The McIlvanney Prize - named after ‘Godfather of Tartan Noir’ William McIlvanney - is presented each year at the Bloody Scotland international crime writing festival.
Dreamed up by writers Lin Anderson and Alex Gray, the festival is held in Stirling over three days of September each year, attracting thousands of readers to events feturing hundreds of authors around the world.
The prize aims to reward "the best Scottish Crime book of the year" and has been won by 13 different books since it was established.
13. 2024: Chris Brookmyre, The Cracked Mirror
Bringing us right up to date, Chris Brookmyre's second McIlvanney won the prize in 2024 with its ingenious mix of Agatha Christie and Michael Connelly. "You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed. You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes. Against all the odds, against the usual story, their worlds are about to collide. It starts with a dead writer and a mysterious wedding invitation. It will end with a rabbit hole that goes so deep, Johnny and Penny might come to question not just whodunnit, but whether they want to know the answer." | Contributed