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Steel Dagger Recommendation: Lou Berney’s Dark Ride
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Posted on 22 June, 2025
Looking for the your latest read? Meet Lou Berney, author of Dark Ride, shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger literary prize at the annual Crime Writers’ Awards which celebrates the best in new thriller writing.
Tell us about Dark Ride and what inspired you to tell this story?
Dark Ride is about a grievously ill-equipped and out-matched thriller hero. I often feel like a grievously ill-equipped and out-matched thriller writer, so it seemed like a good fit. I’m a fan of the underdog!
What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
The big idea behind Dark Ride, for me, is that acts of heroism can be complicated. In real life, there’s often a price to be paid for doing the right thing – and understanding what the right thing is isn’t always clear.
How did it feel to be on the shortlist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger?
It’s a huge honor and very humbling since I’m a big fan of the other authors on the shortlist.
What is your writing process?
I do lots of brainstorming, lots of outlining, lots of preparing to draft. And then, once I start drafting, a lot of that goes out the window and – I hope! – I follow the characters where they lead me.
What is your favourite thriller and why?
Truly impossible to name just one, so here are three (also truly impossible): Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson; In a Lonely Place, by Dorothy B. Hughes; and Devil in a Blue Dress, by Walter Mosley.
And finally what advice would you give to aspiring thriller writers?
Make sure, on every page, there’s a burning question the reader wants answered.
Check out Lou’s book for yourself. Find out more about the Crime Writer’ Awards here.