Ned Kelly Awards

2024

Best Crime Novel
*	Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
°	Killer Traitor Spy by Tim Ayliffe
°	Dark Mode by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
°	Ripper by Shelley Burr
°	Dark Corners by Megan Goldin
°	The Seven by Chris Hammer
°	The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson
°	Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson [review]

Best Debut Crime Novel
*	Murder in the Pacific: Ifira Point by Matt Francis
°	Violet Kelly and the Jade Owl by Fiona Britton
°	Lowbridge by Lucy Campbell
°	Four Dogs Missing by Rhys Gard
°	Gus and the Missing Boy by Troy Hunter
°	The Beacon by P.A. Thomas
°	The Fall Between by Darcy Tindale

Best True Crime
*	Crossing the Line by Nick McKenzie
°	The Murder Squad by Michael Adams
°	Reckless by Marele Day
°	Killing for Country by David Marr
°	The Teacher’s Pet by Hedley Thomas

Best International Crime Fiction
*	The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish
°	Dice by Claire Baylis
°	Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton [review]
°	Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly
°	The Search Party by Hannah Richell
°	Zero Days by Ruth Ware [review]

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2023

Best Crime Fiction
*	Exiles by Jane Harper [review]
°	When We Fall by Aoife Clifford
°	The Tilt by Chris Hammer
°	The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
°	Seven Sisters by Katherine Kovacic
°	Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham [review]
°	TThose Who Perish by Emma Viskic
°	When The Carnival is Over by Greg Woodland

Best Debut Crime Fiction
*	Wake by Shelley Burr
°	The House of Now and Then by Jo Dixon
°	How to Kill a Client by Joanna Jenkins
°	Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne
°	Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor [review]
°	Black River by Matthew Spencer
°	No Country for Girls by Emma Styles
°	Denizen by James McKenzie Watson

Best International Crime Fiction
*	The Lemon Man by Keith Bruton
°	Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath
°	The Favour by Nicci French
°	The Hitchhiker by Gerwin van der Werf

Best True Crime
*	Betrayed by Sandi Logan
°	Rattled by Ellis Gunn
°	Out of the Ashes by Megan Norris
°	Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! by Officer A
°	Death Row at Truro by Geoff Plunkett

2022

Best Crime Novel
*	The Chase by Candice Fox
°	The Enemy Within by Tim Ayliffe
°	The Others by Mark Brandi
°	You Had it Coming by B.M. Carroll
°	Kill Your Brother by Jack Heath
°	The Family Doctor by Debra Oswald
°	The Deep by Kyle Perry

Best Debut Crime Novel
*	Banjawarn by Josh Kemp
°	Sweet Jimmy by Bryan Brown
°	Shadow Over Edmund Street by Suzanne Frankham
°	Cutters End by Margaret Hickey

Best True Crime
*	Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide’s Family Murders by Debi Marshall
°	The Mother Wound by Amani Haydar
°	Larrimah by Caroline Graham & Kylie Stevenson
°	A Witness of Fact: The Peculiar Case of Chief Forensic Pathologist Colin Manock by Drew Rooke

Best International Crime Novel
*	The Maid by Nita Prose [review]
°	Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
°	The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves
°	Cry Wolf by Hans Rosenfeldt

2021

Best Crime Novel
*	Consolation by Garry Disher
°	Gathering Dark by Candice Fox
°	A Testament of Character by Sulari Gentill
°	The Survivors by Jane Harper
°	The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan
°	Tell Me Lies by J.P. Pomare
°	When She Was Good by Michael Robotham [review]
°	White Throat by Sarah Thornton

Best Debut Crime Fiction
*	The Second Son by Lorraine Peck
°	The Good Mother by Rae Cairns
°	The Bluffs by Kyle Perry
°	The Night Whistler by Greg Woodland

Best True Crime
*	Stalking Claremont: Inside the hunt for a serial killer by Bret Christian
°	The Husband Poisoner by Tanya Bretherton
°	Public Enemies: Ray Denning, Russell “Mad Dog” Cox and the Golden Age of Armed Robbery by Mark Dapin
°	Hazelwood by Tom Doig
°	Witness by Louise Milligan

Best International Crime Fiction
*	We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker [review]
°	The Guest List by Lucy Foley
°	The Secrets of Strangers by Charity Norman
°	Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar [review]
°	Broken by Don Winslow

2020

Best Crime Fiction
*	The Wife and the Widow by Christian White [review]
°	The Strangers We Know by Pip Drysdale
°	Death of a Typographer by Nick Gadd
°	The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan [review]
°	River of Salt by Dave Warner
°	True West by David Whish-Wilson

Best Debut Crime Fiction
*	Present Tense by Natalie Conyer
°	Eight Lives by Susan Hurley
°	Where the Truth Lies by Karina Kilmore
°	The Nancys by RWR McDonald
°	Six Minutes by Petronella McGovern
°	Lapse by Sarah Thornton

Best True Crime
*	Bowraville by Dan Box
°	Dead Man Walking: The Murky World of Michael McGurk and Ron Medich by Kate McClymont
°	Shark Arm: A Shark, a Tattooed Arm, and Two Unsolved Murders by Phillip Rooper & Kevin Meagher
°	Snakes and Ladders by Angela Williams

Best International Crime Fiction
*	The Chain by Adrian McKinty [review]
°	Cruel Acts by Jane Casey
°	The Night Fire by Michael Connelly [review]
°	The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter

2019

Best Crime Novel
*	The Lost Man by Jane Harper [review]
°	Kill Shot by Garry Disher
°	Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox
°	The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood
°	The Other Wife by Michael Robotham
°	Live and Let Fry by Sue Williams

Best First Crime Novel
*	The Rúin by Dervla McTiernan [review]
°	The Portrait of Molly Dean by Katherine Kovacic
°	The Yellow House by Emily O’Grady
°	Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson

Best True Crime
*	Eggshell Skull by Bri Lee
°	The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper
°	Siege: Inside the Lindt Café by Deborah Snow
°	Waiting for Elijah by Kate Wild

2018

Lifetime Achievement *

Garry Disher

Best Crime Novel
*	Crossing the Lines by Sulari Gentill
°	Marlborough Man by Alan Carter
°	Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher
°	Redemption Point by Candice Fox
°	The Lone Child by Anna George
°	The Student by Iain Ryan

Best First Crime Novel
*	The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey [review]
°	Wimmera by Mark Brandi
°	The Girl in Kellers Way by Megan Goldin
°	See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt

Best True Crime
*	Unmaking a Murder: The Mysterious Death of Anna-Jane Cheney by Graham Archer
°	The Contractor by Mark Abernethy
°	The Suitcase Baby by Tanya Bretherton
°	The Fatalist by Campbell McConachie

2017

Best Crime Novel
*	Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty
°	Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
°	The Golden Child by Wendy James
°	An Isolated Incident by Emily Maquire
°	The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong [review]
°	Out of the Ice by Ann Turner

Best First Crime Fiction
*	The Dry by Jane Harper [review]
°	Burn Patterns by Ron Elliott
°	Something for Nothing by Andy Muir
°	Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra [review]
°	Goodwood by Holly Throsby
°	The Love of a Bad Man by Laura Elizabeth Woollett

Best True Crime (tie)
*	Getting Away with Murder by Duncan McNab
*	The Drowned Man by Brendan James Murray
°	Code of Silence by Colin Dillon with Tom Gilling
°	Denny Day by Terry Smyth
°	Murder at Myall Creek by Mark Tedeschi

2016

Best Crime Novel
*	Before It Breaks by Dave Warner
°	R&R by Mark Dapin
°	The Heat by Garry Disher
°	Fall by Candice Fox
°	Ash Island by Barry Maitland
°	Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty [review]

Best First Crime Novel
*	Resurrection Bay by Emma Viskic [review]
°	Please Don’t Leave Me Here by Tania Chandler
°	Good Money by J.M. Green
°	Amplify by Mark Hollands
°	Skin Deep by Gary Kemble
°	Four Days by Iain Ryan

Best True Crime
*	Certain Admissions: A Beach, a Body and a Lifetime of Secrets by Gideon Haigh
°	The Sting: The Undercover Operation that Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer by Kate Kyriacou
°	A Murder Without Motive: The Killing of Rebecca Ryle by Martin McKenzie-Murray
°	Killing Love by Rebecca Poulson
°	Kidnapped by Mark Tedeschi

2015

Best Crime Novel
*	Eden by Candice Fox
°	Sweet One by Peter Docker
°	Murder Unmentioned by Sulari Gentill
°	Crucifixion Creek by Barry Maitland [review]
°	Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty [review]
°	Present Darkness by Malla Nunn [review]

Best First Crime Novel
*	Quota by Jock Serong
°	King of the Road by Nigel Bartlett
°	What Came Before by Anna George
°	Chasing the Ace by Nicholas J. Johnson

Best True Crime
*	This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial by Helen Garner
°	The Fall by Amy Dale
°	The Family Court Murders by Debi Marshall
°	He Who Must Be Obeid by Kate McClymont & Linton Besser
°	The Murder of Allison Baden-Clay by David Murray
°	The Feel-Good Hit of the Year: A Memoir by Liam Pieper

Best Short Story
*	“Short Term People” by Andrea Gillum
°	“A Watched Pot” by Aoife Clifford
°	“Prisoner’s Dilemma” by Stephen Gray
°	“Sweetie” by Grace Heyer
°	“Daddy Played the Trumpet” by Adriane Howell
°	“Roux’s Sister” by Darcy-Lee Tindale

2014

Best Crime Novel
*	In the Morning I’ll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty
°	Bitter Wash Road (Hell To Pay) by Garry Disher
°	Fatal Impact by Kathryn Fox
°	Beams Falling by P.M. Newton
°	One Boy Missing by Stephen Orr
°	The Dying Beach by Angela Savage

Best First Crime Novel
*	Hades by Candice Fox [review]
°	Dead Cat Bounce by Peter Cotton
°	Blood Witness by Alex Hammond
°	Every Breath by Ellie Marney

Best True Crime
*	Murder in Mississippi by John Safran
°	Disgraced? The Cop at the Centre of Melbourne’s Gangland Wars by Paul Dale
°	Forever Nine: The Untold Story of Bondi’s Missing Schoolgirl Samantha Knight by John Kidman & Denise Hofman
°	No Mercy: True Stories of Disaster, Survival and Brutality by Eleanor Learmonth & Jenny Tabakoff
°	JFK: The Smoking Gun by Colin McLaren
°	Outlaw Bikers in Australia by Duncan McNab

Best Short Story
*	“Web Design” by Emma Viskic
°	“Housewarming” by Louise Bassett
°	“The Scars of Noir” by Darcy-Lee Tindale
°	“Voices of SOI 22” by Roger Vicker
°	“Splinter” by Emma Viskic

2013

Best Fiction
*	Blackwattle Creek by Geoffrey McGeachin
°	The Holiday Murders by Robert Gott
°	Web of Deceit by Katherine Howell [review]
°	I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty
°	Silent Valley (Blessed Are the Dead) by Malla Nunn [review]

Best First Fiction
*	The Midnight Promise by Zane Lovitt
°	The Robbers by Paul Anderson
°	The Richmond Conspiracy by Andrew Grimes
°	The Marmalade Files by Steve Lewis & Chris Uhlmann
°	Murder with the Lot by Sue Williams

Best True Crime
*	The People Smuggler by Robin de Crespigny
°	Every Parent’s Nightmare by Belinda Hawkins
°	The Devil’s Cinema by Steve Lillebuen
°	Dead by Friday by Derek Pedley
°	Eugenia by Mark Tedeschi

2012

Lifetime Achievement *

Gabrielle Lord

Best Fiction
*	Pig Boy by J.C. Burke
°	The Life by Malcolm Knox
°	Chelsea Mansions by Barry Maitland

Best First Fiction
*	The Cartographer by Peter Twohig
°	When We Have Wings by Claire Corbett
°	The Courier’s New Bicycle by Kim Westwood

Best True Crime
*	Sins of the Father by Eamonn Duff
°	Call Me Cruel by Michael Duffy
°	Cold Case Files by Liz Porte

2011

Best Fiction
*	The Diggers Rest Hotel by Geoffrey McGeachin
°	The Half-Child by Angela Savage
°	Bereft by Chris Womersley

Best First Fiction
*	Prime Cut by Alan Carter
°	The Old School by P.M. Newton
°	Line of Sight by David Whish-Wilson

Best Short Story
*	“Hemisphere Travel Guides: Las Vegas For Vegans” by A.S. Patric
°	“Southern Hemisphere Blues” by Robert Goodman

Best True Crime
*	Abandoned—The Sad Death of Dianne Brimble by Geesche Jacobson
°	Wasted by Ross Honeywill
°	Honeymoon Dive by Lindsay Simpson & Jennifer Cooke

2010

Lifetime Achievement *

Peter Doyle

Best Fiction
*	Wyatt by Garry Disher
°	The Black Russian by Lenny Bartulin
°	Bleed for Me by Michael Robotham

Best First Fiction
*	King of the Cross by Mark Dapin
°	Death and the Running Patterer by Robin Adair
°	Document Z by Andrew Croome

Best Short Story
*	“Leaving the Fountainhead” by Zane Lovitt
°	“The Travertine Fountain” by Robert Goodman
°	“The Fountain of Justice” by Lucy Sussex

Best True Crime
*	Pitcairn: Paradise Lost by Kathy Marks
°	Crooks Like Us by Peter Doyle
°	Medical Murder: Disturbing Cases of Doctors Who Kill by Robert M. Kaplan

2009

Lifetime Achievement *

Shane Maloney

Best Fiction
*	Deep Water by Peter Corris
*	Smoke & Mirrors by Kel Robertson
°	Bright Air by Barry Maitland

Best First Fiction
*	Ghostlines by Nick Gadd
°	The Build Up by Phillip Gwynne
°	Crooked by Camilla Nelson

2008

Lifetime Achievement *

Marele Day

Best Fiction
*	Shatter by Michael Robotham
°	Amongst the Dead by Robert Gott
°	Sucked In by Shane Maloney
°	El Dorado by Dorothy Porter

Best First Fiction
*	The Low Road by Chris Womersley
°	Golden Serpent by Mark Abernethy
°	A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

2007

Lifetime Achievement *

Sandra Harvey & Lindsay Simpson

Best Fiction
*	Chain of Evidence by Garry Disher
°	The Cleaner by Paul Cleave
°	The Undertow by Peter Corris
°	The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan
°	Spider Trap by Barry Maitland
°	The Night Ferry by Michael Robotham

Best First Fiction
*	Diamond Dove (Moonlight Downs) by Adrian Hyland [review]
°	Better Dead Than Never by Laurent Boulanger
°	The Betrayal of Bindy Mackenzie (The Murder of Bindi Mackenzie) by Jaclyn Moriarty
°	Behind the Night Bazaar by Angela Savage

2006

Lifetime Achievement *

Andrew Rule and John Silvester

Best Fiction (Tie)
*	Crook as Rookwood by Chris Nyst
*	The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
°	Rendezvous at Kamakura Inn by Marshall Browne
°	Saving Billie by Peter Corris
°	Rubdown by Leigh Redhead
°	Five Oranges by Graham Reilly

Best First Fiction
*	Out of the Silence: A Story of Love, Betrayal, Politics and Murder by Wendy James
°	Head Shot by Jarad Henry
°	Dead Set by Kel Robertson

2005

Lifetime Achievement *

Stuart Coupe

Best Fiction
*	Lost by Michael Robotham
°	The Happiness Punch by Kirsty Brooks
°	A Hand in the Bush by Jane Clifton
°	Private Dicks and Feisty Chicks by Cathy Cole
°	Dangerous Deception by Sandy Curtis
°	Heavenly Pleasures by Kerry Greenwood
°	Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood
°	Static by Randall Longmire
°	Spiking the Girl by Gabrielle Lord
°	No Trace by Barry Maitland
°	Covet by Tara Moss
°	Murder by Manuscript by Steve J. Spears
°	The Domino Game by Greg Wilson

Best First Fiction
*	A Private Man (Adult Book) by Malcolm Knox
°	Malicious Intent by Kathryn Fox
°	The Groundsman by William Youatt-Pine

2004

Lifetime Achievement *

Bob Bottom

Best Fiction
*	Degrees of Connection by Jon Cleary
°	The Wrong Door by Bunty Avieson
°	The Vodka Dialogue by Kirsty Brooks
°	Master’s Mates by Peter Corris
°	Until Death by Sandy Curtis
°	Who Killed Camilla? by Emma Darcy
°	The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood
°	Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood [review]

Best First Fiction (Tie)
*	The Walker by Jane R. Goodall
*	Junkie Pilgrim by Wayne Grogan
°	Misconceptions by Terry McGee
°	Far Horizon by Tony Park
°	Rogue Element by David Rollins

2003

Lifetime Achievement *

Kerry Greenwood

Best Fiction
*	White Dog by Peter Temple
°	The Affair by Bunty Avieson
°	Open for Inspection by Carmel Bird
°	The Eye of the Abyss by Marshall Browne
°	Salt and Blood by Peter Corris
°	Deadly Tide by Sandy Curtis
°	Who Killed Bianca? by Emma Darcy
°	Kittyhawk Down by Garry Disher
°	Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood
°	The Analyst by Fred Guilhaus
°	Breakfastinfur by Michael Herrmann
°	Baby Did a Bad Thing by Gabrielle Lord
°	Babel by Barry Maitland
°	Something Fishy by Shane Maloney
°	The Chance by Andy Shea
°	The Empty Bed by Paul Thomas
°	Evidence by Emma Tom

Best First Fiction
*	Blood Redemption by Alex Palmer
°	Lady Luck by Kirsty Brooks
°	Half Past Dead by Jane Clifton
°	The Games by Peter de Vries
°	The Final Account by Greg Wilson

2002

Lifetime Achievement *

Patrick Gallagher

Best Fiction
*	Death Delights by Gabrielle Lord
°	Inspector Anders and the Ship of Fools by Marshall Browne
°	Crime of Silence by Patricia Carlon
°	Yesterday’s Shadow by Jon Cleary
°	Skin Deep by Cathy Cole
°	Lugarno by Peter Corris
°	Death of the Author by Andrew Masterson
°	Death Club by Claire McNab
°	A Simple Death by Carolyn Morwood
°	The Disciples by Andy Shea
°	In the Evil Day (Identity Theory) by Peter Temple

Best First Fiction (Tie)
*	Apartment 255 by Bunty Avieson
*	Who Killed Angelique? by Emma Darcy
°	On Probation: Detective Ludowski’s Casebook by Margaret Bevege
°	Black Ice by Sandy Curtis
°	The Artist Is a Thief by Stephen Gray

2001

Lifetime Achievement *

Stephen Knight

Best Fiction (tie)
*	Dead Point by Peter Temple
*	The Second Coming: The Passion of Joe Panther by Andrew Masterson

Best First Fiction
*	Last Drinks by Andrew McGahan

2000

Best Fiction
*	Shooting Star by Peter Temple
°	Dilemma by Jon Cleary
°	The Other Side of Sorrow by Peter Corris
°	The Dragon Man by Garry Disher
°	Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood
°	Our Man K by Nicholas Hasluck
°	The Inquisitor by Catherine Jinks
°	The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland
°	Silvermeadow by Barry Maitland
°	Set Up by Claire McNab
°	An Uncertain Death by Carolyn Morwood
°	Black Tide by Peter Temple
°	Final Cut by Paul Thomas
°	Exxxpresso: Too Much Coffee Can Kill by Dave Warner
°	Murder in the Frame by Dave Warner

Best First Fiction
*	The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders by Marshall Browne
°	Unholy Writ by Carmel Bird
°	Dry Dock by Cathy Cole
°	The Trojan Dog by Dorothy Johnston
°	Angels in the Architecture by Mary-Rose MacColl
°	Fetish by Tara Moss
°	Cop This! by Chris Nyst
°	Cat Catcher by Caroline Shaw

1999

Lifetime Achievement *

Peter Corris

Best Fiction
*	Amaze Your Friends by Peter Doyle
°	Cheaters by J.R. Carroll
°	The Black Prince by Peter Corris
°	The Dogs Are Barking by John Dale
°	The Sharp End by Gabrielle Lord

Best First Fiction
*	The Last Days: The Apocryphon of Joe Panther by Andrew Masterson

1998

There were no Ned Kelly awards for 1998.

1997

Lifetime Achievement *

Alan Yates (aka Carter Brown)

Best Fiction
*	Brush-Off by Shane Maloney
°	The Clan by J.R. Carroll
°	Endpeace by Jon Cleary

Best First Fiction (Tie)
*	Get Rich Quick by Peter Doyle
*	Bad Debts by Peter Temple
°	Murder Seventies Style: The Final Dismissal by Anne Hawking
°	The Kokoda Club by Geoff Stewart
°	The Scarlet Rider by Lucy Sussex

1996

Lifetime Achievement *

Jon Cleary

Best Fiction
*	The Malcontenta by Barry Maitland
*	Inside Dope by Paul Thomas
°	Wildfire by Susan Geason
°	Scream Black Murder by Philip McLaren

Best First Fiction
*	Dark Angel by John Dale
°	The Cross by Mandy Sayer