And the winner is ...

Palmyra was a gripping, transportive read with an unexpectedly dastardly third act and a satisfyingly romantic end ... Karen Barrow is a phenomenal writer who honours her craft with evocative sensory details and propulsive precise plotting.  Amber Cowie, Whistler Book Award judge

Among Barrow's many strengths are her mastery of time and place ... taking readers on expeditions from the Great House to the cocoa plantation to the servants' quarters, through which a variegated image of racism, classism and sexism comes sharply into view. Darcie Friesen Hossack, Whistler Book Award judge