Loyal Spy

Simon Conway was born in California, educated in Britain and studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He served in the British army with the Black Watch and the Queen's Own Highlanders.After leaving the military he worked for The HALO Trust clearing land mines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, Kosovo, Abkhazia, Eritrea and Sri Lanka. As Director of Landmine Action he ran projects in Western Sahara and Guinea Bissau as well as successfully campaigning for an international treaty to ban cluster bombs. He now lives in Washington, DC.

Another well-earned award - the Steel Dagger went to Simon Conway's A Loyal Spy. Thrillers that straddle the globe and have millions of lives at stake are standard issue in the genre. But this one does it differently. It's sprawling, violent and contemporary, with whiffs of authenticity that lift it above the crowd.