Now Come the Anthonys

Bouchercon 2018 will be shutting its doors today in St. Petersburg, Florida, after a four-day run. But not before handing out one final set of award winners. Last evening brought the announcement of which books and authors won this year’s Anthony Awards.

Best Novel:
Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke (Mulholland)

Also nominated: The Late Show, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown); Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper); Glass Houses, by Louise Penny (Minotaur); and The Force, by Don Winslow (Morrow)

Best First Novel:
Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)

Also nominated: She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper (Ecco); The Dry, by Jane Harper (Flatiron); Ragged; or, The Loveliest Lies of All, by Christopher Irvin (Cutlass Press); and The Last Place You Look, by Kristen Lepionka (Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original:
The Day I Died, by Lori Rader-Day (Morrow)

Also nominated: Uncorking a Lie, by Nadine Nettmann (Midnight Ink); Bad Boy Boogie, by Thomas Pluck (Down & Out); What We Reckon, by Eryk Pruitt (Polis); and Cast the First Stone, by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street)

Bill Crider Award for Best Novel in a Series: Y Is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone #25), by Sue Grafton (Marian Wood/Putnam)

Also nominated: Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter #3), by Joe Clifford (Oceanview); Two Kinds of Truth (Harry Bosch #20), by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown); Glass Houses (Armand Gamache #13), by Louise Penny (Minotaur); and Dangerous Ends (Pete Fernandez #3), by Alex Segura (Polis)

Best Anthology: The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir, edited by Gary Phillips (Three Rooms Press)

Also nominated: Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash, edited by Joe Clifford (Gutter); Killing Malmon, edited by Dan and Kate Malmon (Down & Out); Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks (Down & Out); and Passport to Murder, Bouchercon Anthology 2017, edited by John McFetridge (Down & Out)

Best Short Story: “My Side of the Matter,” by Hilary Davidson (from Killing Malmon, edited by Dan and Kate Malmon; Down & Out)

Also nominated: “The Trial of Madame Pelletier,” by Susanna Calkins (from Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical, edited by Verena Rose, Rita Owen, and Shawn Reilly Simmons; Wildside Press); “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” by Jen Conley (from Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash, edited by Joe Clifford; Gutter); “Whose Wine Is It Anyway?” by Barb Goffman (from 50 Shades of Cabernet; Koehler); “The Night They Burned Miss Dixie’s Place,” by Debra Goldstein (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017); and “A Necessary Ingredient,” by Art Taylor (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks; Down & Out)

Best Critical/Non-Fiction Book: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann (Doubleday)

Also nominated: From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon, by Mattias Boström (Mysterious Press); The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards (Poisoned Pen Press); Chester B. Himes: A Biography, by Lawrence P. Jackson (Norton); and Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction, by Jessica Lourey (Conari Press)

Best Online Content: Jungle Red Writers

Also nominated: Writer Types Podcast; Do Some Damage; Dru’s Book Musings; and BOLO Books

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ian Rankin

David Thompson Memorial Special Service Award: Lesa Holstine

Congratulations to everyone who was considered for a prize!

Next year’s Bouchercon will be held in Dallas, Texas, from October 31 to November 3. It will mark this convention’s 50th year.

READ MORE: “Bouchercon 2018—The BOLO Books Recap,” by Kristopher Zgorski (BOLO Books).

P.I.s on Parade

Since I am not among the attendees at this week’s Bouchercon in St. Petersburg, Florida, and therefore was absent from last night’s presentation of the 2018 Shamus Awards, I’ve had some difficulty in collecting the results. But here, finally, are the winners.

Best Private Eye Novel:
The Room of White Fire, by T. Jefferson Parker (Putnam)

Also nominated: Dark Water, by Parker Bilal (Bloomsbury USA); Blood Truth, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview); Y Is for Yesterday, by Sue Grafton (Marian Wood/Putnam); and Monument Road, by Michael Wiley
(Severn House)

Best First Private Eye Novel:
The Last Place You Look, by Kristen Lepionka (Minotaur)

Also nominated: Under Water, by Casey Barrett (Kensington); A Negro and an Ofay, by Danny Gardner (Down & Out); Gone to Dust, by Matt Goldman (Forge); and August Snow, by Stephen Mack Jones
(Soho Crime)

Best Original Private Eye Paperback:
Lights Out Summer, by Rich Zahradnik (Camel Press)

Also nominated: Play a Cold Hand, by Terence Faherty (Perfect Crime); The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star, by Vaseem Khan (Redhook); Dames Fight Harder, by M. Ruth Myers (CreateSpace); and The Painted Gun, by Bradley Spinelli (Akashic)

Best P.I. Short Story: “Rosalie Marx is Missing,” by Robert S. Levinson (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017)

Also nominated: “Out of Business,” by Eric Beetner (Down & Out: The Magazine, Volume 1/Issue 1); “Breakage,” by Reed Farrel Coleman (Down & Out: The Magazine, Volume 1/Issue 1); “Random,” by Brendan Dubois (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January/February 2017); and “Windward,” by Paul D. Marks (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks; Down & Out)

The Shamuses are sponsored by the Private Eye Writers of America. Congratulations to all of the nominated authors and books!

Barry Well Done

In addition to the Macavity Awards, the Barry Awards were handed out last evening during opening ceremonies at the 2018 Bouchercon convention in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Barrys are presented each year by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine.

Best Novel: The Marsh King’s Daughter, by Karen Dionne (Putnam)

Also nominated: The Late Show, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown); Exit Strategy, by Steve Hamilton (Putnam); The Force, by Don Winslow (Morrow); Prussian Blue, by Philip Kerr (Putnam); and Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper)

Best First Novel: The Dry, by Jane Harper (Flatiron Press)

Also nominated: She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper (Ecco); The Lost Ones, by Sheena Kamal (Morrow); The Irregular, by H.P. Lyle (Quercus); A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus); and My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent (Riverhead)

Best Paperback Original: The Deep Dark Descending,
by Allen Eskens (Seventh Street)

Also nominated: Safe From Harm, by R.J. Bailey (Simon & Schuster UK); Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink); The Day I Died, by Lori Rader-Day (Morrow); Blessed Are the Peacemakers, by Kristi Belcamino (CreateSpace); and Super Con, by James Swain (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Thriller: Unsub, by Meg Gardiner (Dutton)

Also nominated: Gunmetal Gray, by Mark Greaney (Berkley); Spook Street, by Mick Herron (Soho); The Freedom Broker, by K.J. Howe (Quercus); The Old Man, by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press); and Trap the Devil, by Ben Coes (St. Martin’s Press)

Congratulations to the winners as well as the other nominees.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)

A Macavity Celebration in St. Pete

Tonight brought the opening of Bouchercon 2018, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the announcement of this year’s Macavity Award winners. As Janet Rudolph explains in Mystery Fanfare, “The Macavity Awards are nominated by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI.”

Best Mystery Novel: Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper)

Also nominated: The Marsh King’s Daughter, by Karen Dionne (Putnam); Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke (Mulholland); Glass Houses, by Louise Penny (Minotaur); The Old Man, by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press); and The Force, by Don Winslow (Morrow)

Best First Mystery Novel: The Lost Ones, by Sheena Kamal (Morrow)

Also nominated: Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink); The Dry, by Jane Harper (Flatiron); She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper (Ecco); The Last Place You Look, by Kristen Lepionka (Minotaur); and Lost Luggage, by Wendall Thomas (Poisoned Pen Press)

Best Mystery-Related Non-Fiction: The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards (Poisoned Pen Press/British Library)

Also nominated: From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon, by Mattias Bostrom (Mysterious Press); Chester B. Himes: A Biography, by Lawrence P. Jackson (Norton); The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery, by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James (Scribner); Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes, by Michael Sims (Bloomsbury); and Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History, by Tori Telfer (Harper Perennial)

Best Mystery Short Story: “Windward,” by Paul D. Marks (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Paul D. Marks and Andrew McAleer; Down & Out Books)

Also nominated: “As Ye Sow,” by Craig Faustus Buck (from Passport to Murder: Bouchercon Anthology 2017, edited by John McFetridge; Down and Out Books); “The #2 Pencil,” by Matt Coyle (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea); “Infinite Uticas,” by Terence Faherty (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017); “Whose Wine Is It Anyway?” by Barb Goffman (from 50 Shades of Cabernet: A Mysterious Anthology; Koehler); and “A Necessary Ingredient,” by Art Taylor (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery: In Farleigh Field, by Rhys Bowen (Lake Union)

Also nominated: Dangerous to Know, by Renee Patrick (Forge); The Devouring, by James R. Benn (Soho Crime); Cast the First Stone, by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street); Racing the Devil, by Charles Todd (Morrow); and A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus)

Congratulations to the winners and other nominees alike!

Turning an Eye Toward P.I.s

This is turning out to be a surprisingly busy Saturday for crime-fiction prize news. First came the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year contenders. Now, the Private Eye Writers of America has announced its nominees for the 2018 Shamus Awards.

Best Original Private Eye Paperback:
• Play a Cold Hand, by Terence Faherty (Perfect Crime)
• The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star,
by Vaseem Khan (Redhook)
• Dames Fight Harder, by M. Ruth Myers (CreateSpace)
• The Painted Gun, by Bradley Spinelli (Akashic)
• Lights Out Summer, by Rich Zahradnik (Camel Press)

Best First Private Eye Novel:
• Under Water, by Casey Barrett (Kensington)
• A Negro and an Ofay, by Danny Gardner (Down & Out)
• Gone to Dust, by Matt Goldman (Forge)
• August Snow, by Stephen Mack Jones (Soho Crime)
• The Last Place You Look, by Kristen Lepionka (Minotaur)

Best P.I. Short Story:
• “Out of Business,” by Eric Beetner
(Down & Out: The Magazine, Volume 1/Issue 1)
• “Breakage,” by Reed Farrel Coleman
(Down & Out: The Magazine, Volume 1/Issue 1)
• “Random,” by Brendan Dubois
(Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January/February 2017)
• “Rosalie Marx is Missing,” by Robert S. Levinson
(Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017)
• “Windward,” by Paul D. Marks
(from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks; Down & Out)

Best Private Eye Novel:
• Dark Water, by Parker Bilal (Bloomsbury USA)
• Blood Truth, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview)
• Y Is for Yesterday, by Sue Grafton (Marian Wood/Putnam)
• The Room of White Fire, by T. Jefferson Parker (Putnam)
• Monument Road, by Michael Wiley (Severn House)

The winners of this year’s Shamus Awards will be declared during a banquet held in association with Bouchercon 2018, which is set to take place in St. Petersburg, Florida, from September 6 to 9.

Setting Up Rivalries for St. Pete

Organizers of the 2018 Bouchercon, to be held in St. Petersburg, Florida, from September 9 to 12, have announced the nominees for eight Anthony Awards. These contestants are chosen by convention participants, rather than by a jury of critics and authors.

Best Novel:
• The Late Show, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper)
• Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke (Mulholland)
• Glass Houses, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• The Force, by Don Winslow (Morrow)

Best First Novel:
• Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)
• She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper (Ecco)
• The Dry, by Jane Harper (Flatiron)
• Ragged; or, The Loveliest Lies of All, by Christopher Irvin
(Cutlass Press)
• The Last Place You Look, by Kristen Lepionka (Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original:
• Uncorking a Lie, by Nadine Nettmann (Midnight Ink)
• Bad Boy Boogie, by Thomas Pluck (Down & Out)
• What We Reckon, by Eryk Pruitt (Polis)
• The Day I Died, by Lori Rader-Day (Morrow)
• Cast the First Stone, by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street)

Bill Crider Award for Best Novel in a Series:
• Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter #3), by Joe Clifford (Oceanview)
• Two Kinds of Truth (Harry Bosch #20), by Michael Connelly
(Little, Brown)
• Y Is for Yesterday (Kinsey Millhone #25), by Sue Grafton
(Marian Wood/Putnam)
• Glass Houses (Armand Gamache #13), by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• Dangerous Ends (Pete Fernandez #3), by Alex Segura (Polis)

Best Anthology:
• Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash, edited by Joe Clifford (Gutter)
• Killing Malmon, edited by Dan and Kate Malmon (Down & Out)
• Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, edited by Andrew McAleer and Paul D. Marks (Down & Out)
• Passport to Murder, Bouchercon Anthology 2017, edited by John McFetridge (Down & Out)
• The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir, edited by Gary Phillips (Three Rooms Press)

Best Short Story:
• “The Trial of Madame Pelletier,” by Susanna Calkins (from Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical, edited by Verena Rose, Rita Owen, and Shawn Reilly Simmons; Wildside Press)
• “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” by Jen Conley (from Just to
Watch Them Die)
• “My Side of the Matter,” by Hilary Davidson (from Killing Malmon)
• “Whose Wine Is It Anyway?” by Barb Goffman (from 50 Shades of Cabernet; Koehler)
• “The Night They Burned Miss Dixie’s Place,” by Debra Goldstein (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017)
• “A Necessary Ingredient,” by Art Taylor (from Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea)

Best Critical/Non-Fiction Book:
• From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon, by Mattias Boström (Mysterious Press)
• The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards
(Poisoned Pen Press)
• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann (Doubleday)
• Chester B. Himes: A Biography, by Lawrence P. Jackson (Norton)
• Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction, by Jessica Lourey (Conari Press)

Best Online Content:
• Writer Types Podcast
• Do Some Damage
• Jungle Red Writers
• Dru’s Book Musings
• BOLO Books

According to the present Bouchercon St. Petersburg schedule, the winners of this year’s Anthony Awards will be declared on Saturday, September 8. Congratulations to all of the contenders!

Time to Don Your Critic’s Hat

Word is that nomination forms for the 2018 Anthony Awards have been dispatched via e-mail. Everyone who attended Bouchercon 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, or is registered to participate in this year’s Bouchercon in St. Petersburg, Florida, is eligible to suggest books and other works worthy of special recognition. In addition to the usual categories—Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Critical/Non-fiction Book, etc.—St. Petersburg organizing committee members have added three others: Best Short Story Anthology, Best Online Content, and the Bill Crider Award for Best Novel in a Continuing Series.

Nominations will be accepted through April 30.

“If you registered for Bouchercon 2018 in the last few days,” convention co-chair Erin Mitchell explains in a Facebook post, “you might not have yet received a nomination form. Don’t panic. You’ll receive it soon. Likewise, if you register between now and the end of April, you will receive a nomination form.“

If you haven’t yet signed up for the St. Petersburg Bouchercon, you’ll find all the information you need to do so by clicking here.

The Barrying Kind

Another day, another set of 2018 prize contenders. This time we have the finalists, in four categories, for this year’s Barry Awards, to be presented by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine.

Best Novel:
• The Late Show, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• The Marsh King’s Daughter, by Karen Dionne (Putnam)
• Exit Strategy, by Steve Hamilton (Putnam)
• The Force, by Don Winslow (Morrow)
• Prussian Blue, by Philip Kerr (Putnam)
• Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz (Harper)

Best First Novel:
• The Dry, by Jane Harper (Flatiron Press)
• She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper (Ecco)
• The Lost Ones, by Sheena Kamal (Morrow)
• The Irregular, by H.P. Lyle (Quercus)
• A Rising Man, by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus)
• My Absolute Darling, by Gabriel Tallent (Riverhead)

Best Paperback Original:
• Safe From Harm, by R.J. Bailey (Simon & Schuster UK)
• The Deep Dark Descending, by Allen Eskens (Seventh Street)
• Hollywood Homicide, by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)
• The Day I Died, by Lori Rader-Day (Morrow)
• Blessed Are the Peacemakers, by Kristi Belcamino (CreateSpace)
• Super Con, by James Swain (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Thriller:
• Gunmetal Gray, by Mark Greaney (Berkley)
• Spook Street, by Mick Herron (Soho)
• The Freedom Broker, by K.J. Howe (Quercus)
• The Old Man, by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press)
• Unsub, by Meg Gardiner (Dutton)
• Trap the Devil, by Ben Coes (St. Martin’s Press)

Congratulations to all of the nominees! Winners are set to be announced on September 6, during the opening ceremonies at the 2018 Bouchercon convention in St. Petersburg, Florida.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)