About Me

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Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada
I am a lawyer in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada who enjoys reading, especially mysteries. Since 2000 I have been writing personal book reviews. This blog includes my reviews, information on and interviews with authors and descriptions of mystery bookstores I have visited. I strive to review all Saskatchewan mysteries. Other Canadian mysteries are listed under the Rest of Canada. As a lawyer I am always interested in legal mysteries. I have a separate page for legal mysteries. Occasionally my reviews of legal mysteries comment on the legal reality of the mystery. You can follow the progression of my favourite authors with up to 15 reviews. Each year I select my favourites in "Bill's Best of ----". As well as current reviews I am posting reviews from 2000 to 2011. Below my most recent couple of posts are the posts of Saskatchewan mysteries I have reviewed alphabetically by author. If you only want a sentence or two description of the book and my recommendation when deciding whether to read the book look at the bold portion of the review. If you would like to email me the link to my email is on the profile page.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

2020 Shortlists for the Arthur Ellis Awards for Canadian Crime Fiction

I had forgotten the Arthur Ellis shortlists would be announced tonight when I said this post would be about The Baccarat Case. My next post will be the second post on that book.

With regard to the Awards, as with virtually every part of life, tradition was upended in the announcement of the shortlists by the Crime Writers of Canada. Instead of being announced  at a series of four events held across Canada they were released online a short time ago.

2020 Shortlists 

Best Crime Novel Sponsored by Rakuten Kobo

Greenwood by Michael Christie
Fate by Ian Hamilton
Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan
The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley
In the Dark by Loreth Anne White


Best Crime First Novel Sponsored by Maureen Jennings

Nobody Move by Philip Elliott
Blindshot by Denis Coupal
Past Presence by Nicole Bross

Best Crime Novella Sponsored by Mystery Weekly

Blood Ties by Barbara Fradkin
Too Close to Home by Brenda Chapman
The Goddaughter Does Vegas by Melodie Campbell
The Woman in Apartment 615 by Devon Shepherd

Best Crime Story Sponsored by Mystery Weekly

In Plain Sight by Y.S. Lee
Closing Doors by Peter Sellers
The Dead Man's Dog by Zandra Renwick

Best French Crime Book

Les offrandes by Louis Carmain
Tempêtes by Andrée Michaud
Ghetto X by Martin Michaud
Le tribunal de la rue Quirion by Guillaume Morrissette
Le cercle de cendres by Felix Ravenelle

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book Sponsored by Shaftesbury

Tank & Fitz: The Case of the Tentacle Terror by Liam O'Donnell & Mike Dean
The Grey Sisters by Jo Treggiari
Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan
Ghosts by David A. Robertson

Best Nonfiction Crime Book

The Missing Millionaire: The True Story of Ambrose Small and the City Obsessed with Finding Him by Katie Dobbs
The Billionaire Murders by Kevin Donovan
The Court of Better Fiction by Debra Komar
The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice by Vanessa Brown
Murdered Midas: A Millionaire, His Gold Mine, and a Strange Death on an Island by Charlotte Gray

The Unhanged Arthur Award for Best Unpublished Crime Manuscript Sponsored by Dundurn Press

Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business by B.L. Smith
Henry's Bomb by K.P. Bartlett
One Bad Day After Another by Max Folsom
The Dieppe Letters by Liz Rachel Walker
The River Cage by Pam Barnsley

The biennial Grand Master Award is presented to Peter Robinson.

Out of all the books above I have read but one, The Billionaire Murders.Congratulations to all of the shortlisted books and to Peter.

The winners will be announced across Canada on or about May 21 

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for the list, Bill. I am very happy for the finalists, and I look forward to reading from the short list. There are some interesting titles here.

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    1. Margot: Thanks for the comment. I hope to read several from the shortlists prior to the announcement of the winners.

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  2. So hard to find Canadian books that don't cost the earth over here. Happy to see Andree Michaud is still in top form. I saw her in Lyon and really liked her book too.

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    1. Marina: Thanks for the comment. I regret the challenge of finding affordable Canadian books. I have not read any of Andree Michaud's books. I will have to see if any are in translation to English.

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  3. Thanks for listing these, Bill. I had seen a list earlier this morning but yours is formatted better and easier to read.

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    1. TracyK: Thanks for the comment. I found it best to type out the shortlists. I was not happy with how they were copying and pasting.

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