A NORTH-EAST author has been nominated for a major national book award.

Quentin Smith’s second novel, Huber’s Tattoo, made the shortlist for the prestigious People’s Book Prize after winning widespread acclaim from critics and the general public.

The 2014 crime thriller follows unsuspecting Scotland Yard detective DCI Webber as he investigates a string of loosely connected murders that trace back more than 60 years – to the Second World War and Nazi Germany.

On being nominated, Mr Smith said: “I couldn’t believe it. When you’re trying so hard to make an impact in the fiction world – which is very tough – you never think it’s going to happen, so it’s a fantastic opportunity.”

Mr Smith, a Sunderland medic who has lived in Durham for nearly 20 years, published his first novel, The Secret Army of Candles, in 2012.

The People’s Book Prize, supported by Frederick Forsyth and The Publisher’s Association, was created to champion new authors and showcase new and undiscovered works and to give the public the opportunity to choose Britain's next Bestsellers.

Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite novel on their website in order to influence the outcome.

“I’m just crossing my fingers and hoping people vote,” Mr Smith said.

You can vote for Quentin Smith’s Huber’s Tattoo or one of 13 other nominated novels at peoplesbookprize.com. Finalists will be announced on Saturday, February 28.