Looking Daggers

 

The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) revealed the longlists for the prestigious 2026 Dagger Awards, celebrating the very best in crime writing. This year’s longlists showcase the breadth of talent from internationally bestselling authors to emerging debuts.The shortlists will be released on May 28, and the winners announced at the CWA gala dinner awards night in July.

Hear are the longlists in full: 

CWA KAA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year

• D.V. Bishop Carnival of Lies (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)
• James Lee Burke Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie (Orion Fiction/Orion Fiction)
• S. A. Cosby King of Ashes (Headline)
• Abigail Dean The Death of Us (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)
• Holly Jackson Not Quite Dead Yet (Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph)
• Vaseem Khan Quantum of Menace (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)
• Ariel Lawhon The Frozen (River Swift Press)
• Beth Lewis The Rush (Profile Books/Viper)
• Simon Mason A Voice in The Night (Quercus/riverrun)
• Liam McIlvanney The Good Father (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)
• Martin Cruz Smith Hotel Ukraine (Simon & Schuster UK)
• Laura Shepherd-Robinson The Art of a Lie (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)
• Sally Smith A Case of Life and Limb (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller ofo the Year

• Tariq Ashkanani The Midnight King (Profile Books/Viper)
• Julie Clark The Ghostwriter (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)
• S. A. Cosby King of Ashes (Headline)
• Robert Crais The Big Empty (Simon & Schuster UK)
• Abigail Dean The Death of Us (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)
• A A Dhand The Chemist (HarperCollins/HQ Fiction)
• Robert Dugoni A Dead Draw (Amazon Publishing/ Thomas & Mercer)
• Mark Ezra A Sting in her Tale (Bedford Square Publishers/ No Exit Press)
• William Hussey Burying Jericho (Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre)
• Noelle Ihli Such Quiet Girls (Pan Macmillan/ Pan)
• Liam McIlvanney The Good Father (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)
• Karin Slaughter We Are All Guilty Here (HarperCollins Publishers)

ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

• Jake Adelstein The Devil Takes Bitcoin (Scribe)
• Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee Shadow of The Bridge: The Delphi Murders and The Dark Side of The American Heartland (Pegasus Books/Pegasus Crime)
• David Collins Saffie (Silvertail Books)
• Gordon Corera The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB (HarperCollins/ William Collins)
• John Curran The Murder Game (HarperCollins/Collins Crime Club)
• Charlie English The CIA Book Club: The Best-Kept Secret of the Cold War (HarperCollins/ William Collins)
• Caroline Fraser Murderland (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)
• Thomas Harding The Einstein Vendetta: Hitler, Mussolini, And A True Story of Murder (Penguin/ Michael Joseph)
• Paul Henderson and David Gardner, A Spy in the Family (Mirror Books)
• Neil Root The Cleveland Street Scandal (The History Press)
• Susannah Stapleton That Dark Spring (Pan Macmillan/Picador)
• Shaun Walker The Illegals (Profile Books)

Historical Dagger

• Nina Allan A Granite Silence (Quercus/riverrun)
• Robin Blake Spoiler's Prey (Severn House)
• Graeme Macrae Burnet Benecula (Birlinn Ltd/ Polygon)
• Kate Foster The Mourning Necklace (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)
• Ariel Lawhon The Frozen River (Swift Press)
• Beth Lewis The Rush (Profile Books/Viper)
• Rob McInroy Barvick Falls (Tippermuir Books)
• Donna Moore The Devil's Draper (Fly on the Wall Press)
• Alan Parks Gunner (John Murray Press/Baskerville)
• SW Perry Cairo Gambit (Atlantic Books/Corvus)
• Laura Shepherd-Robinson The Art of a Lie (Pan Macmillan/Mangle)
• Sally Smith A Case of Life and Limb (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

• Eva Björg Ægisdóttir Home Before Dark (Orenda Books) translated by Victoria Cribb
• Karsten Dusse Murder Mindfully (Faber) translated by Florian Duijsens
• Johana Gustawsson Scars of Silence (Orenda Books) translated by David Warriner
• Jørn Lier Horst The Lake (Penguin Random House) translated by Anne Bruce
• Kotaro Isaka Seesaw Monster (Penguin Random House) translated by Sam Malissa
• Jurica Pavicic Red Water (Bitter Lemon Press) translated by Matt Robinson
• Satu Rämö The Grave in the Ice (Bonnier Books UK) translated by Kristian London
• Leonie Swann Big Bad Wool (Allison & Busby) translated by Amy Bojang
• Antti Tuomainen The Winter Job (Orenda Books) translated by David Hackston
• Uketsu Strange Pictures (Pushkin Press) translated by Jim Rion

Whodunnit Dagger for Best Traditional Mystery

• Alexandra Benedict The Christmas Cracker Killer  (Simon & Schuster UK)
• SJ Bennett The Queen Who Came in from the Cold (Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre)
• Anna Fitzgerald Healy Etiquette for Lovers & Killers (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)
• Victoria Goldman Little Secrets (Three Crowns Publishing UK/self-published)
• Robert Holtom A Queer Case (Titan Books)
• Richard Hooton The Margaret Code (Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere)
• RL Killmore A Cinnamon Falls Mystery (Simon & Schuster UK)
• Clare Mackintosh Other People's Houses (Little, Brown Book Group/Sphere)
• Jo Middleton Not Another Bloody Christmas (HarperCollins/Avon)
• Guy Morpuss A Trial in Three Acts (Profile Books/Viper)
• Mel Pennant A Murder for Miss Hortense (John Murray Press/Baskerville)
• CJ Wray Bad Influence (Orion Fiction)

Twisted Dagger for Best Psychological Suspense

• Kia Abdullah What Happens in the Dark (HarperCollins/HQ Ficiton)
• Nicci Cloke Her Many Faces (Penguin Random House UK/Harvill)
• Fiona Cummins Some of Us are Liars (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)
• Fflur Dafydd The House of Water (Hodder & Stoughton/Hodder Fiction)
• Abigail Dean The Death of Us (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)
• Alice Feeney Beautiful Ugly (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)
• Carole Hailey Scenes From A Tragedy (Atlantic Books/Corvus)
• Lisa Jewell Don't Let Him In (Penguin Random House/Century)
• Sam Lloyd The Bodies (Transworld/Bantam)
• Liam McIlvanney The Good Father (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)
• Sarah Pinborough We Live Here Now (Orion Fiction)
• Holly Seddon 59 Minutes (Orion Publishing Group/ Orion Fiction)#

ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger

• Natalie Jayne Clark The Malt Whiskey Murders (Birlinn Ltd/Polygon)
• Anna Fitzgerald Healy Etiquette for Lovers and Killers (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)
• Sam Guthrie The Peak (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Sue Hincenberg The Retirement Plan (Little, Brown Book Group/ Sphere)
• Elspeth Latimer The Lost Detective (Story Machine)
• Laura McCluskey The Wolf Tree (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)
• Zoë Rankin The Vanishing Place (Profile Books/Viper)
• Bailey Seybolt Coram House (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)
• Jennifer Trevelyan A Beautiful Family (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)
• Henry Wise Holy City (Bedford Square Publishers/No Exit Press)

Short Story Dagger

• William Boyle ‘Arlene’ in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)
• SA Cosby ‘Split Your Silver Tongue’ in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)
• Ragnar Jónasson ‘Chest’ in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)
• Denise Mina ‘The Karpman Drama Triangle’ in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)
• Abir Mukherjee ‘Full Circle’ in Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club (Severn House)
• Ambrose Perry ‘The Apple Falls Not Far’ (Canongate)
• Zoë Sharp and John Lawton ‘Once Upon a Time in New Jersey’ in CrimeFest: Leaving the Scene Celebrating 16 Years (No Exit Press)
• Peter Swanson ‘Strangers on a School Bus’ in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)
• Michael Wood ‘Waiting’ in Criminal Pursuits: This Is Me (Telos Publishing)

Dagger in the Library for Body of Work

• Ben Aaronovitch
• Damien Boyd
• Reverend Richard Coles
• Rhys Dylan
• Paula Hawkins
• JD Kirk
• Clare Mackintosh
• Freida McFadden
• Abir Mukherjee
• Tim Sullivan
• Robert Thorogood
  

 Best Crime & Mystery Publisher

• Allison & Busby
• Baskerville (John Murray/Hachette)
• Bitter Lemon Press
• Constable (Little, Brown)
• Faber & Faber
• Harvill Vintage (Penguin Random House)
• Muswell Press
• No Exit Press (Bedford Square)
• Pan Macmillan
• Polygon (Birlinn)
• Simon & Schuster
• Viper (Profile Books)