Sisters in Crime has announced a shortlist of 27 books for its 18th Davitt Awards for best crime books by Australian women – six adult novels, three YA novels, four children’s novels, four non-fiction books and 10 debut books.

Here are the shortlisted books in each category:

Adult novels

• The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
• The Hidden Hours by Sara Foster
• Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
• Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill
• Force of Nature by Jane Harper
• And Fire Came Down by Emma Viskic

Young Adult novels

• No Limits by Ellie Marney
• Jack of Spades by Sophie Masson
• Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield

Children’s novels

• Vet Cadets: Welcome to Willowvale (Book 1) by Rebecca Johnson
• Whimsy and Woe (Book 1) by Rebecca McRitchie
• The Turnkey by Allison Rushby
• Squishy Taylor and the Silver Suitcase (Book 7) by Ailsa Wild

Non-fiction books

• The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller by Carol Baxter
• Whiteley on Trial by Gabriella Coslovich
• The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
• Cardinal: The rise and fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan

Debut

• The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
• Whiteley on Trial by Gabriella Coslovich
• The Girl from Keller’s Way by Megan Goldin
• Vet Cadets: Welcome to Willowvale (Book 1) by Rebecca Johnson
• The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
• Whimsy and Woe (Book 1) by Rebecca McRitchie
• Cardinal: The rise and fall of George Pell by Louise Milligan
• See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
• Half Wild by Pip Smith
• Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield

The Davitts are named after Ellen Davitt, author of Australia’s first mystery novel Force and Fraud (1865) and in 2018, are sponsored by Swinburne University of Technology.

This year’s winners will be revealed on 11 August. Winners will be announced for the above categories, as well as for readers’ choice which is voted by the members of Sisters in Crime Australia. Find out more about the shortlisted titles here.