BARRHEAD author Chris Brookmyre is hoping for double success in a prestigious contest after being nominated for not one but two prizes.

Chris is among the cream of the crop in Scottish crime literature to be listed for the 2019 McIlvanney Prize.

Judges have heaped praise on his novel Fallen Angel as a worthy candidate, as well as nominating him for his work on The Way of All Flesh, which was co-written by his wife Marisa Haetzman under the pseudonym of Ambrose Parry.

Commenting on his latest achievement, Chris tweeted: “Doubly delighted to see Fallen Angel and @ambroseparry on the McIlvanney Prize longlist.”

The McIlvanney Prize is awarded to the best Scottish crime book of the year as part of the annual Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival.

Scottish roots are a must for competition applications. Authors must either be born in Scotland, live there or set their books there.

The prize was renamed in memory of William McIlvanney, often described as the Godfather of Tartan Noir, in 2016.

Finalists are chosen by an independent panel of readers and booksellers, with the winner of the 2019 McIlvanney Prize to be revealed at the beginning of September.

Among those tasked with selecting the winner are writer and broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove.
Fallen Angel tells the story of one family, two holidays and a devastating secret.

To new nanny Amanda, the Temple family seem to have it all – the former actress, the famous professor, their three successful grown-up children – but like any family, beneath the smiles and hugs there lurks far darker emotions.

The Way of All Flesh is set in 1847 in Edinburgh – a city of medicine, money and murder.

In the Old Town, several women have been found dead, all having suffered similarly gruesome ends.

Across in the New Town, medical student Will Raven is about to start his apprenticeship with the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson, whose patients range from the richest to the poorest.

Raven meets Dr Simpson’s housemaid Sarah Fisher, who takes an immediate dislike to him.

She has all of Raven’s intelligence but none of his privileges.

With each having their own motive to look deeper into the city’s spate of suspicious deaths, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled into the shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld, where they will have to overcome their differences if they are to make it out alive.

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