We Can’t Neglect the Barrys and Thrillers

After spending several days away from Rap Sheet headquarters, I returned last evening to learn that cop-turned-author Joseph Wambaugh, who wrote The Onion Field and The Glitter Dome, and also created the acclaimed 1970s TV anthology series Police Story, died on February 28. In addition, I found 636 unneeded messages in my e-mailbox, and news about two different sets of awards.

Regarding those crime-fiction prizes, here are the contenders for this year’s Barry Awards, which will be presented by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine on September 4, at Bouchercon 2025:

Best Mystery Novel:
• The Waiting, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• Spirit Crossing, by William Kent Krueger (Atria)
• The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore (Riverhead)
• Midnight and Blue, by Ian Rankin (Mulholland)
• California Bear, by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland)
• All the Colors of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker (Crown)

Best First Mystery Novel:
• The Expectant Detectives, by Kat
Ailes (Minotaur)
• Paper Cage, by Tom Baragwanath (Knopf)
• Ordinary Bear, by C.B. Bernard (Blackstone)
• In the Blink of an Eye, by Jo Callaghan (Random House)
• First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston (Pamela Dorman)
• Listen for the Lie, by Amy Tintera (Celadon)

Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel:
• Double Barrel Bluff, by Lou Berney (Morrow Paperbacks)
• All the Rage, by Cara Hunter (Morrow Paperbacks)
• Smoke Kings, by Jahmal Mayfield (Melville House)
• Someone Saw Something, by Rick Mofina (Mira)
• Wordhunter, by Stella Sands (Harper Paperbacks)
• Sin City, by James Swain (Independently published)

Best Action Thriller:
• Assassin Eighteen, by John Brownlow (Hanover Square Press)
• First Strike, by Stephen Leather (Independently published)
• The Seventh Floor, by David McCloskey (Norton)
• Hunted, by Abir Mukherjee (Mulholland)
• Hero, by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press)
• The Price You Pay, by Nick Petrie (Putnam)

* * *

Meanwhile, the International Thriller Writers (ITW) organization has announced its candidates for the 2025 Thriller Awards:

Best Standalone Thriller Novel:
• The Paris Widow, by Kimberly Belle (Park Row)
• The Chamber, by Will Dean (Emily Bestler)
• Worst Case Scenario, by T.J. Newman (Little, Brown)
• The Last One at the Wedding, by Jason Rekulak (Flatiron)
• The Truth About the Devlins, by Lisa Scottoline (Putnam)

Best Standalone Mystery Novel:
• Negative Girl, by Libby Cudmore (Datura)
• The Night We Lost Him, by Laura Dave (Simon & Schuster)
• Missing White Woman, by Kellye Garrett (Mulholland)
• The Life and Death of Rose Doucette, by Harry Hunsicker (Oceanview)
• What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Morrow)
• Lake County, by Lori Roy
(Thomas & Mercer)

Best Series Novel:
• To Die For, by David Baldacci
(Grand Central)
• The Last Few Miles of Road, by Eric Beetner (Level Best)
• The Dark Wives, by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)
• Shadowheart, by Meg Gardiner (Blackstone)
• Flashback, by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen (Grand Central)
• A Forgotten Kill, by Isabella Maldonado (Thomas & Mercer)

Best First Novel:
• Rabbit Hole, by Kate Brody (Soho Crime)
• After Image, by Jaime deBlanc (Thomas & Mercer)
• The Astrology House, by Carinn Jade (Atria)
• Blood in the Cut, by Alejandro Nodarse (Flatiron)
• Deadly Animals, by Marie Tierney (Henry Holt)

Best Audiobook:
• Darling Girls, by Sally Hepworth;
narrated by Jessica Clarke (Macmillan)
• Hollywood Hustle, by Jon Lindstrom;
narrated by Jon Lindstrom (Dreamscape Media)
• No One Can Know, by Kate Alice Marshall;
narrated by Karissa Vacker (Macmillan Audio)
• Beyond All Doubt, by Hilton Reed;
narrated by George Newbern (Dreamscape Media)
• Listen for the Lie, by Amy Tintera;
narrated by January LaVoy and Will Damron (Macmillan)

Best Young Adult Novel:
• Influencer, by Adam Cesare (Union Square)
• The Other Lola, by Ripley Jones (Wednesday)
• Darkly, by Marisha Pessl (Delacorte)
• 49 Miles Alone, by Natalie Richards (Sourcebooks Fire)
• Girls Like Her, by Melanie Sumrow (Balzer + Bray)

Best Short Story:
• “Not a Dinner Party Person,” by Stefanie Leder (from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir, edited by Tod Goldberg;
Soho Crime)
• “Double Parked,” by Twist Phelan (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November/December 2024)
• “Jackrabbit Skin,” by Ivy Pochoda (Amazon Original Stories)
• “The Doll’s House,” by Lisa Unger (Amazon Original Stories)
• “And Now, an Inspiring Story of Tragedy Overcome,” by Joseph S. Walker (from Three Strikes—You're Dead!, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)

ITW says it will reveal this year’s Thriller winners on Saturday, June 21, during ThrillerFest XX, which is to be held at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City.