chasing bawa

Out of all the crime novels available my favourite is historical crime. And like almost everyone who loves historical crime fiction, I got into it via Agatha Christie (who is technically not considered historical as she was writing about contemporary times but imbued in me a love of the 20s and 30s) and Ellis Peter’s Brother Cadfael mysteries.

I have just spotted a post on Euro Crime, my destination for everything European and criminal, announcing the shortlist for the 2009 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award. It doesn’t look like it’s up on the CWA website yet, but never mind, we have it here:

The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth

If The Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr

The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona MacLean

The Information Officer by Mark Mills

The Interrogator by Andrew Williams

An Empty Death by Laura Wilson

I have to admit I haven’t read any of the titles above, although I’ve been meaning to read Rennie Airth’s River of Darkness, the first in his John Madden trilogy set in 1920s England. I read Phillip Kerr’s Berlin Noir trilogy featuring Bernie Gunther many years ago and was very impressed with them and have his fourth in the series The One from the Other waiting patiently on my TBR shelf.