The finalists for this year’s Anthony Awards have been announced, and I’m thrilled and humbled to have received two Anthony nominations. On the Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories has been named a finalist for Best First Novel, and Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015 is competing for Best Anthology or Collection—and I’m particularly proud to share that latter honor with all the terrific contributors to that book, a stellar group of writers including J.L. Abramo, J.D. Allen, Lori Armstrong, Rob Brunet, P.A. De Voe, Sean Doolittle, Tom Franklin, Toni Goodyear, Kristin Kisska, Robert Lopresti, Robert Mangeot, Margaret Maron, Kathleen Mix, Britni Patterson, Karen Pullen, Ron Rash, Karen E. Salyer, Sarah Shaber, Zoë Sharp, B.K. Stevens and Graham Wynd.
Below is the complete list of finalists—with many friends throughout the list. Congratulations to all, and look forward to seeing everyone in New Orleans for this year’s Bouchercon!
BEST NOVEL
- Night Tremors – Matt Coyle [Oceanview]
- The Killing Kind – Chris Holm [Mulholland]
- The Child Garden – Catriona McPherson [Midnight Ink]
- The Nature of the Beast – Louise Penny [Minotaur/Sphere]
- What You See – Hank Phillippi Ryan [Forge]
BEST FIRST NOVEL
- Concrete Angel – Patricia Abbott [Polis]
- Past Crimes – Glen Erik Hamilton [William Morrow]
- New Yorked – Rob Hart [Polis]
- Bull Mountain – Brian Panowich [G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Head of Zeus]
- On the Road with Del & Louise – Art Taylor [Henery]
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
- The Long and Faraway Gone – Lou Berney [William Morrow]
- Gun Street Girl – Adrian McKinty [Seventh Street/Serpent’s Tail]
- Little Pretty Things – Lori Rader-Day [Seventh Street]
- Young Americans – Josh Stallings [Heist]
- Stone Cold Dead – James W. Ziskin [Seventh Street]
BEST CRITICAL OR NONFICTION BOOK
- The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story – Martin Edwards [HarperCollins]
- Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald – Suzanne Marrs & Tom Nolan, editors [Arcade]
- Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell Us About Crime – Val McDermid [Grove]
- The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett – Nathan Ward [Bloomsbury USA]
- The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For – Kate White, editor [Quirk]
BEST SHORT STORY
- “The Little Men: A Bibliomystery” – Megan Abbott [MysteriousPress.com/Open Road]
- “The Siege” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec 2015 – Hilary Davidson [Dell]
- “Feliz Navidead” Thuglit Presents: Cruel Yule – Brace Godfrey/Johnny Shaw [CreateSpace]
- “Old Hands” Dark City Lights – Erin Mitchell [Three Rooms]
- “Quack and Dwight” Jewish Noir – Travis Richardson [PM]
- “Don’t Fear the Ripper” Protectors 2: Heroes – Holly West [Goombah Gumbo]
BEST ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION
- Safe Inside the Violence – Christopher Irvin [280 Steps]
- Protectors 2: Heroes-Stories to Benefit PROTECT – Thomas Pluck, editor [Goombah Gumbo]
- Thuglit Presents: Cruel Yule: Holiday Tales of Crime for People on the Naughty List – Todd Robinson, editor [CreateSpace]
- Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015 – Art Taylor, editor [Down & Out]
- Jewish Noir: Contemporary Tales of Crime and Other Dark Deeds – Kenneth Wishnia, editor [PM]
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
- Need – Joelle Charbonneau [HMH Books for Young Readers]
- How to Win at High School – Owen Matthews [HarperTeen]
- A Madness So Discreet – Mindy McGinnis [Katherine Tegen]
- The Sin Eater’s Daughter – Melinda Salisbury [Scholastic]
- Fighting Chance – B.K. Stevens [The Poisoned Pencil]
- Ask the Dark – Henry Turner [Clarion]
BEST CRIME FICTION AUDIOBOOK
- Dark Waters – Chris Goff – Assaf Cohen, narrator [Crooked Lane]
- The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins – Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey & India Fisher, narrators [Penguin Audio/Random House Audiobooks]
- Causing Chaos – Deborah J. Ledford – Christina Cox, narrator [IOF Productions]
- The Nature of the Beast – Louise Penny – Robert Bathurst, narrator [Macmillan Audio]
- Young Americans – Josh Stallings – Em Eldridge, narrator [Josh Stallings]