On the Edge of Our Seats

The shortlist for this year’s Thriller Awards was announced today during the first International Thriller Writers’ Brunch and Bullets luncheon.

At the same time, the organization told attendees that the recipient of the 2007 ThrillerMaster Award (“an award honoring an illustrious body of work spanning two decades or more”) would be James Patterson (previously reported on here back in August).

The winners will be announced at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City during ThrillerFest, to be held there in mid-July.

Here are the nominees:

Best Novel:
• False Impression, by Jeffrey Archer (St. Martin’s Press)
• Killer Instinct, by Joseph Finder (St. Martin’s Press)
• Cold Kill, by Stephen Leather (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Messenger, by Daniel Silva (Putnam)
• Beautiful Lies, by Lisa Unger (Shaye Areheart Books/Bantam)

Best First Novel:
• Shadow of Death, by Patricia Gussin (Oceanview Publishing)
• Switchback, by Matthew Klein (Orion)
• A Thousand Suns, by Alex Scarrow (Orion)
• 18 Seconds, by George D. Shuman (Simon & Schuster)
• Mr. Clarinet, by Nick Stone (Michael Joseph Ltd./Penguin)

Best Paperback Original:
• Skeleton Coast, by Clive Cussler with Jack DuBrul (Berkley Trade)
• The Deep Blue Alibi, by Paul Levine (Bantam)
• An Unquiet Grave, by P.J. Parrish (Pinnacle)
• Headstone City, by Tom Piccirilli (Spectra Books/Crown)
• Mortal Faults, by Michael Prescott (Onyx Books)

Best Screenplay:
• Inside Man, screenplay by Russell Gewirtz
• The Departed, screenplay by William Monahan
• The Good Shepherd, screenplay by Eric Roth
• Children of Men, screenplay by Alfonse Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
• Casino Royale, screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis