Crime Writers’ Association Announce 2026 Dagger Awards Shortlist

 

The shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association’s prestigious Dagger awards has been announced.

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

This year’s shortlists showcase the range and depth of the genre, from historical fiction to thrillers and classic whodunnits.

As well as championing established authors of the genre, it also provides a platform for debut and emerging talent.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: "This year’s shortlist is a fantastic reflection of the extraordinary breadth and diversity of crime fiction today, and a celebration of authors from debuts to established names, whose creative talents ensure that the genre continues to grow from strength to strength.”

The coveted KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson & Associates, is awarded for the best crime novel of the year.

Shortlisted novels are S.A Cosby with King of Ashes, Abigail Dean’s The Death of Us, Holly Jackson with Not Quite Dead Yet, Vaseem Khan’s The Girl in Cell A, Ariel Lawhon with The Frozen and Lara Shepherd-Robinson’s The Art of a Lie, a novel that also makes the Historical Dagger shortlist.

S.A. Cosby is the only author to be shortlisted for an unprecedented three Dagger awards. As well as Gold, the American author of “Southern noir” is also in contention for the Short Story Dagger and the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, which honours the best thriller of the year.

Also shortlisted for the Steel Dagger is the standalone thriller by BookTok sensation Noelle W Ihli, Such Quiet Girls inspired by the real-life 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping. She’s up against the global bestselling author Karin Slaughter for We Are All Guilty Here, Tariq Ashkanani’s The Midnight King, Robert Crais with The Big Empty, Mark Ezra’s A Sting in her Tale and Liam McIlvanney’s The Good Father.

Joining Laura Shepherd-Robinson, authors Nina Allan, Rob McInroy, Donna Moore, Alan Parks and Sally Smith make the Historical Dagger shortlist. The historical novels span 18th century London to 1920s Glasgow, from stories inspired by gritty true crimes to a cosy Christmas mystery.

The Twisted Dagger for psychological suspense shortlist features Sarah Pinborough, the author behind the New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes with a haunting Gothic novel, We Live Here Now. She’s up against Kia Abdullah, Nicci Cloke, Fiona Cummins, Carole Hailey and Sam Lloyd.

The Whodunnit Dagger for books with an intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery, sees Alexandra Benedict, Victoria Goldman, Anna Fitzgerald Healy, Robert Holtom, Mel Pennant and CJ Wray in the running.

The global reach of the genre is showcased in the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger.

International authors include two German writers - Karsten Dusse with his bestselling dark comedy series, Murder Mindfully and Leonie Swann with her mystery novel, Big Bad Wool, the anticipated follow-up to her breakout hit, Three Bags Full that follows a flock of sheep as they try to solve a murder.

The shortlist also sees Norway’s Jørn Lier Horst, the Croatian writer and journalist Jurica Pavicic, Finland’s Antti Tuomainen, and Strange Pictures – a novel from the Japanese YouTuber and writer, Uketsu.

Their translators are also recognised in the award, which is sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction includes The Spy in the Archive by Gordon Corera and Shaun Walker’s The Illegals, profiling Russia’s most audacious spies, reflecting the enduring fascination with espionage and true crime, alongside Shadow of The Bridge by Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee, John Curran’s The Murder Game, Caroline Fraser’s Murderland, and Susannah Stapleton with That Dark Spring.

The Short Story Dagger features S.A. Cosby, alongside the acclaimed Scottish author Denise Mina and the bestselling Abir Mukherjee. The Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards celebrating short-form storytelling.

The Dagger in the Library, voted for by librarians, recognises authors whose bodies of work have resonated with readers over time. On this year’s shortlist are Paula Hawkins, best known for her huge hit, Girl on the Train alongside JD Kirk, Clare Mackintosh, Freida McFadden, Abir Mukherjee and Tim Sullivan.

The CWA Daggers are also known for providing a platform for emerging talent, with the much-anticipated ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger and the Emerging Author Dagger competition, sponsored by Fiction Feedback; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted debut authors have signed publishing deals to date.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher category recognises the publishers behind the genre’s success, with leading imprints including Faber & Faber, Pan Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster shortlisted against Bitter Lemon Press, No Exit Press and Viper.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, sponsored by Karen Baugh Menuhin, is awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2026 was awarded to Mark Billingham.

The winners are announced at the CWA gala dinner awards night in July.

The shortlists in full:                

CWA KAA Gold Dagger

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Headline)        

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson (Penguin Random House/Michael Joseph)

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan (Hodder Fiction).

The Frozen by Ariel Lawhon (River Swift Press)          

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)

          

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books/Viper)

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby (Headline)

The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster UK)

A Sting in her Tale by Mark Ezra (Bedford Square Publishers/ No Exit Press)

Such Quiet Girls by Noelle W Ihli (Pan Macmillan/ Pan)

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney (Bonnier Books UK/Zaffre)

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter (HarperCollins Publishers)

ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction

Shadow of The Bridge: The Delphi Murders and The Dark Side of The American Heartland by Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee (Pegasus Books/Pegasus Crime)          

The Spy in the Archive: How One Man Tried to Kill the KGB by Gordon Corera (HarperCollins/ William Collins)

The Murder Game by John Curran (HarperCollins/Collins Crime Club)

Murderland by Caroline Fraser (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

That Dark Spring by Susannah Stapleton (Pan Macmillan/Picador)

The Illegals by Shaun Walker (Profile Books)

Historical Dagger

A Granite Silence by Nina Allan (Quercus/riverrun)

Barvick Falls by Rob McInroy (Tippermuir Books)

The Devil's Draper by Donna Moore (Fly on the Wall Press)

Gunner by Alan Parks (John Murray Press/Baskerville)

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mangle)

A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse (Faber) translated by Florian Duijsens

The Lake by Jørn Lier Horst  (Penguin Random House) translated by Anne Bruce

Red Water by Jurica Pavicic (Bitter Lemon Press) translated by Matt Robinson

Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann (Allison & Busby) translated by Amy Bojang

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda Books) translated by David Hackston

Strange Pictures by Uketsu (Pushkin Press) translated by Jim Rion

Whodunnit Dagger

The Christmas Cracker Killer by Alexandra Benedict (Simon & Schuster UK)

Little Secrets by Victoria Goldman (Three Crowns Publishing UK/self-published)

Etiquette for Lovers & Killers by Anna Fitzgerald Healy (Little, Brown Book Group/Fleet)

A Queer Case by Robert Holtom (Titan Books)

A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant (John Murray Press/Baskerville)

Bad Influence by CJ Wray (Orion Fiction)

Twisted Dagger

What Happens in the Dark by Kia Abdullah  (HarperCollins/HQ Ficiton)

Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke (Penguin Random House UK/Harvill)

Some of Us are Liars by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan/Macmillan)

Scenes From A Tragedy by Carole Hailey (Atlantic Books/Corvus)

The Bodies by Sam Lloyd (Transworld/Bantam)

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough (Orion Fiction)         

ILP John Creasey (First Novel) Dagger

The Peak by Sam Guthrie (HarperCollins Publishers)

The Lost Detective by Elspeth Latimer (Story Machine)

The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey (HarperCollins/Hemlock Press)

The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin (Profile Books/Viper)

Coram House by Bailey Seybolt (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)

Holy City by Henry Wise (Bedford Square Publishers/No Exit Press)

Short Story Dagger

‘Split Your Silver Tongue’ by SA Cosby in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

‘The Karpman Drama Triangle’ by Denise Mina in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

‘Full Circle’ by Abir Mukherjee in Playing Dead: Short Stories by Members of the Detection Club (Severn House)

 ‘The Apple Falls Not Far’ by Ambrose Perry (Canongate)

 ‘Strangers on a School Bus’ by Peter Swanson in Birds, Strangers and Psychos (No Exit Press)

 ‘Waiting’ by Michael Wood in Criminal Pursuits: This Is Me (Telos Publishing)

Emerging Author

Ill Met By Murder by Rod Cookson, 

 The Man Who Fit the Case by Sophia Georghiou

Just a Simple Wedding by Kate Koester

The Fixer by Lorna Mathew, 

The Madam of Morningside by Rebecca McFarland

Blind Side of the Sun by Michael Nikitin

The Pattern of Absence by Melisssa Smith

Dagger in the Library

Paula Hawkins   

JD Kirk  

Clare Mackintosh             

Freida McFadden             

Abir Mukherjee 

Tim Sullivan       

Best Crime & Mystery Publisher

Bitter Lemon Press

Faber & Faber

No Exit Press (Bedford Square)

Pan Macmillan

Simon & Schuster

Viper (Profile Books)

The 2026 Fingerprint Shortlist

 

Capital Crime today announced the shortlists for its annual Fingerprint Awards, which champion the very best in crime writing from across the globe, as voted for by readers.

Authors both new and established are represented across the categories, which are Crime Novel of the Year, True Crime Book of the Year, Thriller of the Year, Historical Crime Novel of the Year, Debut Novel of the Year, Audiobook of the Year and Genre-Busting Book of the Year.

The shortlists of five have been selected by the festival’s board members, from a longlist carefully curated by the Tastemakers Committee - a panel of leading independent bloggers and reviewers - who have championed their standout titles across each category. Each selected book had to be first published in English between 1 January and 31 December 2025 to qualify. No fees were charged for selection.

Readers can vote for their preferred winners in each category on the Capital Crime website by Saturday 30th May. The winners will be revealed at the Fingerprint Awards on the evening of Thursday 18th June as part of the Capital Crime festival in London at the Royal Leonardo Hotel, in the shadow of St Paul’s. This year’s Fingerprint Awards ceremony, attended by Capital Crime ticket holders, authors, nominees and leading figures from the publishing industry will be hosted by acclaimed radio and TV broadcaster, and host of The Bookshelf Podcast, Ryan Tubridy.

Leading the overall Crime Book of the Year shortlist are two 2025 Fingerprint winners, M.W. Craven, for The Final Vow, and Vaseem Khan, for Quantum of Menace, featuring the famous Quartermaster from the Bond series. Sunday Times bestseller Sarah Pinborough is shortlisted for We Live Here Now; and they are joined by Liam McIlvanney and Tariq Ashkanani, authors of The Good Father and The Midnight King respectively.

For the Thriller Book of the Year, Lisa Jewell’s Sunday Times bestselling Don’t Let Him In and Virdee creator A.A. Dhand’s The Chemist are up against Human Remains by Jo Callaghan, The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North and Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins.

Tackling topics as diverse as Lord Byron, the final days of the British Raj, and the Canadian Gold Rush, the shortlist for Historical Crime Book of the Year sees Anthony Horowitz’s Marble Hall Murders, the latest in his bestselling, BBC adapted Magpie Murders series, up against CWA Dagger-winner Abir Mukherjee, for his latest Wyndham and Banerjee mystery The Burning Grounds. Also shortlisted is The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson; The Rush by Beth Lewis and Dangerous by Essie Fox.

Broadcasters Chris Chibnall and Steph McGovern are both shortlisted for the Debut Crime Novel of the Year, for Death at the White Hart and Deadline, respectively; and are up against Oscar nominated Icelandic screenwriter Jón Atli Jónasson for Broken; Nina Bhadreshwar for The Day of the Roaring and Kelly Mullen for This is Not a Game.

The Genre-Busting Book of the Year shortlist, set up to recognise a book that defies traditional boundaries of crime fiction, and may feature elements of sci-fi, romance or other genres of fiction, sees Kill Them With Kindness by Will Carver and Little Red Death by A.K. Benedict up against Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville, Small Fires by Ronnie Turner and Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy.

The True Crime Book of the Year shortlist features several books exploring the states of nations through crime, as well as writing intended to recentre the focus on the victims rather than the killers,  including Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a memoir by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s most outspoken victim; and A Flower Travelled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland, chronicling the harrowing events of Argentina’s Dirty War, which saw hundreds of pregnant women kidnapped and disappeared. They are up against Story of a Murder by prize-winning social historian Hallie Rubenhold, focusing on Cora Crippen, the murdered wife of the infamous Doctor Crippen, and the women who brought him to justice; Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser, which explores whether lead exposure was connected to the explosion of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s and 1980s; and A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders by Professor David Wilson, the UK’s leading criminologist.

The Audiobook of the Year sees second nominations for both Lisa Jewell and Sarah Pinborough for, respectively, Don’t Let Him In, narrated by Richard Armitage and Joanne Frogatt, and We Live Here Now, narrated by Helen Baxendale and Jamie Glover. They are up against S. A. Cosby’s King of Ashes, narrated by Adam Lazarre-White; Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney, narrated by Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton; and Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver, narrated by Steven Pacey.

In addition, two further categories will be selected solely by the Capital Crime Advisory Board; the Industry Award of the Year – recognising the best marketing campaign, editorial work, or publishing strategy; and the Thalia Proctor Lifetime Achievement Award – marking an outstanding contribution to the crime writing industry.

The shortlist is as follows - 

Audiobook of the Year

 Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

King of Ashes by  S A Cosby

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough 

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

True Crime Book of the Year

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold 

Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts-Guiffre 

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 

A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders by Prof. David Wilson 

A Flower Travelled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland 

Debut Crime Book

Broken by Jón Atli Jónasson

Deadline by  Steph McGovern 

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

The Day of the Roaring by Nina Bhadreshwar

This is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

Genre-Busting Book

Kill Them with Kindness by Will Carver 

Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict Book

Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville

Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy 

Historical Crime Book of the Year

The Art of A Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson 

The Rush by Beth Lewis 

Dangerous by Essie Fox

Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee

Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Thriller Book of the Year

The Chemist by A A Dhand

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

Human Remains by Jo Callaghan 

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins 

Overall Crime Book of the Year

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani

The Final Vow by M W Craven

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan

The Good Father by Liam McIlveney

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

Congratulations to all the nominate authors.  The winner will be announced on Thursday 18^th June 2026 during the Capital Crime Festival.

Bad Apples: Crime Fiction's Enemies and Anti-Heroes

 

The theme for the 33rd St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend has been announced

Tickets are now on sale to the general public from 5th January 2026 and the link can be found here.

This is always a wonderful weekend do join us!

My Favourite reads of 2025

Kings of Ashes by S A Cosby (Headline)

A son returning home. A dangerous debt. Secrets about to ignite . . . and a family consumed by flames. Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family's crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident.  When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals. And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything. A financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, Roman must use all his skills to try to save his family while dealing with a shadow that has haunted them all for twenty years: the disappearance of their mother when Roman and his siblings were teenagers. It's a mystery that Neveah, who has sacrificed so much of her life to hold her family together, is determined to solve once and for all. As fate and chance and heartache ignite their lives, the Carruthers family must pull together to survive or see their lives turn to ash. Because, as their father counselled them from birth, nothing lasts forever. Everything burns.

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier Books)

Q is out of MI6 and into a new world of deceit and death. After Q (aka Major Boothroyd) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's OO agents, he finds himself back in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a cryptic note. The police seem uninterested, but Q feels compelled to investigate and soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . Can Q decode the truth behind Napier's death, even as danger closes in?

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books)

'This is a work of fiction. This is not a confession.' Lucas Cole is a bestselling writer. A quiet and unassuming man, he's a beloved celebrity in his small town. Lucas Cole is also a serial killer. Nathan Cole has always known the truth about his father. But it isn't until Lucas is found dead that Nathan discovers The Midnight King, his father's fictionalised account of his hideous crimes, hidden in a box of trinkets taken from his victims. Trinkets that include a ribbon belonging to a missing girl who disappeared only days before Lucas's death. Now, Nathan must deal with the consequences of keeping his father's secret. But The Midnight King holds Nathan's secrets as well as Lucas's, and he is not the only one searching for the truth...

Clown Town by Mick Herron (John Murray Press)

Spies lie. They betray. It's what they do. Slow horse River Cartwright is waiting to be passed fit for work. With time to kill, and with his grandfather - a legendary former spy - long dead, River investigates the secrets of the old man's library, and a mysteriously missing book. Regent's Park's First Desk, Diana Taverner, doesn't appreciate threats. So when those involved in a covert operation during the height of the Troubles threaten to expose the ugly side of state security, Taverner turns blackmail into opportunity. Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, Catherine Standish just wants everyone to play nice. But as far as Jackson Lamb is concerned, the slow horses should all be at their desks. Because when Taverner starts plotting mischief people get hurt, and Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions and fool around, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they're his clowns. And if they don't all come home, there'll be a reckoning.

The Darkest Winter by Carlo Lucarelli (Orenda Books)

Bologna, 1944. World-weary Comandante De Luca is tasked with investigating three brutal murders, with the lives of ten Italian hostages on the line. In November 1944, in the worst winter ever known in Bologna, in the depths of the war, the bomb-scarred streets are home to starving refugees who have fled the advancing Allies. The Fascist Black Brigades, the officers of the S.S. and the partisans of the Italian Resistance compete for control of the city streets in bloody skirmishes. Comandante De Luca, who has proved himself “the most brilliant investigator” in Bologna, but who is now unwillingly working for the Political Police in a building that doubles as a torture facility, finds himself in trouble when three murders land on his desk: a professor shot through the eye, an engineer beaten to death, and a German corporal left to be gnawed on by rats in a flooded cellar. De Luca must rapidly unravel all three cases with ten lives on the line: ten Italian hostages who will face a Nazi firing squad if the corporal’s killing is not solved to the German command’s satisfaction. As he navigates a web of personal and political motivations – his life increasingly at risk – De Luca will not stop until he has uncovered the dangerous secrets concealed in the frozen heart of his city.

Midnight Streets by Phil Lecomber (Titan Books)

When Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl's life on a dark London night in 1929, he doesn't realise it marks the beginning of an investigation which will change his life forever. The incendiary book which inspired the girl's abduction also seems to be linked to a series of grisly murders that are taking place on Harley's patch, and though he's delighted to be asked by Scotland Yard to help find the killer before they strike again, he could do without the local razor- and cosh-wielding mobsters thinking he's in the police's pocket. Set during the Golden Age of Crime Fiction, Harley's world is a far cry from the country house of an Agatha Christie whodunnit. This working-class sleuth does his 'sherlocking' in the frowsy alleyways and sleazy nightclubs of Soho - the city's underbelly - peopled with lowlife ponces, jaded streetwalkers, and Jewish and Maltese gangsters: a world of grubby bedsits, all-night cafes, egg and chips, and Gold Flake cigarettes. Here, the midnight streets are black as pitch and, as Harley finds himself embroiled in the macabre mysteries of a city in which truth is as murky as the pea-souper smog and the sins are as dark as stout porter beer, he begins to realise he may never find a way out.

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (Orion)

Following his "resurrection walk" and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim's family, Mickey's case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy's digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistle-blower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake. It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called "the knight's sacrifice." Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman (Faber & Faber)

Meet Mrs Blossom. . .  A widow who has never left the US. A grandmother with a knack for blending in A lottery winner with an unexpected fortune. Determined to finally see the world, she's starting with a cruise along the Seine. Just twenty-four hours into Mrs Blossom's trip, however, a man is dead, a precious artefact is missing, and a mysterious stranger is claiming her life is in danger. Surrounded by luxury food, quaint towns and people with staggeringly high net worth, she has no idea who she can trust. But maybe blending into the background has its perks - whoever is responsible will never see this most unlikely of detectives coming.

The Good Liar by Denise Mina (Vintage Publishing)

Blood spatter expert Doctor Claudia O’Sheil’s evidence put a killer behind bars – or so everyone thinks. Since the trial, Claudia has learned a horrific truth: her evidence and her testimony were wrong. Now as she takes the stage to give a speech before London’s elite specialists, Claudia has to choose: keep lying and leave the wronged killer behind bars or stand up, tell the truth and rip her life apart.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu

A Japanese mystery horror bestseller, revolving around a series of creepy drawings, in which the reader is the detective - from the Youtube sensation Uketsu. A series of drawings made by a young woman before her death. A child's disturbing picture of his home. A desperate sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments. Each contains a chilling warning. Each reveals a terrible secret, hidden in plain sight. Uketsu's eerie mysteries have captivated millions of readers. Can you find the clues in these strange pictures and uncover the sinister truth that connects them all?

Moscow Underground by Catherine Merridale (HarperCollins Publisher)

Moscow, 1934. When the body of an archaeologist connected to the construction of the glittering new Moscow subway is discovered in a deserted mansion, Procuracy Investigator Anton Belkin initially wants nothing to do with the case. It will mean asking difficult questions of the wrong people, and Anton has a reason to keep his head down. But he has not reckoned with Vika, his former lover and now a powerful member of the secret police, who is adamant Anton is the best man for the job. Deep underground, Anton discovers a priceless secret. Yet excavating it will mean disturbing a complex web of political and personal rivalries, deceptions and betrayals. Soon Anton must make a choice between the truth, and everything else he holds dear.

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Pan Macmillan)

'That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they've ended, when they've barely begun . . .' London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. Her confectionery shop on Piccadilly is barely turning a profit and Henry Fielding, the famous author and new magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account, because he believes it might be illicitly acquired. Even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent. Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder . . .

Honourable mentions go to the following as well.

Hang on St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty

Rain slicked streets, riots, murder, chaos. It's July 1992 and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five apocalyptic years. Detective Inspector Sean Duffy got his family safely over the water to Scotland, to "Shortbread Land." Duffy's a part-timer now, only returning to Belfast six days a month to get his pension. It's an easy gig, if he can keep his head down. But then a murder case falls into his lap while his protégé is on holiday in Spain. A carjacking gone wrong and the death of a solitary, middle-aged painter. But something's not right, and as Duffy probes, he discovers the painter was an IRA assassin. So, the question becomes: Who hit the hit man and why?

Murder at Worlds End by Ross Montgomery (Penguin Random House)

Secrets, murder and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo - an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian - hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world. Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow. All eyes turn to Steven Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for. Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late.

The Good Nazi by Samir Marchado de Machado (Pushkin Press)

A zeppelin leaves Nazi Germany bound for Rio de Janeiro. For those on board it's a luxury holiday, until one of them is murdered. Police Detective Bruno Brückner, travelling on the airship, is immediately asked to investigate - and soon discovers that the murdered man was not the proud Nazi he claimed to be. What's more, he was carrying a stash of banned 'degenerate' material. As Brückner interviews his fellow passengers - a wealthy baroness, an antisemitic doctor, a debonair Englishman - his inquiries will uncover a startling story of fake identities, queer love and revenge, where nothing is as it appears, until finally the secret of the 'good Nazi' is revealed...

The Burning Ground by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage Publishing)

In the Burning Ghats of Calcutta where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear. The body is that of a popular patron of the arts, a man who was, by all accounts, beloved by all: so what was the motive for his murder? Despite being out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case and finds himself thrust into the glamorous world of Indian cinema. Meanwhile Surendranath Banerjee, recently returned from Europe after three years spent running from the fallout of his last case, is searching for a missing photographer; a trailblazing woman at the forefront of the profession. When Suren discovers that the vanished woman is linked to Sam's murder investigation, the two men find themselves working together once again - but will Wyndham and Banerjee be able to put their differences aside to solve the case?