Lawson Bags Another Spotted Owl

House Witness (Atlantic Monthly Press), the 12th novel in Pacific Northwest author Mike Lawson’s series of thrillers starring U.S. congressional investigator Joe DeMarco, has won the 2019 Spotted Owl Award. That annual accolade is dispensed by the Portland, Oregon-based Friends of Mystery organization, and honors crime and mystery fiction published by residents of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Also nominated for the 2019 prize were Fistful of Rain, by Baron R. Birtcher (Permanent Press); A Steep Price, by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer); Moving Targets, by Warren C. Easley (Poisoned Pen Press); Soul Survivor, by G.M. Ford (Thomas & Mercer); The Punishment She Deserves, by Elizabeth George (Viking); Madagascar, by Stephen Holgate (Amphorae); The Line, by Martin Limón (Soho Crime); Baby’s First Felony, by John Straley (Soho Crime); and The Bomb Shelter, by Jon Talton (Poisoned Pen Press).

This latest Spotted Owl win is Lawson’s third. He previously received the commendation in 2014 for House Odds, and in 2013 for House Blood, both other entries in the DeMarco series.