Craig Russell's The Devil Aspect is shortlisted for the 2019 Best Published Novel. Set in 1935 as Europe prepares itself for a calamitous war, six homicidal maniacs - the so-called 'Devil's Six' - are confined in a remote castle asylum in Czechoslovakia. Each patient has their own dark story to tell and Dr Viktor Kosárek, a young psychiatrist using revolutionary techniques, travels to the castle and is tasked with unlocking their murderous secrets. 

Inspired by the folklore of eastern Europe and set in the shadow of the Nazi darkness erupting just beyond the Czech border, this is a rich, gothic journey that draws parallels to today. 

About the author:

Craig Russell’s novels have been published in twenty-five languages, four have been made into major films in Germany, in one of which he has a cameo role as a detective. He has won the CWA Dagger in the Library and the McIlvanney Prize (for which he has been shortlisted another twice), and has previously been shortlisted for the CWA Golden Dagger, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the SNCF Prix Polar in France. A former police officer, Craig Russell is the only non-German to have been awarded the Polizeistern—the Hamburg Police’s Police Star. When not writing, Craig Russell paints, cooks and reads, but not simultaneously.

Craig shared his thoughts on adventure writing and gave us a behind-the-scenes glimpse into life as a full-time writer. 

The winner of the 2019 Best Published Novel will be announced at a special ceremony on 12th September.