Money Shot and The Cold Spot

The MWA has announced this year's Edgar Award nominees. Two of my favorite novels from 2008 are up for Best Paperback Original: Christa Faust's Money Shot and Tom Piccirilli's The Cold Spot. It would be great to see either one of them win, but I think I'll be rooting a little more for Money Shot. Angel Dare is one of the most unusual and compelling protagonists to hit the crime scene in a long while.

Congratulations to Ms. Faust, Mr. Piccirilli and all the other nominees.

The Abbott Crime Family

Patti Abbott has won a 2008 Derringer Award (in the flash fiction category) for her story "My Hero."

Megan Abbott's novel Queenpin won the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

How cool is that?

2008 Edgar Awards

The Mystery Writers of America’s 2008 Edgar Award nominees have been announced. A complete listing is available on their website, but here are the categories and nominees that interest me:

Best Novel
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
Priest by Ken Bruen
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman
Down River by John Hart
My pick: Priest by Ken Bruen

Best First Novel By An American Author
Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell
In the Woods by Tana French
Snitch Jacket by Christopher Goffard
Head Games by Craig McDonald
Pyres by Derek Nikitas
My pick: no opinion

Best Paperback Original
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
Blood of Paradise by David Corbett
Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks
Robbie's Wife by Russell Hill
Who is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall
My pick: Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks

Best Short Story
"The Catch" - Still Waters by Mark Ammons (Level Best Books)
"Blue Note" - Chicago Blues by Stuart M. Kaminsky (Bleak House Books)
"Hardly Knew Her" - Dead Man's Hand by Laura Lippman (Harcourt Trade Publishers)
"The Golden Gopher" - Los Angeles Noir by Susan Straight (Akashic Books)
"Uncle" - A Hell of a Woman by Daniel Woodrell (Busted Flush Press)
My pick: "Uncle" by Daniel Woodrell

Discuss (vermin and riff-raff, too).