Shamus on You

It was inevitable that, on a day when I’ve been trying to lift my foot just a wee bit off the gas pedal, something significant--like the rundown of nominees for this year’s Shamus Awards--should be announced. So much for taking it easier ...

The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) lists the following books and stories as its 2009 commendation contenders:

Best Hardcover:
• Salvation Boulevard, by Larry Beinhart (Nation Books)
• Empty Ever After, by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books)
• The Blue Door, by David Fulmer (Harcourt)
• The Price of Blood, by Declan Hughes (Morrow)
• The Ancient Rain, by Domenic Stansberry (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

Best First P.I. Novel:
• Stalking Susan, by Julie Kramer (Doubleday)
• Swann’s Last Song, by Charles Salzberg (Five Star)
• The Eye of Jade, by Diane Wei Liang (Simon & Schuster)
• In the Heat, by Ian Vasquez (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
• Veil of Lies, by Jeri Westerson (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original:
• Snow Blind, by Lori Armstrong (Medallion)
• Shot Girl, by Karen Olson (Obsidian)
• The Stolen, by Jason Pinter (Mira)
• The Black Hand, by Will Thomas (Touchstone)
• The Evil That Men Do, by Dave White (Three Rivers Press)

Best Short Story:
• “Family Values,” by Mitch Alderman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], June 2008)
• “Last Island South,” by John C. Boland (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], September/October 2008)
• “The Blonde Tigress,” by Max Allan Collins (EQMM, June 2008)
• “Discovery,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (AHMM, November 2008)
• “Panic on Portage Path,” by Dick Stodghill (AHMM, January/February 2008)

I haven’t read every one of the novels and stories mentioned here, butI have read enough to know that these are trong lists. The nominees should be proud to be in such company.

Shamus winners will be announced and their awards presented at the annual PWA banquet, to be held this year on October 16, during Bouchercon in Indianapolis.