Canada Calling: Arthur Ellis Shortlists Announced

It’s springtime in Canada and you know what that means. Maple syrup. Hockey playoffs. And the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis shortlist, which was announced on Thursday.

Winners will be announced on May 31, in Toronto. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Crime Writers of Canada, so it will be especially sweet.

Check out the CWC site for more information on the May 31 event and the books on the shortlist. http://crimewriterscanada.com/

Here’s your chance to get started on reading some great Canadian crime books. Except for the Unhanged Novels, which are, so far, unpublished. Chances are that will change soon.

The shortlists are

Best Crime Novel

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny, St. Martin’s Press

Before the Poison by Peter Robinson, McClelland and Stewart

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley, Doubleday Canada

I'll See you in My Dreams by William Deverell, McClelland and Stewart

The Guilty Plea by Robert Rotenberg, Simon&Schuster

Best First Novel

The Man Who Killed by Fraser Nixon, Douglas & McIntrye

The Survivor by Sean Slater, Simon&Schuster

The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton, House of Anansi Press Inc.

Tight Corner by Roger White, BPS Books

Watching Jeopardy by Norm Foster, XLibris

Best Crime Book in French

La chorale du diable by Martin Michaud, Les Editions Guélette

Pour Ne Pas Mourir ce soir by Guillaume Lapierre-Desnoyers, Lévesque Éditeur

Pwazon by Diane Vincent, Editors Triptyque

Best Juvenile or Young Adult Crime Book

Blink & Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones, Candlewick Press

Charlie's Key by Rob Mills, Orca Book Publishers

Empire of Ruins by Arthur Slade, HarperCollins Publishers

Held by Edeet Ravel, Annick Press

Missing by Becky Citra, Orca Book Publishers

Best Crime Nonfiction

A Season in Hell by Robert Fowler, Harper Collins

Hot Art: Chasing Thieves and Detectives Through the Secret World of Stolen Art by Joshua Knelman, Douglas& McIntyre

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Steven Laffoley, Pottersfield

The Pirates of Somalia by Jay Bahader, Harper Collins

The Weasel: A Double Life in the Mob by Adrian Humphreys, Wiley

Best Crime Short Story

A New Pair of Pants by Jas. R. Petrin, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

Beer Money by Shane Nelson, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The Girl with the Golden Hair by Scott Mackay, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The Perfect Mark by Melodie Campbell, Flash Fiction Magazine

What Kelly Did by Catherine Astolfo, North Word Magazine

Best Unpublished First Novel - “Unhanged Arthur”

Gunning for Bear by Madeleine Harris-Callway

Last of the Independents by Sam Wiebe

Snake in the Snow by William Bonnell

The Rhymester by Valerie A. Drego

Too Far to Fall by Shane Sawyer