Best crime stories to read this year

Every year the Crime Writers’ Association(CWA) honours the best Britsh crime books of different lengths and sub-genres with awards. The awards are called the Daggers or CWA Daggers and the most prestigious is the Diamond Dagger, which is awarded to a writer nominated by CWA members for their lifetime contribution to the genre.

Here are the winners for 2020

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

This category helps authors find representation. The award is given for the opening of a crime novel by an uncontracted writer. This year it was won by Josephine Moulds for 'Revolution Never Lies'. She lived in Cuba in 2010, and has studied politics and written for The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph and other such publications. She has only written a picture book manuscript previously.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

The Dagger in the Library is given to a body of work by an established crime writer who has long been popular with those who borrow books from libraries. It also awards authors who have been known to support libraries and their users.

This year's winner is Chris Brookmyre, whose books have sold over two million copies in the UK alone. He has won the McIlvanney Prize and the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award for his work.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

This category's title speaks for itself. This year it was won by Lauren Henderson for her story #METOO which can be found in the anthology 'Invisible Blood'.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

This award is for a non-fiction crime book that was first published in the UK. It was won by 'Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee' by Casey Cep. It's two intertwined stories, one of an odd preacher in Alabama who supposedly killed no fewer than five relatives for the insurance money, and of Harper Lee, the 'To Kill a Mockingbird' author and her attempts to make a Cold Blood-style non-fiction book out of it.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

This Dagger is for the best crime novel by a first-time author (of any nationality) first published in the UK.

The winner is 'The Man on the Street' by Trevor Wood. It follows a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, who might have heard a murder one night. He, along with other homeless people tries to solve the mystery.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

As the name suggests, this dagger awards a historical crime book. This year 'Death in the East' by Abir Mukherjee won. It's set in 1920s Raj-era India and follows a young constable Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee as they hunt for a the killer of a clever murder.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

Again, this prize name speaks for it's category. The winning book is titled 'The Godmother' and was originally written in French by Hannelore Cayre and translated into English by Stephanie Smee.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

Named after the famed crime writer, this dagger awards page-turning thriller books. It was won by Lou Berney for the novel 'November Road' which is both a love story and a chase thriller, set during JFK’s assassination.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

The Gold Dagger goes to simply the best crime novel of the year. It was awarded to 'Good Girl, Bad Girl' by Michael Robotham. It's about an unidentified girl found at a horrible crime scene, who is put into a children's home. Some years later forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven must determine if Evie is ready to go free and what she learns leads to an incredible story.

Photo: thecwa.co.uk

The prestigious dagger that honours a lifetime achievement of crime writing went to Martin Edwards.

Andrew Taylor, chair of the Diamond Dagger sub-committee and winner of the award in 2009, said: “I’m delighted that the CWA Committee has decided to honour Martin with this year’s Diamond Dagger. Given the range and quality of his work, together with his enormous contribution to the genre as a whole, he is the perfect recipient.”

Linda Stratmann, CWA Chair, said: “Martin Edwards has been honoured not only as an award-winning author and editor, but also as a tireless promoter of crime writing. He researches and preserves the history of the genre, and has introduced the modern reader to classics of the past that might otherwise have been forgotten.”

Photo: thecwa.co.uk