The 2026 CWA Dagger Shortlists

Posted on 28 May, 2026

‘There is only one recipe for a best-seller and it is a very simple one. You have to get the reader to turn over the page.’

Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming Publications are proud to sponsor the Crime Writer’s Association’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award, an annual literary prize for the best thriller published in the UK. Eligible books in this category are thrillers set in any period and include, but are not limited to, spy fiction, noir thrillers and action-adventure stories. Past winners include Gillian Flynn, Mick Herron, Robert Harris and Karin Slaughter.

The shortlists for the 2026 Daggers have just been unveiled, so take a look at which titles are in the running for the Steel Dagger below.

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani

Lucas Cole is a bestselling writer. He is also a father, a widower, and a beloved celebrity in his small town. He is an unassuming man - tall, thin and quietly friendly. Lucas Cole is also a serial killer.

Nathan Cole has known the truth about his father since he was ten years old. Too terrified to go to the police, he ran away from home as soon as he was able, carrying the guilt of leaving his sister behind. But when Lucas is found dead in a dingy motel room, Nathan returns to his childhood home for the first time in seventeen years. It’s there he finds The Midnight King, his father’s final unpublished manuscript, a fictionalised account of his hideous crimes, hidden in a box of trinkets taken from his victims.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 eight-year-old girl who disappeared only days before his father’s death.

Now, Nathan must deal with the consequences of keeping his father’s secret. But it may not be as simple as finding a lost child. For The Midnight King holds Nathan’s secrets as well as Lucas’s, and he is not the only one searching for the truth…

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

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 counseled them from birth, nothing lasts forever. Everything burns.

The Big Empty by Robert Crais

Traci Beller was only thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. Now a super-popular influencer with millions of followers, she finally has the money to hire a new detective to uncover the truth. And that detective is Elvis Cole.

Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a losing game, though Elvis quickly picks up a lead in Rancha when he learns that an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter Anya might have a line on the missing man. But when he finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become prey, and when everyone is a victim, will it be possible to save them all?

Calling on the help of his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, Elvis follows Tommy Beller’s trail into the twisted, nightmarish depths of a monstrous evil, even as what he finds tests his loyalty to his clients, and to himself. But the truth must come out, no matter the cost.

A Sting in Her Tale by Mark Ezra

When retired former spy Felicity Jardine’s mission to drown herself is interrupted by a baby drifting down river, her training kicks in at once. She manages to save the baby, and conceals them both from the shady-looking man who is searching for it.

Then an elderly neighbour to whom she bears a resemblance is found dead, and Felicity knows she’s been rumbled. She has to dust off the highly trained and resourceful secret service officer she used to be, ensure the safety of the baby, and re-enter the fray.

She can count on the help of two former MI6 colleagues to identify the murderer and find out exactly what’s going on. But Felicity will soon realise that her work in 1970s Germany and her present are entangled – and she will have to face some hard truths before she can confront the demons of her past.

Such Quiet Girls by Noelle W. Ihli

ONE HIJACKED BUS.

New driver Jessa is desperate for her shift to run smoothly to avoid exposing her job-application lies. Twelve-year-old passenger Sage just wants to get home, exhausted from watching over her little sister, Bonnie. But disaster strikes when their bus is hijacked in broad daylight. For the innocent souls onboard, the nightmare is only just beginning . . .

TEN FRIGHTENED CHILDREN.

Trapped inside a shipping container buried 20 feet underground, the captives are promised they’ll be freed once a ransom is paid to the hijackers. But Jessa and Sage aren’t sure they’ll last that long. It’s dark and cramped – and, as every minute passes, it’s becoming harder to breathe.

A DEADLY RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK . . .

With time – and air – running out, can they team up to outsmart their captors? Or are they doomed to an unthinkable fate?

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney

Gordon and Sarah Rutherford are normal, happy people with rich, fulfilling lives. They have a son they adore, a house on the beach and a safe, friendly community in a picture-postcard town.

Until, one day, Bonnie the labrador comes in from the beach alone. Their son, Rory, has gone – the only trace left behind is a single black sandal.

Their lives don’t fall apart immediately. While there’s still hope, they dig deep and try to carry on.

But as desperation mounts, arms around shoulders become fingers pointed – at friends, family, strangers, each other. Without any answers, only questions remain. Who can they trust? How far will they go to find out what happened to Rory?

And the deadliest question of all: what could be worse than your child disappearing?

When the truth begins to emerge, they find themselves in a world they could barely have imagined.

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.

Emmy Clifton has lived here all her life. She thinks she knows her neighbours. She’s wrong.

She thinks it’s just another hot summer night: a night like any other. She’s wrong.

When her best friend’s daughter asks for help, she thinks it’s just some teenage drama. She thinks it can wait. She’s never been more wrong in her life.

As the town ignites in the wake of the girl’s disappearance, Emmy throws herself into the search. But then she realises: You never really know a town until you know its secrets.

Is Emmy ready for the truth?

Find the shortlists for the rest of the Daggers here, and learn about the previous shortlists and winners of the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger here. The winners will be announced at the Daggers’ Dinner on 2nd July.

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