Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind: The Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award Nominations

Picks of the Week

Harry Dolan: Bad Things Happen
BAD THINGS HAPPEN is a nifty debut, cleverly told and unfurled from the very first line: "The shovel has to meet certain requirements" on through meeting "the man who calls himself David Loogan." There are reasons for concealment, just as there are reasons the editor of a mystery magazine bearing little resemblance to EQMM or AHMM might bring him into the fold, thus catalyzing a series of murderous events. The twists come quickly and the dialogue is sharp and if it falls apart slightly at the end, no matter - I want to read much more from Dolan from now on.
Ian MacKenzie: City of Strangers: A Novel
MacKenzie's debut novel reminded me a lot of Paul Auster's NEW YORK TRILOGY, whether it was intended or not, in terms of his choice of words, the thrust of the narrative and the existential nature of the main character (whose first name, incidentally, is Paul) caught up in a snowballing sequence of strange and violent events in and around New York City. MacKenzie straddles the line between thriller and internal examination of a man's failings, and his ability to do so establishes him as a young writer of serious talent and future.
Megan Abbott: Bury Me Deep
In a word: amazing. In more words: Megan Abbott, who has never delivered anything less than an excellent novel, exceeds expectations and takes a very bold and very necessary step forward both in the quality of the prose, the development of her characters and especially in portraying how obsession seeps into the very soul of people, transforming them into their worst nightmares all too easily. Just read this book. And then tell many others to do so as well.
Ninni Holmqvist: The Unit
Understandably, echoes of THE HANDMAID'S TALE are hard to ignore in this dystopic examination of a society where fertility is so high a priority that older, single, marginal women are shut away in secret locales to live out the rest of their lives in seemingly perfect harmony - at least, until the "donations" begin. But Holmqvist's marvelous book doesn't browbeat her thesis into the reader and smartly expands her ideas to look at the plight of all marginalized folk, women and men alike, and how the promise of comforts can be the most horrifying of all. Prepare to be disturbed, but prepare further to think about the ramifications.
Paula Froelich: Mercury in Retrograde
This is possibly the most perfect novel for today's economically challenged times. Why? Because it has plenty of glitz and glamor and blind items, as befitting a narrative by the deputy editor of Page Six, but Froelich isn't arch or snarky or acid-tongued in the slightest. Her trio of protagonists land in all manner of embarrassing situations but they aren't played for mean-spirited laughs. The New York here is something of a fantasy-land, but not so far off the mark that it's completely unbelievable. Most of all it's clear Froelich remains sincere and optimistic about her chosen city, and has retained her sense of fun. So no need to check your brain at the door, but sometimes it just needs to chill out and relax.

May 30, 2008

The Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award Nominations

Though the official announcement of all the Dagger Awards won't be made until Tuesday June 3, the Times has an exclusive preview of the world's richest crime fiction prize as given by Natasha Cooper. And the nominees are:

James Lee Burke, THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN
Colin Cotterill, THE CORONER'S LUNCH
Frances Fyfield, BLOOD FROM STONE
Steve Hamilton, NIGHT WORK
Laura Lippman, WHAT THE DEAD KNOW
R.N. Morris, A VENGEFUL LONGING

The winner of the award - netting a cool 20,000 pounds - will be announced on July 10.

Posted at 07:30 PM in World of Mystery | Permalink

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Comments

Ooh, close call between Laura Lipmann's and Tin Roof Blowdown.

I'd go with Burke's.

Posted by: Cameron Hughes | May 30, 2008 at 10:24 PM

I consistently fail to understand the CWA's incessant shortlisting of Frances Fyfield...

Posted by: Fiona | May 31, 2008 at 04:49 AM

I think the richest crime fiction prize by far is Spain's Premio de Novela Negra RBA. It awards the winner 125,000 euros.

Posted by: Gonzalo B | May 31, 2008 at 10:17 AM

i consistently fail to understand the CWA's incessant shortlisting of James Lee Burke, one of the most overrated crime writers. Frances Fyfield is an excellent writer, her books are witty and quirky.

Posted by: Bastian | June 01, 2008 at 06:01 AM

They're just following the lead of the Gumshoe Awards, which honored JL Burke earlier this year.

Posted by: David J. Montgomery | June 01, 2008 at 10:09 AM

I consistently fail to understand the CWA's incessant shortlisting of James Lee Burke. Also. I think his prose is puffy and overrated and he can't write a straight plot to save his life. But I'm outnumbered by such a vast, vast majority that I accept that it's probably my own failing, not his, and that I'm wrong. I'm quite ok with it.

Posted by: Fiona | June 01, 2008 at 06:21 PM

p.s.... I find it very amusing that now they've manhandled the translated novels into an award of their own, the shortlist is significantly American!

Posted by: Fiona | June 01, 2008 at 06:25 PM

In every Burke's book, the hero always know the villain from his childhood times. Also there are too many subplots that make each book confusing and almost unreadable. How can CWA shorlists a writer who use the same formula again and again?

Posted by: Bastian | June 01, 2008 at 08:05 PM

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