Apr 30, 2010

The Edgar Awards for Mystery Writing: 2010

The Edgar Awards have been noticed by The Wall Street Journal, whose article yesterday, Mystery Rules at Edgar Awards  listed the nominees for this year's award for best mystery writing. The paper noted that women dominated the nominees for the Best First Novel by an American Author category. The Edgar Awards announced the winners:

Best Novel:
The Last Child
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books) was the winner. It tells the story of the abduction of a twelve year old girl and the attempts by her twin brother and a police detective to find the culprit, after a second child has been kidnapped. A lot of deadly secrets are uncovered in the town.

Other nominees:
The Missing (Vintage Contemporaries) by Tim Gautreaux
 The Odds by Kathleen George
The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death: A Novel by Charlie Huston Nemesis by Jo Nesbø, translated by Don Bartlett
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Best First Novel By An American Author:

In the Shadow of Gotham
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur Books) won in this category. A former New York City policeman investigates the murder of a brilliant Columbia mathematics graduate student. A student of criminology tries to take over the investigation, saying he knows who the culprit is. The novel is set in the early 1900s.

Other nominees:
The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano
Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

Best Paperback Original:
Body Blows: A Joe Grundy Mystery (Castle Street Mysteries)

Body Blows: A Joe Grundy Mystery (Castle Street Mysteries) by Marc Strange (Dundurn Press - Castle Street Mysteries) is the winner.

Other nominees:
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano
The Lord God Bird by Russell Hill
The Herring-Seller's Apprentice by L.C. Tyler

Best Critical/Biographical:

The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives
The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives, edited by Otto Penzler (Little, Brown and Company) won in this category. 

Other nominees:
The Talented Miss Highsmith: The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith by Joan Schenkar
The Stephen King Illustrated Companion by Bev Vincent

The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives is a book I'd love to read.

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8 comments:

  1. These all sound like such interesting reads. If only there were more hours in the day to read.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  2. Wow - I haven't read a single one of these! I really have to find more time for reading :)

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  3. Oh no, more books to add to my already teetering to read pile! Thanks for posting this. Some of these sound really great.

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  4. I feel like such a loser because I'm only familiar with one book from that entire list!!! I need to get out more huh?

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  5. Staci: these books are new to me too and obviously good reads for mytery lovers! I've only heard of Nemesis, and it's on my list!

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  6. First I have heard of the Edgar Awards. It's an interesting way to receive some top critics' picks. Thanks.

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  7. Oh, you whet my appetite! I love the Edgar Awards, and now I have a whole list to choose from for the coming summer thanks to you!

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  8. I love The Edgars! The Last Child did win for best novel, which I have waiting to read. And In The Shadow of Gotham won for Best First Novel By an American Author, which I had never heard of and am patiently waiting for it to arrive in paperback mid May!

    Thanks for sharing! I also couldn't resist posting about The Edgars either!

    Have a great week!

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