Tonight, the Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 2019 Edgar Awards, honoring the very best of the crime and mystery world at a ceremony in midtown Manhattan. This year’s gathering was the 73rd Annual Gala Banquet, with festivities hosted by the MWA and emceed by the one-and-only, incoming MWA President, Meg Gardiner. Past Edgar winners include Margaret Millar, Raymond Chandler, John le Carré, Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, and many more of the legendary authors working in the field. In recent years, top prizes were taken home by Attica Locke, Noah Hawley, and Lori Roy.
Throughout the week, we’ve been discussing the biggest issues facing the crime and mystery community today as part of our “The State of the Mystery” roundtable: Part I and Part II. Now, we’re celebrating all the 2019 winners and nominees. Congratulations to the authors on their deserving work. Readers, if you don’t have their books and stories already, here’s a reminder: get to it!
The winners of the 2019 Edgar Awards.
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BEST NOVEL
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The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard (Blackstone Publishing)
House Witness by Mike Lawson (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
A Gambler’s Jury by Victor Methos (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley (Hachette Book Group – Mulholland)
Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne (Penguin Random House – Hogarth)
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
WINNER: Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley (Hachette Book Group – Mulholland)
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BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
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A Knife in the Fog by Bradley Harper (Seventh Street Books)
The Captives by Debra Jo Immergut (HarperCollins Publishers – Ecco)
The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs (Simon & Schuster – Touchstone)
Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin (HarperCollins Publishers – Ecco)
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
WINNER: Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin (HarperCollins Publishers – Ecco)
Read James A. McLaughlin on exploring the mysteries of the natural world.
Read Nova Jacobs on mysteries fueled by codes and puzzles.
Read Debra Jo Immergut on literary novels that are actually thrillers in disguise.
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BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
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If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Hiroshima Boy by Naomi Hirahara (Prospect Park Books)
Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books)
Under My Skin by Lisa Unger (Harlequin – Park Row Books)
WINNER: If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Read Naomi Hirahara on the joys and sorrows of finishing a series.
Read Lori Rader-Day on the thriving Midwestern crime fiction scene.
Alison Gaylin talks with Lisa Levy about crime fiction in the social media era.
Lisa Unger on five books in her life.
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BEST FACT CRIME
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Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation by Robert W. Fieseler (W.W. Norton & Company – Liveright)
Sex Money Murder: A Story of Crack, Blood, and Betrayal by Jonathan Green (W.W. Norton & Company)
The Last Wild Men of Borneo: A True Story of Death and Treasure by Carl Hoffman (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson (Penguin Random House – Viking)
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper)
The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World’s Most Powerful Mafia by Alex Perry (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
WINNER: Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation by Robert W. Fieseler (W.W. Norton & Company – Liveright)
Read Alex Perry on books essential to understanding modern-day organized crime.
Read Robert W. Fieseler on the hours leading up to the Up Stairs Lounge Fire.
Read Kirk Wallace Johnson on the world’s finest bird collection, lost to blackmail.
Read an excerpt from Robert W. Fieseler’s Tinderbox on the immediate aftermath of the Upstairs Lounge Fire.
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BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
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The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton: A Critical Study of the Father Brown Stories and Other Detective Fiction by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland Publishing)
Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow Paperbacks)
Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S. Klinger (Pegasus Books)
Mark X: Who Killed Huck Finn’s Father? by Yasuhiro Takeuchi (Taylor & Francis – Routledge)
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson (Pegasus Books)
WINNER: Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S. Klinger (Pegasus Books)
Read Alice Bolin on obsession, identity, and desire.
Read Leslie S. Klinger on the birth of American detective fiction.
Read Laura Thompson on the deeply human puzzles of Agatha Christie.
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BEST SHORT STORY
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“Rabid – A Mike Bowditch Short Story” by Paul Doiron (Minotaur Books)
“Paranoid Enough for Two” – The Honorable Traitors by John Lutz (Kensington Publishing)
“Ancient and Modern” – Bloody Scotland by Val McDermid (Pegasus Books)
“English 398: Fiction Workshop” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Art Taylor (Dell Magazines)
“The Sleep Tight Motel” – Dark Corners Collection by Lisa Unger (Amazon Publishing)
WINNER: “English 398: Fiction Workshop” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Art Taylor (Dell Magazines)
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BEST JUVENILE
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Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott (HarperCollins Children’s Books – Katherine Tegen Books)
Zap! by Martha Freeman (Simon & Schuster – Paula Wiseman Books)
Ra the Mighty: Cat Detective by A.B. Greenfield (Holiday House)
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson (Christy Ottaviano Books – Henry Holt BFYR)
Otherwood by Pete Hautman (Candlewick Press)
Charlie & Frog: A Mystery by Karen Kane (Disney Publishing Worldwide – Disney Hyperion)
Zora & Me: The Cursed Ground by T.R. Simon (Candlewick Press)
WINNER: Otherwood by Pete Hautman (Candlewick Press)
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BEST YOUNG ADULT
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Contagion by Erin Bowman (HarperCollins Children’s Books – HarperCollins)
Blink by Sasha Dawn (Lerner Publishing Group – Carolrhoda Lab)
After the Fire by Will Hill (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Fire)
A Room Away From the Wolves by Nova Ren Suma (Algonquin Young Readers)
Sadie by Courtney Summers (Wednesday Books)
WINNER: Sadie by Courtney Summers (Wednesday Books)
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BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
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“The Box” – Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Teleplay by Luke Del Tredici (NBC/Universal TV)
“Season 2, Episode 1” – Jack Irish, Teleplay by Andrew Knight (Acorn TV)
“Episode 1” – Mystery Road, Teleplay by Michaeley O’Brien (Acorn TV)
“My Aim is True” – Blue Bloods, Teleplay by Kevin Wade (CBS Eye Productions)
“The One That Holds Everything” – The Romanoffs, Teleplay by Matthew Weiner & Donald Joh (Amazon Prime Video)
WINNER: “The One That Holds Everything” – The Romanoffs, Teleplay by Matthew Weiner & Donald Joh (Amazon Prime Video)
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ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD
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“How Does He Die This Time?” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Nancy Novick (Dell Magazines)
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THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
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A Death of No Importance by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur Books)
A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington Publishing)
Bone on Bone by Julia Keller (Minotaur Books)
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Soho Press)
A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier (Minotaur Books)
WINNER: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Soho Press)
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SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
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Perish by Lisa Black (Kensington)
Shell Game by Sara Paretsky (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
City of Secrets by Victoria Thompson (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins – Harper)
WINNER: Shell Game by Sara Paretsky (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
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SPECIAL AWARDS
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The 2019 Grand Master Award: Martin Cruz Smith
Raven Award: Marilyn Stasio
Ellery Queen Award: Linda Landrigan
