Crime Fiction Awards: The Best in Mysteries, Suspense Novels and Thrillers

List of Awards

Agatha

Anthony

Arthur Ellis

Audie

Barry

Benjamin Franklin

Best Books

Blóðdropinn

Bloody Scotland Crime Novel

Bloody Words

Bruce Alexander

CrimeFest

CWA Dagger

Danish Crime Novel

Daphne du Maurier

David

Davitt

Dilys

Edgar

EPIC

Falcon

Finnish Crime Novel

ForeWord

Friedrich Glauser

Glass Key

Grand Prix de Lit. Policière

Grant Allen

Gumshoe

Hammett

Harper Lee

Indie Lit

International Book

IPPY

Irish Book

John Spray

LA Times

Lambda

Lefty

Lovey

Macavity

National (UK)

National Indie

Ned Kelly

Nero

Next Generation

Ngaio Marsh

Petrona Award

Poloni Prize

Premier

Premio Azzeccagarbugli

Premio Fedeli

Prix Mystère

Quill

Reader Views

Reviewers' Choice

Riverton Prize

SCIBA

Shamus

SMM Crime Novel

SMM Private Eye

SMM Traditional

Spotted Owl

Strand Critics

Swedish Crime Novel

Theakstons

Thriller

Tony Hillerman

Home - ♦ - About - ♦ - Search - ♦ - Omnimystery Home

The CWA Dagger Awards

The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Dagger Awards are given annually to celebrate the very best in crime and thriller writing.

The number and naming of the awards has changed significantly over the years, with descriptions of the most popular categories being:

Gold: Best Crime Novel; Silver: Runner-up Crime Novel; Ian Fleming Steel: Best Thriller; New Blood: Best First Crime Novel; International: Best Foreign Crime Novel translated into English; Library: Reader Favorite (by author, not a specific title); Historical: Novels set at least 35 years prior to current year; Debut: Best Unpublished; Diamond: Lifetime Achievement.

 

    2015
  • Gold: Life of Death by Michael Robotham (Little, Brown)
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Cop Town by Karin Slaughter (Random House)
  • John Creasy New Blood: Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson (Random House)
  • International: Camille by Pierre Lemaitre (Quercus)
  • Dagger in the Library: Christopher Fowler
  • Historical: The Seeker by S. G. MacLean (Quercus)
  • Debut Dagger: Last Of The Soho Legends by Greg Keen
  • Non-Fiction: In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile by Dan Davies (Quercus)
  • Short Story: "Apocrypha" by Richard Lange (Sweet Nothing — Mulholland Press)
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Catherine Aird
    2014
  • Gold: This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash (Doubleday)
  • Ian Fleming Steel: An Officer and A Spy by Robert Harris (Random House)
  • John Creasey New Blood: The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin (Mantle)
  • International: The Siege by Arturo Perez-Reverte, translated by Frank Wynne [Spain] (Weidenfeld)
  • Historical: The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • Debut Dagger: The Movement by Jody Sabral
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Simon Brett
  • Non-Fiction: The Seige by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark (Viking)
  • Short Story: "Fedora" by John Harvey (Deadly Pleasures edited by Martin Edwards — Severn House)
    2013
  • Gold: Dead Lions by Mick Herron (Soho Crime)
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Ghostman by Roger Hobbs (Transworld)Review of Ghostman by Roger Hobbs
  • John Creasey New Blood: Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller (Faber & Faber)Review of Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller
  • International Tie:
    • Ghost Riders of Ordebec by Fred Vargas, translated by Siân Reynolds [France] (Harvill Secker)
    • Alex by Pierre Lemaitre, translated by Frank Wynne [France] (Quercus)
  • Dagger in the Library: Belinda Bauer
  • Ellis Peters Historical: The Scent of Death by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins)
  • Debut Dagger: Call Time by Finn Clarke [UK]
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Lee Child
  • Non-Fiction: Midnight in Peking by Paul French (Penguin Viking)
  • Short Story: "Come Away with Me" by Stella Duffy (The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime Volume 10, edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Constable)
    2012
  • Gold: The Rage by Gene Kerrigan (Harvill Secker)
  • Ian Fleming Steel: A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)
  • John Creasey New Blood: Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (Bantam)
  • International: The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri, translated by Stephen Sartarelli (Mantle)
  • Dagger in the Library: Steve Mosby
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Icelight by Aly Monroe (John Murray)
  • Debut Dagger: Sandy Gingras
  • Non-Fiction: The Eleventh Day by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan (Doubleday)
  • Short Story Tie:
    • "The Message" by Margaret Murphy (Best Eaten Cold and other stories, The Mystery Press)
    • "Laptop" by Cath Staincliffe (Best Eaten Cold and other stories, The Mystery Press)
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Frederick Forsyth
    2011
  • Gold: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin (Macmillan)
  • Ian Fleming Steel: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton (Orion)
  • John Creasey New Blood: Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson (Doubleday)
  • International: Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and BÖrge HellstrÖm (Quercus)
  • Dagger in the Library: Mo Hayder
  • Ellis Peters Historical: The Somme Stations by Andrew Martin (Faber & Faber)
  • Debut Dagger: Michele Rowe
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Lindsey Davis
  • Non-Fiction: The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr (Simon & Schuster)
  • Short Story: "Homework" by Phil Lovesey (The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime Volume 8, Constable & Robinson)
    2010
  • Gold: Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
  • Ian Fleming Steel: A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
  • New Blood: Acts of Violence by Ryan David Jahn (Pan)
  • International: The Darkest Room by Johan Theorin (Doubleday)
  • Dagger in the Library: Ariana Franklin
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Revenger by Rory Clements (John Murray)
  • Debut Dagger: Patrick Eden
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Val McDermid
  • Non-Fiction: Aftermath by Ruth Dudley Edwards (Harvill Secker)
  • Short Story: "Can You Help Me Out Here" by Robert Ferrigno (Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down, Mira)
    2009
  • Gold: A Whispered Name by William Broderick
  • Ian Fleming Steel: The Last Child by John Hart
  • New Blood: Echoes from the Dead by Johan Theorin (Doubleday)
  • International: The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas (Harvill Secker)
  • Dagger in the Library: Colin Cotterill
  • Ellis Peters Historical: If the Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr (Quercus)
  • Debut Dagger: Catherine O'Keefe
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Andrew Taylor
  • Non-Fiction: No Award Given
  • Short Story: "One Serving of Bad Luck" by Sean Chercover (Killer Year, Mira)
    2008
  • Gold: Blood from Stone by Frances Fyfield
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
  • New Blood: The Bethlehem Murders by Matt Beynon Rees (Atlantic Books)
  • International: Lorraine Connection by Dominique Manotti (Arcadia Books)
  • Dagger in the Library: Craig Russell
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Stratton's War by Laura Wilson (Orion)
  • Debut Dagger: Amer Anwar
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Sue Grafton
  • Non-Fiction: Nationality: Wog by Kester Aspden (Jonathan Cape)
  • Short Story: "The Bookbinder's Apprentice" by Martin Edwards (The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries, Constable & Robinson)
    2007
  • Gold: The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
  • New Blood: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
  • International: Wash This Blood from My Hand by Fred Vargas (Harvill Secker)
  • Dagger in the Library: Stuart MacBride
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (Bantam)
  • Debut Dagger: Alan Bradley
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): John Harvey
  • Non-Fiction: No Award Given
  • Short Story: "Needle Match" by Peter Lovesey (The Best British Mysteries, Allison & Busby)
    2006
  • Gold: Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Mr. Clarinet by Nick Stone
  • New Blood: Still Life by Louise Penny (Hodder Headline)
  • International: The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas (The Harvill Press)
  • Dagger in the Library: Jim Kelly
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Red Sky Lament by Edward Wright (Orion)
  • Debut Dagger: Otis Twelve
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Elmore Leonard
  • Non-Fiction: The Dagenham Murder by Linda Rhodes, Lee Shelden, and Kathryn Abnett
  • Short Story: "Sins of Scarlet" by Robert Barnard (ID: Crimes of Identity, Comma Press)
    2005
  • Gold: Silence of the Grave by Arnaldur Indridason
  • Silver: Deadly Web by Barbara Nadel
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Brandenburg by Henry Porter
  • New Blood: Running Hot by Dreda Say Mitchell (Maia Press)
  • Dagger in the Library: Jake Arnott
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Dark Fire by C. J. Sansom (Macmillan)
  • Debut Dagger: Ruth Dugdall
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Ian Rankin
  • Non-Fiction: On the Run by Gregg and Gina Hill (Hutchinson)
  • Short Story: "No Files on Frank" by Danuta Reah (Sherlock Magazine, Atlas Publishing)
    2004
  • Gold: Blacklist by Sara Paretsky
  • Silver: Flesh and Blood by John Harvey
  • Ian Fleming Steel: Garden of Beasts by Jeffery Deaver
  • New Blood: Amagansett by Mark Mills (Fourth Estate)
  • Dagger in the Library: Alexander McCall Smith
  • Ellis Peters Historical: The Damascened Blade by Barbara Cleverly (Constable & Robinson)
  • Debut Dagger: Ellen Grubb
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Lawrence Block
  • Non-Fiction Tie:
    • Cosa Nostra by John Dickie (Hodder & Stoughton)
    • The Italian Boy by Sarah Wise (Jonathan Cape)
  • Short Story: "The Weekender" by Jeffery Deaver (Twisted, Hodder & Stoughton)
    2003
  • Gold: Fox Evil by Minette Walters
  • Silver: Half-Broken Things by Morag Joss
  • Ian Fleming Steel: The Small Boat of Great Sorrows by Dan Fesperman
  • New Blood: Mission Flats by William Landay (Bantam)
  • Dagger in the Library: Stephen Booth
  • Ellis Peters Historical: The American Boy by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins)
  • Debut Dagger: Kirsty Evans
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Robert Barnard
  • Non-Fiction: Pointing from the Grave by Samantha Weinberg (Hamish Hamilton)
  • Short Story: "Closer to the Flame" by Jerry Sykes (Crime in the City, Do-Not Press)
    2002
  • Gold: The Athenian Murders by Jose Carlos Somoza
  • Silver: The Final Country by James Crumley
  • Ian Fleming Steel: The Sirius Crossing by John Creed
  • New Blood: The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh (Canongate)
  • Dagger in the Library: Peter Robinson
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Virago)
  • Debut Dagger: Ilona van Mil
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Sara Paretsky
  • Non-Fiction: Dead Man's Wages by Lillian Pizzichini (Picador)
  • Short Story: "Martha Grace" by Stella Duffy (Tart Noir, Pan Macmillan)
    2001
  • Gold: Sidetracked by Henning Mankell
  • Silver: Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt
  • New Blood: The Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones (Picador)
  • Ellis Peters Historical: The Office of the Dead by Andrew Taylor (HarperCollins)
  • Debut Dagger: Edward Wright
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Lionel Davidson
  • Non-Fiction: The Infiltrators by Philip Etienne and Martin Maynard with Tony Thompson (Michael Joseph)
  • Short Story: "Prussian Snowdrops" by Marion Arnott (Crimewave 4, TTA Press)
    2000
  • Gold: Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethern
  • Silver: Friends in High Places by Donna Leon
  • New Blood: God is a Bullet by Boston Teran
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Absent Friends by Gillian Linscott (Virago)
  • Debut Dagger: Simon Levack
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Peter Lovesey
  • Short Story: "Helena and the Babies" by Denise Mina (Fresh Blood 3, Do-Not Press)
    1999
  • Gold: A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson
  • Silver: Vienna Blood by Adrian Mathews
  • New Blood: Lie in the Dark by Dan Fesperman
  • Ellis Peters Historical: Two for the Lions by Lindsey Davis (Century)
  • Debut Dagger: Caroline Carver
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Margaret Yorke
  • Short Story: "Taking Care of Frank" by Antony Mann (Crimewave 2, TTA Press)
    1998
  • Gold: Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke
  • Silver: Manchester Slingback by Nicholas Blincoe
  • New Blood: Garnet Hill by Denise Mina
  • Debut Dagger: Joolz Denby
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Ed McBain
  • Short Story: "Roots" by Jerry Sykes (Mean Time, Do-Not Press)
    1997
  • Gold: Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
  • Silver: Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
  • New Blood: Body Politic by Paul Johnston
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Colin Dexter
  • Short Story: "On the Psychiatrist's Couch" by Reginald Hill (Whydunnit, Severn House)
    1996
  • Gold: Popcorn by Ben Elton
  • Silver: Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey
  • New Blood: Not awarded
  • Dagger in the Library: Marian Babson
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): H. R. F. Keating
  • Short Story: "Herbert in Motion" by Ian Rankin (Perfectly Criminal, Severn House)
    1995
  • Gold: The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid
  • Silver: The Summons by Peter Lovesey
  • New Blood Tie:
  • Dagger in the Library: Lindsey Davis
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Reginald Hill
  • Short Story: "Funny Story" by Larry Beinhart (No Alibi, Ringpull)
    1994
  • Gold: The Scold's Bridle by Minette Walters
  • Silver: Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
  • New Blood: Big Town by Doug J. Swanson
  • Dagger in the Library: Robert Barnard
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Michael Gilbert
    1993
  • Gold: Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell
  • Silver: Fatlands by Sarah Dunant
  • New Blood: Not awarded
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Ellis Peters
    1992
  • Gold: The Way Through the Woods by Colin Dexter
  • Silver: Bucket Nut by Liza Cody
  • New Blood: The Ice House by Minette Walters
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Leslie Charteris
    1991
  • Gold: King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine
  • Silver: Deep Sleep by Frances Fyfield
  • New Blood: Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Ruth Rendell
    1990
  • Gold: Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill
  • Silver: The Late Candidate by Mike Phillips
  • New Blood: Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Julian Symons
    1989
  • Gold: The Wench is Dead by Colin Dexter
  • Silver: The Shadow Run by Desmond Lowden
  • New Blood: A Real Shot in the Arm by Annette Roome
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Dick Francis
    1988
  • Gold: Ratking by Michael Dibdin
  • Silver: Toxic Shock by Sara Paretsky
  • New Blood: Death's Bright Angel by Janet Neel
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): John le Carré
    1987
  • Gold: A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine
  • Silver: Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
  • New Blood: Dark Apostle by Denis Kilcommons
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): P. D. James
    1986
  • Gold: Live Flesh by Ruth Rendell
  • Silver: A Taste for Death by P. D. James
  • New Blood: Tinplate by Neville Steed
  • Diamond (Lifetime Achievement): Eric Ambler
    1985
  • Gold: Monkey Puzzle by Paula Gosling
  • Silver: Last Seen Alive by Dorothy Simpson
  • New Blood: The Latmer Mercy by Robert Richardson
    1984
  • Gold: The Twelfth Juror by B. M. Gill
  • Silver: The Tree of Hands by Ruth Rendell
  • New Blood: A Very Private Enterprise by Elizabeth Ironside
    1983
  • Gold: Accidental Crimes by John Hutton
  • Silver: The Papers of Tony Veitch by William McIlvanney
  • New Blood Tie:
    • The Ariadne Clue by Carol Clemeau
    • The Night the Gods Smiled by Eric Wright
    1982
  • Gold: The False Inspector Dew by Peter Lovesey
  • Silver: Ritual Murder by S. T. Haymon
  • New Blood: Caroline Miniscule by Andrew Taylor
    1981
  • Gold: Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
  • Silver: The Dead of Jericho by Colin Dexter
  • New Blood: The Ludi Victor by James Leigh
    1978
  • Gold: The Chelsea Murders by Lionel Davidson
  • Silver: Waxwork by Peter Lovesey
  • New Blood: Saturday of Glory by David Serafin
    1977
  • Gold: The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carre
  • Silver: Laidlaw by William McIlvanney
  • New Blood: The Judas Pair by Jonathan Gash
    1976
  • Gold: A Demon in my View by Ruth Rendell
  • Silver: Rogue Eagle by James McClure
  • New Blood: Death of a Thin Skinned Animal by Patrick Alexander
    1975
  • Gold: The Seven Per Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer
  • Silver: The Black Tower by P. D. James
  • New Blood: Acid Drop by Sara George
    1974
  • Gold: Other Paths to Glory by Anthony Price
  • Silver: The Grosvenor Square Goodbye by Francis Clifford
  • New Blood: The Big Fix by Roger L. Simon
    1973
  • Gold: The Defection of A. J. Lewinter by Robert Littell
  • Silver: A Coffin for Pandora by Gwendoline Butler
  • New Blood: Don't Point That Thing at Me by Kyril Bonfiglioli
    1972
  • Gold: The Levanter by Eric Ambler
  • Silver: The Rainbird Pattern by Victor Canning
    1970
  • Gold: Young Man I Think You're Dying by Joan Fleming
  • Silver: The Labyrinth Makers by Antony Price
    1969
  • Gold: A Pride of Heroes by Peter Dickinson
  • Silver: Another Way of Dying by Francis Clifford
    1968
  • Gold: Skin Deep by Peter Dickinson
    1967
  • Gold: Murder Against the Grain by Emma Lathen
    1966
  • Gold: A Long Way to Shiloh by Lionel Davidson
    1965
  • Gold: The Far Side of the Dollar by Ross Macdonald
    1963
  • Gold: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre
    1962
  • Gold: When I Grow Rich by Joan Fleming
    1961
  • Gold: The Spoilt Kill by Mary Kelly
    1960
  • Gold: The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson
    1959
  • Crossed Red Herring: Passage of Arms by Eric Ambler
    1958
  • Crossed Red Herring: Someone from the Past by Margot Bennett
    1957
  • Crossed Red Herring: The Colour of Murder by Julian Symons
    1956
  • Crossed Red Herring: The Second Man by Edward Grierson
    1955
  • Crossed Red Herring: The Little Walls by Winston Graham

If present, Mystery Book Reviews by Mysterious Reviews indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

Page Author: Lance Wright. Site Publisher: Crime Fiction Awards (Mystery Awards) — The Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites.

Copyright Notice