The Crime Writers’ Association shortlist nominees were announced today and, having read most of the titles longlisted, I have some thoughts…

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

2 of my 4 favorites made the shortlist: Dogs & Wolves by Hervé Le Corre and Going to the Dogs by Pierre Lemaitre.  The Simple Act of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo missed the cut. Also sadly absent is The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov, a wonderful thriller set in post-WWII Kyiv.

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

Both of my favorites in this category – Lou Berney’s Dark Ride and Garry Disher’s Sanctuary – made the cut.

The Historical Dagger

Again, both of my favorites made the shortlist in this category, Poor Girls by Clare Whitfield and The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola.

The Twisted Dagger

Only one of my two favorites in this category made the shortlist. The delightfully twist-turny The Stranger in Her House advanced but Sharon Bolton’s equally twist-rich The Neighbour’s Secret did not.

The Whodunit Dagger

The fact that Tess Gerritsen’s The Spy Coast did not make the shortlist in this category is an absolute shocker. Of the 85+ books longlisted for the Daggers this year, it was one of my absolute favorites.

Of the two other longlist titles I enjoyed in this category, Andreina Cordani’s Murder at the Christmas Emporium made the cut while Tom Spencer’s The Mystery of the Crooked Man did not.

The Golden Dagger

Another enormous disappointment was not seeing Ben Creed’s Man of Bones on this shortlist. It’s an incredibly
compelling, character-forward thriller set in 1953 Leningrad.

My two other favorites in this category, R.J. Ellory’s The Bell Tower and Anna Mazzola’s Book of Secrets (also receiving the nod in the Historical Dagger category, were shortlisted.

Winners will be announced July 3rd.