Best First Novel and Unhanged Arthur always peak my interest

While travelling the CWC (Crime Writers of Canada) released its shortlist for the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards given for “excellence in Canadian crime writing.”

We have to wait until May 28^th to find out the winners so here is the list so you can cross-fingers for your favourite author. It’s also a good TBR (To Be Read) list:

Best Novel:

• Cold Mourning, by Brenda Chapman (Dundurn Press)
• None So Blind, by Barbara Fradkin (Dundurn Press)
• Plague, by C.C. Humphreys (Doubleday Canada)
• No Known Grave, by Maureen Jennings (McClelland & Stewart)
• Killing Pilgrim, by Alen Mattich (House of Anansi)

Best First Novel:

• A Quiet Kill, by Janet Brons (Touchwood)
• Siege of Bitterns, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn Press)
• Windigo Fire, by M.H. Callway (Seraphim)
• No Worst, There Is None, by Eve McBride (Dundurn Press)
• Last of the Independents, by Sam Wiebe (Dundurn Press)

Unhanged Arthur (for best unpublished first crime novel):

• Rum Luck, by Ryan Aldred
• Full Curl, by Dave Butler
• Crisis Point, by Dwayne Clayden
• Afghan Redemption, by Bill Prentice
• Strange Things Done, by Elle Wil

Best Non-fiction Book:

• Being Uncle Charlie, by Bob Deasy, with Mark Ebner (Penguin Random House)
• The Massey Murder, by Charlotte Gray (HarperCollins)
• Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry, by Joan McEwen (Heritage House)
• Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller, and the Revolution in Online Gambling, by Bill Reynolds (ECW Press)
• Extreme Mean, by Paula Todd (McClelland & Stewart)

Best Novella:

• The Boom Room, by Rick Blechta (Orca)
• Juba Good, by Vicki Delany (Orca)
• The Dragon Head of Hong Kong, by Ian Hamilton (House of Anansi)
• A Knock on the Door, by Jas. R. Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2014)

Best Short Story:

• “Stone Mattress,” by Margaret Atwood (from Stone Mattress: Nine Stories, by Margaret Atwood; McClelland & Stewart)
• “Hook, Line and Sinker,” by Melodie Campbell (NorthWord)
• “Therapy,” by Peter Clement (Belgrave House)
• “First Impressions,” by Madona Skaff (from The Whole She-Bang 2: 24 Stories by Sisters in Crime Canada, edited by Janet Costello; Toronto Sisters in Crime)
• “Writers Block,” by Kevin P. Thornton (from World Enough and Crime, edited by Donna Carrick; Carrick Publishing)

Best Book in French:

• Jack: Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, by Hervé Gagnon (Expression noir/Groupe librex)
• Bondrée, by Andrée Michaud (Editions Québec Amérique)
• Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux, by Maryse Rouy (Édition Druide)
• Repentirs, by Richard Ste Marie (Alire)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult Book:

• Face-Off, by Michael Betcherman (Penguin Canada)
• Dead Man’s Switch, by Sigmund Brouwer (Harvest House)
• The Voice Inside My Head, by S.J. Laidlaw (Tundra)
• About That Night, by Norah McClintock (Orca)
• The Bodies We Wear, by Jeyn Roberts (Knopf Books for Young Readers)