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01/11Best crime stories to read this year
Every year the Crime Writers’ Association(CWA) honours the best Britsh crime books of different lengths and sub-genres with awards. The awards are called the Daggers or CWA Daggers and the most prestigious is the Diamond Dagger, which is awarded to a writer nominated by CWA members for their lifetime contribution to the genre.
Here are the winners for 2020
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
02/11Debut Dagger
This category helps authors find representation. The award is given for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer. This year it was won by Josephine Moulds for ‘Revolution Never Lies’. She lived in Cuba in 2010, and has studied politics and written for The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph and other such publications. She has only written a picture book manuscript previously.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
03/11Dagger in the Library
The Dagger in the Library is given to a body of work by an established crime writer who has long been popular with those who borrow books from libraries. It also awards authors who have been known to support libraries and their users.
This year’s winner is Chris Brookmyre, whose books have sold over two million copies in the UK alone. He has won the McIlvanney Prize and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award for his work.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
04/11Short Story
This category’s title speaks for itself. This year it was won by Lauren Henderson for her story #METOO which can be found in the anthology ‘Invisible Blood’.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
05/11ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Ficton
This award is for a non-fiction crime book that was first published in the UK. It was won by ‘Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee’ by Casey Cep. It’s two intertwined stories, one of an odd preacher in Alabama who supposedly killed no fewer than five relatives for the insurance money, and of Harper Lee, the ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author and her attempts to make a Cold Blood-style non-fiction book out of it.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
06/11John Creasey (New Blood)
This Dagger is for the best crime novel by a first-time author (of any nationality) first published in the UK.
The winner is ‘The Man on the Street’ by Trevor Wood. It follows a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, who might have heard a murder one night. He, along with other homeless people tries to solve the mystery.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
07/11Sapre Books Historical Dagger
As the name suggests, this dagger awards a historical crime book. This year ‘Death in the East’ by Abir Mukherjee won. It’s set in 1920s Raj-era India and follows a young constable Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee as they hunt for a the killer of a clever murder.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
08/11Crime Fiction in Translation
Again, this prize name speaks for it’s category. The winning book is titled ‘The Godmother’ and was originally written in French by Hannelore Cayre and translated into English by Stephanie Smee.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
09/11Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
Named after the famed crime writer, this dagger awards page-turning thriller books. It was won by Lou Berney for the novel ‘November Road’ which is both a love story and a chase thriller, set during JFK’s assassination.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk
10/11Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger goes to simply the best crime novel of the year. It was awarded to ‘Good Girl, Bad Girl’ by Michael Robotham. It’s about an unidentified girl found at a horrible crime scene, who is put into a children’s home. Some years later forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free and what she learns leads to an incredible story.
Photo: thecwa.co.uk