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.