2009 Anthony Award Nominees

This is a very strong list of nominees. Lots of big names and big books. I already have some thoughts I want to share, but I am in Wisconsin this week. I'm watching the Brewers game and enjoying time with my parents. Check back in a few days for ill advised commentary.

--EDIT-- It has been more than a few days for those ill advised comments, so you maybe one of the select few to actually read them.

Official announcement here.

BEST NOVEL
Trigger City by Sean Chercover - William Morrow
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly - Little, Brown and Company
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger - Atria
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Knopf
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny - Minotaur

I am real curious to see how this shakes out. Last year's winner was the deserving WHAT THE DEAD KNOW by Laura Lippman. Not to diminish that win in any way, but the awards were given out in Baltimore. Again deserving, but decidedly lacking in excitement. Kreuger and Connelly are multiple winners of this award, although Connelly's hasn't won since 2003 and Krueger has won 3 times since then. It will also be interesting to see who becomes the bigger awards juggernaught; Chercover or Penny.

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris - Minotaur
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer - Doubleday
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Knopf
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet - Midnight Ink
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith - Grand Central

I wonder if a novel has ever done the double? Has there even been a double nominee before. Patrica Cornwell perhaps? I would be stunned to see the Larsson book do it, and give only a 5% chance of that happening.

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins - Hard Case Crime
Money Shot by Christa Faust - Hard Case Crime
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy - Berkley
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane - Dell
South of Hell by P.J. Parrish - Pocket Star

I know exactly who is going to win this award. Exactly.

BEST SHORT STORY
"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe - Ace
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled - Kensington
"Killing Time" by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine - November
"Skull and Cross Examination" by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - February
"Scratch a Woman" by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her -William Morrow
"The Secret Lives of Cats" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine - July

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey - McFarland
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson - Perseverance Press
Anthony Boucher: A Bibliography by Jeffrey Marks - McFarland
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale - Walker & Company

BEST CHILDREN'S/YA NOVEL
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein - Random House
Paper Towns by John Green - Dutton Juvenile
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson - Delacorte
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart - Little, Brown
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen - Knopf

BEST COVER ART
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards - Minotaur
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin - Minotaur
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure - Minotaur
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and written by Stieg Larsson - Knopf
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust - Hard Case Crime

I enjoy the inclusion of this award. How quickly David Rotstein could become a three time loser though. I generally feel whatever the year, the Hard Case Crime cover will be hard to beat. I'm also guessing Chip Kidd had no books out there?

SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman

I'm calling for a five way split. All are deserving.

Macavity Award Nominations

A new set of nominations means I can shake off my terrible showing at last week's Edgar Awards and make a whole new bunch of predictions that will probably not come to fruition. I am now slightly concerned that my picks my set in motion forces that cause these books not to win. What a heavy, heavy burden I carry.

Anyway, I'm posting the nominees here although publicized elsewhere already. I'll make picks when we are closer to the Indy B'Con where these awards will be announced.

Good luck to all of the nominees.

Best Mystery Novel
Trigger City - Sean Chercover -- Wm. Morrow
Where Memories Lie - Deborah Crombie -- Wm. Morrow
The Dying Breed (UK)/ The Price of Blood (US) - Declan Hughes -- John Murray/ Wm. Morrow
The Draining Lake - Arnaldur Indridason -- Minotaur
Curse of the Spellmans - Lisa Lutz -- Simon & Schuster
The Cruelest Month - Louise Penny -- Minotaur
The Fault Tree - Louise Ure -- Minotaur

Best First Mystery
Finding Nouf - Zoe Ferraris -- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson -- Knopf
Death of a Cozy Writer - G.M. Malliet -- Midnight Ink
Calumet City - Charlie Newton -- Simon & Schuster
An Innocent Client - Scott Pratt -- Onyx
A Carrion Death - Michael Stanley -- Harper; Headline
The Blood Detective - Dan Waddell -- Minotaur

Best Nonfiction/Critical
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study - Frankie Y. Bailey -- McFarland
Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories - Leonard Cassuto -- Columbia Univ.
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries - Kathy Lynn Emerson -- Perseverance Press
Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction - David Geherin -- McFarland
Edgar Allan Poe : An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories - Harry Lee Poe -- Metro
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective - Kate Summerscale -- Walker

Best Mystery Short Story
"The Night Things Changed" - Dana Cameron -- Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" - Sean Chercover -- Hardcore Hardboiled, ed. by Todd Robinson, Kensington
"Keeping Watch Over His Flock" - Toni L. P. Kelner -- Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin
"Scratch a Woman" - Laura Lippman -- Hardly Knew Her, Wm. Morrow
"Between the Dark and the Daylight" - Tom Piccirilli -- EQMM, Sep/Oct 2008

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery
A Royal Pain - Rhys Bowen -- Berkley
Stealing Trinity - Ward Larsen -- Oceanview
The Whiskey Rebels - David Liss -- Thorndike/ Random House UK
Veil of Lies - Jeri Westerson -- Minotaur
Company of Liars - Karen Maitland -- Michael Joseph/ Delacorte
Nox Dormienda - Kelli Stanley -- Five Star

Revenge of the Spellmans - Review

I've read the Spellman trilogy, by Liza Lutz, in just over four months. This is surprising given my relative dissatisfaction with the first book. The chief crime of THE SPELLMAN FILES was trying too hard. The Edgar® nominated CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS was a pleasant surprise to me as a I felt the first 100 pages were more of the same. However, that book settled into an easy rhythm as the Ms. Lutz found a groove for her story and its multiple inhabitants.

So where does this leave REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS? Third time is the charm I think. Probably not as enjoyable as CURSE OF THE SPELLMANS, but easily the book with the fewest problems. In REVENGE Ms. Lutz has finally focused her view to just one character, Isabel Spellman. Gone from the book are the tangents that led me away from Isabel and the 'main' story to highlight some ridiculous foible of any one of the dozen screwball characters Ms. Lutz was writing about. Here the writing feels more organic. REVENGE succeeds because of the invisibility of its writer. Most everything here is in service to the story, rarely did I feel Ms. Lutz's hand pushing me.

This time around Isabel has a lot on her plate. Will she take over the family business? Will she find a place to sleep other than the bus? Will she figure out what is going on with her straitlaced brother? Will she survive her court mandated therapy sessions? Will she solve here one and only case? What I think REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS is really about is that last moment of youth where we finally accept responsibility for our life. Isabel will discovery that being an adult not only means being over 30, but confronting and accepting, happily one might say, the difficult decisions in our life. The message of REVENGE OF THE SPELLMANS is actually quite empowering.

Too lazy to read these books? Then your wishes have been answered! THE SPELLMAN FILES is in line for a film adaptation to be directed by the occasionally talented and serial hypochondriac Barry Sonnenfeld.