
The shortlist for the 2021 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Novel, the New Zealand crime fiction award, was announced September 15.
BEST NOVEL
- The Murder Club (Nikki Crutchley, Oak House Press)
- Sprigs (Brannavan Gnanalingam, Lawrence and Gibson)
- The Tally Stick (Carl Nixon, RHNZ Vintage)
- The Secrets of Strangers (Charity Norman, A&U)
- Tell Me Lies (J P Pomare, Hachette)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
- The Girl in the Mirror (Rose Carlyle, A&U)
- The Beautiful Dead (Kim Hunt)
- Where the Truth Lies (Karina Kilmore, S&S)
- For Reasons of Their Own (Chris Stuart, Original Sin)
- While the Fantail Lives (Alan Titchall, Devon Media)
BEST NONFICTION (BIENNIAL)
- Weed: A New Zealand story (James Borrowdale, Penguin)
- Rock College: An unofficial history of Mount Eden Prison (Mark Derby, Massey University Press)
- From Dog Collar to Dog Collar (Bruce Howat)
- Gangland (Jared Savage, HarperCollins NZ)
- Black Hands: Inside the Bain family murders (Martin Van Beynen, PRHNZ).
INAUGURAL PRIZE FOR NOVEL FOR YOUNGER READERS
- Katipo Joe (Brian Falkner, Scholastic NZ)
- Red Edge (Des Hunt, Scholastic NZ)
- A Trio of Sophies (Eileen Merriman, Penguin)
- Deadhead (Glenn Wood, OneTree House).
The winners will be revealed during an online event in association with WORD Christchurch on October 30.