Peter James won the People's Bestseller Dagger at the ITV3 Crime Awards for DEAD MAN'S GRIP. Voted for by the public, Peter beat contestants including Lee Child and Mark Billingham. Peter told The Guardian: "This is a wonderful award that strikes at the very heart of what good books are all about: enthralling readers with gripping, page-turning fiction - and decided not by an elite committee but by the very people who read and loved them - the general public," he said. "I don't think there can be a higher accolade for any author."

The other winners were SJ Watson's BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger, Tom Franklin's CROOKED LETTER for the Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year and Steve Hamilton's THE LOCK ARTIST for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for Best Thriller. Only Peter James though promised all his fans fish & chips at the Brighton Pier if he won!

The ceremony took place on Friday 7 October and Peter duly bought his fans a fish & chip lunch on Brighton Pier the next day!

Praise for DEAD MAN'S GRIP:

'Authenticity, coupled with the ingenuity of his plotting, drives the tale at a pace that could fuse speed cameras on the M1.' -- David Connett, The Sunday Express

'James is well established at the very top of the British crime tree and this atmospheric, pacy and truly gripping novel will most certainly help to keep him there.' -- The Bookseller