The Mystery Writers of America have announced the 2017 Edgar Award nominees and special winners. The Edgars banquet—an annual black-tie gala celebrating crime fiction, non-fiction, and television writing—will be held on Thursday, April 27th, 2017 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. As always, it's a fantastic list of great work that deserves to be checked out! What have you read already?
BEST NOVEL
The Ex by Alafair Burke
Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
What Remains of Me by Alison Gaylin
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry
Dodgers by Bill Beverly
IQ by Joe Ide
The Drifter by Nicholas Petrie
Dancing with the Tiger by Lili Wright
The Lost Girls by Heather Young
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Shot in Detroit by Patricia Abbott
Come Twilight by Tyler Dilts
The 7th Canon by Robert Dugoni
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty
A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum
Heart of Stone by James W. Ziskin
BEST FACT CRIME
Morgue: A Life in Death by Dr. Vincent DiMaio & Ron Franscell
The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle that Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer
Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane: A True Story of Victorian Law and Disorder: The Unsolved Murder That Shocked Victorian England by Paul Thomas Murphy
While the City Slept: A Love Lost to Violence and a Young Man's Descent into Madness by Eli Sanders
The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer by Kate Summerscale
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd
Encyclopedia of Nordic Crime: Works and Authors of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden Since 1967 by Mitzi M. Brunsdale
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin
Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker, the Man Who Wrote Dracula by David J. Skal
BEST SHORT STORY
“Oxford Girl” – Mississippi Noir by Megan Abbott
“A Paler Shade of Death” – St. Louis Noir by Laura Benedict
“Autumn at the Automat” – In Sunlight or in Shadow by Lawrence Block
”The Music Room“ – In Sunlight or in Shadow by Stephen King
”The Crawl Space” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Joyce Carol Oates
BEST JUVENILE
Summerlost by Ally Condie
OCDaniel by Wesley King
The Bad Kid by Sarah Lariviere
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand
Framed! by James Ponti
Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry by Susan Vaught
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Three Truths and a Lie by Brent Hartinger
The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
Thieving Weasels by Billy Taylor
BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Episode 1 – From the Ashes of Tragedy” – The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Teleplay by Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski (FX Network)
“The Abominable Bride” – Sherlock, Teleplay by Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat (Hartswood Films/Masterpiece)
“Episode 1 – Dark Road” – Vera, Teleplay by Martha Hillier (Acorn TV)
“A Blade of Grass” – Penny Dreadful, Teleplay by John Logan (Showtime)
“Return 0” – Person of Interest, Teleplay by Jonathan Nolan & Denise The (CBS/Warner Brothers)
“The Bicameral Mind” – Westworld, Teleplay by Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy (HBO/Warner Bros. Television)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
“The Truth of the Moment” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by E. Gabriel Flores
GRAND MASTER
Max Allan Collins
Ellen Hart
RAVEN AWARD
Dru Ann Love
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
Neil Nyren
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER – MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
The Other Sister by Dianne Dixon
Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson
Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Blue Moon by Wendy Corsi Staub
The Shattered Tree by Charles Todd