The CWA Gold Dagger

This award is for the year's best crime novel written in English. The prize consists of an ornamental dagger and £2,500.

• 2009 A Whispered name William Brodrick
• 2008 Blood from stone Frances Fyfield
• 2007 The Broken Shore Peter Temple
• 2006 Raven Black Ann Cleves

• 2005 Silence of the Grave Arnaldur Indridason (Translator: Bernard Scudder)
• 2004 Blacklist Sara Paretsky
• 2003 Fox Evil Minette Walters
• 2002 The Athenian Murders Jose Carlos Somoza
• 2001 Sidetracked Henning Mankel
• 2000 Motherless Brooklyn Jonathan Lethem
• 1999 A Small Death in Lisbon Robert Wilson
• 1998 Sunset Limited James Lee Burke
• 1997 Black & Blue Ian Rankin
• 1996 Popcorn Ben Elton
• 1995 The Mermaids singing Val McDermid
• 1994 The Scold’s Bridle Minette Walters
• 1993 Cruel and unusual Patricia Cornwell
• 1992 The Way through the woods Colin Dexter
• 1991 King Solomon’s carpet Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell)
• 1990 Bones and silence Reginald Hill
• 1989 The Wench is dead Colin Dexter
• 1988 Ratking Michael Dibdin
• 1987 A Fatal inversion Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell)
• 1986 Live flesh Ruth Rendell
• 1985 Monkey puzzle Paula Gosling
• 1984 The Twelfth juror B M Gill
• 1983 Accidental crimes John Hutton
• 1982 The False Inspector Dew Peter Lovesey
• 1981 Gorky Park Martin Cruz Smith
• 1980 The Murder of the Maharajah H R F Keating