Some of our finest crime writers put their little grey cells to the test by trying to form a winning chain of correct answers but are forced to vote off the er, weakest link in each round. It may bear passing resemblance to a popular BBC quiz show. 

The crime writers brave or foolish enough to take part are: Chris Brookmyre, Elly Griffiths, Mark Billingham, Vanda Symon, Tony Kent, Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Vaseem Khan and Marion Todd.

Craig Robertson will be chief inquisitor, doing his best grumpy Anne Robinson impersonation, which everyone expects not to be much of a stretch for him. 

We celebrate Friday 13th in fitting style with three super supernatural crime novels from three frighteningly good authors. Stuart Neville’s nightmarish Blood Like Mine is one of the most talked about books of the year; a shocking and bloody thriller that you can really get your teeth into. The Masquerades of Spring is the latest offering from the otherworldly genius that is Ben Aaronovitch’s astonishing Rivers of London series. Broken Ghosts by James Oswald is the beautifully told story of 12-year-old Phoebe and the friend she makes in the woods where the lines between life and death are eerily blurred. 

This event will be chaired by Anna Day. 

Few secrets are as deeply entrenched as those we buried in our youth, and few have the same potential to haunt us. Meet three authors who have brilliantly captured the power of hidden adolescent truths and deadly consequences. 

Rabbits by Hugo Rifkind is a darkly funny novel of unspoken truths as the elite rage against the dying of their light. A town suffocating in its own secrets is at the dark heart of Colin Walsh’s Kala, a heartbreaking but brutal Irish noir. Ellie Keel’s The Four is a beautifully gripping exploration of guilt as the past takes its revenge on the present. 

Chaired by Frankie Burr

From Laidlaw to Rebus, from Morse to Bosch, police officers remain the beating heart of crime fiction. Three particularly proficient proponents of the police procedural explain how they hold true to the thin blue line. Out of Darkness, the 21st novel in Alex Gray’s much-loved DSI Lorimer series, sees the action rage between her native Glasgow and Zimbabwe. Mari Hannah’s award-winning DCI Kate Daniels series reaches even greater heights with the latest thrilling instalment, The Longest Goodbye. Stig Abell’s beautifully crafted Death in a Lonely Place is the second outing for ex-city turned rural cop, Detective Jake Jackson. 

This event will be chaired by Teddy Jamieson. 

Join us as we enjoy an hour in the company of two of crime fiction’s most popular and talented authors. Peter celebrates a special milestone this September when One of Us is Dead, the 20th book in his much-loved Roy Grace series is published. The series has sold 21 million copies, been translated into 38 languages, and adapted into a hit ITV drama. Elly, the creator of the wonderful Ruth Galloway novels, has won a vast following worldwide with her rich and skilful storytelling. Her latest bestseller is The Last Word, a beautifully crafted page turner set in rural Sussex. 

Chaired by Jenny Brown.
Crime in the Spotlight reading from Morag Pringle.

Join us as we enjoy an hour in the company of two of crime fiction’s most popular and talented authors. Peter celebrates a special milestone this September when One of Us is Dead, the 20th book in his much-loved Roy Grace series is published. The series has sold 21 million copies, been translated into 38 languages, and adapted into a hit ITV drama. Elly, the creator of the wonderful Ruth Galloway novels, has won a vast following worldwide with her rich and skilful storytelling. Her latest bestseller is The Last Word, a beautifully crafted page turner set in rural Sussex. 

Chaired by Jenny Brown.
Crime in the Spotlight reading from Morag Pringle.

Islands are different; and those who live there are shaped differently because of it. For crime writers, islands are usefully isolated, strange, and offer no way out. Meet three who have brilliantly exploited remote Scottish island settings for their own dark ends. George Paterson’s thrilling Westerwick is a masterful, yet macabre exploration of the twisted mind of island-born serial killer Angus John MacMillan. Secrets, lies and bodies all wash up on secluded shores in Liz Webb’s relentlessly tense new novel The Saved. Truth, Truth, Lie is a killer premise and the deadliest game as Claire McGowan takes old friends to a private island.

Author Marsali Taylor will chair this event. 

Join us as we officially launch the 2024 festival and witness the awarding of the McIlvanney Prize and Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Master of ceremonies, TV and radio presenter Bryan Burnett, will lead us into the much-anticipated awards and interview the winners on stage. 

Bloody Scotland cocktails will be on hand for all as we officially launch the 2024 festival and witness the awarding of the McIlvanney Prize and Bloody Scotland Debut Prize. Mingle with this year’s authors and contenders before master of ceremonies, TV and radio presenter Bryan Burnett, will lead us into the much-anticipated awards and interview the winners on stage. 

Following the conclusion of the prize ceremony, the Stirling Schools Pipe Band will lead a piped procession of authors and readers up King Street and past the Corn Exchange to the Albert Halls in time for the first event of the evening. 

The Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year may not be the snappiest prize title around but it’s undoubtedly among the most sought after. This year’s first novels have been whittled down to just five and the authors will discuss their books before making their way to the prize ceremony in the Albert Halls. 

The 2024 finalists hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner Kate Foster are: Suzy Aspley for Crow Moon; Daniel Aubrey for Dark Island; Allan Gaw for The Silent House of Sleep; Doug Sinclair for Blood Runs Deep; and Martin Stewart for Double Proof. 

This event will be chaired by BBC journalist Pauline McLean.