Summertime Crime |

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award was presented on July 21 to Lee Child for 61 Hours, the 14th novel in his Jack Reacher series. The novel has been translated into 40 languages and has sold more than 50 million copies internationally. It is also available in these alternative formats:

This is the seventh year for the award, open to British or Irish authors whose books were published in paperback between January 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011. Although there is a panel of judges, members of the public also vote.

In addition, P.D. James, who celebrates her 91st birthday on August 3, was honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction. When asked to account for the popularity of crime fiction, James responded, "It's very popular in times of anxiety, times of war, because there are certain social problems that are insoluble and in these books you have a problem at the start and by the end it is solved. That's reassuring. I suppose we like them because we want to think we live in a rational society, despite all the evidence at present to the contrary."