Meyer up for a dagger

SOUTH African author Deon Meyer has made the short list for the Crime Writers’ Association’s 2015 Dagger Awards.

Along with Meyer’s book Cobra, more than 881 entries were submitted by publishers and individuals for the five categories of awards.

Competing in the International Dagger category:

Falling Freely, As If In A Dream by Leif G.W. Persson;

Camille by Pierre Lemaitre; Arab Jazz by Karim Miské; The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo and Into a Raging Blaze by Andreas Norman.

The Short Story Dagger finalists are:

Apocrypha by Richard Lange (from Sweet Nothing), Red Eye by Michael Connelly and Dennis Lehane (from Face Off), The Hunter by Dashiell Hammett (from The Hunter andamp; Other Stories), Sweet Nothing by Richard Lange (from Sweet Nothing), Juror 8 by Stuart Neville (from OxCrimes), and The Dead Their Eyes Implore Us by George Pelecanos (from OxCrimes).

The Non-fiction Dagger short list includes:

In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile by Dan Davies, A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fischer, Ghettoside: Investigating a Homicide Epidemic by Jill Leovy, Gun Baby Gun: A Bloody Journey into the World of the Gun by Iain Overton, One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by ?Asne Seierstad, Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption by Bryan Stevenson.

The Endeavour Historical Dagger finalists are:

Havana Sleeping by Martin Davies, Lamentation by C.J. Sansom, The Man from Berlin by Luke McCallin, The Seeker by S.G. MacLean, The Silent Boy by Andrew Taylor and The Taxidermist’s Daughter by Kate Mosse.

And competing for the Debut Dagger are:

Dark Chapter by Winnie M Li, Last Of The Soho Legends by Greg Keen, The Ice Coffin by Jill Sawyer, The Pure Drop by Nigel Robbins and Lock Me In by Kate Simants.

The awards will be presented on June 30 to mark the end of Crime Reading Month in the United Kingdom.

— Books Editor