Set to Consider in Calgary

While we’re on the subject of crime-fiction commendations, today also brings news of which stories and authors have been chosen as finalists for the 2026 Anthony Awards “for excellence in crime fiction.”

Best Hardcover Novel:
• All This Could Be Yours, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Minotaur)
• The Black Wolf, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• Crooks, by Lou Berney (Morrow)
• Death of an Ex, by Delia Pitts (Minotaur)
• King of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby (Pine
and Cedar)

Best First Novel:
• History Lessons, by Zoe B. Wallbrook
(Soho Crime)
• Julie Chan Is Dead, by Liann Zhang (Atria)
• Mask of the Deer Woman, by Laurie L. Dove (Berkley)
• The Retirement Plan, by Sue Hincenbergs (Morrow)
• Voices of the Elysian Fields, by Michael Rigg (Level Best)
• Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Best Paperback Original/E-Book/Audiobook Original Novel:
• Crimson Thaw, by Bruce Robert Coffin (Severn River)
• Edge, by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer)
• River of Lies, by James L'Etoile (Oceanview)
• This Violent Heart, by Heather Levy (Montlake)
• Tricks of Fortune, by Lina Chern (Bantam)

Best Short Story:
• “AITA for Using My Husband’s Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson,” by Mindy Carlson (from Myopic Duplicity: Do the Ends Ever Justify the Means? edited by Jeff Circle; Kindle/Audible)
• “Brotherly Love,” by Cheryl A. Head (from Every Day a Little Death: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Stephen Sondheim, edited by Josh Pachter; Level Short)
• “Finding Jimmy Baldwin,” by Cheryl A. Head (from Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West; Bywater)
• “Hollywood Prometheus,” by Christa Faust (from Crime Ink: Iconic)
• “Six-Armed Robbery,” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (from Donna Andrews Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, edited by John Betancourt, Michael Bracken, and Carla Coupe; Wildside Press)
• “The Skies Are Red,” by Richie Narvaez (from On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, edited by Curtis Ippolito; Rock and a Hard Place Press)

Best Juvenile or YA:
• Death in the Cards, by Mia P. Manansala (Delacorte Press)
• Miles in Time, by Lee Matthew Goldberg (Wise Wolf)
• Risky Pursuit, by Nancy G. West, (Fire & Ice Young Adult Books)
• The Scammer, by Tiffany D. Jackson
(Quill Tree)
• Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History, by Chris Chan (Level Best)

Best Critical or Non-fiction Work:
• Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida, by Gilbert King (Flatiron)
• L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood, by Anne Soon Choi
(Third State)
• Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers, by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Press)
• The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story, by
Pagan Kennedy (Vintage)
• Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England, by Dawn M. Barclay, Level Tru)

Best Anthology or Collection:
• Blood on the Bayou: Case Closed: Bouchercon Anthology, edited by Don Bruns (Down & Out)
• Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons, edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West (Bywater)
• Hollywood Kills: An Anthology, edited by Adam Meyer and Alan Orloff (Level Short)
• On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, edited by Curtis Ippolito (Rock and a Hard Place Press)
• Whatever Kills the Pain, by C.W. Blackwell (Rock and a Hard Place)

The winners in each of these seven categories will be chosen by attendees at this year’s Bouchercon in Calgary, Alberta, and announced during a ceremony on October 24.