CWA Historical Dagger Award – Winner

I have written posts on the Historical Dagger Longlist, as well as the shortlist. But let’s do a quick recap of the shortlist.

I listened to the whole series that ends with Sunset Swing, and it is very good for what it is. Mobster books aren’t really my thing, but I did enjoy these. A lot of time has gone by since the first book in the series, and our main character is now in her sixties (while in book 1 she was 18 or so). I really appreciated seeing an older character getting herself right into the action (though recognising she can’t do all she used to be able to). We also see Louis Armstrong having to deal with getting older and having health issues, and recording ‘What a Wonderful World’. I had a very decent time with it.

April in Spain is a very entertaining book, though quite low regarding its mystery… and quite forgettable. I will pick up the previous books in the series for sure, because it was a very readable book.

Sadly I DNF’ed Crow Court. This is certainly a different book in its setup, and I just couldn’t keep track of it whilst listening to it on my commute.

I have only just started Not One of Us, and am about 10% in. So really, I can’t say all that much about it. I also have no idea when I will be finishing this (I have only read 2 books this month…)

I listened to the audiobook of Edge of the Grave, and I loved the narrator (though the accent could be a bit too heavy for someone for whom English isn’t their first language). There were some great moments of humour and banter in here, among quite some serious stuff. I had hoped for a bit more gore, though the ending was pretty damn disturbing. It was a decent enough read.

I did read A Corruption of Blood, and I have to say that I adore this series. The characters and their relationships are So well written, they feel very real and I just want to know what happens with and to them. The atmosphere in superb as well. You really feel that the authors have done their research, making this a surprisingly educational series as well. And then there is the mystery, to which the revelations aren’t obvious, but you do end up saying ‘of course that is what happened!’ It is just very satisfying. (Content warnings for paedophilia and infanticides).

---

I think it is obvious that I want A Corruption of Blood to win. However, I think Crow Court my take the prize, mainly because of how different it is. Well, let’s find out…

Okay… I’m not mad about it. This one wasn’t really for me, but for what it is, it is really good. Certainly not an undeserved win.

So that is me done for another year. I ended up reading 12 books for this reward (half of those were trying to catch up with series)… books I otherwise wouldn’t have known about. I might now take a break from historical mysteries. Though, who am I kidding? Half my TBR consists of them.

Hoping you are having a wonderful day,