CWA Dagger Awards Shortlists 2022
Winners to be announced at a gala dinner on June 29, 2022. See my comments at the end.
Gold Dagger (Best Novel)
BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME by Jacqueline Bublitz
Little, Brown • Sphere
SUNSET SWING by Ray Celestin
Pan Macmillan • Mantle
RAZORBLADE TEARS by SA Cosby
Headline Publishing Group • Headline
THE UNWILLING by John Hart
Bonnier Books UK • Zaffre
THE SHADOWS OF MEN by Abir Mukherjee
Penguin Random House • Harvill Secker
THE TRAWLERMAN by William Shaw
Quercus • riverrun
Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (Best Thriller)
FIND YOU FIRST by Linwood Barclay
HarperCollins • HQ
THE PACT by Sharon Bolton
Orion Publishing Group
THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE by Steve Cavanagh
Orion Publishing Group
RAZORBLADE TEARS by Sa Cosby
Headline Publishing Group
DEAD GROUND by MW Craven
Little, Brown • Constable
DREAM GIRL by Laura Lippman
Faber
John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger
WELCOME TO COOPER by Tariq Ashkanani
Thomas & Mercer
REPENTANCE by Eloísa Díaz
Orion Publishing Group • Weidenfeld & Nicolson
THE MASH HOUSE by Alan Gillespie
Unbound • Unbound Digital
THE APPEAL by Janice Hallett
Profile Books • Viper Books
WHERE RAVENS ROOST by Karin Nordin
HarperCollins • HQ
HOW TO KIDNAP THE RICH by Rahul Raina
Little, Brown
WAKING THE TIGER by MARK WIGHTMAN
Hobeck Books
Historical Dagger
APRIL IN SPAIN by JOHN BANVILLE
Faber
SUNSET SWING by RAY CELESTIN
Pan Macmillan • Mantle
CROW COURT by ANDY CHARMAN
Unbound
NOT ONE OF US by ALIS HAWKINS
Canelo
EDGE OF THE GRAVE by ROBBIE MORRISON
Pan Macmillan • Macmillan
A CORRUPTION OF BLOOD by AMBROSE PARRY
Canong
Crime Fiction in
Translation Dagger
HOTEL CARTAGENA by Simone Buchholz
Translated by Rachel Ward
Orenda Books
BULLET TRAIN by Kotaro Isaka
Translated by Sam Malissa
Penguin Random House • Harvill Secker
OXYGEN by Sacha Naspini
Translated by Clarissa Botsford
Europa Editions UK
PEOPLE LIKE THEM by Samira Sedira
Translated by Lara Vergnaud
Bloomsbury Publishing • Raven Books
THE RABBIT FACTOR by Antti Tuomainen
Translated by David Hackston
Orenda Books
Editor’s Note: I’m on a roll! After being delighted with the Edgar nominees and winners, now come the Dagger short lists. I read 4 out of the 6 short-listed for the Gold Dagger and the 4 were among my top-rated books of the year (two on my “Best List”) — Cosby, Hart, Mukherjee and the Shaw. Two of the novels up for the Steel Dagger are on my “Best List” as well — Cosby & Craven. I was enamored by HOW TO KIDNAP THE RICH which is short-listed for the John Creasey Award. I am reading SUNSET SWING by Ray Celestin right now. I’ll let you know about it in the next issue. I might give THE RABBIT FACTOR by Antti Tuomainen a try as well. I understand it is very funny. Larry Gandle will once again read and critique three of the categories and publish his findings in Deadly Pleasures.