Aird Snatches the Diamond

Britain’s Crime Writer’s Association (CWA) has announced that 84-year-old Catherine Aird will receive its 2015 Diamond Dagger award. The presentation will be made on on Tuesday, June 30, as part of Crime Reading Month.

Aird, whose real name is Kinn Hamilton McIntosh, published her first novel, The Religious Body, in 1966. It introduced her now very familiar pair of sleuths, Detective Chief Inspector C.D. Sloan and his assistant, Detective Constable Crosby. She has since penned almost two dozen sequels, including Dead Heading (2013) and the short-story collection Last Writes (2014). A former chair of the CWA (1990-1991) and resident of East Kent, Aird was made a member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of “her longtime work” with the Girl Guides, according to this profile on the Rue Morgue Press Web site.

Current CWA chair Alison Joseph is quoted as saying, “Catherine Aird is an inspirational figure to other crime writers. Not only is her writing irresistible and wonderful, but she’s also a great champion of other authors and of crime writing itself. That makes her the perfect choice to receive this year’s Diamond Dagger.”

Previous recipients of this commendation include John Harvey, Sue Grafton, Andrew Taylor, Val McDermid, Frederick Forsyth, Lee Child, and last year’s winner, Simon Brett.