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Gold Dagger Award (CWA Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year)

Crime Writers' Association (CWA)

One of the most prestigious British awards for crime fiction, presented annually by the Crime Writers' Association to honor the best crime novel of the year, historically known as the Gold Dagger before rebranding as the CWA Dagger.

Search through 6,630 awarded or nominated books

2025

  1. The Book of Secrets

    Anna Mazzola

    Won
  2. A Divine Fury

    D V Bishop

    Shortlisted
  3. Guide Me Home

    Attica Locke

    Shortlisted
  4. I Died at Fallow Hall

    Bonnie Burke-Patel

    Shortlisted
  5. The Bell Tower

    R J Ellory

    Shortlisted
  6. The Hunter

    Tana French

    Shortlisted

2024

  1. Tell Me What I Am

    Una Mannion

    Won
  2. Black River

    Nilanjana Roy

    Shortlisted
  3. Over My Dead Body

    Maz Evans

    Shortlisted
  4. Small Mercies

    Dennis Lehane

    Shortlisted
  5. The Secret Hours

    Mick Herron

    Shortlisted
  6. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

    Jesse Sutanto

    Shortlisted

2023

  1. The Kingdoms of Savannah

    George Dawes Green

    Won
  2. A Killing in November

    Simon Mason

    Shortlisted
  3. The Clockwork Girl

    Anna Mazzola

    Shortlisted
  4. The Lost Man of Bombay

    Vaseem Khan

    Shortlisted
  5. The Silent Brother

    Simon Van der Velde

    Shortlisted
  6. The Winter Guest

    WC Ryan

    Shortlisted

2022

  1. Sunset Swing

    Ray Celestin

    Won
  2. Before You Knew My Name

    Jacqueline Bublitz

    Shortlisted
  3. Razorblade Tears

    S. A. Cosby

    Shortlisted
  4. The Shadows of Men

    Abir Mukherjee

    Shortlisted
  5. The Trawlerman

    William Shaw

    Shortlisted
  6. The Unwilling

    John Hart

    Shortlisted

2021

  1. We Begin at the End

    Chris Whitaker

    Won
  2. Blacktop Wasteland

    S. A. Cosby

    Shortlisted
  3. City of Ghosts

    Ben Creed

    Shortlisted
  4. House of Correction

    Nicci French

    Shortlisted
  5. Midnight Atlanta

    Thomas Mullen

    Shortlisted
  6. The Postscript Murders

    Elly Griffiths

    Shortlisted
  7. Troubled Blood

    Robert Galbraith

    Shortlisted

2020

  1. Good Girl, Bad Girl

    Michael Robotham

    Won
  2. Death in the East

    Abir Mukherjee

    Shortlisted
  3. Forced Confessions

    John Fairfax

    Shortlisted
  4. Joe Country

    Mick Herron

    Shortlisted
  5. November Road

    Lou Berney

    Shortlisted
  6. What You Pay For

    Claire Askew

    Shortlisted

2019

  1. The Puppet Show

    M. W. Craven

    Won
  2. A Station on the Path to Somewhere Better

    Benjamin Wood

    Shortlisted
  3. All the Hidden Truths

    Claire Askew

    Shortlisted
  4. American by Day

    Derek B. Miller

    Shortlisted
  5. Unto Us a Son Is Given

    Donna Leon

    Shortlisted
  6. What We Did

    Christobel Kent

    Shortlisted

2018

  1. The Liar

    Steve Cavanagh

    Won
  2. A Necessary Evil

    Abir Mukherjee

    Shortlisted
  3. Bluebird, Bluebird

    Attica Locke

    Shortlisted
  4. London Rules

    Mick Herron

    Shortlisted
  5. Resurrection Bay

    Emma Viskic

    Shortlisted
  6. Since We Fell

    Dennis Lehane

    Shortlisted

2017

  1. The Dry

    Jane Harper

    Won
  2. A Rising Man

    Abir Mukherjee

    Shortlisted
  3. Dead Man's Blues

    Ray Celestin

    Shortlisted
  4. Spook Street

    Mick Herron

    Shortlisted
  5. The Beautiful Dead

    Belinda Bauer

    Shortlisted
  6. The Girl in Green

    Derek B. Miller

    Shortlisted

2016

  1. Dodgers

    Bill Beverly

    Won
  2. Black Widow

    Chris Brookmyre

    Shortlisted
  3. Blood Salt Water

    Denise Mina

    Shortlisted
  4. Real Tigers

    Mick Herron

    Shortlisted

2015

  1. Life or Death

    Michael Robotham

    Won
  2. Missing

    Sam Hawken

    Shortlisted
  3. Mr. Mercedes

    Stephen King

    Shortlisted
  4. Pleasantville

    Attica Locke

    Shortlisted
  5. The Rules of Wolfe

    James Carlos Blake

    Shortlisted
  6. The Shut Eye

    Belinda Bauer

    Shortlisted
  7. The Silkworm

    Robert Galbraith

    Shortlisted

2014

  1. This Dark Road to Mercy

    Wiley Cash

    Won
  2. How the Light Gets In

    Louise Penny

    Shortlisted
  3. Keep Your Friends Close

    Paula Daly

    Shortlisted
  4. The First Rule of Survival

    Paul Mendelson

    Shortlisted

2013

  1. Dead Lions

    Mick Herron

    Won
  2. Rage Against the Dying

    Becky Masterman

    Shortlisted
  3. Rubbernecker

    Belinda Bauer

    Shortlisted
  4. The Shining Girls

    Lauren Beukes

    Shortlisted

2012

  1. The Rage

    Gene Kerrigan

    Won
  2. Bereft

    Chris Womersley

    Shortlisted
  3. The Flight

    M. R. Hall

    Shortlisted
  4. Vengeance in Mind

    N. J. Cooper

    Shortlisted

2011

  1. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

    Tom Franklin

    Won
  2. Snowdrops

    A D Miller

    Shortlisted
  3. The End of the Wasp Season

    Denise Mina

    Shortlisted
  4. The Lock Artist

    Steve Hamilton

    Shortlisted

2010

  1. Blacklands

    Belinda Bauer

    Won
  2. Blood Harvest

    S. J. Bolton

    Shortlisted
  3. Shadowplay

    Karen Campbell

    Shortlisted
  4. The Way Home

    George Pelecanos

    Shortlisted

2009

  1. A Whispered Name

    William Brodrick

    Won
  2. Hit and Run

    Lawrence Block

    Shortlisted
  3. In the Dark

    Mark Billingham

    Shortlisted
  4. When Will There Be Good News?

    Kate Atkinson

    Shortlisted

2008

  1. Blood from Stone

    Frances Fyfield

    Won
  2. Blood from Stone

    Frances Fyfield

    Won
  3. A Vengeful Longing

    R. N. Morris

    Shortlisted
  4. Night Work

    Steve Hamilton

    Shortlisted
  5. The Coroner's Lunch

    Colin Cotterill

    Shortlisted
  6. The Tin Roof Blowdown

    James Lee Burke

    Shortlisted
  7. What the Dead Know

    Laura Lippman

    Shortlisted

2007

  1. The Broken Shore

    Peter Temple

    Won
  2. Brother Grimm

    Craig Russell

    Shortlisted
  3. Pegasus Descending

    James Lee Burke

    Shortlisted
  4. Sharp Objects

    Gillian Flynn

    Shortlisted
  5. Sovereign

    C. J. Sansom

    Shortlisted
  6. The Fields of Grief

    Giles Blunt

    Shortlisted

2006

  1. Raven Black

    Ann Cleeves

    Won
  2. A Thousand Lies

    Laura Wilson

    Shortlisted
  3. Red Leaves

    Thomas H. Cook

    Shortlisted
  4. Safer Than Houses

    Frances Fyfield

    Shortlisted
  5. The Chemistry of Death

    Simon Beckett

    Shortlisted
  6. Wolves of Memory

    Bill James

    Shortlisted

2005

  1. Silence of the Grave

    Arnaldur Indriðason

    Won
  2. Calling Out for You

    Karin Fossum

    Shortlisted
  3. Deadly Web

    Barbara Nadel

    Shortlisted
  4. In Matto's Realm

    Friedrich Glauser

    Shortlisted
  5. Skinny Dip

    Carl Hiaasen

    Shortlisted

2004

  1. Blacklist

    Sara Paretsky

    Won
  2. Flesh and Blood

    John Harvey

    Shortlisted
  3. Midnight Cab

    James W. Nichol

    Shortlisted
  4. The Torment of Others

    Val McDermid

    Shortlisted
  5. Tokyo

    Mo Hayder

    Shortlisted

2003

  1. Fox Evil

    Minette Walters

    Won
  2. Almost Blue

    Carlo Lucarelli

    Shortlisted
  3. Half-Broken Things

    Morag Joss

    Shortlisted
  4. The Company

    Robert Littell

    Shortlisted
  5. The Winter Queen

    Boris Akunin

    Shortlisted

2002

  1. The Athenian Murders

    José Carlos Somoza

    Won
  2. City of Bones

    Michael Connelly

    Shortlisted
  3. Jolie Blon's Bounce

    James Lee Burke

    Shortlisted
  4. Scaredy Cat

    Mark Billingham

    Shortlisted
  5. The Final Country

    James Crumley

    Shortlisted

2001

  1. Sidetracked

    Henning Mankell

    Won
  2. Baby Love

    Denise Danks

    Shortlisted
  3. Dancing with the Virgins

    Stephen Booth

    Shortlisted
  4. Forty Words for Sorrow

    Giles Blunt

    Shortlisted
  5. Right as Rain

    George Pelecanos

    Shortlisted

2000

  1. Motherless Brooklyn

    Jonathan Lethem

    Won
  2. Friends in High Places

    Donna Leon

    Shortlisted
  3. Lost

    Lucy Wadham

    Shortlisted
  4. Purple Cane Road

    James Lee Burke

    Shortlisted
  5. The Skull Mantra

    Eliot Pattison

    Shortlisted

1999

  1. A Small Death in Lisbon

    Robert Wilson

    Won
  2. A Place of Execution

    Val McDermid

    Shortlisted
  3. Angels Flight

    Michael Connelly

    Shortlisted
  4. Dead Souls

    Ian Rankin

    Shortlisted
  5. Phreak

    Denise Danks

    Shortlisted
  6. Vienna Blood

    Adrian Mathews

    Shortlisted

1998

  1. Sunset Limited

    James Lee Burke

    Won
  2. A Long Finish

    Michael Dibdin

    Shortlisted
  3. Fire Hawk

    Geoffrey Archer

    Shortlisted
  4. Manchester Slingback

    Nicholas Blincoe

    Shortlisted
  5. On Beulah Height

    Reginald Hill

    Shortlisted

1997

  1. Black and Blue

    Ian Rankin

    Won
  2. Three to Get Deadly

    Janet Evanovich

    Shortlisted

1996

  1. Popcorn

    Ben Elton

    Won
  2. Bloodhounds

    Peter Lovesey

    Shortlisted

1995

  1. The Mermaids Singing

    Val McDermid

    Won
  2. Death in the Garden

    Elizabeth Ironside

    Shortlisted
  3. The Summons

    Peter Lovesey

    Shortlisted

1994

  1. The Scold's Bridle

    Minette Walters

    Won
  2. Crack Down

    Val McDermid

    Shortlisted
  3. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow

    Peter Høeg

    Shortlisted

1993

  1. Cruel and Unusual

    Patricia Cornwell

    Won
  2. Fatlands

    Sarah Dunant

    Shortlisted
  3. The Hand of Strange Children

    Robert Richardson

    Shortlisted

1992

  1. The Way Through the Woods

    Colin Dexter

    Won

1991

  1. King Solomon's Carpet

    Barbara Vine

    Won
  2. Death of a Partner

    Janet Neel

    Shortlisted
  3. Deep Sleep

    Frances Fyfield

    Shortlisted

1990

  1. Bones and Silence

    Reginald Hill

    Won
  2. The Late Candidate

    Mike Phillips

    Shortlisted

1989

  1. The Wench Is Dead

    Colin Dexter

    Won

1988

  1. Ratking

    Michael Dibdin

    Won

1987

  1. A Fatal Inversion

    Barbara Vine

    Won
  2. Presumed Innocent

    Scott Turow

    Shortlisted

1986

  1. Live Flesh

    Ruth Rendell

    Won

1985

  1. Monkey Puzzle

    Paula Gosling

    Won
  2. Last Seen Alive

    Dorothy Simpson

    Shortlisted
  3. Our Father's Lies

    Andrew Taylor

    Shortlisted

1984

  1. The Twelfth Juror

    B. M. Gill

    Won

1983

  1. Accidental Crimes

    John Hutton

    Won

1982

  1. The False Inspector Dew

    Peter Lovesey

    Won

1981

  1. Gorky Park

    Martin Cruz Smith

    Won

1980

  1. The Murder of the Maharaja

    H. R. F. Keating

    Won

1979

  1. Whip Hand

    Dick Francis

    Won

1978

  1. The Chelsea Murders

    Lionel Davidson

    Won

1977

  1. The Honourable Schoolboy

    John le Carré

    Won

1976

  1. A Demon in My View

    Ruth Rendell

    Won

1975

  1. The Seven-Per-Cent Solution

    Nicholas Meyer

    Won

1974

  1. Other Paths to Glory

    Anthony Price

    Won

1973

  1. The Defection of A.J. Lewinter

    Robert Littell

    Won

1972

  1. The Levanter

    Eric Ambler

    Won

1971

  1. The Steam Pig

    James H. McClure

    Won

1970

  1. Young Man I Think You're Dying

    Joan Fleming

    Won

1969

  1. A Pride of Heroes

    Peter Dickinson

    Won

1968

  1. Skin Deep

    Peter Dickinson

    Won
  2. The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun

    Sébastien Japrisot

    Shortlisted
  3. The Private Wound

    Nicholas Blake

    Shortlisted

1967

  1. Murder Against the Grain

    Emma Lathen

    Won
  2. Dirty Story

    Eric Ambler

    Shortlisted

  3. Lonely Heart 4122

    Colin Watson

    Shortlisted

1966

  1. A Long Way to Shiloh

    Lionel Davidson

    Won
  2. In the Heat of the Night

    John Ball

    Shortlisted
  3. The Double Agent

    John Bingham

    Shortlisted

1965

  1. The Far Side of the Dollar

    Ross Macdonald

    Won
  2. Accounting for Murder

    Emma Lathen

    Shortlisted
  3. For Kicks

    Dick Francis

    Shortlisted
  4. Midnight Plus One

    Gavin Lyall

    Shortlisted

1964

  1. The Perfect Murder

    H. R. F. Keating

    Won
  2. The Chill

    Ross Macdonald

    Shortlisted
  3. The Most Dangerous Game

    Gavin Lyall

    Shortlisted
  4. The Two Faces of January

    Patricia Highsmith

    Shortlisted

1963

  1. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

    John le Carré

    Won
  2. Gun Before Butter

    Nicolas Freeling

    Shortlisted
  3. The High Wire

    William Haggard

    Shortlisted

1962

  1. When I Grow Rich

    Joan Fleming

    Won
  2. Hopjoy Was Here

    Colin Watson

    Shortlisted
  3. The Light of Day

    Eric Ambler

    Shortlisted

1961

  1. The Spoilt Kill

    Mary Kelly

    Won
  2. Call for the Dead

    John le Carré

    Shortlisted
  3. One Way

    Allan Prior

    Shortlisted

1960

  1. The Night of Wenceslas

    Lionel Davidson

    Won
  2. My Brother Michael

    Mary Stewart

    Shortlisted
  3. The Progress of a Crime

    Julian Symons

    Shortlisted

1959

  1. Passage of Arms

    Eric Ambler

    Won
  2. A Way Back

    James Mitchell

    Shortlisted
  3. Strike for a Kingdom

    Menna Gallie

    Shortlisted

1958

  1. Someone from the Past

    Margot Bennett

    Won
  2. Hide My Eyes

    Margery Allingham

    Shortlisted

  3. Or Be He Dead

    James Byrom

    Shortlisted

  4. Undiplomatic Exit

    John Sherwood

    Shortlisted

1957

  1. The Colour of Murder

    Julian Symons

    Won
  2. Off with His Head

    Ngaio Marsh

    Shortlisted

  3. The Long Echo

    Douglas Rutherford

    Shortlisted

  4. Your Money or Your Life

    George Milner

    Shortlisted

1956

  1. The Second Man

    Edward Grierson

    Won
  2. Gideon's Week

    J. J. Marric

    Shortlisted
  3. Man of Two Tribes

    Arthur Upfield

    Shortlisted

  4. Time Right Deadly

    Sarah Gainham

    Shortlisted

1955

  1. The Little Walls

    Winston Graham

    Won
  2. Blind Date

    Lee Howard

    Shortlisted
  3. Scales of Justice

    Ngaio Marsh

    Shortlisted
  4. The Man Who Didn't Fly

    Margot Bennett

    Shortlisted