The shortlist for the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year has been announced.

The prize was created to celebrate “excellence, originality, and the very best in crime fiction from UK and Irish authors” whose novels were published in paperback during the eligibility period.

The winner receives £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakston Old Peculier. 

The public are now invited to vote for the winners here; voting closes July 8. The prize winner will be revealed July 21.

The shortlist:

• The Botanist by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group; Constable)
• Into The Dark by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan/Pan)
• The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)
• Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph)
• The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)