Tuesday, February 08, 2022

Sansom Joins an Elite Contingent

British historical crime novelist C.J. Sansom has been named as this year’s recipient of “the highest honour in British crime writing, the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger.” That announcement was made in an e-mail message earlier this morning.

Sansom is, of course, best known for penning an award-winning series starring hunchbacked 16th-century lawyer Matthew Shardlake (Dissolution, Dark Fire, Tombland). However, he also composed the 2006 thriller Winter in Madrid and the excellent, 2012 alternative-history spy yarn Dominion. As CWA chair Maxim Jakubowski enthuses in a statement: “C.J. Sansom has proven himself to be the modern master of the historical thriller, regardless of periods. Equally at ease evoking sixteenth-century England, Spain in the aftermath of its Civil War or even an alternate post-WW2 Britain, he weaves a web of compelling reality around his characters and brings the past to life like no other, making him a splendid and deserved addition to the prestigious ranks of Diamond Dagger winners.”

Numbering among those previous recipients are Ruth Rendell, John le Carré, Ann Cleeves, Peter Lovesey, Ed McBain, Sue Grafton, Martin Edwards, P.D. James, and Andrew Taylor. Sansom will officially be given the Diamond Dagger during a ceremony in June.

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