Book Notes — Best Mystery/Crime novels of the New Century, Updated for 2013

Louise Penny, 2013 Macavity and Anthony for The Beautiful Mystery

Each year there are hundreds of awards given for mystery-related writing.  What follows is a list of awards for the top award  (“best novel” of the year) as determined by the genre’s most established award givers — Mystery Writers of America (The Edgar and Anthony),  Private Eye Writers of America (The Shamus), Mystery Readers International (The Macavity) and the comprehensive mystery review quarterly, Deadly Pleasures (The Barry).

Congratulations to all the 2013 winners and to all of the nominees. Check the organizations’ web sites for best first novels, best short stories and other outstanding accomplishments by today’s crime writers. 

2000   Jan Burke, Bones, Edgar

            Don Winslow, California Fire and Life, Shamus

            Peter Robinson, In a Dry Season, Anthony

            Sujata Massey, The Flower Master, Macavity

            Peter Robinson, In a Dry Season, Barry

2001   Joe R. Lansdale, The Bottoms, Edgar

           Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Havana Heat, Shamus

           Val McDermid, A Place of Execution, Anthony

Val McDermid, A Place of Execution, Macavity

Nevada Barr Deep South, Barry

2002   T. Jefferson Parker, California Girl, Edgar

            S. J. Rozan, Reflecting the Sky, Shamus

            Dennis Lehane, Mystic River, Anthony

            Laurie R. King, Folly, Macavity

            Dennis Lehane, Mystic River, Barry

2003   S. J. Rozan, Winter and Night, Edgar

            James W. Hall, Blackwater Sound, Shamus

            Michael Connelly, City of Bones, Anthony

            S.J. Rozan, Winter and Night, Macavity

            Michael Connelly, City of Bones, Barry

2004   Ian Rankin, Resurrection Men, Edgar

            Ken Bruen, The Guards, Shamus

            Laura Lippman, Every Secret Thing, Anthony

            Peter Lovesey, The House Sitter, Macavity

            Laura Lippman, Every Secret Thing, Barry

2005   T. Jefferson Parker, California Girl, Edgar

            Ed Wright, While I Disappear, Shamus

            William Kent Krueger, Blood Hollow, Anthony

            Ken Bruen, The Killing of the Tinkers, Macavity

            Lee Child, The Enemy, Barry

2006   Jess Walter, Citizen Vince, Edgar

            Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer, Shamus

            William Kent Krueger, Mercy Falls, Anthony

            Michael Connelly, The Lincoln Lawyer, Macavity

            Thomas H. Cook, Red Leaves, Barry

2007   Jason Goodwin, The Janissary Tree, Edgar

            Ken Bruen, The Dramatist, Shamus

            Laura Lippman, No Good Deeds, Anthony

            Nancy Pickard, The Virgin of Small Plains, Macavity

            George Pelecanos, The Night Gardener, Barry

2008   John Hart, Down River, Edgar

            Reed Farrel Coleman, Soul Patch, Shamus

            Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know, Anthony

            Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know, Macavity

            Laura Lippman, What the Dead Know, Barry

2009   C. J. Box, Blue Heaven, Edgar

            Reed Farrel Coleman, Empty Ever After, Shamus

            Michael Connelly, The Brass Verdict, Anthony

            Deborah Crombie, Where Memories Lie, Macavity

            Arnaldur Indridason, The Draining Lake, Barry

2010   John Hart, The Last Child, Edgar

            Marcia Muller, Locked In, Shamus

            Louise Penny, The Brutal Telling, Anthony

            John Hart, The Last Child, Macavity

            John Hart, The Last Child, Barry

2011   Steve Hamilton, The Lock Artist, Edgar

            Lori Armstrong, No Merci, Shamus

            Louise Penny, Bury Your Dead, Anthony

            Louise Penny, Bury Your Dead, Macavity

            Steven Hamilton, The Lock Artist, Barry

2012   Mo Hayder, Gone, Edgar

           Michael Wiley, A Bad Night's Sleep, Shamus

           Louise Penny, A Trick of the Light, Anthony

           Susan Gran, Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, Macavity

           Jussi Adler Olsen, The Keeper of Lost Causes, Barry

   

2013   Dennis Lehane, Live By Night, Edgar

            Robert Crais, Taken, Shamus

Louise Penny, The Beautiful Mystery, Anthony

            Louise Penny, The Beautiful Mystery, Macavity

Peter May, The Blackhouse, Barry

On Writing — When Secondary Characters Want More

I don’t pay attention to trends in crime writing.  I figure that by the time I’d finish writing a book in concert with what was popular when I began, the hordes of readers who appreciated the trend will have moved on to the next one.  The truth is I’m still writing private eye novels, which proves how disconnected I am to pop culture.  But I’ve read recently that one current trend is to have mysteries with characters who may play a minor role in one book take the central role in the next.  This creates a blend of the series approach to writing with that of standalones, or one-offs as some call them.  The benefit for the reader and writer is continuing to visit old friends, while also infusing a large measure of freshness. Not a bad idea.  And while it is not a new approach, it is heartening that we’re looking at structure and technique rather than something more ephemeral, such as introducing angels or vampires.

Louise Penny. It takes a village.

I’ve not done that exactly.  But I’ve had secondary characters steal the limelight from the intended principals.  For example, I’ve had a number of readers suggest that if something should ever happen to aging private eye Deets Shanahan, protagonist of 10 of my novels, his girlfriend, Maureen, could take over all the private investigating and all novels after the old man’s demise.  In fact, some readers went further.  They suggested I take Shanahan out next time around, leaving Maureen to find out who did it.  I’m glad they like her, but her rapid ascension wasn’t anticipated. And I have a soft spot for the septuagenarian, especially as I approach the category.

This kind of pleasant surprise turned out to be true of the second series, too.  Two private investigators —highly professional Carly Paladino and street-wise Noah Lang —anchor the San Francisco mysteries. However it is clear to me that Thanh, a smart, unconventional gender-bending assistant to the firm and SFPD Homicide Inspector Vincente Gratelli, the veteran, world-weary widower are just as, if not more, popular with readers.  

Oddly enough, Thanh’s story was told in Mascara, Death in the Tenderloin.  That short novel not only preceded the Paladino and Lang books, it was the backstory for all the books in the series.  And Gratelli was a major player in my unrelated mystery Good To The Last Kiss before becoming a regular in each of the Paladino-Lang stories.   In all cases these “supporting” players made the books better. Their prior and independent appearances, I believe, provide additional depth not only to their character but to the subsequent books in which they appear. 

What am I trying to say?  That I understand the appeal of an interlocking cast. Those trend-setting or trend-following writers may be onto something when they revisit and expand the roles of minor characters, especially those who show promise.  It is a form of repertory, not of actors, in this case, but of characters. 

Secondary Character — William H. Macy is Lincoln Lawyer's P.I.

This isn’t new, of course. For example, Michael Connelly has cross-pollinated his protagonists.  Tormented cop Harry Bosch has worked cases with Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller and former FBI agent Terry McCaleb — all leading men.  However, in this case, a better example of tis particular trend might be Louise Penny who has focused on the potential contribution of a realistic, yet conveniently captive, supporting cast.  She has exploited the benefits of murder in a tiny village, where all the minor characters know each other — and there are plenty of them — and MUST reappear from book to book, climbing into or shrinking from the limelight, depending on the story. Though Penny appears to be more in tune with the current trend, Connelly has nothing to worry about.  Between the two of them, they are the bestseller list.  For good reason.  Even so I’m still pissed that Connelly whacked the Lincoln Lawyer’s P.I., a great secondary chararacter.

In the end, though, a trend is a trend.  I don’t believe one writes to a trend successfully, nor starts one intentionally.  It’s serendipity. And once established, good writers are trend resistant. For the new and struggling it’s not quite the same. One must deal with publishers and agents who are dazzled, if not outright hypnotized by the most recent fashion turn in mysteries.

In my case, would it help if I explained that I’m one-eighth Norwegian?