Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

2025 DAGGER AWARDS PRESENTED
The Dagger Awards, awarded by The Crime Writer’s Association to celebrate the best in crime and thriller writing, were presented on July 6, 2023 in London. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and to all of the nominees.

Diamond Dagger * Mick Herron

Gold Dagger
* The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
° A Divine Fury by D.V. Bishop
° I Died at Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel
° The Bell Tower by R.J. Ellory
° The Hunter by Tana French [review]
° Guide Me Home by Attica Locke

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
* Dark Ride by Lou Berney [review]
° Nobody’s Hero by M.W. Craven
° Sanctuary by Garry Disher
° Hunted by Abir Mukherjee [review]
° Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
° City in Ruins by Don Winslow

First Novel Dagger
* All Us Sinners by Katy Massey
° Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner by Jessica Bull [review]
° Knife River by Justine Champine
° Three Burials by Anders Lustgarten
° A Curtain Twitcher’s Book of Murder by Gay Marris
° Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney [review]

Historical Dagger
* The Betrayal of Thomas True by A.J. West
° A Divine Fury by D.V. Bishop
° Banquet of Beggars by Chris Lloyd
° The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
° Poor Girls by Clare Whitfield

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger
* The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani
° Dogs and Wolves by Hervé Le Corre
° Going to the Dogs by Pierre Lemaître
° The Clues in the Fjord by Satu Rämö
° Butter by Asako Yuzuki
° Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán

Non-Fiction Dagger
* The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale
° Unmasking Lucy Letby: The Untold Story of the Killer Nurse by Jonathan Coffey and Judith Moritz
° The Lady in the Lake: A Reporter’s Memoir of a Murder by Jeremy Craddock
° Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
° The Criminal Mind by Duncan Harding
° Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Stakeknife, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland by Henry Hemming

Short Story
* “A Date on Yarmouth Pier” by J.C. Bernthal
Midsummer Mysteries
° “The Glorious Twelfth” by S.J. Bennett
Midsummer Mysteries
° “Why Harrogate?” by Janice Hallett
Murder in Harrogate
° “City Without Shadows” by William Burton McCormick
Midsummer Mysteries
° “A Ruby Su” by Meeti Shroff-Shah
Midsummer Mysteries
° “Murder at the Turkish Baths” by Ruth Ware
Murder in Harrogate

Whodunnit Dagger
(cosy crime, traditional mysteries, and Golden Age crime)
* The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl by Lisa Hall
° A Death in Diamonds by S.J. Bennett [review]
° Murder at the Christmas Emporium by Andreina Cordani
° A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall
° A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah
° Murder at the Matinee by Jamie West

Twisted Dagger
(psychological and suspense thrillers)
* Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra [review]
° Emma, Disappeared by Andrew Hughes
° Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings
° The Stranger in Her House by John Marrs
° The Trials of Marjorie Crowe by C.S. Robertson
° Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

Thanks Barry: I have read four of the nominations, one was one of the winners. My TBR is saturated with books so may not attempt to add any more.

Gold Dagger
° The Hunter by Tana French [review]

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
* Dark Ride by Lou Berney [review] (Winner)
° City in Ruins by Don Winslow

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger
° Butter by Asako Yuzuki



BarryP wrote: "2025 DAGGER AWARDS PRESENTED
The Dagger Awards, awarded by The Crime Writer’s Association to celebrate the best in crime and thriller writing, were presented on July 6, 2023 in London. Our congratu..."

I sympathize.