The shortlist for this year boasts a very wide range of topics and settings, both historical and contemporary, including gritty realism and yet another vampire menace:

Auslaender, by Paul Dowswell; Devil's Kiss, by Sarwat Chadda; Guantanamo Boy, by Anna Perera; Jimmy Coates: Power, by Joe Craig; Running on the Cracks, by Julia Donaldson; The Midnight Charter, by David Whitley; and The Undrowned Child, by Michelle Lovric.

We are enormously grateful to our readers for writing such thoughtful and insightful reviews, which we think you will find inspiring. Here are just some of their comments:

"I found that this book was very difficult to put down, and so found myself reading much more than I am used to!" "I could read it again and again without getting bored"; "Personally I really liked this novel but I assume it is rather like Marmite, love it or hate it"; "...a story which entices you to read to the next page"; "...I had no idea how things would end but Julia has surprises right to the end"; "Although I don't read books that often I especially liked this book"; "I would recommend this book to anybody." "I promise you won't be let down".

We think that you will agree with our reviewers that our selected books have that essential ingredient: