Pulse-pounding thriller that's officially the best crime novel of the year

A pulse-pounding action thriller that sets its protagonists characters racing around the US and Canada to prevent a terror atrocity was last night named Britain's best crime novel. Bestselling historical crime author Abir Mukherjee, hitherto best-known for his Raj-era novels, won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, supported by the Daily and Sunday Express, for his brilliant contemporary thriller, Hunted.

Set in the final week of a toxic presidential campaign, two devastated parents find themselves in a race against time - and the FBI - to track down their children who are suspected of terrorist atrocities. Highly topical, and exploring themes of radicalisation, prejudice and racism, judges, including broadcaster Steph McGovern, described Hunted as "a thought-provoking, intriguingly taut, propulsive and highly original thriller".

Mukherjee, 51, who was born in London but grew up in Scotland, received a £3,000 prize, as well as an engraved beer cask handcrafted by one of Britain's last coopers from Theakston's Brewery at the opening of the world-famous crime writing festival at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Mukherjee, wearing shorts, told the audience: "I'm in shock. I haven't got a speech. I haven't even got trousers! It's an honour to have been shorlisted. Thank you to the judges and thanks you to the readers. This was a very hard book to write. It took a long time and a lot of great writers helped me.

"It's a serious book. It's very different to everything else I've written. Its about conflict and polarisation but it's also a book about hope - that the distance between us isn't as fare as we might think it is."

Meanwhile, festival favourite Elly Griffiths, whose The Last Word was in contention for the crime novel of the year award, the seventh time she has been shortlisted, was honoured with the festival's outstanding contribution award in recognition of her remarkable crime fiction writing career and "unwavering commitment to the genre".

Griffiths, the author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries; the Brighton Mysteries, the Detective Harbinder Kaur series and an exhilarating new series featuring time-travelling detective Ali Dawson, said: "It means the world to me to receive this award."

Griffiths thanked her publisher, Quercus, for publishing all 32 of her novels. And her editor, Jane Wood, who has edited every single one. "Of all the things crime writing has given me, the greatest are the friends," she added.

Before she received her award, fellow writer William Shaw paid tribute, describing Griffiths as "one of the nicest people in the business". "She has empathy in spades, she is one of the most welcoming people in the crime writing community," he added.

The second annual McDermid Debut Award, named in recognition of crime writer Val McDermid, went to David Goodman for A Reluctant Spy - a high-concept thriller about a tech executive who agrees to lend his identity to an elite intelligence agency in return for a helping hand through life, but gets far more than he bargained for when he finds himself in hostile territory having to do the job of a trained espionage operative to avoid a global conflict.

Goodman, who lives in East Lothian, Scotland, receives a £500 cash prize. The award was presented by Chair of Judges, Val McDermid, Chair of Judges, said:"If you think you've read every twist in every area of the genre, think again. Our winner has found a new take and delivers it with pace and propulsive storytelling."

He said thanks his wife, Valerie, adding: "I couldn't do what I do without you."

Simon Theakston, Chairman of title sponsor T&R Theakston, said: "It is fantastic to have two highly original thrillers winning top honours at the Theakston Old Peculier Awards tonight. Our Novel of the Year winner, Hunted by Abir Mukerjee is a high-octane masterpiece with a rollercoaster plot that will stay with me for a long time, while A Reluctant Spy' by David Goodman is an engrossing and highly entertaining novel that had me hooked right from the start."

Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said: "The awards ceremony is the perfect way to open the Festival, and we are thrilled to celebrate the work of three incredible crime writers at different stages of their career this year."