Gumshoes Worth Praising

Thanks to a phone call from Ali Karim, The Rap Sheet’s correspondent at Bouchercon 2013 in Albany, New York, we can now report the winners of this year’s Shamus Awards. Those commendations were presented tonight during a banquet arranged by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA).

Best Hardcover P.I. Novel: Taken, by Robert Crais (Putnam)

Also nominated: Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby, by Ace Atkins (Putnam); Hunting Rose, by Jack Fredrickson (Minotaur); Blues in the Night, by Dick Lochte (Severn House); and The Other Woman, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First P.I. Novel: Black Fridays, by Michael Sears (Putnam)

Also nominated: Hush Money, by Chuck Greaves (Minotaur); Murder Unscripted, by Clive Rosengren (Perfect Crime); Racing Sweetie the Devil, by Jaden Terrell (Permanent Press); and The Twenty-Year Death, by Ariel S. Winter (Hard Case Crime)

Best Original Paperback P.I. Novel: And She Was,
by Alison Gaylin (Harper)

Also nominated: Death Warmed Over, by Kevin J. Anderson (Kensington); Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, by Robert Goldsborough (The Mysterious Press/Open Road); False Negative, by Joseph Koenig (Hard Case Crime); and Pulse, by John Lutz (Kensington)

Best P.I. Short Story: “Ghost Negligence,” by John Shepphird (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine [AHMM], July/August 2012)

Also nominated: “The Sequel,” by Jeffery Deaver (The Strand Magazine, November-February 2012-2013); “After Cana,” by Terence Faherty (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October, 2012);  “O’Nelligan and the Lost Fates,” by Michael Nethercott (AHMM, March 2012); and “Illegitimati Non Carborundum,” by Stephen D. Rogers (Crimespree Magazine, May/June 2012)

Best Indie P.I. Novel: White Heat, by Paul D. Marks
(Timeless Skies)

Also nominated: Stranger in Town, by Cheryl Bradshaw (CreateSpace); Enamored, by O’Neil De Noux (CreateSpace); One-Eyed Jack, by Christopher J. Lynch (CreateSpace); and Devil May Care, by James Mullaney (James\Mullaney#Books)

The Eye (Lifetime Achievement Award): Loren D. Estleman

Congratulations to the winners and nominees alike!