Rupa Mahadevan wins the Joffe Books Prize 2024 for her 'fresh' psychological thriller

Rupa Mahadevan has won the Joffe Books Prize 2024 for The Goddess of Death, receiving a two-book publishing deal with Joffe Books, a £1,000 cash prize and a £25,000 audiobook deal from Audible for the first title.

The Joffe Books Prize for Crime Writers of Colour was established in 2021 to "actively seek out writers from communities that are underrepresented in crime fiction" and help them build their careers.

The synopsis of the winning book reads: "A reunion of friends during the Hindu Dolls festival on the stormy island of Oban takes a deadly turn when a stabbed doll is found under a goddess statue. Leela (an outsider who has recently married a member of the group) is sure it foretells death."

Author A A Chaudhuri, Andrew Nurnberg Associates literary agent Gyamfia Osei, former Joffe Books editorial director Emma Grundy Haigh and commissioning editor Jasmine Callaghan considered the writing and marketability of each manuscript.

The judges unanimously awarded the Joffe Books Prize 2024 to Mahadevan, for her "tense, fast-paced psychological thriller, with overlapping layers of intrigue and flawed narrators – all of whom have secrets". 

On the winning book, the judges added: "The eerie setting is fantastic and really adds to the undercurrent of unease and build-up of suspense. A truly gripping thriller with a fresh edge that sets it apart."

The winner said: "As a writer, especially a writer of colour, it’s so easy to let insecurities take over. This win has given the writer in me the biggest validation, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I’m deeply honoured and thrilled to be working with Joffe Books, whose dedication to promoting underrepresented voices has made this incredible milestone possible."