{"title":"CWA Whodunnit Dagger Shortlist 2026","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 2026 shortlist of the Crime Writers' Association Whodunnit Dagger award for books that focus on the intellectual challenge at the heart of the mystery. This category encompasses cosy, traditional and Golden Age-inspired mystery novels. \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bad-influence-by-c-j-wray-9781398711907","title":"Bad Influence","description":"\u003cp\u003eJinx Sullivan should be enjoying a peaceful retirement in the Cotswolds -but peace has never really been her style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs a child internee in Japanese-occupied Singapore, Jinx witnessed unspeakable horrors, then faced poverty as a refugee in post-war Britain. Then life took an unexpected turn under the questionable mentorship of Penny Williamson-social worker and WW2 spy. Jinx and Penny teamed up for a series of dangerous adventures, which saw them dodging the CIA in 50s Italy and plotting heists in swinging London.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTheir partnership went up in smoke in the 60s but Penny's bad influence lingered on. Now 89, Jinx craves one last escapade. She's determined to return to Florence in search of hidden treasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe problem? Incapacitated by a fall, she can only get there on a coach trip, with the village gossips and her angry teenage helper Thea in tow. What's more, Jinx must navigate not only Italy, but a tangle of loose ends she'd rather ignore. She must deal with old grievances and long-hidden secrets (not to mention bodies).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut perhaps there's a final chance at redemption too (if the carabinieri don't get to her first).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"C. J. 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Thirty-five years of nursing have also left her afraid of nobody - be they a local drug dealer or a priest - and an expert in deciphering other people's secrets with just a glance. Miss Hortense uses her skills to investigate the investments of the Pardner network - a special community of Black investors, determined to help their people succeed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut when an unidentified man is found dead in one of the Pardner's homes, a Bible quote noted down beside his body, Miss Hortense's long-buried past comes rushing back to greet her, bringing memories of the worst moment of her life, one which her community has never let her forget. 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So when he meets Patrick, son of knight of the realm and banking millionaire Sir Lionel Duker, he is delighted to find himself catapulted into a world of dinners at The Ritz and birthday parties at his new friend's family mansion on Hampstead Heath.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut money, it seems, can't buy happiness. Sir Lionel is being slandered in the press, his new young wife Lucinda is being harassed by an embittered journalist and Patrick is worried he'll lose his inheritance to his gold-digging stepmother. And when someone is found strangled on the billiards room floor after a party it doesn't take long for Selby to realise everyone has a motive for murder.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCan Selby uncover the truth while keeping his own secrets buried?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robert Holtom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53708338889045,"sku":"004507","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9781835413173_209396f5-eed3-4781-a86d-5243d761443f.jpg?v=1776430135"},{"product_id":"little-secrets-by-victoria-goldman-9781739695453","title":"Little Secrets","description":"\u003cp\u003eA former prison. Now a luxury hotel – celebrating its tenth anniversary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFive dead prisoners. One prison nurse accused of their murders.\n\u003cbr\u003eWas she innocent? Or was she guilty?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Victoria Goldman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53708339249493,"sku":"004509","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9781739695453_68b731f3-2d9a-4df5-b383-0644028cd49e.webp?v=1776430353"},{"product_id":"etiquette-for-lovers-and-killers-by-anna-fitzgerald-healy-9780349127361","title":"Etiquette for Lovers and Killers","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt's 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She's surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUntil she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive .\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e. . and the first to see her dead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who is willing to kiss and tell? As the body count rises and the danger nears, why does Billie feel like she's more than just a side character? And after yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike to have some fun of her own? A love letter to uncivilized behaviour, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Anna Fitzgerald Healy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53708339478869,"sku":"004510","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0877\/7462\/6133\/files\/9780349127361_4ef3156b-6fdf-43e2-bbf5-296309f9fd8b.jpg?v=1776430154"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.gumshoebooks.com\/collections\/cwa-whodunnit-dagger-shortlist-2026.oembed","provider":"Gumshoe Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}