Mystery Writers of America announced the nominees for the 2020 Edgar Allan Poe Awards on January 22. The award honors the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2019.
The Edgar® Awards will be presented on April 30 in New York City.
BEST NOVEL
- Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
- The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- The River by Peter Heller (Penguin Random House – Alfred A. Knopf)
- Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus Books)
- Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
- My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
- Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (Farrar Straus and Giroux)
- The Good Detective by John McMahon (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
- The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott (Penguin Random House – Alfred A. Knopf)
- Three-Fifths by John Vercher (Polis Books – Agora Books)
- American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (Penguin Random House – Random House)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
- Dread of Winter by Susan Alice Bickford (Kensington Publishing)
- Freedom Road by William Lashner (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
- Blood Relations by Jonathan Moore (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Mariner Books)
- February’s Son by Alan Parks (Europa Editions – World Noir)
- The Hotel Neversink by Adam O’Fallon Price (Tin House Books)
- The Bird Boys by Lisa Sandlin (Cinco Puntos Press)
BEST FACT CRIME
- The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder that Shocked Jazz-Age America by Karen Abbott (Penguin Random House – Crown)
- The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
- American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan (Penguin Random House – Viking)
- Norco ’80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History by Peter Houlahan (Counterpoint Press)
- Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin (Counterpoint Press)
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
- Hitchcock and the Censors by John Billheimer (University Press of Kentucky)
- Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan by Ursula Buchan (Bloomsbury Publishing)
- The Hooded Gunman: An Illustrated History of Collins Crime Club by John Curran (Collins Crime Club)
- Medieval Crime Fiction: A Critical Overview by Anne McKendry (McFarland)
- The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton (Hachette Book Group – Basic Books)
BEST SHORT STORY
- “Turistas,” from Paque Tu Lo Sepas by Hector Acosta (Down & Out Books)
- “One of These Nights,” from Cutting Edge: New Stories of Mystery and Crime by Women Writers by Livia Llewellyn (Akashic Books)
- “The Passenger,” from Sydney Noir by Kirsten Tranter (Akashic Books)
- “Home at Last,” from Die Behind the Wheel: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Steely Dan by Sam Wiebe (Down & Out Books)
- “Brother’s Keeper,” from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Dave Zeltserman (Dell Magazine)
BEST JUVENILE
- The Collected Works of Gretchen Oyster by Cary Fagan (Penguin Random House Canada – Tundra Books
- Eventown by Corey Ann Haydu (HarperCollins Children’s Books – Katherine Tegen Books)
- The Whispers by Greg Howard (Penguin Young Readers – G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR)
- All the Greys on Greene Street by Laura Tucker (Penguin Young Readers – Viking BFYR)
- Me and Sam-Sam Handle the Apocalypse by Susan Vaught (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books – Paula Wiseman Books)
BEST YOUNG ADULT
- Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer (Tom Doherty Associates – Tor Teen)
- Killing November by Adriana Mather (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)
- Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (Penguin Young Readers – Kokila)
- The Deceivers by Kristen Simmons (Tom Doherty Associates – Tor Teen)
- Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas (Bloomsbury Publishing)
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
- “Season 5, Episode 3” – Line of Duty, Teleplay by Jed Mercurio (Acorn TV)
- “Season 5, Episode 4” – Line of Duty, Teleplay by Jed Mercurio (Acorn TV)
- “Episode 1” – Dublin Murders, Teleplay by Sarah Phelps (STARZ)
- “Episode 1” – Manhunt, Teleplay by Ed Whitmore (Acorn TV)
- “Episode 1” – Wisting, Teleplay by Katherine Valen Zeiner & Trygve Allister Diesen (Sundance Now)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
- “There’s a Riot Goin’ On,” from Milwaukee Noir by Derrick Harriell (Akashic Books)
* * * * * *
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
- The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
- One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Harlequin – Graydon House)
- Strangers at the Gate by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books)
- Where the Missing Go by Emma Rowley (Kensington Publishing)
- The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Tom Doherty Associates – Forge Books)
* * * * * *
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
- Shamed by Linda Castillo (Minotaur Books)
- Borrowed Time by Tracy Clark ( Kensington Publishing)
- The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill (Kensington Publishing)
- The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)
- The Alchemist’s Illusion by Gigi Pandian (Midnight Ink)
- Girl Gone Missing by Marcie R. Rendon (Cincos Puntos Press)