THE BELTIE MYSTERY PRIZE

Pete Mock, McIntyre’s mystery aficionado, selects the best mystery, thriller, noir, procedural, or true crime novel of the year. He says, "Time is absolutely flying! It just seems like a couple of weeks ago that it was early January and my pile of Beltie possibilities was slowly growing. Next thing I know, it’s October and my pile of 41 titles is winnowed down to 8. Let me tell you that wasn’t easy! It all started in December with Fearless— by M.W. Craven, didn’t make the list— included a couple of older titles by Peter Lovesey (may he rest in peace) and Nicola Griffith (The Blue Place, back in print after 20 years and oh so good) as palette cleansers in between all the new stuff. But I did it, narrowed it down to 8 darn good ones and here they are in no particular order…"

Book cover for

The Dentist

"Technically this shouldn’t be on the list because it is the first in a series of six featuring Detective Sergeant George Cross, a man with Aspergers who is completely misunderstood by his peers yet he has the highest solve rate on the force so his idiosyncrasies are tolerated by his bosses. I include it this year because it has been a very frustrating few years trying to get this series into the States. Here one day, gone the next, with no real rhyme or reason. If you like British police procedurals here’s your next series! Finally, Atlantic Crime has U.S. distribution rights and soon all six will available here with no trouble and I can’t wait."

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

Book cover for

Red Tide

"There’s something about South Africa as a setting that allows its writer’s to just let it all hang out. They have so many good ones writing crime fiction, Malla Nunn, the great Deon Meyer, and I have to mentionZuluby Caryl Ferey because it has a scene with a machete that still gives me nightmares. Now comes Irma Venter. HerRed Tide,set in a small town deep in the South African desert, is a story of jealousy, of talents misused, and the dogged persistence of one retired detective to find out why his niece died a week before her wedding. For three long years he seeks answers, alienating friends and family, but slowly he pieces the story together and what a satisfying conclusion. This is one to savor."

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

Book cover for

Sheepdogs

"This is a dark comedy about life in peacetime after years at war, when the calm isn’t so serene, and when living the 9-to-5 life really isn’t a life at all. Skwerl worked for the CIA’s paramilitary branch while his friend Big Cheese Aziz was an ace Afghan pilot. Both are down on their luck so when an easy score, repossessing a private jet stranded somewhere in Africa, comes their way they jump at it. Of course, nothing is as it seems and their misadventures take them across the world as they attempt to double-cross the ones trying to double-cross them. A rollicking plot, with scintillating dialogue makes this a nice change of pace from the usual cloak and dagger spy story."

---

Pete

READ MORE

Book cover with the title

Deadly Animals

"Anybody out there ever hear of the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee, it’s where scientists can study human decomposition? Well, this wonderfully twisted story has its own version on a dilapidated old industrial estate outside of London. Hidden out of sight from prying eyes it is the pet project of a precocious young teenager and road kill she finds. That is until one night she discovers the body of a classmate in her hidden nook and her world changes from one of curiosity to one of suspicion of pretty much everyone around her. Smart and edgy with terrific characters and a setting that oozes gloom and despair without being out and out depressing, this is one of those whodunits that can really keep you up at night."

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

A woman with long dark hair is waist-deep in blue-green water, facing away. In the background is a hilly seaside town. Large pink text reads

Saltwater

"I’m really not into glamorizing the rich but I don’t mind visiting vicariously their posh havens, where us plebes aren’t welcomed unless we’re serving the canapes and drinks, especially when a murder is involved. In 1992 a young mother falls to death from the villa on the Isle of Capri her family stays at every year, and the case is never solved. Thirty years later a necklace she was supposedly wearing is waiting for the family as they arrive. Cracks have been forming over the years and trust eroding to the point the only things keeping everyone civil are lots of booze and food but even that doesn’t pave over the festering distrust. A sneaky good plot, beautiful scenery, and lots of gossip, will have you turning the pages faster than Elon Musk making (or losing) another billion dollars."

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

Book cover with a black crow pecking at a lit cigarette on a green background. The title reads:

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

"This book is the perfect example of why you don’t mess with mothers, they will f**k you up! Babs Dionne is not you’re your usual single mom trying to keep everything together while providing a healthy, wholesome environment for her children. Nope, she’s a civic minded crime boss who, along with her four best friends, rule the small Maine town of Waterville with an iron fist. So successful is she that Waterville catches the attention of a crime syndicate north of the border who slowly encroach upon her territory. When her daughter is found dead, she knows who to blame and, well, let’s just say all hell breaks loose. Told with a sharp wit and great empathy, Ron Currie has created a character in Babs, and a story that will stick with you long after you finish reading."

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

Book cover for

The Impossible Thing

"This is easily the most creative novel I’ve read in a while. It starts in the 1920’s England with the proliferation of upper crust egg collectors paying poor land holders to raid coastal bird rookeries, then then segues into the present when one such egg, nestled in an ornate case, the last of six, long thought lost, is discovered in the attic of a house recently inherited by the deceased’s daughter and grandson. Not knowing what he’s found the grandson puts the egg up for sale on Ebay and hours later is bound and gagged and the egg stolen. From there he sets out, with his best friend, to recover the egg and along the way learns all about the nefarious history of egg collecting. This was so much fun, so interesting, so different and so much more than just a crime novel. I can’t wait to read more from truly original author!"

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

Book cover for

Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie

"It’s not often that a big-name best-selling author makes the Beltie list but an exception needs to be made here. James Lee Burke is one of our finest writers, bar none, and this is a perfect introduction to those many out there who have never read him before. Bessie Holland is a very smart fourteen-year-old, who sees the good in most people and recognizes the schemers and the purely dangerous with twenty/twenty vision. Living in hard scrabble Texas she has to be and this is her story and the birth of the Holland family fortune as only James Lee Burke can tell it. With prose so descriptive, so vivid, along with the magic realism that imbues all his work, he creates stories that make us think and see all that exists around us. A true master of the written word. AI will never be able to copy him."

---

Pete

BUY A COPY

A Killer Deal

2026 BELTIE MYSTERY PRIZE NOMINEES

We are offering this bundle of 8 titles with a 10% discount for in-store pick up OR free freight for those who need them shipped. The total value of all 8 books is $215. When you place your order you'll see the full price; we will apply the discount OR remove the shipping fee when we process the order. 

BUY THE BUNDLE
A stack of eight books sits on a dark brown leather chair. Titles include: The Dentist, Deadly Animals, Don’t Forget Me, Little Bessie, Saltwater, The Savage, The Impossible Thing, Red Tide, and Sheepdogs.

CrimeScene

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7

McIntyre’s Books is thrilled to announce the biennial return of CrimeScene Mystery Bookfest on Friday & Saturday, February 6 & 7, 2026. It’s going to be a killer weekend :)

BOOKFEST TICKETS
A yellow sign with bold black text reads “CRIME SCENE,” and blue text below says “MYSTERY BOOKFEST,” set against a black and white striped background.

1

SATURDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

10:30-11:15 - The Joys of the Armchair Traveler

Cara Black & Martin Walker, moderated by Sara Johnson


11:30-12:15 - Crimes and Misdemeanors: What Does Justice Really Mean?

Brendan Slocumb, Megan Miranda & Brian Panowich, moderated by Eryk Pruitt


12:30-1:30 - Lunch Break


1:30-2:15 - Culture and Crime: The Perceptions of People and Place

Naomi Hirahara, Michael Bennett & Malcolm Kempt, moderated by Juliet Grames


2:30-3:30 - Friendship, Careers, and the Late, Great Tony Hillerman

Our Guests of Honor, Anne Hillerman & Craig Johnson


At the end of the festival, Pete will announce the winner of the 2026 Beltie Mystery Prize

Killer Cocktail

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6

This year’s killer cocktail party will be held on Friday, February 6th. Stay tuned for details including this year’s guest authors. It is to die for!

COCKTAIL TICKETS
Two women at an event smile at the camera, holding drinks. Both wear event badges; one says "Carla Buckley" and the other "Jenny Milchman." They stand indoors, dressed in jackets, with other people blurred in the background.

A PRIZE-WINNING STORY

A smiling man in a black hat and blazer stands outdoors by a large tree, holding a colorful stack of books in his arms. Sunlight filters through the leaves, and a grassy yard is visible in the background.

PETE MOCK
JUDGE & JURY

A man in a suit stands in profile holding a sign that reads
Two smiling older adults, a woman and a man, stand indoors holding books. Both wear glasses and yellow lanyards. The woman holds three books; the man holds two. The background is softly lit and out of focus.

ABOUT THE PRIZE

The Beltie Mystery Prize was founded in 2018 by Pete Mock to honor the year’s best work in mystery, thriller, noir, procedural, or true crime writing. Serving as the prize’s sole judge, Mock selects a longlist each fall and announces the winner the following year. The award has highlighted both acclaimed and emerging authors, with past winners including Michael Bennett's Better the Blood, Joey Hartstone's The Local, and S.A. Cosby's Razorblade Tears. Now in its ninth year, the Beltie continues to celebrate outstanding storytelling and craftsmanship in mystery fiction. Check out this year's 2026 nominees here, and join us for a Killer Cocktail February 6th and CrimeScene author panels February 7th, 2026.

SHOP THE HIT LIST



HOURS & LOCATION

McIntyre's Books is open Wednesday to Friday from 10am-6pm, and Saturday & Sunday from 10am-5pm.
Find us at 220 Market Street, Pittsboro NC 27312. Call us at 919-542-3030.