{"title":"CWA John Creasey First Novel (Debut) Dagger 2026 shortlist","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 2026 shortlist for the best debut crime novel published in the UK, as selected by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA).\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"holy-city-by-henry-wise-9781835012512","title":"Holy City","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a decade of exile precipitated by the tragic death of his mother, Will Seems returns home from Richmond to rural Southern Virginia, taking a job as deputy sheriff in a landscape given way to crime and defeat. But his attempts to start again are wrecked when a brutal homicide claims the life of an old friend and he is forced to face the true reason for his return – to pay an old debt. Then a man Will knows to be innocent is arrested for his friend's murder, and his boss seems all too happy to wrap up the case and move on.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWill must weigh his personal guilt against his public duty and work alongside an unpredictable private detective to help him find the real killer. And, in facing a community that refuses to confront its history, perhaps he can atone for the past.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Henry Wise","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50270322983253,"sku":"002295","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9781835012512_236388dc-bec3-45f7-adaa-86c7bf9b4988.jpg?v=1738762540"},{"product_id":"the-vanishing-place-by-zoe-rankin-9781805227373","title":"The Vanishing Place","description":"\u003cp\u003eA young girl wanders into the small town of Koraha, her hands stained with blood.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShe won't speak, but her path is tracked through New Zealand's unforgiving wilderness to a cabin - and the scene of a double murder. The townsfolk know this cabin; it has a violent history. Twenty years ago, another girl was forced to flee, leaving her siblings and father behind.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut now that her family's secrets have led to more victims, Effie has no choice but to return to the bush and face the truth of what happened there... and why she ran.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Zoe Rankin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51207761396053,"sku":"003525","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9781805227373_041163c3-069e-4186-946f-8bce2e0a0d60.jpg?v=1754133526"},{"product_id":"the-wolf-tree-by-laura-mccluskey-9780008681302","title":"The Wolf Tree","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the 2026 ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger award.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn a small island off the coast of Scotland, an isolated community is grieving. Eighteen-year-old Alan Ferguson was found at the foot of the lighthouse – an apparent suicide. DIs Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent to investigate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut a raging storm keeps them trapped on the island for four days. And the locals don’t take kindly to mainlanders. As George and Ritchie question the island’s inhabitants, they discover a village filled with superstition and shrouded in secrets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut someone wants those secrets to stay buried. At any cost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Laura McCluskey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51247271051605,"sku":"003558","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9780008681302_6c0c79f5-1e5f-46a3-a53b-969c25474b94.jpg?v=1754740366"},{"product_id":"the-peak-by-sam-guthrie-9780008747398","title":"The Peak","description":"\u003cp\u003eThree words in Mandarin. That's all it takes to end the world. Planes circle, unable to land. The phone lines are down. The power is out. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd the only person who knows why is dead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThat man was Sebastian, a handsome politician on the rise. Charlie, his political attack dog and childhood friend, just watched him kill himself. Then the Secret Intelligence Service comes knocking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat the hell did Sebastian do? And can Charlie find out before the world implodes? The Peak is a nailbiting and fast-moving international thriller that weaves a story of friendship and betrayal together with the ruthless geopolitics of China's rise, set in the last twenty four hours of the world as we know it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sam Guthrie","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51421961027925,"sku":"003726","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9780008747398_48ed24ca-3a71-45e5-bb21-060b93bb100b.jpg?v=1757511630"},{"product_id":"coram-house-by-bailey-seybolt-9781526681799","title":"Coram House","description":"\u003cp\u003eTrue crime writer Alex Kelley is struggling after her last book tanked her career. Her reputation in tatters, she accepts a commission to ghost-write a book about Coram House, a former orphanage by a lake in Vermont that is now being turned into luxury condos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCould this be the fresh start she needs? Years before, it was revealed that children at the orphanage were being abused; the church settled the case, but rumours persist about one of the other allegations made, that a small boy was deliberately drowned in the lake by someone in charge. Those in charge insist there was no such murder, but when Alex makes a shocking discovery only days after her arrival she realises that what began in the past is not going to stay there...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bailey Seybolt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52180570112341,"sku":"004189","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9781526681799_3adafadc-15e4-4a78-92aa-c6db994de8cd.jpg?v=1767281543"},{"product_id":"the-lost-detective-by-elspeth-latimer-9781912665525","title":"The Lost Detective","description":"\u003cp\u003eOn a summer’s day, a tiny baby vanishes. The mystery is never solved, leaving a young mother lost in grief. Twenty-one years later, ex-police detective Dan Hennessy is struggling with his own tragic loss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen a neighbour disappears and a body turns up at the solar farm, Dan becomes desperate for answers. The haunted landscape is keeping secrets, and there are dangers lurking in the Brecks. Will he find hope for the grieving mother, and can he save himself?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Elspeth Latimer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53736304312661,"sku":"004525","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9781912665525_ff117804-abdd-46e0-a77e-f89c5590b16a.jpg?v=1776773330"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.gumshoebooks.com\/collections\/cwa-john-creasey-first-novel-debut-dagger-2026-shortlist.oembed","provider":"Gumshoe Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}