<P>Last year "Frozen" introduced Welsh crime writer Lindsay Jayne Ashford to U.S. mystery fans. Now "Strange Blood, " the next in this critically acclaimed series, has been shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Fellow nominees include Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, and Stephen Booth.<P>In this second crime novel to feature forensic psychologist Dr. Megan Rhys, she is called in to help police investigate what they believe to be a ritual killing. But as more women die, and as the press, the police, her boss, and even her own family turn on her, Megan stakes everything on finding the killer.