Bestowing the Barrys

Day Two of this year’s virtual Bouchercon brings word of which books and authors have won the 2020 Barry Awards, given out by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine.

Best Mystery/Crime Novel:
The Lost Man, by Jane Harper (Flatiron)

Also nominated: If She Wakes, by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown); Metropolis, by Philip Kerr (Putnam); The Border, by Don Winslow (HarperCollins); Your House Will Pay, by Steph Cha (Ecco); and Thirteen, by Steve Cavanagh (Flatiron)

Best First Mystery/Crime Novel:
The Chestnut Man, by Søren Sveistrup (Harper)

Also nominated: The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (Celadon); American Spy, by Lauren Wilkinson (Random House); Save Me from Dangerous Men, by S.A. Lelchuk (Flatiron); Scrublands, Chris Hammer (Atria); and To the Lions, by Holly Watt (Dutton)

Best Paperback Original Mystery/Crime Novel:
Missing Daughter, by Rick Mofina (Mira)

Also nominated: The Godmother, by Hannelore Cayre (ECW); Winner Kills All, by R.J. Bailey (Simon & Schuster UK); Killing Quarry, by Max Allan Collins (Hard Case Crime); Fate, by Ian Hamilton (Spiderline); and No Good Deed, by James Swain (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Thriller:
The Chain, by Adrian McKinty (Mulholland)

Also nominated: Mission Critical, by Mark Greaney (Berkley); Backlash, by Brad Thor (Atria/Emily Bester); The Burglar, by Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press); True Believer, by Jack Carr (Atria/Emily Bester); and White Hot Silence, by Henry Porter (Mysterious Press)

Best Mystery/Crime Novel of the Decade:
Suspect, by Robert Crais (Putnam)

Also nominated: Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (Crown); November Road, by Lou Berney (Morrow); The Dry, by Jane Harper (Flatiron); The Blackhouse, by Peter May (Quercus); and The Cartel, by Don Winslow (Knopf)

I’m a bit surprised (and disappointed) that May’s The Blackhouse did not come out on the top in that final category, but then there’s no predicting the outcome of a competition such as this one.

Congratulations to all of the 2020 contenders!

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)