Free Ebook - Murder by the Minster

 Helen Cox's Murder by the Minster is currently free on UK Kindle.

 

Blurb from Amazon:

It's a perfectly normal day for Kitt Hartley at her job at the University of  the Vale of York library, until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her  desk to tell her that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is under suspicion of murder. Evie's ex-boyfriend Owen has been found dead - with a fountain pen stabbed through his heart - and all the evidence points to her. 

Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone - let alone Owen, who she adored. Horrified that the police could have got it so wrong, Kitt decides there's only one thing to do: she's going to investigate Owen's murder herself. She's read hundreds of mystery novels - how hard can it be? 

With the help of her assistant Grace, and the occasional hindrance of the library's eccentric regulars, Kitt summons up all her investigative powers (absorbed over years of reading everything from Agatha Christie to Ian Rankin) and gets to work. 

She soon discovers that down the quaint streets and snickelways of York lie darker doings than she'd ever dreamed, but she needs to watch her step: the murderer is watching her. And they haven't finished killing yet...

Annika Strandhed moving to TV (and Scotland)

Nicola Walker is reprising her Radio 4 role of Detective Annika Strandhed for a TV series based in Scotland (rather than Norway) to be shown on Alibi. According to a tweet from Alibi, she will play DI  Annika Strandhed "as she investigates the unexplained and brutal murders that wash up in the waterways of Scotland". 

In the meantime you can listen to all the radio shows (26 episodes), which are 15 minutes each via BBC iPlayer

Crime Fiction in Translation (International) Dagger Speculation (2021)

The CWA are changing the period of eligibility for their Daggers so that it runs on a calendar year not a financial year so this year's eligibility period will be April 2020 to December 2020. Next year it will be Jan to Dec 2021 and so on.

Read more about it on the CWA's Website.

So here are the 47* translated crime novels published between 1 April 2020 and 31 December 2020 ie the period of eligibility. 

In the list below I've also included the country of birth and gender of the author(s) plus the translator's name and the publisher.

* updated from 41, 14/01/21 pm.

Stats:

The breakdown by gender is 28 Male, 19 Female. Authors are from 15 countries. The most represented countries, in terms of titles, are Germany (8) and Sweden (8), Norway (7) followed by Iceland (6). More than thirty translators (including pairs of translators) brought you these titles, with 10 individuals having translated more than one. There are 32 publishers/imprints represented.

April 2020 - December 2020

Alphabetical

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir - The Creak on the Stairs (Iceland, F) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Orenda Books)

Stefan Ahnhem - X Ways to Die (Sweden, M) (tr. Agnes Broomé, Head of Zeus)

Fredrick Backman - Anxious People (Sweden, M) (tr. Neil Smith, Michael Joseph)

Heine Bakkeid - Scatter Her Ashes (Norway, M) (tr. Anne Bruce, Raven Books)

Marco Balzano - I'm Staying Here (Italy, M) (tr. Jill Foulston, Apollo)

Roxanne Bouchard - The Coral Bride (Canada, F) (tr. David Warriner, Orenda Books)

Michel Bussi - Never Forget (France, M) (tr. Shaun Whiteside, W&N)

Andrea Camilleri - The Safety Net (Italy, M) (tr. Stephen Sartarelli, Mantle)

Andrea Camilleri - The Sicilian Method (Italy, M) (tr. Stephen Sartarelli, Mantle)

Kjell Ola Dahl - Sister (Norway, M) (tr. Don Bartlett, Orenda Books)

Sandrone Dazieri - Kill the King (Italy, M) (tr. Anthony Shugaar, Simon & Schuster UK)

Marc Elsberg - Greed (Austria, M) (tr. Simon Pare, Black Swan)

Katrine Engberg - The Tenant (Denmark, F) (tr. Tara Chace, Hodder Paperbacks)

Sebastian Fitzek - The Package (Germany, M) (tr. Jamie Bulloch, Head of Zeus)

David Foenkinos - The Mystery of Henri Pick (tr. France, M) (tr. Sam Taylor, Pushkin Press)

Mario Giordano - Auntie Poldi and the Handsome Antonio (Germany, M) (tr. John Brownjohn, John Murray)

Abdelilah Hamdouchi - The Butcher of Casablanca (Morocco, M) (tr. Peter Daniel, Hoopoe)

Zhou Haohui - Fate (China, M) (tr. Zac Haluza, Head of Zeus)

Romy Hausmann - Dear Child (Germany, F) (tr. Jamie Bulloch, Quercus)

Anne Holt - A Necessary Death (Norway, F) (tr. Anne Bruce, Corvus)

Jorn Lier Horst - The Inner Darkness (Norway, M) (tr. Anne Bruce, Michael Joseph)

You-Jeong Jeong - Seven Years of Darkness (South Korea, F) (tr. Chi-Young Kim, Little, Brown)

Anna Johannsen - Death on the Beach (Germany, F) (tr. Jozef van der Voort, Thomas & Mercer)

Ragnar Jonasson - The Mist (Iceland, M) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Michael Joseph)

Ragnar Jonasson - Winterkill (Iceland, M) (tr. David Warriner, Orenda Books)

Serge Joncour - Wild Dog (France, M) (tr. Jane Aitken & Polly Mackintosh, Gallic Books)

Yun Ko-eun - The Disaster Tourist (South Korea, F) (tr. Lizzie Buehler, Serpent's Tail)

Martin Kruger - Don't Wake Me (Germany, M) (tr. Jozef van der Voort, Thomas & Mercer)

Volker Kutscher - The March Fallen (Germany, M) (tr. Niall Sellar, Sandstone)

Camilla Lackberg - The Gilded Cage (Sweden, F) (tr. Neil Smith, HarperCollins)

D A Mishani - Three (Israel, M) (tr. Jessica Cohen, riverrun)

Jo Nesbo - The Kingdom (Norway, M) (tr. Robert Ferguson, Harvill Secker)

Hakan Nesser - The Secret Life of Mr Roos (Sweden, M) (tr. Sarah Death, Mantle)

Mikael Niemi - To Cook a Bear (Sweden, M) (tr. Deborah Bragan-Turner, MacLehose Press)

Olivier Norek - The Lost and the Damned (France, M) (tr. Nick Caistor, MacLehose Press)

Sólveig Pálsdóttir - The Fox (Iceland, F) (tr. Quentin Bates, Corylus Books Ltd)

Melanie Raabe - The Shadow (Germany, F) (tr. Imogen Taylor, Text Publishing)

Agnes Ravatn - The Seven Doors (Norway, F) (tr. Rosie Hedger, Orenda Books)

Max Seeck - The Witch Hunter (Finland, M) (tr. Kristian London, Welbeck)

Adania Shibli - Minor Detail (Palestine, F) (tr. Elisabeth Jaquette, Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Lilja Sigurdardottir - Betrayal (Iceland, F) (tr. Quentin Bates, Orenda Books)

Yrsa Sigurdardottir - Gallows Rock (Iceland, F) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Hodder & Stoughton)

Gunnar Staalesen - Fallen Angels (Norway, M) (tr. Don Bartlett, Orenda Books)

Viveca Sten - In the Name of Truth (Sweden, F) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, AmazonCrossing)

Helene Tursten  - Snowdrift (Sweden, F) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, Soho Press)

Ilaria Tuti - Painted in Blood (Italy, F) (tr. Ekin Oklap, W&N)

Maike Wetzel - Elly (Germany, F) (tr. Lyn Marven, Scribe UK)

Website Updates: January 2021

I've recently updated the main files on the Euro Crime website. "Euro Crime" includes both British and other European crime fiction writers (that have been published in English); non-British/European born crime writers who are strongly associated with British/European crime fiction (eg. Donna Leon), and crime writers in translation from outside of Europe.

**We are still having technical issues but we have finally wrestled an update out of the system!**

My usual reminders regarding the New Releases page: 

1. The main by month/by author pages refer to when a book is published (in English) anywhere in the world however the 'by category ie historical, translated etc' is specific to when it's published in the UK.

2. When a book is released "early" in ebook I am taking the publication date as to be when the print edition comes out (this is the rule we use for determining Petrona Award eligibility).

As always, if you spot something wrong or missing, please do let me know.

Here's a summary of the usual updates:

The Author Websites page lists 1087 sites.

In Bibliographies there are bibliographies for 2859 authors (14798 titles of which 3108 are reviewed**).
**Some reviews will be provided by the Crime Review website. 

I've added new bibliographies for: Tessa Arlen, John Banville, Penny Batchelor, Tom Benjamin, S J Bennett, Lisa Bradley, Ros Carne, Karen Cole, Morgan Cry, Emma Dakin, T W Ellis, Katrine Engberg, Trish Finnegan, Lisa Gray, Janice Hallett, Liam Hanson, Ruth Heald, SJI/Susi Holliday, Sam Hurcom, Martin Kruger, Caro Land, Ruth Lillegraven, Tom Marcus, Deborah Masson, Jo McCready, Allison Montclair, Olivier Norek, Bernard O'Keeffe, Sergio Olguin, Richard Osman, Nell Pattison, Alex Pavesi, Sarah Pearse, Alex Pine, John Kåre Raake, Mercedes Rosende, Alex Smith, Camilla Trinchieri, A K Turner, Ilaria Tuti, Christian Unge, Rosie Walker, Rhiannon Ward, Claire Whitfield and T A Willberg.

 

I've updated the bibliographies (ie added new titles) for: Jane Adams, Lin Anderson, M J Arlidge, Jennifer Ashley, Claire Askew, Heine Bakkeid, Lisa Ballantyne, James Barrington, Belinda Bauer, Simon Berthon, Mark Billingham, Helen Black, Sam Blake, S J/Sharon Bolton, Hilary Bonner, Roxanne Bouchard, James Brabazon, Rebecca Bradley, Eric Brown, Vivien Brown, Simone Buchholz, Sheila Bugler, Susanna Calkins, Helen Callaghan, Andrea Camilleri, Colin Campbell, Sam Carrington, Chris Carter, Will Carver, Lee Child, Alys Clare, Rory Clements, Martina Cole, John Connolly, Colin Cotterill, Mike/M W Craven, Charles Cumming, Fiona Cummins, Judith Cutler, Alex Dahl, Arne Dahl, Lindsey Davis, Robert Daws, Anja de Jager, Anders de la Motte, Oscar de Muriel, Will Dean, Claire Douglas, Charlotte Duckworth, Margaret Duffy, Sabine Durrant, Cecilia Ekback, Jim Eldridge, Bella Ellis, Joy Ellis, Kate Ellis, Caroline England, Jessica Fellowes, T P Fielden, Caz Finlay, Sebastian Fitzek, Helen FitzGerald, M J Ford, Ariana Franklin, Caz Frear, Dianne Freeman, Tana French, Robert Galbraith, Camilla Grebe, Susanna Gregory, G R Halliday, Karen Hamilton, C B Hanley, Cora Harrison, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Sarah Hawkswood, Sam Hayes, Mandasue Heller, James Henry, Matt Hilton, Antonia Hodgson, Noelle Holton, Horst & Enger, Catherine Ryan Howard, Debbie Howells, Anna Lee Huber, Graham Hurley, Katja Ivar, David Jackson, P D James, Peter James, Quintin Jardine, Michael Jecks, Luke Jennings, Maureen Jennings, Ragnar Jonasson, Will Jordan, Jessie Keane, Christobel Kent, Simon Kernick, Vaseem Khan, Olivia Kiernan, Laurie R King, T E Kinsey, Erin Kinsley, Bill Kitson, Roberta Kray, Volker Kutscher, Lynda La Plante, Stephen Leather, Anna Legat, Simon Lelic, Frances Lloyd, Catherine Lloyd, TM Logan, M L Longworth, Peter Lovesey, H B Lyle, Stuart MacBride, Siobhan MacDonald, Lorraine Mace, Shona/S G MacLean, Gilly Macmillan, Barry Maitland, David Mark, Edward Marston, Faith Martin, Andrew Martin, Priscilla Masters, Alyssa Maxwell, Val McDermid, Andy McDermott, Chris McGeorge, Claire McGowan, Catriona McPherson, Denise Mina, Dreda Say Mitchell, Lottie Moggach, Margaret Murphy, Peter Murphy, Amy Myers, Barbara Nadel, Sarah J Naughton, Stuart Neville, Chris Nickson, Alex North, Carlene O'Connor, Nick Oldham, B A Paris, S J Parris, Tony Parsons, Ben Pastor, Vikki Patis, David Pearson, Andrea Penrose, Anne Perry, Christoffer Petersen, Henry Porter, E M Powell, Laura Purcell, Anthony J Quinn, Melanie Raabe, Khurrum Rahman, Caro Ramsay, Ian Rankin, Agnes Ravatn, Sarah Rayne, Nicola Rayner, Heather Redmond, Alex Reeve, Rebecca Reid, Craig Robertson, Imogen Robertson, Michael Robotham, Gemma Rogers, Jacqui Rose, Emma Rous, Laura Joh Rowland, Pauline Rowson, Priscilla Royal, Leigh Russell, Michael Russell, Robert Scragg, Laura Shepherd-Robinson, Sara Sheridan, Lilja Sigurdardottir, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Fiona Veitch Smith, Sally Spedding, Cath Staincliffe, Viveca Sten, Linda Stratmann, Andrew/A D Swanston, Maryla Szymiczkowa, Emma Tallon, Aline Templeton, Will Thomas, Robert Thorogood, Peter Tremayne, M J Trow, C J Tudor, Helene Tursten, Stuart Turton, Harriet Tyce, Nicola Upson, Luca Veste, MB Vincent, Alex Walters, Rachel Ward, Roz Watkins, Douglas Watt, Jeri Westerson, Rebecca Whitney, Andrew Wilson, Edward Wilson, Robert Wilton, Michael Wood, David Young and Dylan Young. 

New Releases - January 2021

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in January 2021 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). January and future months (and years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

• Barnes, Kerry - Outcast (ebook only)
• Bauer, Belinda - Exit
• Bayard, Tania - Murder in the Cloister #4 Christine De Pizan Mystery
• Bell, Gary - Post Mortem #2 Elliot Rook QC
• Blake, Sam - The Dark Room
• Bradley, Kate - What I Did
• Brett, Simon - Blotto, Twinks and the Maharajah's Jewel #10 Brother and sister sleuths, Blotto and Twinks
• Bridgett, Helen - One by One (ebook only)
• Briggs, J C - The Mystery of the Hawke Sapphires (ebook only) #7 Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones
• Brightwell, Emily - Mrs Jeffries Demands Justice #39 Mrs Jeffries
• Bruce, Camilla - In the Garden of Spite (apa Triflers Need Not Apply)
• Buchanan, Tracy - Circle of Doubt
• Bugler, Sheila - Before You Were Gone #3 Dee Doran, ex Journalist
• Clements, Rory - A Prince and a Spy #5 Thomas Wilde, 1930s
• Croft, Adam - Snakes and Ladders #10 Knight and Culverhouse
• Dawson, Lucy - The Secret Within (ebook only)
• Dean, Abigail - Girl A
• Dean, Will - The Last Thing to Burn
• Denzil, Sarah A - Little One (ebook only)
• Dranfield, Wendy - Find My Child #1 Detective Madison Harper
• Ekback, Cecilia - The Historians
• Eldridge, Jim - Murder at the Ritz #1 Detective Chief Inspector Coburg & Sergeant Lampson
• Engberg, Katrine - The Butterfly House #2 Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner,Police, Copenhagen
• Fraine, A L - Axe to Grind (ebook only) #1 DCI Pilgrim
• Gatland, Jack - Murder Of Angels (ebook only) #2 DI Declan Walsh
• Hallett, Janice - The Appeal
• Hayes, Samantha - Single Mother
• Hurley, Graham - Last Flight to Stalingrad #5 Wars Within
• James, Ed - Before She Wakes #3 Detective Max Carter
• Landers, Brian - Coincidence of Spies #3 Thomas Dylan, MI6 agent
• Lee, Lynne - False Hope
• Lindstein, Mariette - The Shadow of the Cult #2 The Cult on Fog Island Trilogy
• Lloyd, Catherine - Death Comes to the Rectory #8 Kurland St. Mary Mysteries
• Lloyd, Ellery - People Like Her
• Lowe, Katie - Possession (apa The Murder of Graham Catton)
• MacBride, Stuart - The Coffinmaker's Garden #3 DC Ash Henderson
• Mace, Lorraine - Love Me Tender #5 DI Sterling
• Martin, Andrew - Powder Smoke #10 Jim Stringer, Train Fireman
• Maxwell, Alyssa - A Sinister Service #6 Lady and Lady's Maid Mystery
• McPherson, Catriona - The Mirror Dance #15 Dandy Gilver, Society Sleuth, 1920s Scotland
• Mullen, Owen - Family (ebook only)
• O'Leary, Danny - A Violent Gentleman
• Oliver, Kelly - High Treason at the Grand Hote #2 Fiona Figg
• Parsons, Tony - Your Neighbour's Wife
• Purcell, Laura - The Shape of Darkness
• Raake, John Kåre The Ice #1 Anna Aune
• Ramsay, Caro - On an Outgoing Tide #12 DCI McAlpine, DS Anderson and DS Costello, Glasgow
• Reid, Rebecca - Two Wrongs
• Reynolds, Allie - Shiver
• Rogers, Gemma - Bad Girls
• Rosende, Mercedes Crocodile Tears
• Rous, Emma - The Perfect Guests
• Rowland, Laura Joh - Portrait of Peril #5 Miss Sarah Bain, Victorian Era
• Russell, Leigh - Evil Impulse #4 DS Ian Peterson
• Scragg, Robert - End of the Line #4 Porter & Styles, Police Officers
• Shepherd-Robinson, Laura - Daughters of Night
• Sten, Viveca - In Bad Company #9 Sandhamn Murders
• Thompson, Sharon - The Murdering Wives Club (ebook only)
• Thorogood, Robert - The Marlow Murder Club
• Tudor, C J - The Burning Girls
• Tugwell, Jem - Dishonoured
• Watt, Douglas - A Killing in Van Diemen's Land #5 John MacKenzie, Lawyer, 17thC Edinburgh
• Weatherley, Anna-Lou The Woman Inside

Highlights from 2020

As we're back in a Lockdown in the UK, here are a few things I enjoyed watching and reading in the previous year's main Lockdown.

I've unfortunately lost my reading mojo, it probably went before Lockdown ie when my Dad died. 

Some people are reading like never before and demolishing their stacks of unread books. Me - I've turned to 'Star Trek' and children's books. A few reading highlights from 2020 though included my belated discovery of Raymond Chandler. I read and reviewed The Big Sleep back in May as part of my working from home - trying something new and also available as an ebook on the library's catalogue  - and it has stayed with me.  

My favourite children's book of last year's reads was Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm, which I reviewed here. This is a thriller/mystery set in space.  

TV-wise, my partner and I devoured the Shakespeare and Hathaway series. The first episode didn't start very promisingly but then we were hooked. Equally as belated as my reading of Chandler was our tackling of The Bridge. Absolutely gripping, and now we've gone back to the early series of Line of Duty as we started with series 3 which meant somethings were more of a surprise to us than they should have been! [I believe all these programmes are still on iPlayer.]

Coming up on the blog soon, will be January's new releases, a list of the Petrona Award 2021 eligibles, and hopefully my partner and I can devise a workaround to get my website updated.

Stay Safe and Thanks for Reading

New Releases - November and December 2020

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in paperback or hardback, in November and December 2020 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 

If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.  

Anthology - Afraid Of The Christmas Lights

Anthology - The Book of Extraordinary New Sherlock Holmes Stories (ed. Maxim Jakubowski)  

Jane Adams - Old Sins #6 Detective Chief Inspector Henry Johnstone, 1928

Margaret Addison - Murder on the Cornish Coast #10 Rose Simpson

Tim Adler - Dead Already

Rachel Amphlett - Blood on Snow #1 Detective Kay Hunter Novella

Lawrence Anholt - Festival of Death #2 DI Shanti Joyce & Vince Caine, the Mindful Detective

Tessa Arlen - Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers #2 Air Warden Mystery

Isabel Ashdown - 33 Women

Rob Aspinall - Chosen Girls (apa Homecoming)

Heather Atkinson - Blood Brothers #1 Gallowburn

Lisa Ballantyne - Once Upon a Lie

James Barrington - Cyberstrike: London (with professor Richard Benham) #1 Ben Morgan

Tom Benjamin - The Hunting Season #2 Daniel Leicester, Bologna

Simon Berthon - A Time to Lie

Helen Black - Hard as Nails #4 Liberty Chapman

Hilary Bonner - Cry Darkness

Roxanne Bouchard - The Coral Bride #2 Detective Moralès, Quebec

Graham Brack - The Noose's Shadow #4 Master Mercurius

Rebecca Bradley - See No Evil #7 DI Hannah Robbins

Gerard Brennan - Shot #1 DS Shannon McNulty

Simon Brett - Guilt at the Garage #20 Carole and Jude, Fethering, Southern coast of England

Vivien Brown - Be Careful What You Wish For

Sheryl Browne - Trust Me

Robert Bryndza - Shadow Sands #2 Kate Marshall

Susanna Calkins - The Sign of the Gallows #5 Lucy Campion, Chambermaid, 17thC

Sam Carrington - The Open House

John Carson - Starvation Lake #1 DCI Sean Bracken

Meg Carter - The Day She Can't Forget

Karen Clarke - Your Life for Mine

M A Comley - Cold Mercy #10 DI Sarah Ramsey

Catherine Cooper - The Chalet

Judith Cranswick - Blood Follows Jane Austen #7 Fiona Mason

Judith Cutler - Legacy of Death #2 Matthew Rowsley, Steward &  Mrs Faulkner, Housekeeper, Victorian Era

Michelle Davies - Shadow of a Doubt

Diane M Dickson - Body on the Shore #1 DI Jordan Carr, Liverpool

Keith Dixon - The Two Fathers #11 Private Investigator Sam Dyke

Margaret Duffy - Gillard's Sting #22 Major Patrick Gillard, MI5 & Ingrid Langley, author (ex MI5)

Bella Ellis - The Diabolical Bones #2 The Brontë Mysteries

Kate Ellis - The House of the Hanged Woman #3 Inspector Albert Lincoln, 1919

Joy Ellis - They Disappeared #7 DI Rowan Jackman & DS Maria Evans, Lincolnshire

Caroline England - Truth Games

Kjell Eriksson - The Night of the Fire #11 Detective Ann Lindell, Uppsala, Sweden

Jessica Fellowes - The Mitford Trial #4 Louisa Cannon, Maid to the Mitfords, 1919

Keith Finney - A Yuletide Mystery #6 Norfolk Cozy Mysteries

Sebastian Fitzek - The Package

Ariana Franklin (with Samantha Norman) - Death and the Maiden #5 Adelia, 'doctor to the dead', C12th

Ashley Gardner - The Custom House Murders #15 Captain Lacey, Regency Era

Jack Gatland - Letter From The Dead #1 DI Declan Walsh

D J Gatward - Best Served Cold #2 DCI Harry Grimm

Anne Glenconner - Murder on Mustique

Lisa Gray - Dark Highway #3 Jessica Shaw

Morgan Greene - Fresh Meat #2 DS Jamie Johansson

Ross Greenwood - The Ice Killer #3 DI Barton

Heath Gunn - Khan

Liam Hanson - Lies People Tell #1 Murder Squad, Cardiff

Liam Hanson - Dead People Sleep #2 Murder Squad, Cardiff

Zhou Haohui - Fate #2 Chengdu Police Department

Cora Harrison - Summer of Secrets #3 Gaslight Mystery

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - Cruel as the Grave #22 Bill Slider, Shepherd's Bush CID

Beverley Harvey - The Perfect Liar

Sarah Hawkswood -  River of Sins #7 Bradecote and Catchpoll, Worcestershire, C12

Matt Hilton - The Fourth Option #13 Joe Hunter

Susi Holliday- The Last Resort

Anne Holt - A Necessary Death #2 Selma Falck

Noelle Holton - Dead Perfect #3 DC Maggie Jamieson

Jorn Lier Horst - The Inner Darkness #14 Chief Inspector William Wisting, Larvik

M A Hunter - Ransomed #1 The Missing Children Case Files

Sam Hurcom - Letters from the Dead #2 Thomas Bexley, Forensic Photographer, 1904

Daniel Hurst - Til Death Do Us Part

Alison James - Her Sister's Child

Quintin Jardine - The Roots of Evil #32 Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Skinner, Edinburgh

Maureen Jennings - November Rain #2 Paradise Cafe, Toronto, 1936

Stuart Johnstone - Out in the Cold #1 Sergeant Don Colyear

Ragnar Jonasson - Winterkill #6 Ari Thor, Policeman

Conrad Jones - Good, Bad and Pure Evil #1 Anglesey Mysteries

Will Jordan - Something to Die For #9 Ryan Drake, British CIA Agent

Jessie Keane - The Manor

Simon Kernick - Kill A Stranger

Karen King - The Stranger in My Bed

Mariah Kingdom - Death Benefit #4 Rose Bennett

T E Kinsey - The Fatal Flying Affair #7 Lady Emily Hardcastle, 1908

Bill Kitson - The Bleeding Heart Killer #11 Detective Mike Nash, Yorkshire

Roberta Kray - Betrayed

Martin Kruger - Don't Wake Me

Zoe Lea - If He Wakes

Frances Lloyd - The Kings Market Killer #6 Detective Inspector Jack Dawes

Andrew Lowe - Chase The Devil #5 DI Jake Sawyer

H B Lyle - The Year of the Gun #3 Wiggins, 1909

Simon McCleave - The Solace Farm Killings #7 DI Ruth Hunter

Jo McCready - The Festival Killer #2 RJ Rox

Val McDermid - Christmas is Murder, Short Stories

Chris McDonald - The Curious Dispatch of Daniel Costello #1 Stonebridge Mysteries

Claire McGowan - The Push

Rachel McLean - Deadly Desires #3 DI Zoe Finch, West Midlands

Catriona McPherson - Scot on the Rocks #3 Last Ditch Mysteries

Barry Maitland - The Promised Land #13 Sergeant Kathy Kolla and Detective Chief Inspector David Brock, London

Tom Marcus - Defend or Die #2 Matt Logan, MI5 Agent

Angela Marsons - Deadly Cry #13 DI Kim Stone

Andy Maslen - Shallow Ground #1 DI Ford

Deborah Masson - Out For Blood #2 DI Eve Hunter, Aberdeen

John Mayhew - Cruelty Has A Human Heart #4 DCI Will Blake

Simon Michael - Force of Evil #6 Charles Holborne, 1960s

Dreda Say Mitchell - Dirty Tricks #1 Mo Watson

Catherine Moloney - Crime in the Book Club #10 DI Gilbert Markham

Ada Moncrieff - Murder Most Festive #1 Hugh Gaveston, 1938

Anna-Marie Morgan - The Edinburgh Murders #14 DI Yvonne Giles

M S Morris - A Darkly Shining Star #5 DI Bridget Hart, Oxford

Antoinette Moses - A Public Murder #1 DI Pam Gregory

Margaret Murphy - Don't Scream #3 DCI Rickman, Liverpool

Peter Murphy - Verbal #7 Ben Schroeder, Lawyer, 1960s

Chris Nickson - To the Dark #3 Simon Westow, Thief-taker, Regency Leeds

Olivier Norek - The Lost and the Damned #1 Banlieues Trilogy

Jim Ody - Little Miss Evil #1 Tall Trees

Ollie Ollerton - Scar Tissue #1 Alex Abbott

S J Parris - A Christmas Requiem (ebook only) #3 Giordano Bruno Novella

S J Parris - The Dead of Winter, Giordano Bruno Novella Collection

C J Parsons -The Good Samaritan

Nell Pattison - Silent Night #2 Paige Northwood, sign language interpreter

N V Peacock - Little Bones

David Penny - A Tear for the Dead #9 Thomas Berrington, 1490s

Helen Phifer - The Killer's Girl #2 Detective Morgan Brookes

Ava Pierce - Stay Home

E M Powell - The Canterbury Murders #3 Stanton and Barling

Anthony J Quinn - Turncoat

Sarah Rayne - The Devil's Harmony #5 Phineas Fox

Alex Reeve - The Butcher of Berner Street #3 Leo Stanhope, Victorian era

Sara Rosett - Murder on a Midnight Clear #6 High Society Lady Detective, 1920s England

L J Ross - Cuthbert's Way #17 DCI Ryan

Priscilla Royal - Elegy to Murder #16 Eleanor, Prioress of Tyndal, 13thC, East Anglia

Chris Ryan - Zero 22 #8 Danny Black

Jess Ryder - The Night Away

Emma Salisbury - When Darkness Falls #7 DS Coupland

Alex Shaw - Total Blackout #1 Jack Tate, ex-SAS

Bilinda P Sheehan - Splinter the Bone #3 Harriet Quinn

Alex Smith - Run Rabbit Run #5 DCI Robert Kett, Norfolk

Gunnar Staalesen - Fallen Angels #22 Varg Veum, PI in Bergen, Norway

Paul J Teague - Trust Me Once #1 Morecambe Bay Trilogy 2

Paul J Teague - Fall From Grace #2 Morecambe Bay Trilogy 2

Paul J Teague - Bound By Blood #3 Morecambe Bay Trilogy 2

M J Trow - Last Nocturne #7 A Grand & Batchelor Victorian Mystery

Helene Tursten - Snowdrift #3 Detective Inspector Embla Nystrom

Luca Veste - The Game

Debbie Viggiano - The Watchful Neighbour

Alex Walters - Lost Hours #2 DI Annie Delamere, Derbyshire

Ruth Ware - One by One

Jeri Westerson - Spiteful Bones #13 Crispin Guest, ex Knight, Medieval times

J D Weston - The Silent Man #1 Harvey Stone

J D Weston - The Spider's Web #2 Harvey Stone

D E White - The Ice Daughters #2 Detective Dove Milson

Rebecca Whitney - The Hidden Girl

Paul Williams - Don't Tell

Michael Wood - Stolen Children #6 DCI Matilda Darke

Sarah Woodbury - Chevalier #2 Welsh Guard Mysteries

Adam J Wright - Silence of the Bones #2 Murder Force

Dylan Young - Trauma

David Young - The Stasi Game #6 Oberleutnant Karin Müller

New Releases - September and October 2020

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in paperback or hardback, in September and October 2020 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). [Apologies for the continuing delay with these posts. I'm working my way up to date. We've had a couple of busy months with the Petrona.]

If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment. There's been a lot of moving of dates.

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir - The Creak on the Stairs #1 Forbidden Iceland

Rachel Amphlett - Her Final Hour #2 Detective Mark Turpin

Heine Bakkeid - Scatter Her Ashes #2 Thorkild Aske

John Banville - Snow #1  Detective Inspector St John Strafford

M C Beaton - Agatha Raisin: Hot to Trot  #31 Agatha Raisin, Retired PR person, Cotswolds

S J Bennett - The Windsor Knot #1 The Queen

Graham Brack - Dishonour and Obey #3 Master Mercurius

Frances Brody - Death and the Brewery Queen #12 Kate Shackleton, Bradford, 1920s

Andrea Camilleri - The Sicilian Method #26 Inspector Montalbano, Sicily, Italy

Lee Child with Andrew Child - The Sentinel  #25 Jack Reacher, ex MP, USA

Alys Clare  - The Outcast Girls #2 World's End Bureau Victorian Mystery series

Ann Cleeves - The Darkest Evening #9 Inspector Vera Stanhope, East Yorkshire

Oliver Clements - The Eyes of the Queen #1 Agents of the Crown series

Karen Cole - Deceive Me

Martina Cole - Loyalty

Linda Coles - The Silent Ones  #3 Chrissy Livingstone

Julie Corbin - A Lie For A Lie

Ben Creed - City of Ghosts

Charles Cumming - Box 88

Emma Dakin - Crime in Cornwall #2 British Book Tour Mysteries

Anja de Jager - Death at the Orange Locks #5 Lotte Meerman, a Cold Case Detective, Amsterdam

Leona Deakin - Lost #2 Dr Bloom

Sarah A Denzil - You Are Invited (ebook only)

Sarah A Denzil - They Are Liars

Caroline Dunford - A Death in the Hospital #15 Euphemia Martins

Colin Falconer - Angels Weep #3 Detectives Charlie George and Clare Reeves

Caz Finlay - Head of the Firm #3 Bad Blood

Trish Finnegan - Blue Bird

Keith Finney - Dead... Again  #5 Norfolk Cozy Mysteries

Tana French - The Searcher

Robert Galbraith - Troubled Blood  #5 Cormoran Strike

Elly Griffiths - The Postscript Murders #2 Harbinder Kaur

Rona Halsall - The Ex-Boyfriend

S M Hardy - Evil Never Dies #2 Dark Devon Mysteries

Matt Hilton - Collision Course #7 Grey and Villere, Louisiana

Debbie Howells - The Vow

Anna Lee Huber - A Pretty Deceit #4 Verity Kent, England, 1919

Graham Hurley - Limelight #4  Enora Andresson

Peter James - I Follow

Stuart James - Stranded

Michael Jecks - Death Comes Hot #5 Jack Blackjack, Tudor Era

Louise Jensen - The Stolen Sisters

Carys Jones - The List

Mariah  Kingdom - Death Duties #3 Rose Bennett

Danuta Kot - Someone Who Isn't Me

Volker Kutscher - The March Fallen #5 Detective Inspector Rath, Berlin, 1929/30s

Anna Legat - A Conspiracy of Silence #5 DI Gillian Marsh

Nick Louth - The Body on the Island #6 DCI Craig Gillard

Nina Manning - The House Mate

David Mark - Suspicious Minds

Allan Martin - Death in Tallinn

Priscilla Masters - A Game of Minds #3 Dr Claire Roget, Forensic Psychiatrist

Jo McCready - The Hunted #1 RJ Rox

Chris McGeorge - Inside Out

Jack McSporran - Payback #3 Maggie

Zoe Miller - The Perfect Sister

Liz Mistry - Unbound Ties #7DI Gus McGuire

Vera Morris - The Ship of Death #4 Anglian Detective Agency series

Gretta Mulrooney - Never Came Home #2 DI Siv Drummond

Amy Myers - Death and the Singing Birds #3 Nell Drury, chef-sleuth, 1920s

Jo Nesbo - The Kingdom

Hakan Nesser - The Secret Life of Mr Roos  #3 Inspector Barbarotti

Stuart Neville - The Traveller and Other Stories #1Short Stories

Carlene O'Connor - Murder at an Irish Christmas #6 Siobhan O'Sullivan, Kilbane, County Cork

Nick Oldham - Bad Timing #25 DCI Christie

Sólveig Pálsdóttir - The Fox (ebook only)

Jill Paterson - Murder At The Beaufort #1 Phoebe Chadwick

Vikki Patis - The Wake

David Pearson  - Murder in a Safe Haven #10 Detectives Lyons and Hays, Galway

Andrea Penrose - Murder at Queen's Landing #4 Wrexford & Sloane

Anne Perry - A Christmas Resolution

Christoffer Petersen - Arctic Rebel #2 Guerrilla Greenland

Alex Pine - The Christmas Killer #1 DI James Walker, Cumbria

Jack Probyn - The Community: Episode 2 #8 CID Case

Melanie Raabe - The Shadow

Ian Rankin - A Song For The Dark Times #23 Inspector Rebus, Edinburgh

Agnes Ravatn - The Seven Doors

Nicola Rayner - You and Me

Heather Redmond - A Christmas Carol Murder

Kate Rhodes - Pulpit Rock #4 DI Ben Kitto

Imogen Robertson with Tom Watson - The House

Peter Robinson - Not Dark Yet #27 Insp. Alan Banks, Yorkshire

Pauline Rowson - Death In The Harbour  #2 Inspector Alun Ryga, Dorset

Caro Savage - Villain

Max Seeck - The Witch Hunter

Lilja Sigurdardottir - Betrayal

K L Slater - The Girl She Wanted

Alexander McCall Smith - How to Raise an Elephant #21 Mma Ramotswe, PI, Botswana

Fiona Veitch Smith - The Art Fiasco #5 Poppy Denby, 1920s Reporter

Emma Tallon - Ruthless Girl #7 Anna Davis

Stuart Turton - The Devil and the Dark Water

Rosie Walker - Secrets of a Serial Killer

Sue Watson - First Date

S R White - Hermit

Claire Whitfield - People of Abandoned Character

Edward Wilson - The Portrait of a Spy as a Young Man #7 Catesby

Robert Wilton - Poison in Paris #2 Harry Delamere

The Petrona Award 2020 - Winner

 

Winner of 2020 Petrona Award announced – a first for Finnish crime

The winner of the 2020 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is:

LITTLE SIBERIA by Antti Tuomainen, translated from the Finnish by David Hackston and published by Orenda Books.

As well as a trophy, Antti Tuomainen receives a pass to and a guaranteed panel at CrimeFest 2022. Antti Tuomainen and David Hackston will also receive a cash prize.

The judges’ statement on LITTLE SIBERIA:

Antti Tuomainen’s LITTLE SIBERIA stood out on the shortlist for all of the judges. From its arresting opening, in which a meteorite unexpectedly lands on a speeding car, to its very human depiction of a pastor grappling with private and theological crises, this is a pitch-perfect comic crime novel with considerable depth and heart.

The first Finnish crime novel to receive the Petrona Award, LITTLE SIBERIA is a particularly fitting winner for 2020 – a year in which life was turned upside down. A celebration of resilience, fortitude and simply muddling through, it is a novel for our times.

David Hackston’s fine translation captures LITTLE SIBERIA’S depictions of an icy northern Finland and its darkly comic tone, skilfully showcasing the writing of one of Scandinavia’s most versatile and original crime authors. LITTLE SIBERIA is published by Orenda Books, one of the UK’s foremost independent publishers, which consistently champions international and translated crime fiction.

Comments from the winning author, translator and publisher:

Antti Tuomainen (author):

To make a long story short, I have to make it long first. A few years ago, after publishing five very dark and very noir books, I felt there was an element within me I had to bring into my writing: humour. Before my first darkly funny book The Man Who Died was published I was very nervous. Was I making a big mistake? One of those career choices you read about in artists' biographies under the chapter title 'The Fall'? Not that anyone would write about me, as I would be forgotten, found much later in a basement room, alone, perished in the middle of a last 'humorous' sentence … Happily, I was wrong, and not for the first time. Which seems to bring us to Little Siberia. It is my eighth book and now the recipient of the prestigious Petrona Award. When I set out to write a darkly comical crime novel with a priest as main character, I knew I was taking a leap – again. Alas, here we are. I want to thank David Hackston and Karen Sullivan, both incomparable and indispensable, as without them all the jury would have had was a book in Finnish with no idea who sent it. I send my warmest thank you to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Oh, and that shorter story: after fifteen years of writing and nine books, it seems I'm finally an overnight success.

David Hackston (translator):

I'm extremely honoured to receive the Petrona Award 2020, not least because of the illustrious, formidable company on the shortlist. Many congratulations to all the authors and especially to my fellow translators – my co-conspirators in bringing Nordic writing to English-speaking readers. My thanks to the panel and a huge, heartfelt thank you to Orenda Books, without whom none of this would be possible. Of course, behind every good translation is an excellent original text, and in this respect Antti Tuomainen is the gift that keeps on giving. Kiitos, Antti; thanks for the laughs thus far. Long may it continue.

Karen Sullivan (Orenda Books):

We are honoured and absolutely thrilled by the news that Little Siberia has won this prestigious award – quite possibly the only designated award for Scandinavian crime fiction in English – and it feels fitting that in such a difficult year, Antti's beautifully written, funny, philosophical and exquisitely plotted thriller has been chosen. Antti has pushed the crime genre in so many exciting directions, and I applaud the judges for making such a bold and perfect choice. It can be no easy feat to translate Finnish and yet David Hackston has once again produced an elegant, pitch-perfect translation, and we are so delighted that his work has been rewarded in this way.

The judges would also like to highly commend THE SILVER ROAD by Stina Jackson, translated from the Swedish by Susan Beard and published by Corvus (Atlantic Books).

The Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his generous and continued support of the 2020 Petrona Award.

The Petrona Award 2020 - Shortlist

From the press release which was embargoed until 8.00am today:

Outstanding crime fiction from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden shortlisted for the 2020 Petrona Award

Six outstanding crime novels from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have been shortlisted for the 2020 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. The shortlist is announced today, Tuesday 24 November.

THE COURIER by Kjell Ola Dahl, tr. Don Bartlett (Orenda Books; Norway) 

INBORN by Thomas Enger, tr. Kari Dickson (Orenda Books; Norway) 

THE CABIN by Jørn Lier Horst, tr. Anne Bruce (Michael Joseph; Norway)

THE SILVER ROAD by Stina Jackson, tr. Susan Beard (Corvus; Sweden)

THE ABSOLUTION by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, tr. Victoria Cribb (Hodder & Stoughton; Iceland) 

LITTLE SIBERIA by Antti Tuomainen, tr. David Hackston (Orenda Books; Finland)

The winning title, usually announced at the international crime fiction convention CrimeFest, will now be announced on Thursday 3 December 2020. The winning author and the translator of the winning title will both receive a cash prize, and the winning author will receive a full pass to and a guaranteed panel at CrimeFest 2022.

The Petrona Award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia, and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

The Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his continued generous support of the Petrona Award. We would also like to thank Sarah Ward, who has now stood down from the judging panel, for her valuable contributions over many years. We wish her every success with her new Gothic thriller, The Quickening, published under the name Rhiannon Ward. We are delighted to have Jake Kerridge, The Daily Telegraph’s crime fiction critic, join the Petrona team as a guest judge for this year’s Award. 

The judges’ comments on the shortlist:

There were 37 entries for the 2020 Petrona Award from six countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden). The novels were translated by 24 translators and submitted by 21 publishers/imprints. There were 13 female and 24 male authors. 

This year’s Petrona Award shortlist sees Norway strongly represented with three novels; Finland, Iceland and Sweden each have one. The crime genres represented include the police procedural, historical crime, literary crime, comedy crime and thriller.

The Petrona Award judges selected the shortlist from a rich field. The six novels stand out for their writing, characterisation, plotting, and overall quality. They are original and inventive, often pushing the boundaries of genre conventions, and tackle highly complex subjects such as legacies of the past, mental health issues and the effects of grief. Three of the shortlisted titles explore the subject of criminality from an adolescent perspective.

We are extremely grateful to the six translators whose expertise and skill have allowed readers to access these gems of Scandinavian crime fiction, and to the publishers who continue to champion and support translated fiction.

 

The judges’ comments on each of the shortlisted titles:

THE COURIER by Kjell Ola Dahl, tr. Don Bartlett (Orenda Books; Norway) 

Kjell Ola Dahl made his debut in 1993, and has since published seventeen novels, most notably those in the ‘Gunnarstranda and Frølich’ police procedural series. In 2000, he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix, and the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. In much the same way as Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason, Dahl explores the experience of the Second World War by moving away from the linear murder mystery to something far more searching and emotionally driven. The Courier is an intelligent and absorbing standalone that offers a perceptive and highly moving exploration of Scandinavian history. It traverses changing times and cultural norms, and traces the growing self-awareness of a truly memorable female protagonist.

INBORN by Thomas Enger, tr. Kari Dickson (Orenda Books; Norway) 

Thomas Enger worked for many years for Norway’s first online newspaper, Nettavisen, and as an author is best-known for his five novels featuring the journalist-sleuth Henning Juul, one of which – Pierced – was shortlisted for the Petrona Award in 2013. He has also won prizes for his thrillers for young adults. Inborn, his first standalone novel to be translated into English, tells the story of a murder trial from the perspective of the seventeen-year-old defendant, and combines a gripping courtroom drama with a tender and intriguing portrait of Norwegian small-town life, and the secrets bubbling away beneath its surface.

THE CABIN by Jørn Lier Horst, tr. Anne Bruce (Michael Joseph; Norway)

Having previously worked as a police officer, Jørn Lier Horst has established himself as one of the most successful Scandinavian authors of the last twenty years. Horst’s previous ‘William Wisting’ novel, The Katharina Code, won the 2019 Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel, as well as the Nordic Noir Thriller of the Year in 2018. The Cabin sees Chief Inspector Wisting juggling the demands of two testing cases, leading him into the path of an old adversary and plunging him into the criminal underworld. Horst has once again produced an impeccably crafted police procedural with a deft control of pace and tension.

THE SILVER ROAD by Stina Jackson, tr. Susan Beard (Corvus; Sweden)

The Silver Road is Stina Jackson’s highly accomplished debut. It has achieved remarkable success, winning the 2018 Award for Best Swedish Crime Novel, the 2019 Glass Key Award, and the 2019 Swedish Book of the Year Award. Set in northern Sweden, where Jackson herself grew up, the novel explores the aftermath of teenager Lina’s disappearance, and her father Lelle’s quest to find her by driving the length of the Silver Road under the midnight sun. Three years on, young Meja arrives in town: her navigation of adolescence and first-time love will lead her and Lelle’s paths to cross. The Silver Road is a haunting depiction of grief, longing and obsession, with lots of heart and a tremendous sense of place.

THE ABSOLUTION by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, tr. Victoria Cribb (Hodder & Stoughton; Iceland) 

A full-time civil engineer as well as a prolific writer for both adults and children, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir is one of Iceland’s best-selling and most garlanded crime novelists, and the winner of the 2015 Petrona Award for The Silence of the Sea. The Absolution is the third entry in her ‘Children’s House’ series, and features a very modern killer who targets teenagers with an MO involving Snapchat. This artfully plotted and thought-provoking book continues the series’ focus on the long-lasting impact of childhood trauma, with welcome light relief provided by the mismatched investigators, detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja.

LITTLE SIBERIA by Antti Tuomainen, tr. David Hackston (Orenda Books; Finland)

Antti Tuomainen is a versatile crime writer, whose works draw on genres as varied as the dystopian thriller and comedy crime caper. His third novel, The Healer, won the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel in 2011 and he has been shortlisted for the Glass Key, Petrona and Last Laugh Awards, as well as the CWA Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger. Little Siberia, set in an icy northern Finland, opens with a bang when a meteorite unexpectedly lands on a speeding car. Transferred to the local museum for safe keeping, the valuable object is guarded from thieves by local priest Joel, who is grappling with both a marital crisis and a crisis of faith. Absurdist black humour is expertly combined with a warm, perceptive exploration of what it means to be human.

 The judges

Jackie Farrant – Crime fiction expert and creator of RAVEN CRIME READS; bookseller for eighteen years and a Regional Commercial Manager for a major book chain in the UK.

Dr. Kat Hall – Translator and editor; Honorary Research Associate at Swansea University; international crime fiction reviewer at MRS. PEABODY INVESTIGATES.

Jake Kerridge – Journalist and literary critic. He has been the crime fiction reviewer of the Daily Telegraph since 2005 and has judged many crime and thriller prizes.

 

Award administrator

Karen Meek – owner of the EURO CRIME website, reviewer, former CWA judge for the International Dagger, and Library Assistant.

Further information can be found on the Petrona Award website: http://www.petronaaward.co.uk.

Images of the Petrona Award logo and the shortlisted titles are available (from 8.00am) at:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/swanseauniversity/37x67d

(copy & paste link into browser)

CWA Daggers 2020 - Winners

Apologies for the delay in posting this and many congratulations to all the winners and translators.

CWA Dagger Awards 2020 Winners Announced

Michael Robotham, Lou Berney, Casey Cep, and Abir Mukherjee win 2020 CWA Dagger awards.

The winners of the 2020 CWA Daggers, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced.

The world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

The winners were announced during a live virtual ceremony (on evening of 22 October), hosted by one of the UK’s leading experts on crime fiction, the writer and reviewer Barry Forshaw.  The evening also featured guest speaker, Richard Osman.

The 2020 CWA Gold Dagger for the best crime novel went to Michael Robotham for Good Girl, Bad Girl, featuring forensic psychologist, Cyrus Haven. Born in Australia, Michael worked as a journalist in Australia, America and the UK as senior feature writer for the Mail on Sunday before becoming a ghost writer collaborating with politicians and show business personalities to write their autobiographies. Since his first psychological thriller, The Suspect caused a bidding war at the London Book Fair in 2002, his novels have won numerous awards and have been translated into 25 languages. He was previously awarded the Gold Dagger for Life or Death in 2015.

Lou Berney has won the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller for November Road, a poignant crime novel set against the assassination of JF Kennedy. The novel attracted widespread acclaim from reviewers and fellow authors alike, with Stephen King declaring it ‘exceptional’. The American author has previously won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Barry, and Oklahoma Book awards. Berney was also Highly Commended in the CWA Gold Dagger category.

The much-anticipated John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger highlights the best debut novels. This year the accolade goes to Trevor Wood for The Man on the Street, featuring a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, dubbed by Lee Child as ‘an instant classic’. Wood, a journalist and playwright, has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. He served in the Royal Navy for 16 years.

Abir Mukherjee wins the Sapere Books Historical Dagger for his fourth novel featuring Sam Wyndham, Death in the East. The accountant turned crime writer was inspired to become an author after watching Lee Child on breakfast TV say he started writing age 40. Abir’s debut, A Rising Man, won the Dagger for best historical crime novel in 2017. Death in the East explores the legacy of colonialism in India.

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger goes to Hannelore Cayre for The Godmother, translated by Stephanie Smee. Hannelore Cayre is an award-winning French novelist, screenwriter and director, as well as a practising criminal lawyer. The Godmother has been made into a feature film starring Isabelle Huppert. Stephanie Smee, who lives in Sydney, worked as a lawyer in Sydney and London before becoming a translator, specialising in French to English.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is awarded to Casey Cep, a staff writer at the New York Times whose first book Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, has received acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. An instant New York Times bestseller, Furious Hours was a Barack Obama Book of the Year.

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story. Lauren Henderson receives the Short Story Dagger for #Me Too which features in the anthology Invisible Blood, edited by Maxim Jakubowski.

Linda Stratmann, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, said: “The winners, and all those who were in contention for a Dagger are, as always, to be commended. One thing the pandemic and lockdown has taught us is the value and importance of books and storytelling – for escapism and comfort and for our well-being. Books have always been the conduit to other worlds and into other lives. They let us know we are not alone, so our 2020 virtual awards feel even more significant as many vulnerable people are in enforced isolation and we are all socially distancing. We’re proud to celebrate the crime genre.”

The Dagger in the Library is voted on exclusively by librarians, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries. This year it goes to Scottish novelist Christopher Brookmyre, whose books mix comedy, politics and social comment. The journalist turned award-winning novelist is widely considered as one of Britain’s leading crime authors, selling more than two million copies of his novels in the UK alone.

One of the anticipated highlights of the annual Daggers is the Debut Dagger competition, open to unknown and uncontracted writers. The competition for unpublished writers can lead to them securing representation and a publishing contract. This year the winner is Josephine Moulds for Revolution Never Lies. Anna Caig was Highly Commended for The Spae-Wife.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, goes to Orenda Books. The London-based publisher was established in 2014 by Karen Sullivan.

Writer Barry Forshaw, MC for the Dagger Awards evening, said: “The CWA Dagger Awards are the most prestigious prizes in crime fiction, and this year has furnished a particularly strong set of books and authors. Nothing dampens the excitement of the Daggers – not even pandemics!”

One of the UK’s most prominent societies for the promotion and promulgation of crime writing, the CWA was founded in 1953 by John Creasy; the awards started in 1955 with its first award going to Winston Graham, best known for Poldark. They are regarded by the publishing world as the foremost British awards for crime-writing.

The Winners:

GOLD DAGGER

Michael Robotham: Good Girl, Bad Girl (Sphere)

Lou Berney: November Road (Harper Fiction) – Highly Commended

IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Lou Berney: November Road (Harper Fiction)

JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

Trevor Wood: The Man on the Street (Quercus Fiction)

SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGGER

Abir Mukherjee: Death in the East (Harvill Secker)

CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

Hannelore Cayre: The Godmother, translated by Stephanie Smee (Old Street Publishing)

SHORT STORY DAGGER

Lauren Henderson: #Me Too in Invisible Blood, edited by Maxim Jakubowski (Titan Books)

ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Casey Cep: Furious Hours (William Heinemann)

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Christopher Brookmyre

DEBUT DAGGER

Josephine Moulds: Revolution Never Lies

Anna Caig: The Spae-Wife - Highly Commended

PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

Orenda Books

DIAMOND DAGGER

Awarded every year to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, and who has made a significant contribution to the genre. Votes from CWA members go forward to be deliberated on by an independent panel.

This Dagger is announced in early spring each year and in 2020 goes to celebrated Golden Age specialist, anthology editor, reviewer and fiction writer Martin Edwards.