The shortlists for the Anthony Awards, given annually to writers of mystery literature, were announced on Monday, with Steph Cha, Laura Lippman, Alex Segura, Angie Kim, and Lauren Wilkinson among the finalists.
Cha made the shortlist for the best novel prize for her book Your House Will Pay, which previously won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the mystery/thriller category. Also nominated in that category are Lippman for Lady in the Lake, and Segura for Miami Midnight, the final installment in the author’s series of books featuring former journalist Pete Fernandez.
The other best novel finalists are Rachel Howzell Hall’s They All Fall Down and Hank Phillippi Ryan’s The Murder List.
Kim’s Miracle Creek was named a finalist in the best first novel category; it previously won the Edgar Award for best first novel. Lauren Wilkinson’s American Spy, whose admirers include former President Obama, is also nominated for best first novel.
The other finalists for best first novel include Tori Eldridge’s The Ninja Daughter, Tara Laskowski’s One Night Gone, and John Vercher’s Three-Fifths.
The Anthony Awards are voted on by attendees of the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, more commonly known as Bouchercon, which is going virtual this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners will be announced on Oct. 17, the second and final day of the convention.
A full list of award finalists is available on the Bouchercon website.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
