Nods from the North

Crime Writers of Canada has released its shortlists of nominees for the 2025 CWA Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

The Miller-Martin Award for Best Crime Novel:
• Wild Houses, by Colin Barrett (McClelland & Stewart)
• The Specimen, by Jaima Fixsen (Poisoned Pen Press)
• Prairie Edge, by Conor Kerr
(Strange Light)
• Mr. Good-Evening, by John MacLachlan Gray (Douglas & McIntyre)
• The Grey Wolf, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Crime First Novel:
• The Burden of Truth, by Suzan Denoncourt (Suzan Denoncourt)
• The Roaring Game Murders, by Peter Holloway (Bonspiel)
• Altered Boy, by Jim McDonald (Amalit)
• We Were the Bullfighters, by Marianne K. Miller (Dundurn Press)
• Twenty-Seven Minutes, by Ashley Tate (Doubleday Canada)

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada:
• Fatal Harvest, by Brenda Chapman (Ivy Bay Press)
• The War Machine, by Barry W. Levy (Double Dagger)
• As We Forgive Others, by Shane Peacock (Cormorant)
• Who by Fire, by Greg Rhyno (Cormorant)
• The Call, by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture)

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery:
• The Corpse with the Pearly Smile, by Cathy Ace (Four Tails)
• The Dead Shall Inherit, by Raye Anderson (Signature Editions)
• A Meditation on Murder, by Susan Juby (HarperCollins)
• Black Ice, by Thomas King (HarperCollins)
• Concert Hall Killer, by Jonathan Whitelaw (HarperNorth)

Best Crime Novella:
• “Chuck Berry Is Missing,” by Marcelle Dubé (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July/August 2024)
• “Mrs. Claus and the Candy Corn Caper,” by Liz Ireland (Kensington)
• “The Windmill Mystery,” by Pamela Jones (Austin Macauley)
• “A Rock,” by A.J. McCarthy
(Black Rose Writing)
• “Aim,” by Twist Phelan (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2024)

Best Crime Short Story:
• “Farmer Knudson,” by Catherine Astolfo (from Auntie Beers: A Book of Connected Short Stories, by Catherine Astolfo; Carrick)
• “Hatcheck Bingo,” by Therese Greenwood (from The 13th Letter, Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem; Carrick)
• “Houdini Act,” by Billie Livingston (Saturday Evening Post,
July 26, 2024)
• “The Electrician,” Linda Sanche (from Crime Wave3: Dangerous Games; Canada West)
• “The Longest Night of the Year,” Melissa Yi (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November/December 2024)

Best French Language Crime Book:
• La femme papillon, by J.L. Blanchard (Fides)
• Le crime du garçon exquis, by R. Lavallée (Fides)
• L’Affaire des montants, by Jean Lemieux (Québec Amérique)
• Une mémoire de lion, by Guillaume Morrissette (Saint-Jean)
• Fracture, by Johanne Seymour (Libre Expression)

Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book:
• Shock Wave, by Sigmund Brouwer (Orca)
• The Time Keeper, by Meagan Mahoney (DCB Young Readers)
• Snowed, by Twist Phelan (Bronzeville)
• The Dark Won’t Wait, by David A. Poulsen (Red Deer Press)
• The Red Rock Killer, by Melissa Yi (Windtree Press)

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Non-fiction Crime Book:
• Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's Journey Through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse, by Denise Chong (Random House Canada)
• Atrocity on the Atlantic: Attack on a Hospital Ship During the Great War, by Nate Hendley (Dundurn Press)
• The Rest of the [True Crime] Story, by John L. Hill (AOS)
• A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue, by Dean Jobb (HarperCollins)
• The Knowing, by Tanya Talaga (HarperCollins)

Best Unpublished Crime Novel (manuscript written by an unpublished author):
• The Man in the Black Hat, by Robert Bowerman
• Govern Yourself Accordingly, by Luke Devlin
• Dark Waters, by Delee Fromm
• A Trail’s Tears, by Lorrie Potvin
• Predators in the Shadows, by William Watt

Winners will be announced on Friday, May 30.

In addition, Canadian novelist, activist, and criminal lawyer William H. Deverell has been selected to receive the 2025 Derrick Murdoch Award, honoring “individuals who have made significant contributions to developing crime writing in Canada.”