The Crime Warp

Martina Cole Receives 2021 CWA Diamond Dagger Martina Cole is the recipient of the highest honour in British crime writing, the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger. The long-reigning Queen of Crime Drama is a publishing powerhouse. Martina has written 25 novels, all published by Headline, seventeen of which reached No.1 and her books have collectively spent over 4 years in the bestseller charts. Total sales stand at over 17 million copies, making her Britain’s bestselling female crime writer and with  The Faithless  she became the first British female adult audience novelist to break the £50 million sales mark since Nielsen Bookscan records began.  Her books have been translated into 31 languages and adapted for multiple stage plays and television series.  PhotoCredit: Bill Waters Martina’s own story is as remarkable as any bestseller plot. Martina grew up on an Essex council estate and Ronnie and Reggie Kray once visited her family’s home when she was a...

The 2020 longlists for the prestigious CWA Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced. The world-famous Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century. The longlist for the CWA Gold Dagger – the award for best crime novel – sees last year’s winner, MW Craven, return with the second book in his Poe series, Black Summer . Craven is up against stiff competition with established and multi-award-winning authors including Elly Griffiths for The Lantern Men , Mick Herron with Joe Country and Abir Mukherjee’s Death in the East all on the list. The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is famed for showcasing blockbuster thrillers – past winners include Gillian Flynn and Robert Harris. 2020’s longlist is dominated by the new guard of the genre who are now fixtures on the awards’ calendar. It includes AA Dhand for One Way Out , the fourth in his...