The Historical Writers’ Association (HWA) has great pleasure in revealing the 2026 Crown Awards shortlists, celebrating the best in historical writing, fiction and non-fiction published during 2025–2026. There are three awards categories — HWA Gold Crown, HWA Non-fiction Crown, and HWA Debut Crown — and six shortlisted books in each category. The books shortlisted for […]
Twice Dead at the Tavern by TA Belshaw
In October 1939, with an injury forcing her to take time off work from the Mill, amateur sleuth Amy Rowlings has the perfect opportunity to help Inspector Bodkin with a baffling new investigation. A notorious gangster is found murdered at a local pub. But the real mystery is that Bodkin already investigated this same man’s […]
Cold Case at the Cottage by TA Belshaw
It’s ,August 1939. For decades, local children have feared Creepy Cottage, a derelict house rumoured to swallow intruders whole. But after a violent summer storm collapses an end wall, the ruins give up a grim secret: the skeleton of a young woman. When it’s revealed that the local police botched the original investigation, amateur sleuth […]
Murder on the Medway by TA Belshaw
July 1939. A pleasant afternoon by the river turns tragic when the body of young party girl Effie Watkins is discovered in the reed beds. For an overstretched Inspector Bodkin, it’s the worst possible time for a murder inquiry. When the clues point toward the exclusive Highwater Boat Club, Amy Rowlings and her best friend […]
Vengeance at the Vicarage by TA Belshaw
It’s March, 1939, and a quiet Sunday morning turns deadly when the Reverend Villiers is found poisoned, propped up in the church’s lychgate. With a cryptic scripture reference scrawled in chalk beneath the body, the killer has left a shocking message for the small town of Spinton. Amateur sleuth Amy Rowlings is first on the […]
Murder at the Mill by TA Belshaw
In January, 1939, when clothing-factory heir Edward Handlsey is found murdered in a snow-covered Kentish town, mill worker Amy Rowlings finds herself at the top of the suspect list. The man had many enemies, many of them female, but Amy was the most recent victim of his wily ways. Luckily, as a certified lover of […]
Betrayal in Black Tie by TA Belshaw
It’s May, 1939. A black-tie civic awards ceremony promises a dull evening for Amy Rowlings and Inspector Bodkin – until the ‘Businessman of the Year,’ called away to answer the telephone, is found stabbed to death. The victim’s lucrative new armaments factory contract means half the town’s elite had a motive to kill him. When […]
The lost treasure of the Romanovs
Before they were moved to Ekaterinburg and execution, Nicholas II and his family crammed most of their remaining treasure in three jars, which they gave to trusted friends to guard. Two of these jars have disappeared from the record, their hiding places undiscovered. The Romanovs’ lost treasure inspired Mark Grenside’s latest thriller, he explains. In […]