Michael Robotham has triumphed at this year’s Crime Writers’ Association Awards, receiving the prestigious and internationally recognised Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year for his bestselling Good Girl, Bad Girl.
Announced in the early hours of the morning, Robotham’s win cements his place as Australia’s foremost crime writer. He is one of only a few people in the history of the Gold Dagger, and the only Australian, to have won the international award twice.
In Good Girl, Bad Girl, [reviewed in these pages in October 2019] intense and fascinating relationships are developed and explored as forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven investigates murder while treating damaged teenager Evie. This unnerving psychological thriller became the top selling fiction title on release in August 2019 and When She Was Good, [also reviewed in these pages in August 2020] released in August this year, was equally well received earning the top spot for adult fiction in its release week.
The Gold Dagger rounds off what has been an incredible year for Robotham, with Good Girl, Bad Girl also nominated for the 2020 Edgar Award for Best Novel (presented by the Mystery Writers of America) and shortlisted for the 2020 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year Award. The Secrets She Keeps television series was premiered on Channel 10 in April and the Joe O’Loughlin TV series is now in development with a major UK production company.