The Bloody Scotland’s McIlvanney Prize, previously known as the Scottish Crime Book of the Year is given away every year, to one Scottish crime writer who blows away the competition. The prize was renamed this year in honour of Scottish writer William McIlvanney who died in 2015, and the author’s brother Hugh McIlvanney gave away this year’s prize.

The winner was announced at the Bloody Scotland Festival in Sterling on Friday where Hugh McIlvanney handed the award to Scottish noir author, Chris Brookmyre for his novel Black Widow.

Brookmyre’s novel beat three other shortlisted novels to the £1,000 prize and was noted by the judging panel to be full of fantastic plot twists, that keep you guessing to the end.

Congratulations to Chris Brookmyre, who really is a sensational author. Here are the details of the winning book, and the shortlisted novels it saw off for the prize.

Winner

Black Widow – Chris Brookmyre

A Whirlwind romance, a death, and more twists and turns than Olympic diving makes Brookmyre’s Black Widow an unputdownable read and a winner with the judges of the Bloody Scotland’s McIlvanney Crime Award.

Black Widow US
Black Widow UK

Shortlisted

Splinter the Silence – Val McDermid

McDermid is widely recognised as one of the greatest crime writers of our time, and Splinter the Silence doesn’t disappoint. An adrenaline-fuelled rollercoaster, guaranteed to keep you in the edge of your seat, the novel centres on the deaths of several women who were victims of cyber-bullying

Splinter the Silence US
Splinter the Silence UK

Shortlisted

The Jump – Doug Johnstone

Ellie is struggling to come to terms with the suicide of her teenage son, living in the shadows of the bridge he jumped from. She saves another suicidal teenager, but she can’t foresee the situation she’s falling into in this moving thriller.

The Jump US
The Jump UK

Shortlisted

Beloved Poison – E. S. Thompson

Beloved Poison is an atmospheric crime novel, set in a crumbling 1850s London Infirmary full of creepy relics, impossible choices and fatal consequences.

Beloved Poison US
Beloved Poison UK