Tightening the Daggers’ Aim

Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association today announced the shortlists of nominees for its 2020 Dagger Awards, in 10 categories. “As the CWA Daggers are unmatched for their reputation and longevity,” says the organization’s chair, Linda Stratmann, “these shortlists offer a showcase of the finest writing in crime fiction and non-fiction. They reveal the remarkable variety and huge relevance of the genre, which continues to dominate book sales and to shape our cultural landscape.”

The winners of these commendations will be declared during an awards ceremony (presumably online) scheduled for October 22.

Gold Dagger:
• What You Pay For, by Claire Askew (Hodder & Stoughton)
• November Road, by Lou Berney (Harper)
• Forced Confessions, by John Fairfax (Little, Brown)
• Joe Country, by Mick Herron (John Murray)
• Death in the East, by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker)
• Good Girl, Bad Girl, by Michael Robotham (Sphere)

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger:
• November Road, by Lou Berney (Harper)
• This Is Gomorrah, by Tom Chatfield (Hodder & Stoughton)
• One Way Out, by A.A. Dhand (Bantam Press)
• Between Two Evils, by Eva Dolan (Raven)
• Cold Storage, by David Koepp (HQ)
• The Whisper Man, by Alex North:(Michael Joseph)

John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger:
• Your House Will Pay, by Steph Cha (Faber and Faber)
• My Lovely Wife, by Samantha Downing (Michael Joseph)
• Little White Lies, by Philippa East (HQ)
• The Wreckage, by Robin Morgan-Bentley (Trapeze)
• The Man on the Street, by Trevor Wood (Quercus)

Sapere Books Historical Dagger:
• In Two Minds, by Alis Hawkins (The Dome Press)
• Metropolis, by Philip Kerr (Quercus)
• The Bear Pit, by SG MacLean (Quercus)
• Death in the East, by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker)
• The Anarchists’ Club, by Alex Reeve (Raven)
• The Paper Bark Tree Mystery, by Ovidia Yu (Constable)

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger:
• Summer of Reckoning, by Marion Brunet;
translated by Katherine Gregor (Bitter Lemon Press)
• The Godmother, by Hannelore Cayre;
translated by Stephanie Smee (Old Street Publishing)
• Like Flies from Afar, by K. Ferrari;
translated by Adrian Nathan West (Canongate)
• November, by Jorge Galán;
translated by Jason Wilson (Constable)
• The Fragility of Bodies, by Sergio Olguín;
translated by Miranda France (Bitter Lemon Press)
• Little Siberia, by Antti Tuomainen;
translated by David Hackston (Orenda)

Short Story Dagger:
• “The Bully,” by Jeffery Deaver (from Exit Wounds, edited by Paul B. Kane and Marie O’Regan; Titan)
• “The New Lad,” by Paul Finch (from Exit Wounds)
• “The Washing,” by Christopher Fowler (from Invisible Blood, edited by Maxim Jakubowski; Titan)
• “#Me Too,” by Lauren Henderson (from Invisible Blood)
• “The Recipe,” by Louise Jensen (from Exit Wounds)
• “Easily Made,” by Syd Moore (from The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas, by Syd Moore; Point Blank Press)

ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-fiction:
• Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,
by Casey Cep (Heinemann)
• Corrupt Bodies: Death and Dirty Dealing in a London Morgue,
by Peter Everett (Icon)
• Honour: Achieving Justice for Banaz Mahmod,
by Caroline Goode (Oneworld)
• The Fatal Passion of Alma Rattenbury, by Sean O’Connor
(Simon & Schuster)
• The Professor and the Parson: A Story of Desire, Deceit and Defrocking, by Adam Sisman (Profile)
• The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective,
by Susannah Stapleton (Picador)

Dagger in the Library:
• Christopher Brookmyre
• Jane Casey
• Alex Gray
• Quintin Jardine

Debut Dagger:
• The Spae-Wife, by Anna Caig
• Whipstick, by Leanne Fry
• Pesticide, by Kim Hays
• Emergency Drill, by Nicholas Morrish
• Revolution Never Lies, by Josephine Moulds
• Bitter Lake, by Michael Munro

Publishers’ Dagger:
• Bitter Lemon Press
• Harvill Secker
• Head of Zeus
• HQ
• Michael Joseph
• Orenda
• Raven
• Severn House

Congratulations to all of the finalists! If you would like to revisit the longlist of contenders for these prizes, simply click here.