Book Review: The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award Winner

Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist: A Novel [Hardcover](2010) won this year's Edgar Award for Best Novel. I scanned it in about two hours or so and felt I got the gist of the book, which I would rate about a 4 out of 5 stars. The lock artist is a young man who has decided not to speak though he is not physically mute. His talents for unlocking safes and any kind of lock makes him a target for professional thieves, who take advantage of him and reward him with very little if any of the takings.

The book shows his history through flashbacks in the storytelling and gradually reveals the reason he is now in jail at the start of the book. However, not all is lost for this young man. There is a twist to the plot and at the end, there is hope for a better life and even for love.

The characterization is excellent. You become involved in the life of this mute and seemingly helpless but talented "lock artist," as the story is told in the first person, from his point of view.

I can understand why the book won the Edgar. After all, the author has won before and was certainly a safe bet. However, there is another Edgar nominee that I rated a full 5 stars - The Queen of Patpong: A Poke Rafferty Thriller by Timothy Hallinan. This book is not only socially conscious, even more so than The Lock Artist, but it's also an excellent thriller with a lot going for it on several levels.

I recommend you read them both!

Edgar Allen Poe Award Winners 2011

The 2011 Edgar Allan Poe Awards for crime writers will be presented April 28, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

Two of the categories include Best Novel and Best First Novel by an American Author. My picks for winners are in orange!!

BEST NOVEL

Coben, Harlan. Caught
Franklin, Tom. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
French, Tana. Faithful Place
Hallinan, Tim. The Queen of Patpong*
Hamilton, Steve. The Lock Artist
Lippman, Laura. I'd Know You Anywhere

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

DeSilva, Bruce. RogueIsland
Doiron, Paul. The Poacher's Son
Gordon, David. The Serialist
Pizzolato, Nic. Galveston
Thompson, James. Snow Angels*


BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Goddard, Robert. Long Time Coming
O'Flynn, Catherine. The News Where You Are
Swierczynski, Duane. Expiration Date
Tallis, Frank. Vienna Secrets
Tyler, LC. Ten Little Herrings

Source: Partial list from The Poisoned Pen

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 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 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) 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, edited by Otto Penzler (Little, Brown and Company) won in this category. 

Other nominees:

Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James
Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak

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.

 

Best Mysteries/Crime Fiction for 2009

Looking for a good mystery or crime fiction novel but can't decide which one to pick from the hundreds on the library or bookstore shelves?

Here are some recent ones you might want to look at  - 2009 books nominated for an award this year.

The Mystery Writers of America gives the Edgar Awards every year to honor Edgar Allan Poe. The prize goes to the best mystery fiction and nonfiction published in the previous year.

The 2010 nominees include

Best Novel:
· The Missing by Tim Gautreaux
· The Odds by Kathleen George
· The Last Child by John Hart
· The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death 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:
· 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
· In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Best Paperback Original:
· Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
· Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano
· The Lord God Bird by Russell Hill
· Body Blows by Marc Strange
· The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice by L.C. Tyler

I haven't read any on the list as yet but  it's a place to start in a search for some of the best crime fiction out there. Winners of the Edgar Awards will be announced April 29.