The Crime Writers’ Association Golden Dagger Award longlist titles.

My favorites…

Man of Bones by Ben Creed

In 1953 Leningrad, militia detective Revol Rossel investigates a hit-and-run that claimed the lives of two people. Caught between the ruthless MGB secret police warning him off the case and his superior officer pressuring him to press ahead, a reluctant Rossel must tread very carefully in his quest for the truth.

A riveting read that immerses us in its Stalinist Russian setting, an environment teeming with treachery, conspiracy, and dangerous secrets.

Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola

Lieutenant governor Stefano Bracchi is dispatched by the Papal authorities to investigate a mysterious affliction that is killing the men of Rome, an uncanny malady that hints at supernatural influences…but whose true cause will lead Bracchi to question the very notion of justice.

Another one I don’t want to say too much about at the risk of giving anything away, but rest assured it’s a fascinating historical thriller with some great twists and a very satisfying ending.

The Bell Tower by R. J. Ellory

After being shot while on duty and forced into retirement, former Sheriff’s Deputy Garrett Nelson takes a job at a Florida Penitentiary. There he encounters a death row inmate he grows increasingly convinced is an innocent man.

The final reveal didn’t really offer much of a surprise, but what made this book special to me what the character of Garrett Nelson, a man a struggling to find truth and justice, two goals that, in the end, may well be at odds.

Next, we move on to The Crime Writers’ Association Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award shortlist.