Annal:1993 Dagger Award for Crime Novel

Cruel and Unusual: A Dr. Kay Scarpetta Mystery

Patricia Cornwell

• 1993 Gold Dagger
• Score: 10.43

When convicted killer RonnieJoe Waddell is executed in Virginia’s electric chair, he becomes what shouldbe a routine postmortem case for Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta.But after Waddell’s execution, the murders continue, as everyone connectedto him begins to die—including a member of Scarpetta’s staff.

Then, when crucial records disappear from her files, Scarpetta comes underfire for incompetence. Caught in a web of political intrigue, betrayed bythose she trusted, Scarpetta must fight to free herself from murderous insinuations—and threats to her own life.

To save her career, Scarpetta soon finds herself retracing Waddell’s bloodyfootprints, following a trail that might lead to long-hidden secrets deepwithin the state government. Either the truth will set her free—or unleashupon her a punishment both cruel and unusual.

Fatlands: A Hannah Wolfe Crime Novel

Sarah Dunant

• 1993 Silver Dagger
• Score: 8.43

In Fatlands, private investigator Hannah Wolfe, who’s independent though not invincible, idealistic but definitely not naive, has taken on one of the less glamorous jobs in the security world—chaperoning teenage rebel Mattie Shepherd around London. But Mattie’s father is paying Hannah lots of money—more than the job is worth, it seems. Or perhaps not. The girl’s father is on the Animal Liberation Front’s hit list. But why? When violence explodes, tearing the family apart, this is what Hannah must discover. Her obsession with the truth nearly kills her, wrecking her private life and dragging her into a vortex of lies and betrayal.