BLACK RIVER, the third book in Will Dean’s Tuva Moodyson series, has been longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel Award. The award, which is now in its 17th year, celebrates excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors. Past winners include Denise Mina, Steve Cavanagh, Val McDermid and Chris Brookmyre. Executive director of T&R Theakston, Simon Theakston said:
“The way the global obsession with the crime genre continues to grow year on year is simply astonishing and this year’s longlist proves the remarkable talent on offer in crime writing, from legends of the craft to eager-eyed newcomers.
The shortlist is already too close to call, so we encourage all to get voting.
A hearty toast of Old Peculier to all longlisted authors for this coveted award, and we look forward to what we know will be a fiercely fought competition.”
The public can vote on the shortlist which will be announced in June as well as pick an overall winner on harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com which will then be announced on 22 July during the opening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. The winner will receive a cheque for £3,000, and an engraved oak beer cask, hand-carved by one of Britain’s last coopers from Theakstons Brewery.
BLACK RIVER was first published by Point Blank in 2020. When Tuva’s best friend Tammy Yamnim goes missing she races back to Gavrik at the height of Midsommar. Tuva fears for Tammy’s life. Who has taken her, and why? And who is sabotaging the small-town search efforts? Surrounded by dark pine forest, the sinister residents of Snake River are suspicious of outsiders. Unfortunately, they also hold all the answers. On the shortest night of the year, Tuva must fight to save her friend. The only question is who will be there to save Tuva?
Praise for Will Dean:
'A complex plot, suffused with the nightmarish quality of Twin Peaks, and a tough-minded, resourceful protagonist add up to a stand-out read.' — The Guardian
'Dean effectively re-creates the frustration and discomfort of high summer in the forested hills... [Tuva] is becoming more credible with each novel in the series and Dean brings a refreshingly different voice and setting to the subgenre of “femjep” crime writing.’ — Natasha Cooper, Literary Review
‘Dean masterfully ramps up the tension and claustrophobia throughout the story’s sinister series of events before delivering an unexpected and satisfying finale. Tuva is a wonderful creation and Dean’s series is not to be missed.’ — Daily Express
About Will Dean:
Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.
DARK PINES, the first in the Tuva Moodyson series, was published to huge critical acclaim in 2018, was shortlisted for Not the Booker prize, selected for Zoe Ball’s TV Book Club and named as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. THE LAST THING TO BURN, his first standalone novel, was published by Hodder earlier this year.
