CyberGumshoe's Mumblings in May/June 2021
2021 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize Shortlist Announced
The Bloody Scotland has announced the four shortlistees for the 2021 Scottish Crime Book of the Year Prize as follows:
THE SILENT DAUGHTER, by Emma Christie (Wellbeck) Ð from Aberdeen/Portobello
NO HARM DONE, by Alistair Liddle (Self Published) Ð from Stirling
EDGE OF THE GRAVE, by Robbie Morrison (Macmillan) Ð from Helensburgh/Glasgow
WAKING THE TIGER, by Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books) Ð from Edinburgh/Linlithgow
The winners of the McIlvanney Prize and the Debut Prize will be announced on September 17, during the 2021 Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival, to be held from September 17 thru 19 in Stirling, Scotland. (June 30, 2021)
2021 Strand Critics Award Nominees Announced
The Strand Magazine has announced the nominees for the 2021 Strand Critics Awards as follows:
Best Mystery Novel: (7)
SNOW, by John Banville (Hanover Square Press)
YOU AGAIN, by Debra Jo Immergut (Ecco)
TROUBLE IS WHAT I DO, by Walter Mosley (Mulholland Books)
THE MISSING AMERICAN, by Kwei Quartey (Soho Crime)
A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES, by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)
SURVIVOR SONG, by Paul Tremblay (William Morrow)
CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45, by Lisa Unger (Park Row)
Best Debut Novel: (7)
AMNESTY, by Aravind Adiga (Scribner)
LEAVE THE WROLD BEHIND, by Rumaan Alam (Ecco)
WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, by Alyssa Cole (William Morrow)
EMPIRE OF WILD, by Cherie Dimaline (William Morrow)
A BURNING, by Megha Majumdar (Knopf)
A CERTAIN HUNGER, by Chelsea G. Summers (Unnamed Press)
CATHERINE HOUSE, by Elisabeth Thomas (Custom House)
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients: (3)
Stephen King
Joyce Carol Oates
and Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher of the Year Award Recipient:
Josh Stanton of the Blackstone Publishing
The winners will be announced virtually in early September. (June 22, 2021)
2021 Theakston Crime Award Shortlist Announced
Harrogate International Festival has announced the 6 shortlistees for the 2021 Theakston Crime Award for the best crime novel of the year published in paperback from May 01, 2020 to April 30, 2021 by UK and Irish authors as follows;
THE LANTERN MEN, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
THREE HOURS, by Rosamund Lupton (Viking)
THE LAST CROSSING, by Brian McGilloway (Constable)
DEATH IN THE EAST, by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker)
WE BEGIN AT THE END, by Chris Whitaker (Zaffre)
THE MAN ON THE STREET, by Trevor Wood (Quercus)
The winner will be announced on the opening night of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on July 22. (June 16, 2021)
2021 McIlvanney Prize Longlist Announced
The Bloody Scotland has announced the 13 longlistees for the 2021 McIlvanney Prize (formerly the Scottish Crime Book of the Year Prize) as follows:
THE CUT, by Chris Brookmyre (Little,Brown)
THE SILENT DAUGHTER, by Emma Christie (Wellbeck)
BEFORE THE STORM, by Alex Gray (Little, Brown)
DEAD MAN'S GRAVE, by Neil Lancaster (HarperCollins, HQ)
THE COFFINMAKER'S GARDEN, by Stuart MacBride (HarperCollins)
STILL LIFE, by Val McDermid (Little,Brown)
BAD DEBT, by William McIntyre (Sandstone)
THE LESS DEAD, by Denise Mina (Vintage)
HOW TO SURVIVE EVERYTHING, by Ewan Morrison (Saraband)
EDGE OF THE GRAVE, by Robbie Morrison (Macmillan)
THE APRIL DEAD, by Alan Parks (Canongate)
HYDE, Craig Russell (Constable)
WAKING THE TIGER, by Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books)
The shortlist will be announced soon. (June 16, 2021)
2021 PWA Shamus Award Nominees Announced
The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) has announced the nominees for the 2021 Shamus Award. The nominees in the best private eye novel category are as follows:
WHAT YOU DON'T SEE, by Tracy Clark (Kensington), featuring Cass Raines
DO NO HARM, by Max Allan Collins (Tor Forge), featuring Nate Heller
BLIND VIGIL, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview), featuirng Rick Cahill
HOUSE ON FIRE, by Joseph Finder (Dutton), featuring Nick Heller
AND NOW SHE'S GONE, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Tor Forge), featuring Grayson Sykes
To see the nominees in all the categories, click here. Sorry, I don't know when or how the 2021 Shamus Award winners will be announced. Maybe in the fall? (June 02, 2021)
2021 Macavity Award Nominees Announced
The Mystery Readers International has announced the nominees for the 2021 Macavity Awards. The nominees in the best novel category are as follows:
BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN, by Caroline B. Cooney (Ecco Press)
BLACKTOP WASTELAND, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
BLIND VIGIL, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview Publishing)
ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
THESE WOMEN, by Ivy Pochoda (Poisoned Pen Press)
WHEN SHE WAS GOOD, by Michael Robotham (Scribner)
To see the nominees in all the categories, click here. The winners will be announced at opening ceremonies on Thursday, August 26 at the Bouchercon in New Orleans, Louisiana. (June 02, 2021)
Ian Rankin Wins CrimeFest Award
CrimeFest has announced the winners for the 2021 CrimeFest Awards as follows:
eDunnit Award: A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
Debut Crime Novel Award: THE MAN ON THE STREET, by Trevor Wood (Quercus)
Audible Sounds of Crime Award: THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB, by Richard Osman, and reader Lesley Manville (Viking)
Last Laugh Award: SQUEEZE ME, by Carl Hiaasen (Sphere)
H.R.F. Keating (Biographycal or Critical Book) Award: HOWDUNIT, edited by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
Best Crime Novel for Childres (aged 8-12): ANISHA, ACCIDENTAL DETECTIVE, by Serena Patel (Usborne Publishing)
Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (aged 12-16): EIGHT PIECES OF SILVA, by Patrice Lawrence (Hodder Children's Group)
The winners were announced online at www.crimefest.com and via its social media pages on June 01. (June 01, 2021)
Will Ferguson Wins CWC Award of Excellence
The Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) has announced the winners for the 2021 CWC Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing (formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards) as follows:
Best Crime Novel: THE FINDER, by Will Ferguson (Simon & Schuster Canada)
Best Crime First Novel: THE TRANSACTION, by Guglielmo D'Izza (Guernica Editions)
Best Crime Novel Set in Canada: STAY WHERE I CAN SEE YOU, by Katrina Onstad (HarperCollins)
Best Crime Novella: "Never Going Back," by Sam Wiebe (Orca Book Publishers)
Best Crime Short Story: "Cold Wave," by Marcelle Dube (in CRIME WAVE, edited by Karen L. Abrahamson; Sister in Crime/Canada West)
Best French Crime Book: La mariee de corail, by Roxanne Bouchard (Libre Expression)
Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book: RED FOX ROAD, by Frances Greenslade (Puffin Canada)
Best Nonfiction Crime Book: MISSING FROM THE VILLAGE, by Justin Ling (McClelland & Stewart)
Best Unhpublished Manuscript: THE FUTURE, by Raymond Bazowski
2021 Derrick Murdock Award recipient: Marian Misters, co-owner of Sleuth of Baker Street, a mystery bookshop in Toronto
The winners were announced across Canada on Thursday, May 27, 2021. (May 28, 2021)
Joan Schenkar Dies
Joan Schenkar died on May 05 in Paris, France. The experimental playwright first wrote TRULY WILDE (Basic Books, 2000), a biography about Dolly Wilde (1895-1941), the niece of Oscar Wilde and lover of Natalie Clifford Barney, before a large-scale biography about Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995), entitled THE TALENTED MISS HIGHSMITH: THE SECRET LIFE AND SERIOUS ART OF PATRICIA HIGHSMITH (St. Martin's, 2009). Her Highsmith bio was nominated for the 2010 Edgar Award in the bio/critical work category from the Mystery Writers of America and for the 2010 Agatha Award in the nonfiction category from Malice Domestic, and won the 2010 Lambda Literary Award. Schenkar also edited PATRICIA HIGHSMITH: SELECTED NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES (Norton, 2011). She was 78. (May 23, 2021)
Marvin Kaye Dies
Marvin Kaye died on May 13 in hospice care in New York, NY. The former Harcourt Brace Jacovich senior editor was a prolific editor and anthologist of science fiction, fantasy, horror and mystery, as well as a fiction writer and playwright. He wrote the Hilary Quaye (a public relation woman and private eye wannabe in Manhattan) series of 5 books, starting with A LIVELY GAME OF DEATH (Saturday Review Press, 1972) and ending with THE SOAP OPERA SLAUGHTERS (Doubleday, 1982). He also penned another series of two books featuring Marty Gold, a crime-prone pharmacist in Manhattan; MY SON THE DRUGGIST (1977); and MY BROTHER THE DRUGGIST(1979, both from Doubleday). He edited three Sherlockian anthologies: THE GAME IS AFOOT (1994); RESURRECTED HOLMES (1996); and THE CONFIDENTIAL CASEBOOK OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1998, all three from St. Martin's). He was also the editor of magazines such as H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror (2004-2009), Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine (2008-2013), and Weird Tales (2011-2014). He was 83. (May 22, 2021)
CWA Dagger Shortlists Announced
On May 20, The Crime Writers' Association of Britain (CWA) announced the shortlists for the 2021 Dagger Awards. The 7 shortlistees in the Gold Dagger category is as follows:
S A Cosby: Blacktop Wasteland (Headline, Headline Publishing Group)
Ben Creed: City of Ghosts (Welbeck Fiction, Welbeck Publishing Group)
Nicci French: House of Correction (Simon & Schuster)
Robert Galbraith: Troubled Blood (Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group)
Elly Griffiths: The Postscript Murders (Quercus)
Thomas Mullen: Midnight Atlanta (Little, Brown, Little, Brown Book Group)
Chris Whitaker: We Begin at the End (Zaffre, Bonnier)
To see the shortlistees in all the categories, click here.
The winners will be announced at Daggers Live!, the online CWA Dagger awards ceremony on July 01 at 7:30pm. (May 20, 2021)
Anabel Donald Dies
Anabel Donald died suddenly on March 30 in County Waterford, Ireland. The former English instructor at University of Texas at Austin wrote her first novel, HANNA AT THIRTY-FIVE (Hodder, 1984), about the life of a newly divorced woman, but it was a mainstream novel. She began to write the "Notting Hill" mystery series of 5 books, featuring Alex Tanner, a female TV researcher and part-time private eye in London, England, starting with AN UNCOMMON MURDER (Macmillan, 1992) and ending with DESTROY UNOPENED (Macmillan, 1999). Her last novel, non-mystery, was BE NICE (Jonathan Cape, 2002), a female version of LORD OF THE FLIES. She was 76. (May 15, 2021)
2021 Anthony Award Nominees Announced
Bouchercon 2021 has announced the nominees for the 2021 Anthony Awards. The nominees in the best hardcover novel are as follows:
WHAT YOU DON'T SEE, by Tracy Clark (Kensington)
BLACKTOP WASTELAND, by S.A. Cosb (Flatiron)
LITTLE SECRETS, by Jennifer HIllier (Minotaur)
AND NOW SHE'S GONE, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Forge)
THE FIRST TO LIE, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)
To see the nominees in all the categories, click here. The winners will be announced on August 28 during Bouchercon 2021 to be held in New Orleans, Louisinana from August 25 thru 29. (May 06, 2021)
Jason Matthews Dies
Jason Matthews died of corticobasal degenaration, a rare and untreatable neurodegenerative disease, on April 28 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. The retired CIA spy wrote his first novel, RED SPARROW (Scribner, 2013), introducing Dominika Egorova, a Russian agent, and Nate Nash, a CIA agent, in the tradition of John le Carre and Charles McCarry. The novel won the 2014 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers in America as well as the 2014 Thriller Award from the International Thriller Writers in the best first novel, and was turned into the 2018 spy movie of the same name starring Jennifer Lawrence with him serving as technical adviser. Mattews followed the first novel with two more Sparrow novels: PALACE OF TREASON (2015) and THE KREMLIN'S CANDIDATE (2018, both from Scribner). He was 69. (May 01, 2021)
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