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.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

2023 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence Shortlists


Today the Crime Writers of Canada announced the shortlists for this year's Awards of Excellence. Congratulations to those listed. In previous years I read the short list for Best Crime Novel or Best Crime Novel Set in Canada. I am not sure if I am going to read a shortlist this year.

I am very excited that Going to Beautiful by Anthony Bidulka, No. 1 on my Bill’s Best Fiction of 2022 list, is on the shortlist for Best Crime Novel. Unabashedly I am hoping it will be the winner. It is a remarkable book.

I am excited that A.J. Devlin’s book, Five Moves of Doom, is on the shortlist for Best Crime Novel set in Canada.

Winners will be announced in May.

It was also announced that Jack Batten, author and reviewer, was chosen to receive the Derrice Murdoch Award. I will have more on his selection in a subsequent post.

Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize

Linwood Barclay, Take Your Breath Away, HarperCollins Canada
Anthony Bidulka, Going to Beautiful, Stonehouse Publishing
Nicole Lundrigan, An Unthinkable Thing, Viking Canada
Catherine McKenzie, Please Join Us, Simon & Schuster Canada
Shelly Sanders, Daughters of the Occupation, HarperCollins Canada

Best Crime First Novel sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize

T. Lawrence Davis, The Pale Horse, Friesen Press
Bill Edwards, Killer Time, Friesen Press
Adam Frost, The Damned Lovely, Down and Out Books
Sam Shelstad, Citizens of Light, TouchWood Editions
M.Z. Urlocker, The Man from Mittlewerk, Inkshares, Inc.

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada sponsored by Charlotte Engel and CWC, with a $500 prize

A. J. Devlin, Five Moves of Doom, NeWest Press
S. M. Freedman, Blood Atonement, Dundurn Press
Joanne Jackson, A Snake in the Raspberry Patch, Stonehouse Publishing
Maureen Jennings, Cold Snap, Cormorant Books
Amy Tector, The Foulest Things, Keylight Books

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

Alice Bienia, Knight in the Museum, Cairn Press
Anne Emery, Fenian Street, ECW Press
Thomas King, Deep House, HarperCollins Canada
Mary Jane Maffini, Death Plans a Perfect Trip, Beyond the Page
Iona Whishaw, Framed in Fire, Touchwood Editions

Best Crime Novella sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $200 prize

M.H. Callway, Amdur's Ghost, In the Spirit of 13, Carrick Publishing
Hilary Davidson, Dangerous to Know, A Grifter's Song Vol. 8, Down & Out Books
Julie Hiner, Dead End Track, Julie Hiner
Matt Hughes, The Emir's Falcon, Shadowpaw Press Premiere
Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson, The Man Who Went Down Under, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazines

Best Crime Short Story sponsored by Mystery Magazine, with a $300 prize

Craig H. Bowlsby, The Girl Who Was Only Three Quarters Dead, Mystery Magazine
M.H. Callway, Must Love Dogs - or You're Gone, Red Dog Press
Blair Keetch, To Catch a Kumiho, In the Spirit of 13, Carrick Publishing
Sylvia Maultash Warsh, The Natural Order of Things, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
donalee Moulton, Swan Song, Cold Canadian Crime, Crime Writers of Canada

Best French Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Geneviève Blouin, Le Mouroir des anges, Éditions Alire
Isabelle Lafortune, Chaîne de glace, Éditions XYZ
Guillaume Morrissette, Le dernier manège, Saint-Jean éditeur
Suzan Payne, Modus operandi, Éditions Perce-Neige
Richard Ste-Marie, Monsieur Hämmerli, Éditions Alire

Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction) sponsored by Shaftesbury, with a $500 prize

Natasha Deen, Lark Steals the Show, Orca Book Publisher
Marthe Jocelyn, Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Seaside Corpse, Tundra Books
H.N. Khan, Wrong Side of the Court, Penguin Teen
Wesley King, Butt Sandwich & Tree, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Jo Treggiari, Heartbreak Homes, Nimbus Publishing Limited

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm, Hamilton, with a $300 prize

Michael Arntfield, How to Solve a Cold Case: And Everything Else You Wanted to Know About Catching Killers, HarperCollins Canada
Sharon Anne Cook and Margaret Carson, The Castleton Massacre, Dundurn Press Ltd.
Harley Rustad, Lost in the Valley of Death, Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada
Rosemary Sullivan, The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation, HarperCollins Canada
Sarah Weinman, Scoundrel, Knopf Canada - Penguin Random House Canada

The Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript sponsored by ECW Press, with a $500 prize

Jan Garnett, No Safe House
Mary Keenan, Snowed
Joanne Kormylo, Two Knots
Joel Nedecky, The Broken Detective
Michael Pennock, The Peaks

2 comments:

  1. Such great choices this time, Bill! And, like you, I am very excited that Going to Beautiful is shortlisted. That's fabulous! It's among very good company, too; this has been a good year for crime fiction, I think.

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    1. Margot: Thanks for the comment. It is a special year when a book a blogger thinks is exceptional is recognized as a great book. I also agreed it is a good year for Canadian crime fiction. There is a lot of crime fiction for a nation I consider peaceable.

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