It isn’t often, dear reader, that you will find breaking news on this blog. Tonight is an exception. Congratulations to the delightful L C Tyler, who’s just been awarded the Last Laugh award at the Crimefest Gala Dinner for The Herring in the Library (published by Macmillan).

I haven’t yet read it, but clearly it must be every bit as good as The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice, which I have read, and which was very good indeed.