Thrill Seeking Rewarded

Southern California crime-fictionist Robert Crais has been enjoying a great deal of good news lately. The Big Empty (2025), the 20th installment in his long-running series about Los Angeles private eye Elvis Cole, recently won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel. Now it has also picked up a 2026 Thriller Award.

That news was trumpeted just last night during Thrillerfest XXI in New York City. Here are all six of the authors who carried off prizes from the International Thriller Writers (ITW) organization:

Best Standalone Novel: Cross My Heart, by Megan Collins (Atria)

Also nominated: Zigzag Girl, by Ruth Knafo Setton (Black Spring Press); The Burning Library, by Gilly Macmillan (Morrow); The Locked Ward, by Sarah Pekkanen (St. Martin’s Press); and So Happy Together, by Olivia Worley (Minotaur)

Best Series Novel: The Big Empty, by Robert Crais (Putnam)

Also nominated: Chain Reaction, by James Byrne (Minotaur); Head Cases, by John McMahon (Minotaur); The Tourists, by Christopher Reich (Thomas & Mercer); and Terminal Moonlight, by Vincent Zandri
(Down & Out)

Best First Novel: Party of Liars, by Kelsey Cox (Minotaur)

Also nominated: Death at the White Hart, by Chris Chibnall (Pamela Dorman); Count My Lies, by Sophie Stava (Scout Press); History Lessons, by Zoe B. Wallbrook (Soho Crime); and Julie Chan Is Dead, by Liann Zhang (Atria)
 
Best Audiobook: The White Crow, by Michael Robotham; narrated by Katy Sobey (Simon & Schuster)

Also nominated: King of Ashes, by S. A. Cosby; narrated by Adam Lazarre-White (Macmillan); The Wasp Trap, by Mark Edwards; narrated by John Hopkins and Anna Burnett (Simon & Schuster); Best Offer Wins, by Marisa Kashino; narrated by Cia Court (Macmillan); When Devils Sing, by Xan Kaur; narrated by Michael Crouch, Anjali Kunapaneni, Jennifer Pickens, and Landon Woodson (Macmillan); and The Cheaters Wife, by C.N. Mabry and N’Dia Rae; narrated by Ruffin Prentiss and Machelle Williams (Simon Maverick)

Best Young Adult Novel: The Silenced, by Diana Rodriguez
Wallach (Delacorte Press)

Also nominated: Murder Between Friends, by Liz Lawson (Delacorte Press); This Stays Between Us, by Margot McGovern (Penguin Young Readers); Shiny Happy People, by Clay McLeod Chapman (Delacorte Press); and The Thrashers, by Julie Soto (Wednesday)

Best Short Story: “The Violent Season,” by Jessica Van Dessel (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July/August 2025)

Also nominated: “Level Up,” by Katrina Carrasco (from Crime Ink: Iconic, edited by John Copenhaver and Salem West (Bywater); “The Seduction of Dr. Dimension,” by Scott William Carter (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November/December 2025); “Eleven Numbers,” by Lee Child (Amazon Original Stories); and “False Note,” by David Lagercrantz (Amazon Original Stories)

In addition, an ITW news release says the following people received “special recognition” during the convention’s awards banquet:

• 2026 ThrillerMaster, Lisa Scottoline
• 2026 ThrillerMaster, Harlan Coben
• 2026 Silver Bullet Award, Douglas Preston
• 2026 Spotlight Guest, Rachel Howzell Hall
• 2026 Spotlight Guest, Luis Alberto Urrea
• 2026 Thriller Legend, Barbara Peters
• 2026 ThrillerFan, Jordon Moblo
• 2026 Thriller Volunteer of the Year, James L'Etoile