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Saturday, February 1, 2014

Edgar Award Nominees

The nominees for the 2014 Edgar Award were announced last week. We have most titles in the library and the remaining two on order. The winners will be announced on May 1st so you have lots of time to read them and decide for yourselves.

Best Novel Nominees: Most of these authors are well known but there are a few surprises. I personally loved Ordinary Grace but am willing to bet that Penny gets it.

Sandrine's Case by Thomas H. Cook. In this title a college professor falls in love with his wife all over again...while on trial for her murder.
The Humans by Matt Haig. This title mixes genres when an alien is sent to earth to erase all evidence of the solution to dangerous technology and kill anyone who has seen the proof. 
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger.  This titles picture a small town in Minnesota in 1961, a young 13 year old boy and a murder. 
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny. No nomination list would be complete without a title from her  Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. In this one, while beginning to shed light on an investigation, he is drawn into a web of murder, lies and unimaginable corruption at the heart of the city. 
Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin. John Rebus returns to investigate the disappearances of three women from the same road over ten years. 
Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy. Roy won the Edgar for Best First Novel with  Bent Road. She returns with this tale of a pair of seemingly unrelated murders which crumble the facade of a changing Detroit neighborhood.

Best First Novel By An American Author - Not sure on this one as I haven't read them all but I loved Reconstructing Amelia.

The Resurrectionist by Mathhew Guinn. A young doctor wrestles with the legacy of a slave “resurrectionist” owned by his South Carolina medical school.
Ghostman by Roger Hobbs. When a casino heist goes bad, there are a lot of loose ends to tidy up. Loose ends like a million dollars and only 48 hours to find it. The Ghostman is sent into find the money and make sure the crime isn’t connected back to his employer. Only problem is he is in the Wolf’s territory now and he wants the Ghostman’s head in a bag; if they can find him.
Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman. Brigid Quinn, is 59, a retired FBI agent who burned out after years of working undercover, disgraced because she killed an unarmed perp. She is pulled back into a case when she becomes convinced the man who confessed to the Route 66 serial killings is innocent.
Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews. A first rate spy novel featuring intelligence officer Dominika Egorova who is drafted against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress in the service and Nathaniel Nash, a first-tour CIA officer who handles the CIA’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence.
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight. 
A lawyer and single mother reconstructs her teenaged daughter's life to piece together the shocking truth about the last days of her life before she supposedly committed suicide.

Best Paperback Original - totally unsure about the winner here except it is hard to believe that they will give it to Stephen King whether he deserves it or not.

The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne. An eight-year-old boy is found dead in a playground . . . and his eleven-year-old neighbor is accused of the crime. Leading the defense is London solicitor Daniel Hunter, a champion of lost causes. This case reminds Hunter of his own childhood and past and present get mixed up in his head.
Almost Criminal by E.R. Brown. Tate MacLane, brilliant, miserable, and broke, becomes the front man for Randle Kennedy British Columbia’s most prolific producer of boutique marijuana. The necessary contacts to get the product across the border, make life difficult for Tate. Right out of the headlines.
Joe Victim by Paul Cleave. Joe Middleton has been accused of being the Christchurch Carver, a serial murderer. He can remember none of it but even more frightening is that people are trying to kill him.
Joyland by Stephen King. Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder. This King work is a coming of age tale tinged with the bittersweet tang of nostalgia and the wistful remembrances of what was and what might have been.
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood. At the age of 11, Jade Walker and Annabel Oldacre are convicted as juvenile offenders and co-conspirators in the brutal murder of a 4 year old girl (Chloe) in their community. A news story in Annabel's community brings Jade (now Kirsty Lindsay) face to face with Annabel (now Amber Gordon) and opens up a new chapter in their lives that threatens to unravel everything good they've managed to establish after their release.
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey. Nick Cooper is a 'brilliant' - someone gifted with exceptional extrasensory skills; a federal agent, Cooper's gifts render him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a 'brilliant' drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war.

OK - there you go. Match your impressions with against the Mystery Writers of America who will choose the winners.

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