Barry Awards. Mystery genre. Winners , shortlists 1997 to present. Laura Lippman, Robert Crais

Since 1997 the Barry Award, named for fan reviewer Barry Gardner, is bestowed annually at Bouchercon by fan-oriented Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine (DP). The winner receives a plaque.

Eligible books must be published in English. The British Crime Novel category requires the book to be published in Britain, and the other categories have no other restrictions. Nominations are made by DP editor/publisher George Easter with input from a panel of DP reviewers, mystery booksellers, and fans. The panel vote determines the shortlist, and the winner is chosen by DP readers. Subscribe to Deadly Pleasures Magazines

Blog: Defining Literary Crime Genres: Not So Easy To Solve

2008 Winners | 2008 Shortlists | Past Winners 1997 to 2007

2008 Winners: Laura Lippman as Predicted

what_the_dead_know_cover

October 9th Baltimore -As predicted by many, Laura Lippman's (left) What the Dead Know, has taken out this years Best Novel Award at the Barrys.

Other 2008 winners below:

2008 Best First Novel | Best British Crime | Best Thriller | Best Paperback | Short Story

2008 Barry Winners

Best Novel - What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

Thirty years ago two sisters disappeared from a shopping mall. Their bodies were never found and those familiar with the case have always been tortured by these questions: How do you kidnap two girls? Who'or what'could have lured the two sisters away from a busy mall on a Saturday afternoon without leaving behind a single clue or witness?

Now a clearly disoriented woman involved in a rush-hour hit-and-run claims to be the younger of the long-gone Bethany sisters. But her involuntary admission and subsequent attempt to stonewall investigators only deepens the mystery. Where has she been, why has she waited so long to come forward? Could her abductor truly be a beloved Baltimore cop? There isn't a shred of evidence to support her story, and every lead she gives the police seems to be another dead-end'a dying, incoherent man, a razed house, a missing grave, and a family that disintegrated long ago, torn apart not only by the crime but by the fissures the tragedy revealed in what appeared to be the perfect household.

In a story that moves back and forth across the decades, there is only one person who dares to be skeptical of a woman who wants to claim the identity of one Bethany sister without revealing the fate of the other. Will he be able to discover the truth?

2008 Best First Novel - In the Woods by Tana French in_the_woods

A gorgeously written novel that marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox — his partner and closest friend — find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Richly atmospheric, stunning in its complexity, and utterly convincing and surprising to the end, In the Woods is sure to enthrall fans of Mystic River and The Lovely Bones.

2008 Best British Crime Novel - Damnation Falls by Edward Wright

damnation_falls Randall Wilkes, his big-city journalism career in ruins, has returned after twenty years to Pilgrim’s Rest, the Tennessee hill town where he grew up. He has taken on a lucrative but low-prestige writing job for Sonny McMahan, a former governor and Randall’s boyhood friend, whose own career is under a shadow and who needs a ghost-written autobiography to ease his way back into politics. Randall encounters Faye McMahan, Sonny's mother, who is addled with age, imagining that her dead husband is alive and worrying that her son might be in danger. Hours later, amid a violent autumn storm, Randall finds Faye murdered, hanging by the neck from a bridge over the town landmark called Damnation Falls. Within days, a second murder, even more grisly than the first, targets another member of the McMahan clan. And the bones of a third, long-buried murder victim –a young woman—emerge from the earth.

Randall has ties to all the victims, and the murders force him to acknowledge debts that go back decades. Drawing on his investigative skills and his roots in the region, he sets out to discover who is behind the killings. His search takes him from the flatlands of the Mississippi delta to the Great Smoky Mountains in the east. Tennessee is a state that was split by the Civil War, where history still lies close to the surface, and tales of murder and betrayal have weighed heavily on the town of Pilgrim's Rest. Before all the answers are in, more people will die, an old score will be settled, and the dead will finally tell their stories.

the_watchman The city was hers for a single hour, just the one magic hour, only hers.

Larkin Conner Barkley lives like the City of Angels is hers for the taking. Young and staggeringly rich, she speeds through the city during its loneliest hours, blowing through red after red in her Aston Martin as if running for her life. Until out of nowhere a car appears, and with it the metal-on-metal explosion of a terrible accident. Dazed, Larkin attempts to help the other victims. And finds herself the sole witness in a secret federal investigation.

For maybe the first time in her life, Larkin wants to do the right thing. But by agreeing to cooperate with the authorities, she becomes the target for a relentless team of killers. And when the U.S. Marshals and the finest security money can buy can't protect her, Larkin's wealthy family turns to the one man money can't buy — Joe Pike.

Pike lives a world away from the palaces of Beverly Hills. He's an ex-cop, ex-Marine, ex-mercenary who owes a bad man a favor, and that favor is to keep Larkin alive. The one upside of the job is reuniting with Bud Flynn, Pike's LAPD training officer, and a man Pike reveres as a father. The downside is Larkin Barkley, who is the uncontrollable cover girl for self-destruction — and as deeply alone as Pike.

Pike commits himself to protecting the girl, but when they immediately come under fire, he realizes someone is selling them out. In defiance of Bud and the authorities, Pike drops off the grid with the girl and follows his own rules of survival: strike fast, hit hard, hunt down the hunters. With the help of private investigator Elvis Cole, Pike uncovers a web of lies and betrayals, and the stunning revelation thateven the cops are not who they seem. As the body count rises, Pike's biggest threat might come from the girl herself, a lost soul in the City of Angels, determined to destroy herself unless Joe Pike can teach her the value of life...and love.

A young woman hired to keep the books at a down-at-the-heels nightclub is taken under the wing of the infamous Gloria Denton, a mob luminary who reigned during the Golden Era of Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. Notoriously cunning and ruthless, Gloria shows her eager young protégée the ropes, ushering her into a glittering demimonde of late-night casinos, racetracks, betting parlors, inside heists, and big, big money. Suddenly, the world is at her feet — as long as she doesn't take any chances, like falling for the wrong guy. As the roulette wheel turns, both mentor and protégée scramble to stay one step ahead of their bosses and each other.

2008 Best Short Story - "The Problem of the Summer Snowman" by Edward D. Hoch (EQMM November 2007)

THE 2008 BARRY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Magazine

BEST NOVEL (Published in the U.S. in 2007)

SOUL PATCH, Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House)
THE UNQUIET, John Connolly (Atria)
DOWN RIVER, John Hart (St Martin’s Minotaur)
DIRTY MARTINI, J.A. Konrath (Hyperion)
WHAT THE DEAD KNOW, Laura Lippman (Morrow)- Winner
RED CAT, Peter Spiegelman (Knopf)

BEST FIRST NOVEL (Published in the U.S. in 2007)

MISSING WITNESS, Gordon Campbell (Morrow)
BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD, Sean Chercover (Morrow)
IN THE WOODS, Tana French (Viking)- Winner
THE SPELLMAN FILES, Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM, Matt Beynon Rees (Soho Press)
THE BLADE ITSELF, Marcus Sakey (St. Martin’s Minotaur)

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

(published in the U.K. in 2007)

not necessarily written by a British writer nor set in the U.K)

A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS, R.J. Ellory (Orion)
PIG ISLAND, Mo Hayder (Bantam Press)
ONE UNDER, Graham Hurley (Orion)
THE DEATH LIST, Paul Johnston (Mira)
THE 50/50 KILLER, Steve Mosby (Orion)
DAMNATION FALLS, Edward Wright (Orion)- Winner

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

QUEENPIN, Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster) - Winner
BLACK WIDOW AGENCY, Felicia Donovan (Midnight Ink)
CHOKE POINT, Jay MacLarty (Pocket)
THE MARK, Jason Pinter (Mira)
WASH THIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY HAND, Fred Vargas (Penguin)
WHO IS CONRAD HIRST?, Kevin Wignall (Simon & Schuster)

BEST THRILLER

NO TIME FOR GOODBYE, Linwood Barclay (Bantam)
THE CLEANER, Brett Battles (Delacorte)
THE WATCHMAN, Robert Crais (Simon & Schuster)- Winner
VOLK’S GAME, Brent Ghelfi (Henry Holt)
SILENCE, Thomas Perry (Harcourt)
MIDNIGHT RAMBLER, Jim Swain (Ballantine)

BEST SHORT STORY

Doug Allyn, "Dead As a Dog" (EQMM July 2007)

Dale C. Andrews and Kurt Sercu, "The Book Case" (EQMM May 2007)

Jon L. Breen, "The Missing Elevator Puzzle" (EQMM February 2007)

Jeffrey Deaver, "Bump" (DEAD MAN'S HAND)

Edward D. Hoch, "The Problem of the Summer Snowman" (EQMM November 2007)- Winner

Gillian Roberts, "The Old Wife's Tale" (EQMM March-April 2007)

Neil Schofield, "Murder: A User's Guibe" (AHMM July-August 2007). The word “Guibe” is not a typo.

Barry Award Winners & Shortlists 1997- 2007

2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 |

THE 2007 BARRY AWARD WINNERS

BEST NOVEL

THE NIGHT GARDENER by George Pelecanos -- Winner

WHITE SHADOW by Ace Atkins
OH DANNY BOY by Rhys Bowen
THE LAST ASSASSIN by Barry Eisler
THE PRISONER OF GUANTANAMO by Dan Fesperman
CITY OF SHADOWS by Ariana Franklin

BEST FIRST NOVEL

STILL LIFE by Louise Penny -- Winner

THE FAITHFUL SPY by Alex Berenson
SHARP OBJECTS by Gillian Flynn
THE BERLIN CONSPIRACY by Tom Gabbay
THE KING OF LIES by John Hart
A FIELD OF DARKNESS by Cornelia Read

BEST BRITISH NOVEL

PRIEST by Ken Bruen -- Winner
DYING LIGHT by Stuart MacBride
SOVEREIGN by C.J. Sansom
THE CASE OF THE MISSING BOOKS by Ian Sansom
MR. CLARINET by Nick Stone
RED SKY LAMENT by Edward Wright

BEST THRILLER

THE MESSENGER by Daniel Silva -- Winner

KILLER INSTINCT by Joe Finder
THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT by Alan Furst
RELENTLESS by Simon Kernick
COLD KILL by Stephen Leather
KILL ME by Stephen White

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

THE CLEANUP by Sean Doolittle -- Winner

BUST by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
THE LAST QUARRY by Max Allan Collins
LIVE WIRE by Jay MacLarty
DEADMAN'S POKER by Jim Swain
CROOKED by Brian Wiprud
BEST SHORT STORY

"The Right Call" by Brendan DuBois

(EQMM Sept/Oct, 2006) -- Winner

"Cain was Innocent" by Simon Brett (Thou Shalt Not Kill, published by Carroll & Graf)
"Shaping the Ends" by Judith Cutler (EQMM May, 2006)
"A Man of Taste" by Kate Ellis (EQMM Mar/Apr, 2006)
"The Flower Girl" by Paul Halter (The Night of the Wolf, published by Wildside Press)
"A Case for Inspector Ghote" by June Thomson (The Verdict of Us All, published by Crippen & Landru)

2006 Barry Awards Winners

Best Novel

RED LEAVES Thomas H. Cook -- Winner

BLOODLINES, Jan Burke

MERCY FALLS William Kent Krueger

SUDDEN DEATH David Rosenfelt

MR. LUCKY James Swain

THE POWER OF THE DOG Don Winslow

Best First Novel

COLD GRANITE Stuart McBride -- Winner

DIE A LITTLE Megan Abbott

IMMORAL Brian Freeman

BABY GAME Randall Hicks

DARK HARBOR David Hosp

Best British Novel

THE FIELD OF BLOOD Denise Mina -- Winner

BLOOD-DIMMED TIDE Rennie Airth

LIFELESS Mark Billingham

SILENCE OF THE GRAVE Arnaldur Indridason

A GOOD DAY TO DIE Simon Kernick

LOST Michael Robotham

Best Thriller

COMPANY MAN Joseph Finder -- Winner

CONSENT TO KILL Vince Flynn

THE INSIDE RING Michael Lawson

SEVEN DEADLY WONDERS Matthew Reilly

MAP OF BONES James Rollins

PRIVATE WARS Greg Rucka

Best Paperback Novel

THE JAMES DEANS Reed Farrel Coleman -- Winner

SIX BAD THINGS Charlie Huston

NIGHT'S CHILD Maureen Jennings

NOW YOU SEE ME Rochelle Krich

THE DEAD DON'T GET OUT MUCH Mary Jane Maffini

INSIDE OUT John Ramsey Miller

Best Short Story

Nancy Pickard- "There Is No Crime on Easter Island" (EQMM Sept.-Oct. 2005) -- Winner

Steve Hockensmith- "The Big Road" (AHMM May 2005)

Peter Lovesey- "Needle Match" (MURDER IS MY RACKET)

Joan Richter- "Love and Death in Africa" (EQMM January 2005)

Tom Savage- "The Method in Her Madness" (AHMM June 2005)

2005 Barry Award Winners

Best Novel Barry Award

THE ENEMY, Lee Child -- WINNER

ALONE AT NIGHT, K. J. Erickson

DARKLY, DREAMING DEXTER, Jeff Lindsay

REMEMBERING SARAH, Chris Mooney

LITTLE SCARLET, Walter Mosley

HARD REVOLUTION, George Pelecanos

Best First Novel Barry Award

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND, Carlos Ruiz Zafon -- WINNER

RELATIVE DANGER, Charles Benoit

WALKING MONEY, James O. Born

THE CORONER’S LUNCH, Colin Cotterill

SKINNY DIPPING, Claire Matturro

SOME DANGER INVOLVED, Will Thomas

Best British Crime Novel Barry Award

FLESH & BLOOD, John Harvey -- WINNER

THE BURNING GIRL, Mark Billingham

THE DRAMATIST, Ken Bruen

TOKYO (U.S. title: THE DEVIL OF NANKING), Mo Hayder

THE CRIME TRADE, Simon Kernick

FIRST DROP, Zoë Sharp

Best Paperback Original Barry Award

TAGGED FOR MURDER, Elaine Flinn -- WINNER

THE LIBRARIAN, Larry Beinhart

INTO THE WEB, Thomas H. Cook

LAST SEEN IN ABERDEEN, M.G. Kincaid

THE CONFESSION, Domenic Stansberry

TWISTED CITY, Jason Starr

Best Thriller Barry Award

RAIN STORM by Barry Eisler -- WINNER

SCARECROW by Matthew Reilly

BAGMAN by Jay MacLarty

WHIRLWIND by Joseph Garber

A DEATH IN VIENNA by Daniel Silva

PARANOIA by Joseph Finder

Best Short Story Barry Award

Edward D. Hoch "The War in Wonderland" (GREEN FOR DANGER) -- WINNER

Catherine Aird "Cold Comfort" (CHAPTER AND HEARSE AND OTHER MYSTERIES)

Melodie Johnson Howe "Facing Up" (EQMM July,2004)

John Mortimer "Rumpole and the Christmas Break" (The Strand Magazine No. XIV)

Amy Myers "Murder, the Missing Heir and the Boiled Egg" (CRIMINAL APPETITES)

Neil Schofield "Ledgers" (EQMM July, 2004)

2004 BARRY AWARD WINNERS

2004

BEST NOVEL

EVERY SECRET THING by Laura Lippman -- Winner

THE GUARDS by Ken Bruen

THE SMALL BOAT OF GREAT SORROWS by Dan Fesperman

KEEPING WATCH by Laurie R. King

SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane

FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD by Julia Spencer- Fleming

BEST FIRST MYSTERY NOVEL

MONKEEWRENCH by P. J. Tracy -- Winner

MISSION FLATS by Bill Landay

BRIDGE OF SIGHS by Olen Steinhauer

THE BARBED-WIRE KISS by Wallace Stroby

MAISIE DOBBS by Jacqueline Winspear

CLEA’S MOON by Edward Wright

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

THE DISTANT ECHO by Val McDermid -- Winner

LAZYBONES by Mark Billingham

FULL DARK HOUSE by Christopher Fowler

THE MURDER EXCHANGE by Simon Kernick

THE HOUSE SITTER by Peter Lovese

THE AMERICAN BOY (U.S. title: AN UNPAR- DONABLE CRIME) by Andrew Taylor

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

TOUGH LUCK by Jason Starr -- Winner

DEALING IN MURDER by Elaine Flinn
WISDOM OF THE BONES by Christopher Hyde

THE COURIER by Jay MacLarty (Pocket Star, $6.99)

THE SHADOW OF VENUS by Judith Van Gieson

MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS by Elaine Viets

BEST MYSTERY SHORT STORY

Robert Barnard- "Rogues' Gallery" (EQMM March 2003) -- Winner

Doug Allyn- "The Blind Pig" (EQMM May 2003)

Brendan DuBois- "Always Another War" (AHMM July-August 2003)

Clark Howard- "The Mask of Peter" (EQMM April 2003)

Donald Olson- "Rogue's Run" (EQMM April 2003)

2003 Barry Awards

Best Novel

Michael Connelly, CITY OF BONES

Lee Child, WITHOUT FAIL

Tim Cockey, THE HEARSE CASE SCENARIO

Steve Hamilton, NORTH OF NOWHERE

George Pelecanos, HELL TO PAY

S. J. Rozan, WINTER AND NIGHT

Best First Novel

Julia Spencer-Fleming, IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER

David Corbett, THE DEVIL’S REDHEAD

Pip Granger, NOT ALL TARTS ARE APPLE

Jonathon King, THE BLUE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT

Eddie Muller, THE DISTANCE

Ben Rehder, BUCK FEVER

Best British Novel

Connolly, John, THE WHITE ROAD

Mark Billingham, SCAREDY CAT

Tom Bradby, THE MASTER OF RAIN

Simon Kernick, THE BUSINESS OF DYING

Peter Lovesey, DIAMOND DUST

Ed O’Connor, THE YEARE’S MIDNIGHT

Best Paperback Original

Danielle Girard, COLD SILENCE

Jeff Abbott, BLACK JACK POINT

Robin Burcell, FATAL TRUTH

D. Daniel Judson, THE BONE ORCHARD

Anna Salter, PRISON BLUES

Brian Wiprud, PIPSQUEAK

2002 Barry Award Winners

BEST NOVEL

MYSTIC RIVER, Dennis Lehane

TELL NO ONE, Harlan Coben

DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT, Michael Connelly

PURGATORY RIDGE, William Kent Krueger

SILENT JOE, T. Jefferson Parker

RIGHT AS RAIN, George Pelecanos

BAD NEWS, Donald E. Westlake

BEST FIRST NOVEL

OPEN SEASON, C. J. Box

THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, K.J. Erickson

CHASING THE DEVIL’S TAIL, David Fulmer

PERHAPS SHE’LL DIE, M.K. Preston

BLINDSIGHTED, Karen Slaughter

BUBBLES UNBOUND, Sarah Strohmeyer

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

DANCING WITH VIRGINS, Stephen Booth

BLOOD JUNCTION, Caroline Carver

THE KILLING KIND, John Connolly

DIALOGUES OF THE DEAD, Reginald Hill

DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS, P.D. James

KILLING THE SHADOWS, Val McDermid

THE FALLS, Ian Rankin

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

KILLING GIFTS, Deborah Woodworth

RODE HARD, PUT AWAY DEAD, Sinclair Browning

DEATH IS A CABARET, Deborah Morgan

THE FOURTH WALL, Beth Saulnier

STRAW MEN, Martin J. Smith

2001 Barry Award Winners

BEST NOVEL

DEEP SOUTH, Nevada Barr

RUNNING BLIND, Lee Child

PLACES IN THE DARK, Thomas H. Cook

CROSS DRESSING by Bill Fitzhugh

WINTER OF THE WOLF MOON, Steven Hamilton

UNWANTED COMPANY, Barbara Seranella

BEST FIRST NOVEL

CONSPIRACY OF PAPER, David Liss

IN HER DEFENSE, Stephen Horn

THE ICE HARVEST, Scott Phillips

STREET LEVEL, Bob Truluck

DEATH OF A RED HEROINE, Qiu Xiaolong

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

BLACK DOG, Stephen Booth

DARK HOLLOW, John Connolly

THE BEACH ROAD, Sarah Diamond

THE CERTAINTY OF DOING EVIL, Colin Falconer

THE REAPER, Peter Lovesey

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

THE KIDNAPPING OF ROSIE DAWN, Eric Wright

DIVE DEEP AND DEADLY, Glynn Marsh Alam

DEATH DANCES TO A REGGAE BEAT, Kate Grilley

LITTLE MEXICO, Cathie John

DISTEMPER, Beth

2000 Barry Awards

Best Nove

IN A DRY SEASON, Peter Robinson

Angels Flight, Michael Connelly

L.A. Requiem, Robert Crais

High Five, Janet Evanovich

Hart's War By John Katzenbach

Prayers For Rain, Dennis Lehane

Best First Novel

MURDER WITH PEACOCKS, Donna Andrews

The Immortal Game, Mark Coggins

Lie In The Dark, Dan Fesperman

White Sky, Black Ice, Stan Jones

Every Trace, Greg Main

Best British Crime Novel

A PLACE OF EXECUTION, Val Mcdermid

River Of Darkness, Rennie Airth

Every Dead Thing, John Connolly

Rough Justice, Colin Falconer

The Chalon Heads, Barry Maitland

Best Paperback Original (tie)

EVERY MOVE SHE MAKES, Robin Burcell

AN ANTIDOTE FOR AVARICE, Caroline Roe

Them Bones, Carolyn Haines

The Hunted, Jerry Kennealy

The Last Song Dogs, Sinclair Browning

1999 Barry Awards

Best Novel (tie)

ON BEULAH HEIGHT, Reginald Hill - Winner

GONE, BABY GONE, Dennis Lehane - Winner

EVAN HELP US, Rhys Bowen

BLOOD WORK, Michael Connelly

THE COFFIN DANCER, Jeffery Deaver

JUDAS CHILD, Carol O'Connell

THE HANGING GARDEN, Ian Rankin

ALL THE DEAD LIE DOWN, Mary Willis Walker

Best First Novel

IRON LAKE, William Kent Krueger - Winner

THE CONTRARY BLUES, John Billheimer

A COLD DAY IN PARADISE, Steve Hamilton

THE DOCTOR DIGS A GRAVE, Robin Hathaway

TIDEWATER BLOOD, William Hoffman

A LIKENESS IN STONE, J. Wallis Martin

BILLY DEAD, Lisa Reardon

A CRIMINAL APPEAL, D.R. Schanker

1998 Barry Awards

Best Novel

TRUNK MUSIC, Michael Connelly - Winner

DREAMING OF THE BONES, Deborah Crombie

HOCUS, Jan Burke

A WASTELAND OF STRANGERS, Bill Pronzini

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOBBY Z, Don Winslow

NO COLDER PLACE, S.J. Rozan

CIMARRON ROSE, James Lee Burke

Best First Novel

KILLING FLOOR, Lee Child - Winner

NO HUMAN INVOLVED, Barbara Seranella

EXCEPT THE DYING, Maureen Jennings

FREE REIGN, Rosemary Aubert

FLOWER NET, Lisa See

LOS ALAMOS, Joseph Kanon

Best Paperback Original

BACKSPIN, Harlan Coben - Winner

BIG RED TEQUILA, Rick Riordan

THE SALARYMAN'S WIFE, Sujata Massey

DEAD BODY LANGUAGE, Penny Warner

1997 Barry Awards

Best Novel

BLOODHOUNDS, Peter Lovesey

HEARTS AND BONES by Margaret Lawrence

DANCE OF THE DEAD by Thomas Perry

THE WOOD BEYOND by Reginald Hill

SPEAK NO EVIL by Rochelle Krich

THE CHATHAM SCHOOL AFFAIR by Thomas H. Cook

Best First Novel

TEST OF WILLS, Charles Todd

A BROTHER'S BLOOD, Michael C. White

A KILLING IN QUAIL COUNTY, Jameson Cole

LIE DOWN WITH DOGS, Jan Gleiter

WHAT THE DEAF MUTE HEARD by G.D. Gearino

FATAL GIFT by H. Michael Frase

Best Paperback Original

WALKING RAIN, Susan Wade

THE GRASS WIDOW, Teri Holbrook

FADE AWAY, Harlan Coben

Best Non-Fiction

DETECTING WOMEN 2, Willetta L. Heising

These awards were made without any fanfare or much publicity being generated.

The next year, with more time to prepare, we printed a ballot of nominated titles and physical awards were presented to the winners at Bouchercon. And then all of a sudden people started taking notice of the Barry Awards.