Win a full set of the Ngaio Marsh Award finalists!

In celebration of the fact that they publish or distribute all three of the finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, Penguin Group (NZ) are "giving you the chance to win a set of these three chilling titles . . ."
Unfortunately for Crime Watch's international readers, the Penguin competition is only open to New Zealand residents - but never fear, I will have a new giveaway for you to enter soon! In the meantime, New Zealand readers should get their names into the draw to win a full set of these cracking crime novels, and international readers should head along to Amazon etc to pick up their own copies.
TO ENTER THE PRIZE DRAW:

• Step 1: Sign-up to Penguin NZ's online newsletter, Penguin Post, so they can keep you up to date with their latest books, news and chances to win even more great prizes.
• Step 2: Email your name, address and phone number to web@penguin.co.nz with the subject line 'CRIME' and you're in the draw!

Entries close 5pm 31st August. Winner drawn 1st September. Terms & conditions.

As I noted earlier, the three finalists for the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel are:

• CUT & RUN by Alix Bosco (Penguin);
• BURIAL by Neil Cross (Simon & Schuster); and
• CONTAINMENT by Vanda Symon (Penguin)

The winner of the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel will be announced at a ceremony at the conclusion of the “Setting the Stage for Murder” event at the Festival on the evening of Friday 10 September 2010.

The international judges said CUT & RUN was “complex and suspenseful” and had “scenes and incidents which are jaw-droppingly good”, that BURIAL “maintained the tension and the atmosphere from beginning to end, keeping the atmosphere creepy”, and that CONTAINMENT had “an attractive series heroine (feisty but vulnerable)” while starting with a “superb” opening scene that by itself would make the judge “want to read more Vanda Symon”.