2010 Anthony Award Winners

The Anthony Award winners (nominees are here) were announced Sunday at the Bouchercon brunch:

BEST NOVEL

THE BRUTAL TELLING - Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]

BEST FIRST NOVEL

A BAD DAY FOR SORRY - Sophie Littlefield [Minotaur Books]

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]

BEST SHORT STORY

"On the House" - Hank Phillippi Ryan, QUARRY: Crime Stories by New England Writers [Level Best Books]

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK

TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION - P.D. James [Bodleian Library/Knopf]

Sunday Salon: Crime fiction to look for

A few "short lists" have emerged this week, and some titles are appearing on more than one.
I'm just quoting some here - check the sites for the full lists

Here are the ones I've read and reviewed - far too few unfortunately
4.7, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, Stuart Neville
4.7, BURY ME DEEP, Megan Abbott
4.4, IF THE DEAD RISE NOT, Philip Kerr
5.0, NEMESIS, Jo Nesbo
4.7, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, Stieg Larsson
4.7, MIDNIGHT FUGUE, Reginald Hill

2010 Barry Award Nominations

BEST NOVEL
John Connolly, THE GATES, Atria
David Ellis, THE HIDDEN MAN, Putnam
Joe Gores, SPADE & ARCHER, Knopf
John Hart, THE LAST CHILD, Minotaur
Marcia Muller, LOCKED IN, Grand Central
S.J. Rozan, SHANGHAI MOON, Minotaur

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Josh Bazell, BEAT THE REAPER, Little, Brown
Alan Bradley, THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE, Delacorte
Rebecca Cantrell, A TRACE OF SMOKE, Forge
Sophie Littlefield, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY, Minotaur
Attica Locke, BLACK WATER RISING, Harper
Stuart Neville, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST (THE TWELVE), Soho Crime

BEST BRITISH NOVEL
S. J. Bolton, AWAKENING, Bantam Press
John Connolly, THE LOVERS, HodderStoughton
Reginald Hill, MIDNIGHT FUGUE, HarperCollins
Philip Kerr, IF THE DEAD NOT RISE, Quercus
Denise Mina, STILL MIDNIGHT, Orion
Robert Wilson, IGNORANCE OF BLOOD, HarperCollins

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Megan Abbott, BURY ME DEEP, Simon & Schuster
Max Allan Collins, QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE, HardCase Crime
Bryan Gruley, STARVATION LAKE, Touchstone
Heather Gutenkauf, THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE, Mira
Frank Tallis, FATAL LIES, Random House Mortalis
L. C. Tyler, THE HERRING-SELLER’S APPRENTICE, Felony & Mayhem

2010 Macavity Awards shortlist

Best Mystery Novel:

• Megan Abbott: Bury Me Deep (Simon & Schuster)
• Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman: Tower (Busted Flush Press)
• Deborah Crombie: Necessary as Blood (Wm. Morrow)
• Jo Nesbø: Nemesis (translated by Don Bartlett) (HarperCollins)
• Louise Penny: The Brutal Telling (Minotaur)
• S.J. Rozan: The Shanghai Moon (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery Novel:

• Alan Bradley: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Delacorte)
• Jamie Freveletti: Running from the Devil (Wm. Morrow)
• Sophie Littlefield: A Bad Day for Sorry (Minotaur)
• Stuart Neville: The Ghosts of Belfast (Soho Crime)
• Malla Nunn: A Beautiful Place to Die (Picador)

2010 Anthony Award Nominations

BEST NOVEL

THE LAST CHILD - John Hart [Minotaur Books]
THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH - Charlie Huston [Ballantine Books]
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE - Stieg Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland [Quercus/Knopf]
THE BRUTAL TELLING - Louise Penny [Minotaur Books]
THE SHANGHAI MOON - S.J. Rozan [Minotaur Books]

 BEST FIRST NOVEL

THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE - Alan Bradley [Delacorte Press]
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]
A BAD DAY FOR SORRY - Sophie Littlefield [Minotaur Books]
THE TWELVE/THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST - Stuart Neville [Harvill Secker/Soho Press]
IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM - Stefanie Pintoff [Minotaur Books]

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

BURY ME DEEP - Megan Abbott [Simon & Schuster]
TOWER - Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman [Busted Flush Press]
QUARRY IN THE MIDDLE - Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
STARVATION LAKE - Bryan Gruley [Touchstone]
DEATH AND THE LIT CHICK - G.M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
AIR TIME - Hank Phillippi Ryan [Mira]

Awards Shortlists - Similarities and Differences

This is a very exciting time of the year for crime fiction readers.
The British Crime Writers Association have already announced the CWA shortlists for International, Shortstory, Library, and Debut daggers, and will in a month or so announce those for the Gold, John Creasey, and Ian Fleming Steel daggers; the Harrogate Festival in the UK teams up with Theakston's Old Peculier to pick a Crime Novel of the Year; with Bouchercon coming at Indianaopolis in October, the Barry, Anthony, and Macavity shortlists have been announced; and just recently the winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis award was announced. I imagine that soon the shortlists for Australia's Ned Kelly awards will be revealed. Let's not forget either the Edgar Awards and the Agatha Awards both announced earlier this year.

Even if you are one that says you are not influenced by awards, and are often profoundly disappointed when you read the winner, it gives pause for thought when the same authors and titles crop up again and again doesn't it?
Keeping up with all the awards is fairly difficult, but if you want a list of most awarded books, not necessarily crime fiction, and slightly out of date, then Fantastic Fiction has one.

In the crime fiction genre, given that the various awards have slightly different criteria, then synchronising them is a bit of a battle, but I've tried.
I've listed the shortlisted nominees by title, then author, and then the award nominated for.
Where the award already decided, there is an * next to the award acronym.
I have trawled 17 different awards, and come up with a list of nearly 100 books, and I've linked to the few that I've read.
Even so I can't help feeling that there is something I've missed, and and "eagle eye" will spot it.

The key for the lists is
ABFN-Anthony Best First Novel;
ABN-Anthony Best Novel;
ABPO-Anthony Best Paperback Original;
AEBFN-Arthur Ellis Best First Novel;
AEBN-Arthur Ellis Best Novel;
AgBFN-Agatha Best First Novel;
AgBN-Agatha Best Novel;
BBB-Barry Best British;
BBN-Barry Best Novel;
BBPO-Barry Best Paperback Original;
BBT-Barry Best Thriller;
CWAID-CWA International Dagger;
EBFNAA-Edgar Best First Novel by an American Author;
EBN-Edgar Best Novel;
EBPO-Edgar Best Paperback Original;
MBFN-Macavity Best First Novel;
MBN-Macavity Best Novel
TOP-Theakston Old Peculier Best Novel

The nominations
A CARRION DEATH, Michael Stanley -BBF, MBFN
A CURE FOR ALL DISEASES, Reginald Hill -TOP
A CURE FOR NIGHT, Justin Peacock -EBFNAA
A ROYAL PAIN, Rhys Bowen -AgBN
A SIMPLE ACT OF VIOLENCE, R.J. Ellory -BBB
AN INNOCENT CLIENT, Scott Pratt -MBFN
ARCTIC CHILL, Arnaldur Indriðason -CWAID
BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE, Lee Child -TOP
BENEATH THE BLEEDING, Val McDermid -TOP
BLEEDING HEART SQUARE, Andrew Taylor -BBB
BLUE HEAVEN, C.J. Box -EBN*
BROKEN SKIN, Stuart MacBride -TOP
BRUNO, CHIEF OF POLICE, Martin Walker -BBB
BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS, Anne Perry -AgBN
BUFFALO JUMP, Howard Shrier -AEBFN*
CALUMET CITY, Charlie Newton -MBFN, EBFNAA
CHILD 44, Tom Rob Smith -ABFN, BBF
CHINA LAKE , Meg Gardiner -EBPO*
CITY OF THE SUN, David Levien -BBF
COLLISION, Jeff Abbott -BBT
CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS, Lisa Lutz -MBN, EBN
DAWN PATROL, Don Winslow -BBN
DEAD MAN’S FOOTSTEPS, Peter James -TOP
DEATH MESSAGE, Mark Billingham -TOP
DEATH OF A COZY WRITER, G. M. Malliet -ABFN, MBFN, AgBFN*
ECHOES FROM THE DEAD, Johan Theorin -BBPO, CWAID
ENEMY COMBATANT, Ed Gaffney -EBPO
ENVY THE NIGHT, Michael Koryta -BBN
EXIT MUSIC, Ian Rankin -TOP
FINDER, Colin Harrison -BBT
FINDING NOUF, Zoe Ferraris -MBFN
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, Peter Robinson -TOP
GARDEN OF EVIL, David Hewson -TOP
GONE TO GROUND, John Harvey -TOP
GOOD PEOPLE, Marcus Sakey -BBT
HEADLINE: MURDER, April Lindgren -AEBFN
I SHALL NOT WANT, Julia Spencer-Fleming -AgBN
ICED UNDER, Nadine Doolittle -AEBFN
IN A DARK SEASON, Vicki Lane -ABPO
MARGARITA NIGHTS, Phyllis Smallman -AEBFN
MISSING, Karin Alvtegen -EBN
MONEY SHOT, Christa Faust -ABPO, BBPO, EBPO
NIGHT OF THUNDER, Stephen Hunter -BBT
PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH, Joanna Campbell Slan -AgBFN
PUSHING UP DAISIES, Rosemary Harris -ABFN, AgBFN
RED KNIFE, William Kent Krueger -ABN, BBN
RITUAL, Mo Hayder -BBB, TOP
SAVAGE MOON, Chris Sim -TOP
SEVERANCE PACKAGE, Duane Swierczynski -BBPO
SHADOW, Karin Alvtegen -CWAID
SHATTER, Michael Robotham -BBB
SINS OF THE ASSASSIN, Robert Ferrigno -EBN
SIX GEESE A-SLAYING, Donna Andrews -AgBN
SOUTH OF HELL, P. J. Parrish -ABPO
STALKING SUSAN, Julie Kramer -ABFN, BBF
STATE OF THE ONION, Julie Hyzy -ABPO, BBPO
SWEEPING UP GLASS, Carolyn D. Wall -BBF
SWEETSMOKE, David Fuller -EBFNAA
TALKING TO WENDIGO, John C. Goodman -AEBFN
THE ACCIDENT MAN, Tom Cain -TOP
THE BLACK PATH, Asa Larsson -BBPO
THE BLOOD DETECTIVE, Dan Waddell -MBFN
THE BRASS VERDICT, Michael Connelly -ABN
THE CHALK CIRCLE MAN, Fred Vargas -CWAID
THE COLD SPOT, Tom Piccirilli -EBPO
THE COLOUR OF BLOOD, Declan Hughes -TOP
THE CRUEL(L)EST MONTH, Louise Penny -ABN, BBN, MBN, AgBN*
THE DECEIVED, Brett Battles -BBT
THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME, Krista Davis -AgBFN
THE DRAINING LAKE, Arnaldur Indridason -BBN, MBN
THE DYING BREED (UK) / THE PRICE OF BLOOD (US), Declan Hughes -MBN
THE FAULT TREE, Louise Ure -MBN
THE FIRST QUARRY, Max Allan Collins -ABPO, BBPO
THE FOREIGNER, Francie Lin -EBFNAA*
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, Stieg Larsson, -CWAID
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, Stieg Larsson -ABN, ABFN, BBB, MBFN
THE K HANDSHAPE, Maureen Jennings -AEBN
THE KIND ONE, Tom Epperson -BBF, EBFNAA
THE MURDER STONE, Louise Penny -AEBN
THE NIGHT FOLLOWING, Morag Joss -EBN
THE PRICE OF BLOOD, Declan Hughes -EBN
THE PRINCE OF BAGRAM PRISON, Alex Carr -EBPO
THE REDEEMER, Jo Nesbø -CWAID
THE SURVIVOR, Tom Cain -BBT
THE TSUNAMI FILE, Michael E. Rose -AEBN
THROUGH A GLASS, DEADLY, Sarah Atwell -AgBFN
TOO CLOSE TO HOME, Linwood Barclay -AEBN*
TRANSGRESSION, James W. Nichol -AEBN
TRIGGER CITY, Sean Chercover -ABN, BBN, MBN
WHERE MEMORIES LIE, Deborah Crombie -MBN

Considering Award Nominees

It is hard not to be impressed by the lists of books being nominated for various awards at this time of the year.

I know some people will say that they ignore the lists, but I always watch to see which books crop up again and again on various lists.

The Anthony Awards are decided at Bouchercon.
Here are the short lists for the 3 main awards.

Best Novel
TRIGGER CITY by Sean Chercover [William Morrow]
THE BRASS VERDICT by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
RED KNIFE by William Kent Krueger [Atria]
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
THE CRUELLEST MONTH by Louise Penny [Minotaur]

Best First Novel
PUSHING UP DAISIES by Rosemary Harris [Minotaur]
STALKING SUSAN by Julie Kramer [Doubleday]
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
DEATH OF A COZY WRITER by G. M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
CHILD 44 by Tom Rob Smith [Grand Central]

Best Paperback Original
THE FIRST QUARRY by Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
MONEY SHOT by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]
STATE OF THE ONION by Julie Hyzy [Berkley]
IN A DARK SEASON by Vicki Lane [Dell]
SOUTH OF HELL by P. J. Parrish [Pocket Star]

So far I've read only 2 as you can see, but I do intend to remedy that.
There is currently a poll running in the sidebar where you can record which of the Best Novel nominees you've read at this stage.

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The Macavity Awards are also decided at Bouchercon.

Here are the short lists

Best Mystery Novel:

• Sean Chercover: Trigger City (Wm. Morrow)
• Deborah Crombie: Where Memories Lie (Wm. Morrow)
• Declan Hughes: The Dying Breed (UK) / The Price of Blood (US) (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)
• Arnaldur Indridason: The Draining Lake (Minotaur)
• Lisa Lutz: Curse of the Spellmans (Simon & Schuster)
• Louise Penny: The Cruelest Month (Minotaur)
• Louise Ure: The Fault Tree (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery:

• Zoe Ferraris: Finding Nouf (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf)
• G.M. Malliet: Death of a Cozy Writer (Midnight Ink)
• Charlie Newton: Calumet City (Simon & Schuster)
• Scott Pratt: An Innocent Client (Onyx)
• Michael Stanley: A Carrion Death (Harper; Headline)
• Dan Waddell: The Blood Detective (Minotaur)

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So which of the nominees have you read? And which do you favour?

The Anthony Award Winners

The Anthony Awards were announced at Bouchercon 2008.
For the shortlist for each category see here.

The winners:

Best Novel:
Laura Lippman - WHAT THE DEAD KNOW

Best First Novel:
Tana French- IN THE WOODS

Best Paperback Original
P.J. Parrish- A THOUSAND BONES POCKET

Short Story
Laura Lippman- Hardly Knew Her - (Dead Man's Hand edited by Otto Penzler) for Harcourt

Critical Work
Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower & Charles Foley

Special Services
Jon and Ruth Jordan- Crime Spree Magazine

Web Site
Stop You're Killing Me- Stan Ulrich & Lucinda Surber

Anthony Award nominees 2008

The 2008 Anthony Awards will be announced at Bouchercon in Baltimore at the closing brunch, so I guess that is on October 12.

The guests of honour at Bouchercon 2008 are

• Lawrence Block, Distinguished Contribution to the Genre
  
• Laura Lippman, American Guest of Honor
  
• John Harvey, International Guest of Honor
  
• Mark Billingham, Toastmaster
  
• Robert Rosenwald & Barbara Peters, Lifetime Achievement Award
  
• Thalia Proctor, Fan Guest of Honor

Shortlisted for Anthony Awards:

Best Novel:

• James Lee Burke- Tin Roof Blowdown- Simon and Schuster
• Lee Child - Bad Luck and Trouble Delacorte Press
• Robert Crais- The Watchman Simon and Schuster
• William Kent Krueger- Thunder Bay Atria
• Laura Lippman - What the Dead Know William Morrow

Best First Novel:

• Sean Chercover- Big City, Bad Blood William Morrow
• Tana French- In the Woods Viking Adult
• Lisa Lutz- The Spellman Files Simon and Schuster
• Craig McDonald- Head Games Bleak House Books
• Marcus Sakey- The Blade Itself St. Martin Minotaur

Best Paperback Original

• Megan Abbott- Queenpin Simon and Schuster
• Ken Bruen and Jason Starr - Slide Hard Case Crime
• David Corbett- Blood of Paradise Ballantine Books
• Robert Fate- Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues Capital Crime Press
• P.J. Parrish- A Thousand Bones Pocket

Maddy Van Hertbruggen the creator of 4MA has been shortlisted for a Special Services award.
4MA is a very busy and well run Yahoo list that I have been a member of for over 6 years.

See the short list for all categories here.

THE DELICATE STORM, Giles Blunt

Unusually warm weather in northern Canada just after New Year brings with it a dense fog that shrouds Algonquin Bay. The discovery of a human arm out in the forest sparks a search for other body parts, and eventually bits that appear to have been mauled by bears are discovered. John Cardinal and Lise Delorme become involved in investigating this and another case where a local holds up a bank, threatening the teller with a gun. The identity of the hold up man is easily solved, but the identification of the body bits leads Cardinal and Delorme into learning about separationist activities from the early 1970s when a hostage was killed, two separationists confessed to his murder, and one of the hostage takers vanished. Another strand is introduced when a young female doctor disappears.

THE DELICATE STORM received the 2004 Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada, as well as being nominated for a swag of others including the Dashiell Hammett, the Macavity, and the Anthony.

So why didn't I enjoy it as much as I expected to?

For one thing, I think it moved from being murder mystery to crime thriller. A very large number of characters crowded its pages. There was a lot of background information, heavy use of acronyms where the meaning didn't readily stay with me, and some slow passages. These were mainly caused by descriptive bits that became pages of detail that the reader needed for some later event or piece of information to be significant. It meant that the book really was rather long, and there was always a danger you might miss something important. Sometimes you had to wonder whether crowding the reader's head with the detail was worth it for the one significant item.

However there were a number of issues raised which would have appealed particularly to Canadian readers: Canadian politics, separationist movements, male and female detectives working together, Canadian severe weather and its effect on daily life (including police investigations), dishonesty in police officers, tension between intelligence and investigation agencies both in Canada, and between Canada and the USA. But for me, the ending was unsatisfactory, but I won't tell you about that, because you will want to read it for yourself.

THE DELICATE STORM (and what is the significance of that title?) is the second in Blunt's Cardinal series. The first was FORTY WORDS FOR SORROW, and after THE DELICATE STORM comes BLACK FLY SEASON and THE FIELDS OF GRIEF (aka BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS)

My rating 4.3