The longlist for this year’s Ngaio Marsh Award for New Zealand crime fiction has been announced.

The longlisted titles are: 

• Shadow of Doubt (S L Beaumont, Paperback Writers)
• Trust Me, I’m Dead (Sherryl Clark, Oldcastle Books)
• Whatever it Takes (Paul Cleave, Upstart Press)
• One Single Thing (Tina Clough, Lightpool Publishing)
• Girl from the Tree House (Gudrun Frerichs, self-published)
• Auē (Becky Manawatu, Makaro Press)
• The Nancys (R W R McDonald, A&U)
• Hide (S J Morgan, MidnightSun)
• The Great Divide (L J M Owen, Echo)
• In the Clearing (J P Pomare, Hachette)
• The Wild Card (Renée, Cuba Press)
• A Madness of Sunshine (Nalini Singh, Hachette NZ).

The finalists will be announced later this year ahead of the winners’ announcement at the WORD Christchurch Festival, which is currently expected to proceed with a focus on local writers in late October.

The Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel recognises excellence in New Zealand crime, mystery and thriller writing, and is awarded to the best novel published in the preceding year. The award is named after Christchurch crime writer Dame Ngaio Marsh.