Gold Dagger Award · 2025 · Winner
The Book of Secrets
Anna MazzolaAnna Mazzola's Victorian Paris mystery won for its meticulous historical research, its feminist engagement with women's hidden knowledge, and its mastery of atmosphere and dread.
Gold Dagger Award
2025 Winner
2025 Shortlist & Longlist
Shortlist
Complete History
2020s
2010s
- 2019The Puppet Show — M. W. Craven
- 2018Thirteen — Steve Cavanagh
- 2017The Dry — Jane Harper
- 2016Dodgers — Bill Beverly
- 2015Life or Death — Michael Robotham
- 2014This Dark Road to Mercy — Wiley Cash
- 2013Dead Lions — Mick Herron
- 2012The Rage — Gene Kerrigan
- 2011Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter — Tom Franklin
- 2010Blacklands — Belinda Bauer
About the Gold Dagger Award
The Gold Dagger is the premier prize of the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) of the United Kingdom and is widely regarded as the most prestigious award in British crime fiction. Established in 1955 as the CWA's best crime novel award, the Gold Dagger has been awarded to some of the most celebrated crime writers of the past seven decades. The award is selected by a panel of judges including critics, authors, and publishing professionals, and it covers any crime novel first published in English in the UK during the qualifying year—meaning international authors writing in English are eligible. The CWA's Gold Dagger has recognized the full breadth of crime fiction, from classic detective stories to psychological thrillers, police procedurals, and literary crime novels. Past winners include Belinda Bauer, Mick Herron, Jane Harper, Chris Whitaker, Ray Celestin, and Una Mannion. The award is presented at an annual ceremony in London. Unlike many genre awards, the CWA's judges frequently award novels that push at the boundaries of the form, often selecting dark, stylistically ambitious work.
Frequently Asked Questions
- The Gold Dagger is the top honor awarded by the Crime Writers' Association of the UK, given annually to the best crime novel published in English in Britain.
- Any crime novel first published in English in the United Kingdom is eligible, regardless of the author's nationality—making it open to international writers such as Australian and American authors.
- A panel of judges appointed by the CWA—comprising critics, writers, and publishing professionals—selects the winner after reading the shortlisted titles.
- The CWA presents many other Dagger awards including the Steel Dagger (thriller), the Historical Dagger, the International Dagger (translated fiction), the John Creasey New Blood Dagger (debut), the Short Story Dagger, and the Diamond Dagger (lifetime achievement).
- In some years the Gold Dagger has been accompanied by a modest cash prize, but the amount varies and the prestige of the award itself is the primary distinction.
- The Gold Dagger has honored the full range of crime fiction, including psychological thrillers, police procedurals, literary crime, and hard-boiled noir, with judges often favoring stylistically distinctive or socially significant work.
- The CWA Dagger Awards ceremony is held annually in London in the autumn.