Edgar Nominations 2011

Yay! Edgar nominations from a few days ago. There is a noticeable shift away from the literary' nominations from the last few years. I don't mean that negatively to either this year's nominations or the aforementioned literary books. Just a bit surprising how traditional the list looks this year.

I'll have a prediction spectacular shortly before the award are handed out.

Best Novel:
CAUGHT - Harlan Coben - Dutton  
CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER - Tom Franklin - Morrow
FAITHFUL PLACE - Tana French - Viking
THE QUEEN OF PATPONG - Timothy Hallinan - Morrow
THE LOCK ARTIST - Steve Hamilton - Minotaur
I’D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE - Laura Lippman - Morrow

Toss up between Ms. French and Mr. Hamilton I should think. The dark horse for me would be Mr Frankin's books which received a good deal of late 2010 praise.

Best First Novel by an American Author:
ROGUE ISLAND - Bruce DeSilva - Forge
THE POACHER'S SON - Paul Doiron - Minotaur
THE SERIALIST - David Gordon - Simon & Schuster
GALVESTON - Nic Pizzolatto - Scribner
SNOW ANGELS - James Thompson - Putnam

Only heard of Mr. Thompson and Mr. Doiron's books before this moment. THE POACHER'S SON got the big push from Minotaur this spring.

Best Paperback Original:
LONG TIME COMING - Robert Goddard - Bantam
THE NEWS WHERE YOU ARE - Catherine O’Flynn - Henry Holt
EXPIRATION DATE - Duane Swierczynski - Minotaur
VIENNA SECRETS - Frank Tallis - Random House
TEN LITTLE HERRINGS - L.C. Tyler - Felony & Mayhem Press

Let's face it I'm a huge fan of Mr. Swierczynski. I 'm sure the other books are worthy, but I would be disappointed if anybody else won here.

Best Fact Crime:
SCOREBOARD, BABY: A STORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL, CRIME, and COMPLICITY - Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry - University of Nebraska Press-Bison
THE EYES OF WILLIE McGEE: A TRAGEDY OF RACE, SEX, AND SECRETS IN THE JIM CROW SOUTH - Alex Heard - HarperCollins
FINDING CHANDRA: A TRUE WASHINGTON MURDER MYSTERY - Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz - Scribner
HELLHOUND IN HIS TRAIL THE STALKING OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE INTERNATIONAL HUNT FOR HIS ASSASSIN - Hampton Sides - Doubleday
THE KILLER OF LITTLE SHEPARDS: A TRUE CRIME STORY AND THE BIRTH OF FORENSIC SCIENCE - Douglas Starr - Knopf

I have to think that HELLHOUND is the clear favorite here.

Best Critical/Biographical:
THE WIRE" TRUTH BE TOLD - Rafael Alvarez - Grove Press
AGATHA CHRISTIE'S SECRET NOTEBOOKS: FIFTY YEARS OF MYSTERIES IN THE MAKING - John Curran - HarperCollins
SHERLOCK HOLMES FOR DUMMIES - Steven Doyle and David A. Crowder - Wiley
CHARLIE CHAN" THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE HONORABLE DETECTIVE AND HIS RENDEZVOUS WITH AMERICAN HISTORY - Yunte Huang - Norton
THRILLERS" 100 MUST READERS - David Morrell and Hank Wagner - Oceanview Publishing

Best Short Story:
“THE SECRET OF LILACS,” - Doug Allyn - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2010
“THE PLOT,” - Jeffery Deaver - from First Thrills, edited by Lee Child; Forge
“A GOOD SAFE PLACE,” - Judith Green - from Thin Ice, edited by Mark Ammons, Kat Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best Books
“MONSIEUR ALICE IS ABSENT, by Stephen Ross - Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, October 2010 
“THE CREATIVE WRITING MURDERS,” - Edmund White - from Dark End of the Street, edited by Jonathan Santlofer and S.J. Rozan; Bloomsbury

Best Juvenile:
ZORA AN ME - Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon - Candlewick Press
THE BUDDY FILES" THE CASE OF THE LOST BOY - Dori Hillestad Butler - Albert Whitman & Co.
THE HAUNTING OF CHARLES DICKENS - Lewis Buzbee - Feiwel & Friends
GRIFF CARVER: HALLWAY PATROL - Jim Krieg - Razorbill
THE SECRET LIFE OF MS. FINKLEMAN - Ben H. Winters - HarperCollins Children’s Books

Best Young Adult:
THE RIVER, by Mary Jane Beaufrand - Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, by A.S. King - Knopf Books for Young Readers
7 SOULS, by Barnabas Miller and Jordan Orlando - Delacorte Books for Young Readers
The INTERROGATION OF GABRIEL JAMES - Charlie Price - Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers)
DUST CITY - Robert Paul Weston - Razorbill

Best Play:
The PSYCHIC - Sam Bobrick - Falcon Theatre, Burbank, California
The TANGLES SKIRT - Steve Braunstein - New Jersey Repertory Co.
The FALL OF THE HOUSE - Robert Ford - Alabama Shakespeare Festival

Best Television Episode Teleplay:
“EPISODE 1,” Luther, teleplay by Neil Cross - BBC America
“EPISODE 4,” Luther, teleplay by Neil Cross - BBC America
“FULL MEASURE,” Breaking Bad, teleplay by Vince Gilligan - AMC/Sony
“NO MAS,” Breaking Bad, teleplay by Vince Gilligan - AMC/Sony
“THE NEXT ONE'S GONNA GO IN YOUR THROAT,” Damages, teleplay by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman - FX Networks

The Simon & Schuster-Mary Higgins Clark Award (presented at MWA’s Agents & Editors Party on Wednesday, April 27, 2010):
WILD PENANCE - Sandi Ault - Berkley Prime Crime
BLOOD HARVEST - S.J. Bolton - Minotaur
DOWN RIVER - Karen Harper - Mira
THE CROSSING PLACES - Elly Griffiths - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
LIVE TO TELL - Wendy Corsi Staub - Avon

Robert L. Fish Memorial Award: “Skyler Hobbs and the Rabbit Man,” by Evan Lewis - Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, February 2010

Grand Master : Sara Paretsky

Raven Awards: Centuries & Sleuths - owned by Augie Alesky in Chicago, and Once Upon a Crime - owned by Pat Frovarp and Gary Schulze - in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Tomorrow

2011 Edgar nominations appear tomorrow. I'll posted the nominations and the usual commentary here, but there is always the Edgar site if you are looking to avoid my particular brand of drivel.

Winter Preview 2010/11

The Winter Preview is a bit late this year. The Hungry Detective raided the petty cash at the office and spent the Christmas Holiday in the UK. Besides shoveling, Ms. Hungry Detective and I have been trying to keep up with Oscar bait in the theater.

The end of the year has come and gone, but I should have my Best of 2010 up in a few days. That will be a neat trick. Frequent readers of the blog know that I have been at a low ebb. Sorry about that. I'm going to stop beating myself up about it pretty soon. For now you should check out these books. The Good Lord willing so will I.

THE SENTRY - Robert Crais - January 11

Third in the Joe Pike books.  I'll be honest, THE FIRST RULE was not nearly as compelling as THE WATCHMAN. Does that mean I'll be passing up this latest? Hardly.

WORLD'S GREATEST SLUETH - Steve Hockensmith - January 18

Love the setting, love the character, love the light comic touch. This is a pretty reliable series, and one I look forward to every year.

AGENT X - Noah Boyd - February 1

Here is the follow up to one of last year's notable debuts. THE BRICKLAYER generated a good deal of buzz. It was a book I enjoyed if not to the extent of everyone else.

EYES OF THE INNOCENT - Brad Parks - February 1

I am a sucker for the journalist as crime fighter. This is Mr. Park's second book, after last year's FACES OF THE GONE. I'm looking forward to reading both.

ONE TRUE SENTENCE - Craig McDonald - February 15

Mr. MacDonald is one of those authors. I'm in a book store or library. I pull his book off the shelf. I caress them for a moment.... and then put them back. Stupid. Lets see if i can correct that.

TWICE A SPY - Keith Thomson - March 8

ONCE A SPY was a book with a lot of heart. I found the spy story to be pleasingly implausible. The characters of Charlie and Clark Drummond have a nice interchange.

THE TROUBLED MAN - Henning Mankell - March 29

The return of Kurt Wallendar is about all you need to say here. The progenitor of Nordic Crime Fiction is back to see what all the this Steig Larsson nonsense is about.

Other Books of Note:

Dead Zero - Stephen Hunter; A LONELY DEATH - Charles Todd; THE BORDER LORDS - T. Jefferson Parker; NIGHT VISION - Randy Wayne White; COLD WIND - C.J. Box; ONE OF OUR THURSDAYS IS MISSING - Jasper Fforde; THE PAYBACK - Simon Kernick

Books Received - December 2010

It is the good fortune of The Hungry Detective to now and again receive books from authors, publishers or their associated marketing agencies.

These books were received in the month of December 2010.

RIZZO'S WAR - Lou Manfredo - Minotaur Books
Gone 'Til November - Wallace Stroby - Minotaur Books
VIENNA TWILIGHT - Frank Tallis - Random House