| The Business | Martina Cole | Headline |
| Child 44 | Tom Rob Smith | Pocket Books |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Stieg Larsson | MacLehose Press/Quercus |
| No Time for Goodbye | Linwood Barclay | Orion |
| Revelation | C.J. Sansom | Macmillan |
| When Will There be Good News? | Kate Atkinson | Black Swan |
Nothing grips the British reader quite like crime thrillers – they dominate sales from supermarkets to independents – so just making the shortlist for this award is quite an achievement. But which of the nominees do you think deserves to be the BooksDirect Crime Thriller of the Year?
Does anyone else do it quite like Martina Cole or is there a reason her gritty urban thrillers outsell every other British crime writer?
Tom Rob Smith ruffled feathers by being in contention for literary awards for his thriller set in Stalinist Russia, in which the official lack of crime is the principal impediment to an investigation. Ridley Scott already has a film version in pre-production; what is it about his debut which has captured people’s imagination so much?
British readers have been hooked by Stieg Larsson’s first and are now impatient to catch up with readers across Europe who have been buying his Millennium trilogy in their millions (globally, Larsson was only outsold by Khaled Hosseini in 2008, according to The Bookseller). Book two is finally available in hardback now, but, with the the final book not due in English until 2010, have you been learning a foreign language so that you don’t have to wait to find out how it all ends?
Our new favourite north American thriller writer is clearly Linwood Barclay, with No Time For Goodbye being the runaway favourite with viewers of Richard & Judy’s Book Club in 2008. Is this particular rollercoaster ride the best in the park?
When Will There Be Good News?, Kate Atkinson’s follow-up to One Good Turn, is an even bigger hit than the first book. What do you make of PI Jackson Brodie as a series character?
C J Sansom’s award-winning Shardlake series is outselling his many rivals in the burgeoning historical thriller market. Is he the best out there or is there another author you think does a better job of conjuring up the past?
So, which one kept you up reading into the small hours?
No John Sandford. No Harlan Coben. Call this a crime list. The crime is that there isn’t what I would call a “great” crime writer on it. Tom Rob Smith has the makings of one.
I’ve read two in this list, Revelations was a cracking read and Child 44 blew me away.
I agree, I’m so looking forward to see what Tom Rob Smth will come up with next.
But avid reader, that’s what makes the list so interesting – no obvious contender, making it an open field. Will the voters go for big hitter Cole over the more literary Atkinson, or eschew home-grown talent in favour of international sensation Stieg Larsson? I haven’t read Child 44 but have heard very good things.
I’ll just say that whatever very good things you have heard about it, publishingjourno, cherish them. You might find yourself clinging to them once you read it.
Yes, it’s an interestingly open field I would say – I’ve heard a couple of people say that the Steig Larsson is one of the best books they’ve read – not just best thriller – so i’m looking to that. And the Linwood Barclay is a real page-turner….
I don’t really read thrillers, but, on a friend’s recommendation, I tried Child 44 and really enjoyed it. I think this was because I felt that the the main character was shaped by the plot as it unfolded, rather than just trying to solve a puzzle. I may even read the new sequel!