An Icelandic author was named the winner of the British Crimewriters Association Golden Dagger award yesterday. Arnaldur Indridason won the £3,000 prize for Silence of the Grave.

A British author, Barbara Nadel, was runner-up with Deadly Web.

Indridason's stories feature the dour Inspector Erlendur, who is divorced with two children addicted to drugs. In Silence of the Grave, Erlendur is led into a tangle of marital relations after the discovery of a shallow grave.

The association said the award showed that crime in translation was gaining mainstream recognition.