THE INNOCENTS by Bridget Walsh has been longlisted for the 2025 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger award.

This award is for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally written in English and first published in the UK during the judging period. It was originally created in 1955, under the name of the Crossed Red Herrings Award. It was renamed the Gold Dagger in 1960 and has been awarded ever since with variations in its name depending on sponsorship. Past winners include Chris Whitaker, Belinda Bauer and Mick Herron. The other titles on this year’s longlist are: A DIVINE FURY by D. V. Bishop, MAN OF BONES by Ben Creed, THE BELL TOWER by R. J. Ellory, THE HUNTER by Tana French, GUIDE ME HOME by Attica Locke, BOOK OF SECRETS by Anna Mazzola, I DIED AT FALLOW HALL by Bonnie Burke-Patel, HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER by Kristen Perrin, NIGHTWATCHING by Tracy Sierra, DEADLY ANIMALS by Marie Tierney and D IS FOR DEATH by Harriet F. Townson.

The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 29th May, with the winner revealed in a ceremony on the Thursday 3rd July at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5DA.

THE INNOCENTS is the second in Bridget’s award-winning Variety Palace Mystery Series, now published by Pushkin Vertigo. When a new string of murders tears through London, Minnie and Albert are thrown together once more. Strangely, the crimes seem to link back to a tragedy that took place fourteen years ago, leaving 183 children dead. And given that the incident touched so many people’s lives, everyone is a suspect...

The third in the series, THE SPIRIT GUIDE, will be published by Pushkin Vertigo in April 2026. THE SPIRIT GUIDE sees Minnie and Albert uncovering the dark secrets behind a female-only spiritualist group that purports to help its members commune with deceased loved ones… Bridget is busy working on the fourth series title.

About Bridget Walsh

Bridget Walsh lives in Norwich. She has a PhD in ‘Murder in the Victorian Domestic Sphere’ and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia.

The manuscript for the first book in the Variety Palace Mystery series, THE TUMBLING GIRL, won the UEA Little, Brown Award for Crime Fiction 2019, and was published by Gallic Books in May 2023, garnering starred reviews in Publishers Weekly (where it was also a ‘Book of the Week’ pick) and the Library Journal. It also reached No. 1 in the US Amazon Kindle Historical Thriller chart, and was a ‘Best Historical Fiction’ pick for May 2023 in The Times. It was shortlisted for the CWA’s 2024 ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and won the HWA Debut Crown Award in 2024.

Praise for THE INNOCENTS

‘Historical crime fiction at its most beguiling.’ – Barry Forshaw, The Financial Times, ‘Best New Crime Books’

‘Walsh, who clearly knows her Victorians, writes with gusto. Whether she’s detailing the sweat, greasepaint and trickery behind theatrical illusion, the bloody savagery of the dog-fighting pit, or the creepily anthropomorphic world of the taxidermy diorama, time past is so vividly evoked that one can almost smell it. Highly recommended.’ – Laura Wilson, The Guardian, ‘The best recent crime and thrillers’

‘In Walsh’s triumphant sequel to THE TUMBLING GIRL… Walsh once again seamlessly combines vivid period detail, clever plotting, and thoughtful characterizations. This series merits a long run.’ – Publishers Weekly, starred review

‘Bridget Walsh does it again – this series has so much personality. THE INNOCENTS is pacy, captivating and accomplished and I loved it. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was book twenty-two and not book two. More Minnie and Albert, please – I miss them already.’ – Emma Styles

‘From the first dramatic and heart-breaking pages to the breathless final scenes, THE INNOCENTS by Bridget Walsh is the superb second novel in the Variety Palace Mysteries series. Victorian crime at its exciting and grittiest best. Don’t miss it’ – Essie Fox, author of THE FASCINATION

Visit Bridget’s website.

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We are delighted that THE LAST THING TO BURN by Will Dean has been longlisted for The Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger. The Gold Dagger is an award for the best crime novel by an author of any nationality, originally published in the UK. The shortlist will be revealed on 13th May 2022 at CrimeFest in Bristol, and winners will be announced at a gala dinner on 29th June 2022 in London.

THE LAST THING TO BURN is Will Dean’s first standalone thriller, published by Hodder in January 2021 in the UK and Simon & Schuster in the US. A word-of-mouth sensation, it garnered praise from readers and reviewers alike. THE LAST THING TO BURN was a pick of the year in multiple publications, including New Statesman, Daily Express and Culturefly. It was also voted International Book of the Year by the Rick O’Shea Book Club.

Will’s most recent standalone, FIRST BORN, was published by Hodder on 14th April 2022. He is also the author of the Tuva Moodyson Mysteries, a crime series set in Sweden and published by Oneworld.

THE LAST THING TO BURN
He is her husband. She is his captive. Her husband calls her Jane. That is not her name. She lives in a small farm cottage, surrounded by vast, open fields. Everywhere she looks, there is space. But she is trapped. No one knows how she got to the UK: no one knows she is there. Visitors rarely come to the farm; if they do, she is never seen. Her husband records her every movement during the day. If he doesn't like what he sees, she is punished.

For a long time, escape seemed impossible. But now, something has changed. She has a reason to live and a reason to fight. Now, she is watching him, and waiting . . .

Praise for THE LAST THING TO BURN

'Brilliantly written... Terrifying' — Ruth Ware

‘Outstanding. The best thriller in years’ — Martina Cole

‘A short, sharp shocker, burning with righteous anger, intended to highlight the evils of human trafficking.’ — The best crime fiction for January 2021, Mark Sanderson, The Times

‘The tone remains unremittingly grim throughout, but this is a true nail-biter; you’ll be rooting for the astonishingly resilient heroine all the way.’ — Guardian

‘You will not so much read as breathlessly inhale this standalone novel from the author of the Tuva Moodyson mystery series... What happens over the course of this book will haunt you long after you finish reading it. Brilliant - and one of the best books of 2021.’ — Isabelle Broom, Women & Home

About Will Dean

Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands, living in nine different villages before the age of eighteen. After studying law at the LSE, and working many varied jobs in London, he settled in rural Sweden with his wife. He built a wooden house in a boggy forest clearing and it's from this base that he compulsively reads and writes.

DARK PINES, the first in the Tuva Moodyson series, was published to huge critical acclaim in 2018, was shortlisted for Not the Booker prize, selected for Zoe Ball’s TV Book Club and named as a Daily Telegraph Book of the Year. He is currently writing his third standalone novel for Hodder.

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