The Mystery Writers of America announced the finalists for the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, given to “the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2024.”
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore made the shortlist for the best novel prize, along with The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett, Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco, Things Don’t Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell, and My Favorite Scar, written by Nicolás Ferraro and translated by Mallory N. Craig-Kuhn.
The finalists in the category of best first novel by an American author are Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton, Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda, The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee, A Jewel in the Crown by David Lewis, The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins, and Holy City by Henry Wise.
Making the shortlist in the young adult category were Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell, The Bitter End by Alexa Donne, A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur, Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson, and 49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards.
The winners of this year’s awards will be announced at a ceremony in New York on May 1. A full list of the finalists is available at the MWA website.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
