"The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" is shortlisted for a Dead Good Readers' Award - most exotic location!

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by Marnie Riches
I almost fell off the rickety old chair in my writing cave the other day, when I discovered that my debut crime-thriller, "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" had been shortlisted for a Dead Good Readers' Award - namely The Patricia Highsmith Award for Most Exotic Location.

This first installment in the George McKenzie series only came out in early April 2015. I've been bowled over with delight by how well the book has been received by BritCrime readers. It seems that I'm not the only one who was waiting to read a thriller that was reminiscent of successful Scandi-noir series, but set somewhere with a little sweet and sour - zoet-zuur - flavour to it.

I chose Amsterdam as the main location for my series, because I used to live in The Netherlands when I was the same age as George. Like her, I was intoxicated by the heady mix of period architecture, grandeur and sleaze. Amsterdam's red light district is like nowhere else on earth. To see the thong-clad women in their red-lit booths; to stroll along the cobbled streets that flank the city's inky canals and pop into a coffee shop for a joint; to spend your tourist Euros on some strap-on erotic contraption in a sex-shop and then make your way to the galleries, eateries and museums all within the same twenty four hours is nothing short of bonkers! For me, it presented the perfect exotic location in which to set a crime-thriller!

So, if you agree that Amsterdam would be the best contender for this prestigious Patricia Highsmith Award for the most exotic location in a crime novel, I'd be so grateful if you'd cast your vote in The Girl's direction. There is a smorgasbord of exotic settings also up for the award in this category - huge names in the crime world. I wish them the best of luck too, of course. But if "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" takes the award, it will be nothing short of a minor miracle, since I normally can't even win an argument.

Happy voting for your favourite contender, BritCrime lovelies!

Marnie Riches