The Ned Kelly Awards recognise and celebrate the very best crime writing has to offer. See which Penguin Random House books won this year.
We’re delighted to share that two Penguin Random House Books have been recognised in the 2022 Ned Kelly Awards.
Join us in celebrating these brilliant books, as we offer our sincere congratulations to the authors who have won this year.
About the Ned Kelly Awards
The Ned Kelly Awards began in 1995 with an aim to honour published crime fiction and true crime writing. The awards began in 1995 after a group of writers, academics, publishers and journalists decided that the crime genre deserved is own award. Run by the Australian Crime Writers Association, the Ned Kelly Awards are now the oldest and most prestigious awards for crime writers in Australia.
2022 Winners
Best Crime Book

The Chase by Candice Fox
When more than 600 of the world’s most violent human beings pour out from Pronghorn Correctional Facility into the Nevada Desert, the biggest manhunt in US history begins.
But for John Kradle, this is his one chance to prove his innocence, five years after the murder of his wife and child.
He just needs to stay one step ahead of the teams of law enforcement officers he knows will be chasing down the escapees.
Best True Crime Book

Banquet: The Untold Story of Adelaide's Family Murders by Debi Marshall
In this definitive exposé, Walkley-award winning journalist Debi Marshall turns her investigative blowtorch to the shocking Adelaide Family murders and to secrets long hidden in the City of Corpses.
This chilling account begins with the liberalisation of South Australia under the premiership of Don Dunstan and demands answers to decades-old questions. Who were the Family killers? Why are suppression orders still protecting suspects four decades later? Why do some of these serial killings remain unsolved? Only one suspect, Bevan Spencer Von Einem, has been charged and convicted.
With her combination of investigative skills and sensitivity, Marshall treads a harrowing path to find the truth, including confronting Von Einem in prison, pursuing sexual predators in Australia and overseas, taking a deep-dive into the murky world of paedophiles, challenging police and judiciary, and talking to victims and their families. The outcome is shocking and tragic.