The Shamus Award nominations

I’ve been waiting on this all day, and finally, the annual awards given by the Private Eye Writers of America have been announced:

BEST NOVEL

Scavenger Hunt by Robert Ferrigno (Pantheon)

The Guards by Ken Bruen (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

Blood is the Sky by Steve Hamilton (Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s)

Fatal Flaw by William Lashner (William Morrow & Co.)

A Visible Darkness by Jonathon King (Dutton)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Spiked by Mark Arsenault (Poisoned Pen Press)

Black Maps by Peter Speigelman (Knopf)

Lover’s Crossing by James C. Mitchell (St. Martin’s Press)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Cold Quarry by Andy Straka (Signet)

Thicker Than Water by P.J. Parrish (Pinnacle)

Wet Debt by Richard Helms (Back Alley)

Dragonfly Bones by David Cole (Avon/HarperCollins)

BEST SHORT STORY

“Munchies,” Jack Bludis, HARDBROILED

“The Rock in the Orange Grove,” Mitch Alderman, ALFRED HITCHCOCK MYSTERY MAGAZINE

“Slayer Statute,” Janet Dawson, ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE

“Valhalla,” Doug Allyn, ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE

“Lady on Ice,” Loren D. Estleman, A HOT AND SULTRY NIGHT FOR CRIME

Congratulations to all the nominees. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony held during Bouchercon on October 8.