME by Jacqueline Bublitz, SHADOW OVER EDMUND STREET by Suzanne Frankham, LARRIMAH: A MISSING MAN, AN EYELESS CROC AND AN OUTBACK TOWN OF ELEVEN PEOPLE WHO MOSTLY HATE EACH OTHER by Caroline Graham and Kylie Stevenson, THE WATERHOLE by Lily Malone, UNSHELTERED by Clare Moleta, THE FAMILY DOCTOR by Debra Oswald, THE SECOND SON by Loraine Peck, CRIME WRITER by Dime Sheppard, HOUSE OF HOLLOW by Krystal Sutherland, and THE SILENT LISTENER by Lyn Yeowart.
Judges’ coordinator, Dr Philomena Horsley, said: ‘The quality of the prose and the diversity of the themes and scenes of the crime are on an upwards spiral. The six judges have especially been blown away by the standard of the debut books. The authors demonstrate an impressive expertise in their craft. The calibre of the shortlist reflects the leap taken by crime writing generally in Australia.’
When Milla is invited to a reunion in the French Alps resort that saw the peak of her snowboarding career, she drops everything to go. While she would rather forget the events of that winter, the invitation comes from Curtis, the one person she can't seem to let go.
The five friends haven't seen each other for ten years, since the disappearance of the beautiful and enigmatic Saskia. But when an icebreaker game turns menacing, they realise they don't know who has really gathered them there and how far they will go to find the truth.
In a deserted lodge high up a mountain, the secrets of the past are about to come to light.
SHIVER was first published in the UK in 2021 by Headline Books and has so far been translated into twenty-two languages and is currently being adapted for television Allie’s second novel, THE BAY (published as THE SWELL in the United States), was published in June earlier this year, and has already been highly commended by readers and reviewers alike.
The winners of the Davitt Awards will be announced at a gala dinner on 27 August 2022 at South Melbourne’s Rising Sun Hotel.
About Allie Reynolds
Allie Reynolds was once a professional freestyle snowboarder in the UK top ten. She spent five winters in the mountains of France, Switzerland, Austria and Canada. In 2003, she swapped her snowboard for a surfboard and moved to the Gold Coast where she taught English as a foreign language for fifteen years.
Allie’s short fiction has been published in women's magazines in the UK, Australia, Sweden and South Africa.
Follow Allie on Twitter and Instagram, and visit Allie’s website.
Praise for SHIVER by Allie Reynolds
‘SHIVER is a tour-de-force, a truly gripping chiller of a thriller, genuinely impossible to put down and a sensational debut.’ – Peter James
‘A white-knuckle-ride through a dangerous world full of deadly ambition.’ – Erin Kelly
‘If Agatha Christie went snowboarding... A deliciously dark locked room mystery about competitive snowboarders who find themselves stranded at the top of a snowy mountain. Throw in a dead woman, shameful secrets, years of resentment and someone out for revenge and you have an exciting, twisty page-turner that keeps you guessing all the way to the end.’ – C.L. Taylor