We are thrilled to announce that Alan Parks’ barnstorming WW2-set trilogy opener GUNNER has been named on the shortlist for the Historical Dagger award at the 2026 Dagger Award – the Crime Writers' Association’s annual celebration of the very best in crime writing.
The award is given to the best crime novel set at least 50 years in the past, with the winner following in the footsteps of recent honourees Vaseem Khan, Ray Celestin, D.V. Bishop, Jake Lamar and, last year’s winner, A.J. West.
Also shortlisted this year, along with Alan’s GUNNER, are:
A GRANITE SILENCE by Nina Allan (Quercus/riverrun)
BARVICK FALLS by Rob McInroy (Tippermuir Books)
THE DEVIL’S DRAPER by Donna Moore (Fly on the Wall Press)
THE ART OF A LIE by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan/Mantle)
A CASE OF LIFE AND LIMB by Sally Smith (Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books)
The winner will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony at the CWA gala dinner on Thursday 2 July – a date which coincidentally also marks the publication of the second Joseph Gunner novel, DECEPTION! Whisking Joseph Gunner from Blitz-torn Glasgow to the streets of 1941 New York, DECEPTION follows Gunner as he is drawn into a Secret Service conspiracy to lead the Americans into the war – no matter what the cost.
DECEPTION is published in the UK by Baskerville, an imprint of John Murray; Pegasus Books will publish a North American edition on 1 September. Rights to the GUNNER series have also sold in Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
Congratulations Alan!
About GUNNER
‘Great storytelling… I loved it’ – Peter James
‘Great stuff… a vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!’ – Ian Rankin
‘In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks excels at capturing the brutality of war… Gunner, meanwhile, is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future instalments. This is a winner.’ – starred review, Publishers’ Weekly
March, 1941. Joseph Gunner is back on the streets of Glasgow after being wounded on the front lines in France.
Keeping the pain in his leg at bay with the help of morphine, Gunner, a former detective, is hoping to keep his head down as the Luftwaffe begin bombing Glasgow.
But when he runs into his old boss Drummond, he is persuaded to help examine a body found in the wreckage. When the body turns out to be that of a German, mutilated to disguise his identity, Gunner reluctantly agrees to investigate.
As Gunner begins to hunt for the truth he runs into old flames, bitter enemies, before finding himself embroiled in a high-level conspiracy that reaches far beyond his hometown of Glasgow.
Partly inspired by the true story of Rudolph Hess's secret mission to broker appeasement with Britain during WWII, GUNNER is an atmospheric and addictive new thriller from one of Britain's best-loved writers.
Photo: Euan Robertson
About Alan Parks
Alan Parks is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of the Harry McCoy series, which has won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year, the Prix Mystère de la Critique and an Edgar Award. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Joseph Gunner thrillers, an international crime series set during the Second World War.
Alan worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to writing. He now lives and works in Glasgow.
