Sisters in Crime Australia has announced the winners of the 2022 Davitt Awards, recognizing the best crime and mystery books by Australian women.

The Davitts are named after Ellen Davitt, the author of Australia’s first mystery novel, Force and Fraud, in 1865.

ADULT CRIME NOVEL                

• Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy (Hamish Hamilton)

YOUNG ADULT CRIME NOVEL

• The Gaps by Leanne Hall (Text)

CHILDREN’S CRIME NOVEL

• The Detective’s Guide to Ocean Travel by Nicki Greenberg (Affirm)

NONFICTION CRIME BOOK

• The Winter Road: A story of legacy, land and a killing at Croppa Creek by Kate Holden (Black Inc.)

DEBUT CRIME BOOKS

• Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz (A&U)

The judging panel for 2022 comprised Philomena Horsley, winner of the 2018 Scarlet Stiletto Award and medical autopsy expert; Joy Lawn, YA expert, and reviewer; Janice Simpson, author and academic; Emily Webb, true crime author, and podcaster; Jacquie Byron, business journalist, and novelist, and Moraig Kisler, Sisters in Crime’s President, and review editor.