Let’s Hear It for the Barrys

Twenty-four hours earlier than promised, Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine editor George Easter today announced the nominees for this year’s Barry Awards, in four categories:

Best Mystery/Crime Novel:
• The Dark Hours, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron)
• Last Redemption, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview)
• Clark and Division, by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)
• Billy Summers, by Stephen King (Scribner)
• We Begin at the End, by Chris Whitaker (Henry Holt)

Best First Mystery/Crime Novel:
• Who Is Maude Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews (Little, Brown)
• Girl A, by Abigail Dean (Viking)
• Down Range, by Taylor Moore (Morrow)
• Falling, by T.J. Newman (Simon & Schuster)
• Sleeping Bear, by Connor Sullivan (Emily Bestler/Atria)
• Steel Fear, by Brandon Webb and John David Mann (Bantam)

Best Paperback Original:
• The Hunted, by Gabriel Bergmoser (HarperCollins)
• Arsenic and Adobo, by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley)
• Black Coral, by Andrew Mayne (Thomas & Mercer)
• The Good Turn, by Dervla McTiernan (Blackstone)
• Search for Her, by Rick Mofina (Mira)
• Bound, by Vanda Symon (Orenda)

Best Thriller:
• The Devil’s Hand, by Jack Carr (Emily Bestler/Atria)
• The Nameless Ones, by John Connolly (Emily Bestler/Atria)
• Dead by Dawn, by Paul Doiron (Minotaur)
• Relentless, by Mark Greaney (Berkley)
• Slough House, by Mick Herron (Soho Crime)
• Five Decembers, by James Kestrel (HardCase Crime)

“All readers of Deadly Pleasures,” says Easter, “are qualified to vote. Please submit votes to george@deadlypleasures.com by August 1.” Winners will be named during the opening ceremonies of this year’s Bouchercon, to be held in Minneapolis from September 8 to 11.

The Barry Awards are named in honor of Barry W. Gardner, a longtime crime-fiction fan and book reviewer, who passed away in 1996.