Gene Kerrigan has won the illustrious £2,500 CWA Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel of the Year for his novel The Rage, beating off competition from NJ Cooper, MR Hall and Chris Womersley. The Judges described his novel as “… a complex noir thriller that’s multi-layered and solidly written, with great style and pace. The depiction of post-crash Dublin has a real sense of menace and threat throughout.”

Bestselling author M.C. Beaton, pictured above with Gene Kerrigan, presented him with his cheque and Dagger at the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards, which took place in a glittering ceremony at Grosvenor House, London, on Thursday.

Responding to his success, Gene Kerrigan commented: “I’m aware of the writers who have previously received the Gold Dagger and I’m honoured to have my name on the same page.”

Synopsis: Vincent Naylor is a professional thief, as confident as he is reckless. Just ten days out of jail, and he’s preparing his next robbery. Already, his plan is unravelling. While investigating the murder of a crooked banker, Detective Sergeant Bob Tidey gets a call from an old acquaintance, Maura Coady. The retired nun believes there’s something suspicious happening in the Dublin backstreet where she lives alone. Maura’s call inadvertently unleashes a storm of violence that will engulf Vincent Naylor and force Tidey to make a deadly choice. The Rage is a masterpiece of suspense, told against the background of a country’s shameful past and its troubled present.

Veteran journalist Gene Kerrigan is the author of four novels, the most recent of which, Dark Times in the City, was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger in 2009.