I Love a Good Mystery

Amazon's Distribution Centre Coming to Canada

It's safe to say that many online book shoppers in Canada already know of and use amazon.ca, but the company has just been given approval to open up a Canadian distribution centre. The reactions seem to be mixed. 

I can see both positives (competition, improved access to products) and negatives (impact on small independent retailers, foreign ownership), but as a budget-conscious pathological book buyer who strongly believes in promoting Canadian businesses, artists, etc., I'm torn.  I guess only time will show what real impact this will have on Canadians.

Canada Reads - Book Selections

The books have just been announced for this year's Canada Reads, and they are:

GOOD TO A FAULT by Marina Endicott

NIKOLSKI by Nicolas Dickner

GENERATION X: TALES FOR AN ACCELERATED CULTURE by Douglas Coupland

THE JADE PEONY by Wayson Choy

FALL ON YOUR KNEES by Ann-Marie MacDonald

I haven't read any of these books (yet), and believe I only have the Douglas Coupland book somewhere on my bookshelves.  Interesting choices...

A little background (from the official site):

"Canada Reads celebrates five Canadian books for three months online, at public events and on air. It all leads up to a week-long show hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. In this annual title fight, five celebrity panelists defend their favourite work of Canadian fiction. One by one, books are voted off the list, until one panelist triumphs with the book for Canada to read this year.

The half-hour debates will air on CBC Radio One from March 8 to March 12, 2010, at 11:30 am and 7:30 pm (3:30 pm and 8 pm in Newfoundland). The program will also air on CBC's digital channel Bold from March 8 to 12 at 6:00 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. NT, 3:00 p.m. PT) and on Sirius 137 on the same dates at 6:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET; it will also be available online and via podcast."

R.I.P. Tony Hillerman and Elaine Flinn

Most people have heard the sad news that Tony Hillerman passed away on Sunday. Now more sad news...author Elaine Flinn passed away from pneumonia (cancer complication) on Saturday.

I had the privilege of meeting Elaine Flinn on a number of occasions at mystery events.  She was always friendly and had a great sense of humour.  She'll be missed.

Elaine Flinn shows Ann Cornellier (left) and Pari Noskin Taichert (right) her Barry Award (Bouchercon, 2005)

BUSTed Again

From the good news department...I just heard that Ken Bruen and Jason Starr are planning to write a sequel to their recently released novel, BUST. 

Booklist - Year's Best Crime Novels

Booklist Online presents its list of Top Ten Crime Novels, and they are:

1. BLACK FLY SEASON by Giles Blunt
2. BLOOD OF ANGELS by Reed Arvin
3. CITY OF TINY LIGHTS by Patrick Neate
4. CRIPPLE CREEK by James Sallis
5. DEAD GAME by Kirk Russell
6. DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY by Craig Johnson
7. FIELD OF DARKNESS by Cornelia Read
8. OUT OF RANGE by C.J. Box
9. THE PROP by Pete Hautman
10. THE SACRED CUT by David Hewson

Hmm...I have a few of these on the TBR pile, but I haven't actually read any of them.

The site also books by James Lee Burke, M.C. Beaton, Bill James, Lee Child, P.D. James and Laurie R. King as the 6 Best New Installments in Long-Running Series. 

Newcomers aren't left out, however. The 6 Best Crime Novel Debuts listed are:

1. THE BEST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO A CROISSANT by Pablo Tusset
2. COLD GRANITE by Stuart MacBride
3. FIELD OF DARKNESS by Cornelia Read
4. THE ROGUES' GAME by Milton T. Burton
5. SPEAK OF THE DEVIL by Richard Hawke*
6. THE TRAVELER by John Twelve Hawks

(*SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is a questionable pick since Richard Hawke is a pseudonym for an already published author.)

Edgar Awards

Congratulations to the Edgar Award Winners (see a full list of nominees here):

BEST NOVEL
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Regan Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Officer Down by Theresa Schwegel (St. Martin's Minotaur)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford (Dark Alley)

BEST FACT CRIME
Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece by Edward Dolnick (Harper Collins)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak (Harcourt)

BEST SHORT STORY
"The Catch" - Greatest Hits by James W. Hall (Carroll & Graf)

BEST CHILDRENS
The Boys of San Joaquin by D. James Smith (Simon & Schuster Children's Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Last Shot by John Feinstein (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

BEST PLAY
Matter of Intent by Gary Earl Ross (Theater Loft)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
Sea of Souls - "Amulet", Teleplay by Ed Whitmore

BEST MOTION PICTURE SCREENPLAY
Syriana - Screenplay by Stephen Gaghan, based on the book by Robert Baer (Warner Brothers)

Personally, I was surprised by a number of the winners...but it can be tough to judge or predict unless you've read all the nominated work (which I hadn't).

Movie News - Lippman and Connolly

Some interesting movie news...

• Actress Frances McDormand has optioned the rights to Laura Lippman's fantastic novel, Every Secret Thing.

• Screenwriter Steve Susco will be adapting John Connolly's Bad Men for Sobini Films.

Gimme Some Skin!

A 300 year old ledger, bound in human skin, has been found in a Leeds (UK) road.  Police are trying to track down the owner.

In the 18th and 19th Centuries it was common to bind accounts of murder trials in the killer's skin - known as anthropodermic bibliopegy.

Ewww...

Lefty, Bruce & Agatha

Lefty Award (best humourous novel published in the English language for the first time in 2005) nominees:
CUE THE EASTER BUNNY, by Liz Evans  (Orion, UK)
THE BIG OVER EASY, by Jasper Fforde (Hodder & Stoughton, UK) 
HIGHWAY 61 RESURFACED, by Bill Fitzhugh (Morrow, US)
CAST ADRIFT, by  Peter Guttridge (Allison & Busby, UK)
FAGS AND LAGER, by Charlie  Williams (Serpent's Tail, UK)

Bruce Alexander Award (best historical novel published in 2005) nominees:
SPECTRES IN THE SMOKE, by Tony Broadbent  (St. Martin's, US)
NIGHT'S CHILD, by Maureen Jennings (McCelland &  Stewart, Canada)
PARDONABLE LIES, by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt, US)

These awards will be handed out next week at the Left Coast Crime convention in Bristol, UK.

Agatha Award for Best Novel (cozy published in 2005) nominees:
OWLS WELL THAT ENDS WELL, by Donna Andrews (St. Martin's Minotaur)
PARDONABLE LIES, by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt)
RITUALS OF THE SEASON, by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
THE BELEN HITCH, by Pari Noskin Taichert (University of New Mexico Press)
THE BODY IN THE SNOWDRIFT, by Katherine Hall Page (Morrow)
TROUBLE IN SPADES, by Heather Webber (Avon/HarperCollins)

Agatha Award for Best First Novel (cozy published in 2005) nominees:
BETTER OFF WED by Laura Durham (HarperCollins)
BLOOD RELATIONS by Lisa Tillman (Hilliard & Harris)
JURY OF ONE by Laura Bradford (Hilliard & Harris)
KNIT ONE, KILL TWO by Maggie Sefton (Penguin)
WITCH WAY TO MURDER by Shirley Damsgaard (Avon/HarperCollins)

The winners will be announced at next month's Malice Domestic convention.

Edgar Nominees

The nominees for the 2006 Edgar Awards have been announced - congrats to all the nominees!

After browsing the list of submissions, I put together my own list of 5 Best Novel nominees based on the books I've read and thoroughly enjoyed.

Tania's 2006 Edgar Nominees (in random order):

1. BROKEN PREY by John Sandford
2. COLD GRANITE by Stuart MacBride
3. STRANGE AFFAIR by Peter Robinson
4. DEARLY DEVOTED DEXTER by Jeff Lindsay
5. THE WHEELMAN by Duane Swierczynski

I own copies of 4 of the 5 nominated books in the Best Paperback Original category, but have not read them yet.  Time to get reading...