Elly Griffiths Takes The Top Prize At Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards 2026
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The biggest names in crime writing came together in Harrogate as the 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards celebrated another outstanding year for the genre. Presented during the opening evening of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the annual awards recognised exceptional novels, emerging talent and a lifetime of achievement, reaffirming the festival's place at the heart of the crime fiction world.
The headline honour, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, went to Elly Griffiths for The Frozen People. The novel secured the coveted title after progressing from an 18-book longlist to a six-book shortlist, with the final winner determined through a combination of reader votes and an expert judging panel.
The Frozen People follows cold case investigator Ali Dawson, whose secretive team solves decades-old crimes using an extraordinary ability to travel back in time. Sent to Victorian London to clear the name of a man linked to a shadowy group known as The Collectors, Ali uncovers a murder that draws her into a dangerous conspiracy. As she struggles to return to the present, where her son faces serious accusations of his own, Ali begins to suspect that the two mysteries are connected in ways she never imagined.
The shortlist showcased the range and quality of contemporary crime fiction. Tariq Ashkanani's The Midnight King immersed readers in a murder investigation set against London's theatre scene, while Abigail Dean's The Death of Us explored the long-lasting impact of a violent crime on a relationship. Alice Feeney's Beautiful Ugly combined psychological suspense with a mysterious disappearance on a remote Scottish island, Mick Herron's Clown Town continued the exploits of his beloved Slough House intelligence team, and Vaseem Khan's Quantum of Menace brought a fresh perspective to the world of espionage through one of the James Bond universe's most recognisable characters.
The evening also celebrated new talent with the McDermid Debut Award, presented to Frances Crawford for A Bad, Bad Place. The award recognises the year's most accomplished first crime novel and has become an important platform for emerging writers. Mel Pennant received a Highly Commended recognition, reflecting the strength of this year's debut field.
Another major moment of the ceremony saw internationally bestselling thriller writer David Baldacci receive the Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award. With a career spanning decades and dozens of bestselling novels, Baldacci was recognised for his enduring influence on modern crime and thriller writing, joining an illustrious list of authors whose work has helped define the genre.
Now in its twenty-second year, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards continue to stand among the UK's most respected literary honours for crime fiction. Last year the Award went to Abir Mukherjee and his crime thriller Hunted.
