Canadian author Kurt Palka’s Patient Number 7 (McClelland & Stewart) is one of five finalists for the 2012 Hammett Prize. The North American branch of the International Association of Crime Writers made the announcement on Friday.

The annual prize is awarded to the best English-language crime novel published in the U.S. and Canada. The winner will be chosen by three judges – Rob Dougherty, Janet Groth, and Edward D. Miller – and will be revealed Sept. 30 at the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association’s fall conference.

The other nominees are:

• William Landay, Defending Jacob (Delacorte/Random House)
• Jim Lynch, Truth Like the Sun (Knopf Canada)
• Howard Owen, Oregon Hill (Permanent Press)
• G. Willow Wilson, Alif the Unseen (Emblem Editions)