Two previous winners, Chris Brookmyre and Charles Cumming, have made the four-strong shortlist for this year's £1,000 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, alongside authors Lin Anderson and Liam McIlvanney.

New Zealand-based author Liam McIlvanney is the son of William McIlvanney, the novelist after whom the prize is named. He is shortlisted for The Quaker (HarperCollins), which according to the judges "takes familar tropes and makes them extraordinary". Also on the list is Lin Anderson for Follow the Dead (Macmillan), a Dr Rhona McLeod novel set in the Scottish Highlands which was chosen by the judges for its evocative and atmospheric setting.

Previous winner (2016) Brookmyre is in contention again for Places in the Darkness (Little, Brown), described by the judges as a "superlative off world thriller about real world issues", while Cumming, who won the prize in 2012 was chosen for The Man Between (Harper Collins), a "fresh twist" on the spy novel.

The winner of the Scottish Crime Book of the Year will be awarded The McIlvanney Prize at the opening reception of the Bloody Scotland Crime Festival in Stirling on Friday 21st September and at 7.15pm will lead a torchlight procession with Val McDermid and Denise Mina. The award includes both a £1,000 prize and nationwide promotion in Waterstones.

The judging panel for the prize comprises comedian Susan Calman, writer Craig Sisterson and Guardian books journalist Alison Flood, who together have whittled down a 12-strong longlist to the four finalists.

Last year's winner was Denise Mina with The Long Drop (Harvill Secker).