The finalists for this year’s Arthur Ellis Awards, administered by the Crime Writers of Canada to recognize the country’s best crime writing in one French-language and seven English categories, have been announced. Digital versions of the shortlisted titles can be previewed or purchased via Kobo. The winners will be announced May 25.
Best Novel
- Kelley Armstrong, City of the Lost (Vintage Canada)
- Michael Helm, After James (McClelland & Stewart)
- Maureen Jennings, Dead Ground in Between (M&S)
- Janet Kellough, Wishful Seeing (Dundurn Press)
- Donna Morrissey, The Fortunate Brother (Viking Canada)
Best First Novel
- Ryan Aldred, Rum Luck (Five Star Publishing)
- R.M.Greenaway, Cold Girl (Dundurn)
- Mark Lisac, Where the Bodies Lie (NeWest Press)
- Amy Stuart, Still Mine (Simon & Schuster Canada)
- Elle Wild, Strange Things Done (Dundurn)
Best Novella The Lou Allin Memorial Award
- Rick Blechta, Rundown (Orca Book Publishers)
- Brenda Chapman, No Trace (Grass Roots Press)
- Jas. R. Petrin, “The Devil You Know” in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (Dell Publishing)
- Linda L. Richards, When Blood Lies (Orca)
- Peter Robinson, “The Village That Lost Its Head” in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (Dell)
Best Short Story
- Cathy Ace, “Steve’s Story” from The Whole She-Bang 3 (Toronto Sisters in Crime)
- Susan Daly, “A Death at the Parsonage” from The Whole She-Bang 3 (Toronto Sisters in Crime)
- Elizabeth Hosang, “Where There’s a Will” from The Whole She-Bang 3 (Toronto Sisters in Crime)
- Scott Mackay, “The Ascent” from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (Dell)
- David Morrell, “The Granite Kitchen” from, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (Dell)
Best Juvenile/YA Book
- Gordon Korman, Masterminds: Criminal Destiny (HarperTrophy)
- Nora McClintock, Trial by Fire (Orca)
- John Moss, The Girl in a Coma (Poisoned Pen Press)
- Caroline Pignat, Shooter (Razorbill Canada)
- Eva Wiseman, Another Me (Tundra Books)
Best Non-fiction Book
- Christie Blatchford, Life Sentence: Stories from Four Decades of Court Reporting — or, How I Fell Out of Love with the Canadian Justice System (Doubleday Canada)
- Joe Friesen, The Ballad of Danny Wolfe: Life of a Modern Outlaw (Signal)
- Jeremy Grimaldi, A Daughter’s Deadly Deception: The Jennifer Pan Story (Dundurn)
- Debra Komar, Black River Road: An Unthinkable Crime, an Unlikely Suspect, and the Question of Character (Goose Lane Editions)
- Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon, Shadow of Doubt: The Trial of Dennis Oland (Goose Lane)
Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel
- Mary Fernando, An Absence of Empathy
- S.J. Jennings, The Golkonda Project
- Charlotte Morganti, Concrete Becomes Her
- Ann Shortell, Celtic Knot
- Mark Thomas, The Last Dragon
Best Book in French
- Marie-Eve Bourassa, Red Light: Adieu, Mignonne (vlb éditeur)
- Chrystine Brouillet, Vrai ou faux (Éditions Druide)
- Guillaume Morrissette, Terreur domestique (Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur)
- Johanne Seymour, Rinzen et l’homme perdu (Expression Noire)
- Richard Ste-Marie, Le Blues des sacrifiés (Éditions Alire)