I have reviewed three of the shortlisted books.
Sunset and Jericho by Sam Wiebe is the 4th Dave Wakeland mystery is on the shortlist for Best Crime Novel. It is an excellent book. An unusual aspect is an extremist group whose name Death of Kings was drawn from Shakespeare.
From the list for Best Crime Novel I also read Middlemen by Scott Thornley. It is another strong mystery. The detectives are clever and the villains are not stereotypes. The bad guys are well spoken, even thoughtful, wicked men.
On the shortlist for Best Traditional Mystery is Legacy by Gail Bowen. It is a good book dealing with questions of literary plagiarism. I will remember Legacy best for the moving scenes of Joanne and Zack Shreeve losing one of their dogs and getting a new dog. As Gail is one of my favourite authors I hope Legacy is the winner.
Congratulations to all the writers on the shortlists. I think we are in a new Golden Age of Canadian crime fiction.
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THE 2024 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLISTS
The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize
Robyn Harding, The Drowning Woman, Grand Central Publishing
Shari Lapena, Everyone Here is Lying, Doubleday Canada
Scott Thornley, Middlemen, House of Anansi Press
Sam Wiebe, Sunset and Jericho, Harbour Publishing
Loreth Anne White, The Maid's Diary, Montlake
Best Crime First Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize
Jann Arden, The Bittlemores, Random House Canada
Lisa Brideau, Adrift, Sourcebooks
Charlotte Morganti, The End Game, Halfdan Press
Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers, Harper Perennial
Steve Urszenyi, Perfect Shot, Minotaur
The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Charlotte Engel and Crime Writers of Canada, with a $500 prize
Gail Anderson-Dargatz, The Almost Widow, Harper Avenue/HarperCollins
Renee Lehnen, Elmington, Storeyline Press
Cyndi MacMillan, Cruel Light, Crooked Lane
Joan Thomas, Wild Hope, Harper Perennial/HarperCollins
Melissa Yi, Shapes of Wrath, Windtree Press
The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize
Gail Bowen, The Legacy, ECW Press
Vicki Delany, Steeped in Malice, Kensington Books
Vicki Delany, The Game is a Footnote, Crooked Lane Books
Nita Prose, The Mystery Guest, Viking
Iona Whishaw, To Track a Traitor, TouchWood Editions
Best Crime Short Story
M.H. Callway, Wisteria Cottage, Wildside Press (for Malice Domestic)
Marcelle Dubé, Reversion, Mystery Magazine
Mary Keenan The Canadians (Killin' Time in San Diego), Down & Out Books
donalee Moulton, Troubled Water, Black Cat Weekly (Wildside Press)
Zandra Renwick, American Night, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
The Best French Language Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)
Jean-Philippe Bernié, La punition, Glénat Québec
Chrystine Brouillet, Le mois des morts, Éditions Druide
Catherine Lafrance, Le dernier souffle est le plus lourd, Éditions Druide
André Marois, La sainte paix, Héliotrope
Jean-Jacques Pelletier, Rien, Alire
Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book, sponsored by Shaftesbury Films with a $500 prize (Fiction and Nonfiction)
Kelley Armstrong, Someone is Always Watching, Tundra Books
Cherie Dimaline, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, Tundra Books
Rachelle Delaney, The Big Sting, Tundra Books
Clara Kumagai, Catfish Rolling, Penguin Teen Canada
Kevin Sands, Champions of the Fox, Puffin Canada
The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton), with a $300 prize
Josef Lewkowicz and Michael Calvin, The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Michael Lista, The Human Scale, Véhicule Press
David Rabinovitch, Jukebox Empire, Rowman & Littlefield
Bill Waiser and Jennie Hansen, Cheated, ECW Press
Carolyn Whitzman, Clara at the Door with a Revolver, UBC Press, On Point Press
Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author
Tom Blackwell, The Patient
Craig H. Bowlsby, Requiem for a Lotus
Sheilla Jones and James Burns, Murder on Richmond Road: An Enquiry Bureau Mystery
Nora Sellers, The Forest Beyond
William Wodhams, Thirty Feet Under
There are some excellent books on this year's shortlists, Bill. Any one of them would be a worthy winner, and it'll be interesting to see which is the winner. Meanwhile, I have some fine books to add to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteMargot: Thanks for the comment. I will be interested in seeing which of the books might be featured in your Spotlight.
DeleteI saw the announcements for the 2024 Awards of Excellence and wondered what you thought of them. I will check out your reviews for the books by Bowen and Wiebe. I have only read the first 5 books in Bowen's series, so I won't get to Legacy for a while.
ReplyDeleteHow nice that Maureen Jennings is getting a Grand Master award. I have read three of her books and enjoyed them all.
TracyK: Thanks for the comment. I think the Joanne Kilbourn books are among the strongest series for consistent excellence.
DeleteMaureen Jennings has earned her status with multiple good series.