Will Dean’s highly acclaimed first standalone novel, THE LAST THING TO BURN, has been longlisted for the 2022 Theaktson Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.
The Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award is one of the UK’s most prestigious crime-fiction awards, with its annual winner announced in a prize ceremony at the Harrogate Crime Festival. Members of the public can vote for their favourite crime novel over at https://harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com/.This year’s winner will be announced on the 21st of July.
On a remote farm Jane is kept under close surveillance by her husband. If he catches her doing something he doesn’t like, then she is punished. One day, though, everything changes, and she sees her chance to escape…
THE LAST THING TO BURN is an extraordinary story of resilience and determination in the most dire of circumstances. As well as winning praise from both readers and reviewers, THE LAST THING TO BURN has been longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger 2022 and was voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club. It was first published by Hodder Books in January 2021, and is now available to buy in paperback.
Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on 14th April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld.
Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN
‘This is a brilliant, chilling depiction of life on the very edges of society. I read it in one sitting, and lived every second of the book with the characters. Compelling, horrifying and gripping, and written with such empathy and control, it's probably the best thing I will read this year’ — Jane Casey
‘MISERY meets ROOM ... a triumph’ — Marian Keyes
‘Ratchets up the tension to the point where I had to check my pulse’ — Liz Nugent
‘Brilliantly written... Terrifying’ — Ruth Ware
‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole
‘THE LAST THING TO BURN is one of the best thrillers I have read in years: I consumed it in great gulps, desperate to find out how Thanh Dao’s story played out, and then read it again, more slowly, savouring her courage and her unvanquished sense of self, despite everything.’ — Alison Flood, Observer
About Will Dean
Photo credit: Rosalind Hobley
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.
Follow Will on Twitter and Instagram, and visit his YouTube channel.