2015 Silver Falchion Nominees
Best Novel
Cozy / Traditional Mystery
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| An Unwilling Accomplice | Charles Todd | William Morrow |
| Angelica’s Smile | Andrea Camilleri | Penguin Books |
| Antiques Con | Babara Allan | Kensington Publishing |
| Black Thursday | Linda Joffe Hull | Midnight Ink |
| Boiled Over | Barbara Ross | Kensington Publishing |
| Broken Trust | Shannon Baker | Midnight Ink |
| Bubbles, Roses, and Rump | Marilyn Bos | Flat Sole Studio |
| Catwalk | Sheila Webster Boneham | Midnight Ink |
| Caught Dead Handed | Carol J. Perry | Kensington Publishing |
| Chorus Line, Caviar, and Corpses | Mary McHugh | Kensington Publishing |
| Dead in the Water | Lesley A. Diehl | Camel Press |
| Death of a Policeman | M.C. Beaton | Grand Central Publishing |
| Death Runs Adrift | Karen MacInerney | Midnight Ink |
| Designated Daughters | Margaret Maron | Grand Central Publishing |
| Dying for a Dude | Cindy Sample | Cindy Sample Books |
| Fish Springs: Beneath the Surface | Michael Manuel & Larry C. Timbs, Jr. | Ingalls Publishing Group, Inc. |
| Hanging by a Hair | Nancy J. Cohen | Five Star |
| Hell on Wheels | Sue Ann Jaffarian | Midnight Ink |
| Hell With the Lid Blown Off | Donis Casey | Poisoned Pen Press |
| Hunting Season | Andrea Camilleri | Penguin Books |
| Hunting Shadows | Charles Todd | William Morrow |
| If the Shoe Kills | Lynn Cahoon | eKensington |
| If You’ve Got It, Haunt It | Rose Pressey | Kensington |
| Island Casualty | D.R. Ransdell | Oak Tree Press |
| January Thaw | Jess Lourey | Midnight Ink |
| Lost Under a Ladder | Linda O. Johnston | Midnight Ink |
| Mission to Murder | Lynn Cahoon | eKensington |
| Murder on the Ile Sordou | M.L. Longworth | Penguin Books |
| Nantucket Sawbuck | Steven Axelrod | Poisoned Pen Press |
| Palmetto Poison | C. Hope Clark | Bell Bridge Books |
| Remote Consequences | Kerri Nelson | Gemma Halliday Publishing |
| Safari | Parnell Hall | Pegasus Books |
| Sinking Suspicions | Sara Sue Hoklotubbe | University of Arizona Press |
| Sticks & Stones | R. Franklin James | Camel Press |
| The Alpine Yeoman | Mary Daheim | Ballantine Books |
| The Artful Goddaughter | Melodie Campbell | Orca Book Publishers |
| The Bodies Were Burned | Barbara A. Martin | Barbara A. Martin |
| The Boom Room | Rick Blechta | Orca Book Publishers |
| The Cat Sitter’s Nine Lives | Blaize and John Clement | Thomas Dunne Books |
| The Chihuahua Always Sniffs Twice | Waverly Curtis | Kensington Publishing |
| The Choking Game | Martha Reed | Buccaneer/KMA Pittsburgh |
| The Laws of Murder | Charles Finch | Minotaur Books |
| The Perfect Stranger | Wendy Corsi Staub | Harper |
| The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent | Susan Elia MacNeal | Bantam Dell |
| The Question of the Missing Head | E.J. Copperman and Jeff Cohen | Midnight Ink |
| The White Magic Five and Dime | Lisa Falco and Steve Hockensmith | Midnight Ink |
| This Private Plot | Alan Beechey | Poisoned Pen Press |
| To Helen Back | Susan McBride | Witness Impulse |
| Two Dogs Lie Sleeping | Lia Farrell | Camel Press |
Crime Thriller
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| A Billion Ways to Die | Chris Knopf | The Permanent Press |
| A Tightly Raveled Mind | Diane Lawson | Cinco Punto Press |
| Binds That Tie | Kate Moretti | Red Adept Publishing |
| Blood Always Tells | Hilary Davidson | Forge Books |
| Bone Deep | Randy Wayne White | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Bred in the Bone | Christopher Brookmyre | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| Cabin Fever | James M. Jackson | Barking Rain Press |
| Cobra | Deon Meyer | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| Cold Shot | Mark Henshaw | Touchstone |
| Cop Town | Karin Slaughter | Delacorte Press |
| Dakota | Gwen Florio | The Permanent Press |
| Desperate | Daniel Palmer | Kensington |
| Dial M For Matrimony | Carroll McKnight | Pulpwood Press |
| Dick Francis’s Damage | Felix Francis | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Dog Beach | John Fusco | Touchstone |
| Don’t Ever Look Back | Daniel Friedman | Thomas Dunne Books |
| Everyone Lies | A.D. Garrett | Minotaur Books |
| Fear Nothing | Lisa Gardner | Dutton |
| Flesh and Blood | Patricia Cornwell | William Morrow |
| From the Dead | Mark Billingham | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| Gangsterland | Tod Goldberg | Counterpoint |
| Gulf Boulevard | Dennis Hart | The Permanent Press |
| Haunted | Randy Wayne White | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| House Reckoning | Mike Lawson | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| If It Bleeds | Linda L. Richards | Orca Book Publishers |
| In the Blood | Lisa Unger | Touchstone |
| Juba Good | Vicki Delany | Orca Book Publishers |
| Kill Fee | Owen Laukkanen | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Lion Plays Rough | Lachlan Smith | The Mysterious Press |
| Mike Hammer: King of the Weeds | Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins | Titan Books |
| Missing You | Harlan Coben | Dutton |
| Natchez Burning | Greg Iles | William Morrow |
| Never Coming Back | Tim Weaver | Viking |
| Original Sin | DP Lyle | Reputation Books |
| Out of the Game | David DeLee | Dark Road Publishing |
| Parker Field | Howard Owen | The Permanent Press |
| Prayer | Philip Kerr | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Providence Rag | Bruce DeSilva | Forge Books |
| Reckless Disregard: A Parker Stern Novel | Robert Rotstein | Seventh Street Books |
| Resurrection Bay | Wayne McDaniel and Steven Womack | Midnight Ink |
| Secret Assault | Don Helin | Headline Books |
| Sherlock Holmes: The Spirit Box | George Mann | Titan Books |
| Stone Cold | C.J. Box | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Suspicion | Joseph Finder | Dutton |
| Terminal City | Linda Fairstein | Dutton |
| Terminated | Ray Daniel | Midnight Ink |
| The Bone Orchard | Paul Doiron | Minotaur Books |
| The Bones Beneath | Mark Billingham | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| The Cold Nowhere | Brian Freeman | Quercus |
| The Culling | Robert Johnson | The Permanent Press |
| The Execution | Dick Wolf | William Morrow |
| The Keeper | John Lescroart | Atria Books |
| The Kennedy Connection | R.G. Belsky | Atria |
| The Last Dead Girl | Harry Dolan | Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam |
| The Skeleton Road | Val McDermid | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| The Stranger You Know | Jane Casey | Minotaur Books |
| The Two Sisters of Borneo | Ian Hamilton | Spiderline |
| Tokyo Kill | Barry Lancet | Simon & Schuster |
| Vertigo 42 | Martha Grimes | Scribner |
| Voodoo Ridge | David Freed | The Permanent Press |
| Vulture au Vin | Lisa King | The Permanent Press |
| Walt | Russell Wangersky | Spiderline |
| When Shadows Fall | J.T. Ellison | Mira Books |
| Windigo Island | William Kent Krueger | Atria Books |
| Wolf | Mo Hayder | Atlantic Monthly Press |
Historical
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| A New York Christmas | Anne Perry | Ballantine Books |
| A Song to Die For | Mike Blakely | Forge Books |
| An Air of Treason | P.F. Chisholm | Poisoned Pen Press |
| Blacklist | Jerry Ludwig | Forge |
| Blood on the Water | Anne Perry | Ballantine Books |
| De Potter’s Grand Tour | Joanna Scott | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Death at Chinatown | Frances McNamara | Allium Press of Chicago |
| Death on Blackheath | Anne Perry | Ballantine Books |
| Ragtime Cowboys | Loren D. Estleman | Forge |
| Riders on the Storm | Ed Gorman | Pegasus Books |
| Shall We Not Revenge | D.M. Pirrone | Allium Press of Chicago |
| Street Justice | Kris Nelscott | WMG Publishing, Inc. |
| The Auschwitz Escape | Joel Rosenberg | Tyndale House Publishers |
| The Baklava Club | Jason Goodwin | Sarah Crichton Books/FSG |
| The Blood of Alexander | Tom Wilde | Forge |
| The Devil’s Workshop | Alex Grecian | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Hour of Lead | Bruce Holbert | Counterpoint |
| The Johnstown Girls | Kathleen George | University of Pittsburgh Press |
| The Reckoning | Rennie Airth | Viking |
| The Secret of Magic | Deborah Johnson | Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam |
| The Smoke at Dawn | Jeff Shaara | Ballantine Books |
| The Wrong Man | Laura Wilson | Felony & Mayhem Press |
| Tradition of Deceit | Kathleen Ernst | Midnight Ink |
| Zodiac Deception | Gary Kriss | Forge |
Literary Mystery / Suspense / Thriller
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| A Better World | Marcus Sakey | Thomas & Mercer |
| A Circle of Waves | Alice LaPlante | Grove Press |
| A Cold and Broken Hallejujah | Tyler Dilts | Thomas & Mercer |
| Abroad | Katie Crouch | Sarah Crichton Books/FSG |
| Apple Tree Yard | Louise Doughty | Sarah Crichton Books/FSG |
| Area X | Jeff VanderMeer | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Assault with a Deadly Lie | Lev Raphael | Terrace Books |
| Bagmen | William Lashner | Thomas & Mercer |
| Baudelaire’s Revenge | Bob Van Laerhoven | Pegasus Books |
| Before Nightfall | Rachel Amphlett | Rachel Amphlett |
| Beware Beware | Steph Cha | Thomas Dunne Books |
| Bittersweet | Miranda Beverly-Whittemore | Crown |
| Block 10 | Stacy Childs with David Niall Wilson | Crossroad Press |
| Blue Labyrinth | Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child | Grand Central Publishing |
| Butterfly Skin | Sergey Kuznetsov | Titan Books |
| Chance | Kem Nunn | Scribner |
| CHECKMATE | Steven James | Signet |
| Chump Change | G.M. Ford | Thomas & Mercer |
| Cipher | John Jantunen | ECW Press |
| Circle of Wives | Alice LaPlante | Grove Press |
| Cornered | Alan Brenham | Black Opal Books |
| Courier | Terry Irving | Ronin Robot Press |
| Dancer in the Dust | Thomas H. Cook | The Mysterious Press |
| Dark Road, Dead End | Philip Cioffari | Livingston Press/ University of West Alabama |
| Darkness, Darkness | John Harvey | Pegasus Books |
| Dead Water | Ann Cleeves | Thomas Dunne Books |
| Deadly Bonds | LJ Sellers | Thomas & Mercer |
| Desperate Deeds | Patricia Gligor | Post Mortem Press |
| Dry Bones in the Valley | Tom Bouman | Norton Trade |
| Fifty Mice | Daniel Pyne | Blue Rider Press |
| Graveyard of Memories | Barry Eisler | Thomas & Mercer |
| Half World | Scott O’Connor | Simon & Schuster |
| Hard Return | J. Carson Black | Thomas & Mercer |
| Hoaxers | Edward J. McFadden III | Crossroad Press |
| I Can See in the Dark | Karin Fossum | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Interference | Michelle Berry | ECW Press |
| Keep Your Friends Close | Paula Daly | Grove Press |
| Land of Careful Shadows | Suzanne Chazin | Kensington Publishing |
| Lucifer’s Promise | Alan Thompson | W & B Publishers, Inc. |
| Midnight Plan of the Repo Man | W. Bruce Cameron | Forge |
| Mind of Winter | Laura Kasischke | Harper Adult |
| Moriarty | Anthony Horowitz | Harper |
| Murder in Retribution | Anne Cleeland | Kensington Books |
| My Sister’s Grave | Robert Dugoni | Thomas & Mercer |
| One Kick | Chelsea Cain | Simon & Schuster |
| Plaster City | Johnny Shaw | Thomas & Mercer |
| Presumption of Guilt | Marti Green | Thomas & Mercer |
| Red 1-2-3 | John Katzenbach | The Mysterious Press |
| Revival | Stephen King | Scribner |
| Rivers to Blood | Michael Lister | Pulpwood Press |
| Shirley | Susan Scarf Merrell | Blue Rider Press |
| Sometimes the Wolf | Urban Waite | William Morrow |
| South, America | Rod Davis | New South Books |
| Strong Darkness | Jon Land | Forge Books |
| Swann’s Lake of Despair | Charles Salzberg | Five Star |
| Tehran at Twilight | Salar Abdoh | Akashic Books |
| The Accident | Chris Pavone | Crown |
| The Black-Eyed Blonde | Benjamin Black | Henry Holt and Company |
| The Boy Who Stole From the Dead | Orest Stemlach | Thomas & Mercer |
| The Catch | Taylor Stevens | Crown |
| The Conan Doyle Notes | Diane Madsen | MX Publishing |
| The Cove | Rick Hautala | Crossroad Press |
| The Day She Died | Catriona McPherson | Midnight Ink |
| The Dead Will Tell | Linda Castillo | Minotaur Books |
| The Disposables | David Putnam | Oceanview |
| The Empire of Night | Robert Olen Butler | The Mysterious Press |
| The Farm | Tom Rob Smith | Grand Central Publishing |
| The Forgers | Bradford Morrow | The Mysterious Press |
| The Girl in the Woods | Gregg Olsen | Pinnacle |
| The Girl Next Door | Ruth Rendell | Scribner |
| The Girl With a Clock for a Heart | Peter Swanson | William Morrow |
| The Good Girl | Mary Kubica | Mira Books |
| The Killer Next Door | Alex Marwood | Penguin Books |
| The Last Time I Died | Joe Nelms | Tyrus Books |
| The Laughing Monsters | Denis Johnson | Farrar,Straus and Giroux |
| The Merry-Go-Round Man | John B. Rosenman | Crossroad Press |
| The Murder of Harriet Krohn | Karin Fossum | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| The Mystery of the Invisible Hand | Marshall Jevons | Princeton University Press |
| The Red Bird All-Indian Traveling Band | Frances Washburn | University of Arizona Press |
| The River Is Dark | Joe Hart | Thomas & Mercer |
| The Secret History of Las Vegas | Chris Abani | Penguin Books |
| The Secret Place | Tana French | Viking |
| The Seeker | R.B. Chesterton | Pegasus Books |
| The Shield | Lynn Sholes & Joe Moore | Stone Creek Books |
| The Stone Boy | Sophie Loubiere | Grand Central Publishing |
| The Third Sin | Elsa Klensch | Forge |
| The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair | Joel Dicker | Penguin Books |
| The Way Of All Fish | Martha Grimes | Scribner |
| Third Rail | Rory Flynn | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| This Dark Road to Mercy | Wiley Cash | William Morrow |
| Trapline | Mark Stevens | Midnight Ink |
| Under Your Skin | Sabine Durrant | Emily Bestler (Atria Books) |
| Unraveled Visions | Nina Milton | Midnight Ink |
| Waiting for Wednesday | Nicci French | Pamela Dorman Books |
| Wayfaring Stranger | James Lee Burke | Simon & Schuster |
Political / Adventure / Espionage Thriller
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| 24: Deadline | James Swallow | Forge |
| Adobe Flats | Colin Campbell | Midnight Ink |
| Ark Storm | Linda Davies | Forge |
| Assassin’s Game | Ward Larsen | Forge |
| Black Skies | Leo J. Maloney | Kensington |
| Blood Pact | David Hagberg | Forge |
| Blue Warrior | Mike Maden | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Border War | Lou Dobbs and James O. Born | Forge |
| Burned | Valerie Plame | Blue Rider Press |
| Dark Spies | Matthew Dunn | William Morrow |
| Deadliest of Sins | Sallie Bissell | Midnight Ink |
| Deadout | Jon McGoran | Forge |
| End Game | John Gilstrap | Pinnacle |
| I Am Pilgrim | Terry Hayes | Atria Books |
| Inside Man | Jeff Abbott | Grand Central Publishing |
| Killing Pilgrim | Alen Mattich | Spiderline |
| Killing the Curse | Dennis Hetzel with Rick Robinson | Headline Books |
| Margaret Truman’s Undiplomatic Murder | Donald Bain | Forge |
| Montecito Heights | Colin Campbell | Midnight Ink |
| Night Heron | Adam Brookes | Redhook |
| No Time to Die | Kira Peikoff | Pinnacle |
| Now and in the Hour of Our Death | Patrick Taylor | Forge |
| Rain on the Dead | Jack Higgins | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Ascendancy | Eric Van Lustbader | Grand Central Publishing |
| Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Option | Paul Garrison | Grand Central Publishing |
| Sabotage | Matt Cook | Forge |
| Sand and Fire | Tom Young | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Counterfeit Agent | Alex Berenson | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Escape | David Baldacci | Grand Central Publishing |
| The Hilltop | Assaf Gavron | Scribner |
| The Last Shootist | Miles Swarthout | Forge |
| The Lie | Hesh Kestin | Scribner |
| The Lost Island | Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child | Grand Central Publishing |
| The Madmen of Benghazi | Gérard de Villiers | Vintage Crime/Black Lizard |
| The Madness of July | James Naughtie | The Overlook Press |
| The Red Room | Ridley Pearson | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Target | David Baldacci | Grand Central Publishing |
| Warriors | Ted Bell | William Morrow |
| Weapon of Vengeance | Mukul Deva | Forge |
| Written In My Own Heart’s Blood | Diana Gabaldon | Delacorte Press |
Private Detective / Police Procedural / Mystery
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| Book | Author | Publisher | |
| Any Other Name | Craig Johnson | Viking | |
| Black Rock | John McFetridge | ECW Press | |
| Bitter Crossing | D.A. Keeley | Midnight Ink | |
| Brainquake | Samuel Fuller | Hard Case Crime | |
| Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart | Christopher Fowler | Bantam | |
| By Any Means | Chris Culver | Grand Central Publishing | |
| By Its Cover | Donna Leon | Atlantic Monthly Press | |
| Critical Damage | Robert K. Lewis | Midnight Ink | |
| Dead Lil’ Hustler | Victoria Houston | Tyrus Books | |
| Dead Man’s Fancy | Keith McCafferty | Viking | |
| Deadline | John Sandford | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| Deadly Puzzles | Terry Odell | Terry Odell | |
| Don’t Look for Me | Loren D. Estleman | Forge | |
| Easy Death | Daniel Boyd | Hard Case Crime | |
| Field of Prey | John Sandford | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| Frenzy | John Lutz | Pinnacle | |
| Identity | Ingrid Thoft | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| Kill Game | Dean Wesley Smith | WMG Publishing, Inc. | |
| Lake of Tears | Mary Logue | Tyrus Books | |
| Murder in the Arts District | Greg Herren | Bold Strokes Books | |
| Murder on Edisto | C. Hope Clark | Bell Bridge Books | |
| Nature of the Beast | Roland Keller | Excelsior Editions | |
| Remains of Innocence | J.A. Jance | William Morrow | |
| River of Glass | Jaden Terrell | The Permanent Press | |
| Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot | Reed Farrel Coleman | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot | Ace Atkins | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| Saints of New York | R.J. Ellory | The Overlook Press | |
| Search and Rescue | Gail Anderson-Dargatz | Orca Book Publishers | |
| Sorrow Bound | David Mark | Blue Rider Press | |
| Strangers | Bill Pronzini | Forge | |
| Sweet Sunday | John Lawton | Atlantic Monthly Press | |
| The Assassins’ Ball | Patrick Thomas and John L. French | Gray Rabbit Publishing | |
| The Big Hello | Michael Lister | Pulpwood Press | |
| The Bone Seeker | M.J. McGrath | Viking | |
| The Forsaken | Ace Atkins | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| The Hard Way | Cathi Stoler | Camel Press | |
| The Hollow Girl | Reed Farrel Coleman | Tyrus Books | |
| The House That Jack Built | Jakob Melander | Spiderline | |
| The Killing: Uncommon Denominator | Karen Dionne | Titan Books | |
| The Night Searchers | Marcia Muller | Grand Central Publishing | |
| The Skin Collector | Jeffery Deaver | Grand Central Publishing | |
| The Splintered Paddle | Mark Troy | Five Star Publishing | |
| Unnatural Murder | Connie Dial | The Permanent Press | |
| With Intent To Deceive | David DeLee | Dark Road Publishing | |
| Wrong Quarry | Max Allan Collins | Hard Case Crime | |
| You Know Who Killed Me | Loren D. Estleman | Forge |
Romantic Suspense
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| Awakened | Virna DePaul | Bantam |
| Bluffing Is Murder | Tace Baker | Barking Rain Press |
| Confession | Carey Baldwin | Witness Impulse |
| Death of a High Maintenance Blonde | Debra Gaskill | D’Llama Publishing |
| Guarded | Mary Behre | Berkley |
| Judgement | Carey Baldwin | Witness Impulse |
| Know When to Run | Connie Flynn | Connie Flynn |
| Love Game | Elise Sax | Ballantine Books |
| Mercy | B.J. Daniels | Harlequin |
| Montana Bride | Joan Johnston | Bantam Dell |
| Nefarious | Tina DC Hayes | Hazy Moon Ink |
| Power Play | Catherine Coulter | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| Spirited | Mary Behre | Berkley |
| Sweet Damage | Rebecca James | Bantam Books |
| The Black Rose | Sam Berretti | Media Masters Productions, LLC |
| The Job | Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg | Bantam |
| The Lost Key | Catherine Coulter and J.T. Ellison | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Silver Promise | William C. Walker | CreateSpace |
| Top Secret Twenty-One | Janet Evanovich | Bantam |
| Truth Be Told | Hank Phillippi Ryan | Forge |
| Windswept Danger | Terry Odell | Terry Odell |
Speculative / Horror / Science Fiction / Fantasy
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| City of Stairs | Robert Jackson Bennett | Broadway Books |
| Clockwork Angels | Kevin J. Anderson | ECW Press |
| Coldbrook | Tim Lebbon | Titan Books |
| Conquest | John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard | Atria Books |
| Dawn’s Bright Talons | Nerine Dorman | Crossroad Press |
| Ecko Burning | Danie Ware | Titan Books |
| Fear City | F. Paul Wilson | Tor |
| Land of Shadows | Rachel Howzel Hall | Forge |
| Like a Mighty Army | David Weber | Forge Books |
| Lock In | John Scalzi | Tor |
| Lockdown: Star Wars | Joe Schreiber | Del Rey/ LucasBooks |
| Love Bites | Sheri Broadbent | Amazon |
| Mr. Mercedes | Stephen King | Scribner |
| My Lady of the Bog | Peter Hayes | The Permanent Press |
| N.D.E. | Steven Savile and David Sakmyster | Crossroad Press |
| Pillar to the Sky | William R. Forstchen | Forge |
| Red Devil 4 | Eric c. Leuthardt | Forge |
| Skin of the Wolf | Sam Cabot | Blue Rider Press |
| Slimy Underbelly | Kevin J. Anderson | Kensington Publishing |
| The Book of Life | Deborah Harkness | Viking |
| The Boy Who Drew Monsters | Keith Donohue | Picador USA |
| The Boy Who Killed Demons | Dave Zeltserman | The Overlook Press |
| The Burning Dark | Adam Christopher | Tor |
| The Enemy Within | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | WMG Publishing, Inc. |
| The Golem of Hollywood | Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Grey Matter | Billie Sue Mosiman | Post Mortem Press |
| The Kraken Project | Douglas Preston | Forge |
| The Pierced Heart | Lynn Shepherd | Bantam |
| The String Diaries | Stephen Lloyd Jones | Little, Brown Publishing |
| The Ultra Thin Man | Patrick Swenson | Tor |
| The Voices | F.R. Tallis | Pegasus Books |
| The Wolves of London | Mark Morris | Titan Books |
| Yesterday’s Hero | Jonathan Wood | Titan Books |
Long-Form Novelty Fiction: Poetry/Graphic/Experimental
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| Book | Author | Publisher/ Editor |
| Notes From the Cat House | Jack Ketchum | Crossroad Press |
| The Undertaking of Lily Chen | Danica Novgorodoff | First Second |
Best First Novel
Cozy / Traditional / Historical
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| Dying to Know | TJ O’Connor | Midnight Ink |
| Final Rights | Tena Frank | Grateful Steps Foundation |
| Honor Above All | J. Bard Collins | Allium Press of Chicago |
| Kilmoon | Lisa Alber | Muskrat Press, LLC |
| Lane Changes | S.L. Ellis | Black Opal Books |
| Limestone Gumption | Bryan Robinson | Gale/Cengage |
| Murder at Honeychurch Hall | Hannah Dennison | Thomas Dunne Books |
| Murder Strikes A Pose | Tracy Weber | Midnight Ink |
| The Life We Bury | Allen Eskens | Seventh Street Books |
| To Fudge or Not to Fudge | Nancy Coco | Kensington |
| While Beauty Slept | Elizabeth Blackwell | Putnam |
Literary Suspense
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| B.O.Q. | N.P. Simpson | John F. Blair |
| Consumed | David Cronenberg | Scribner |
| Decoded | Mai Jia | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Deep Winter | Samuel Gailey | Blue Rider Press |
| Forty Days Without Shadow | Olivier Truc | Grand Central Publishing |
| Going Home | Sharon Marchisello | Sunbury Press, Inc. |
| HYDE | Daniel Levine | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Never Alone | C.J. Carpenter | Midnight Ink |
| The Devil Takes Half | Leta Serafirm | Coffetown Press |
| The Weight of Blood | Laura McHugh | Spiegel & Grau |
| Wolf in White Van | John Darnielle | Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |
Thriller / Mystery
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| Book | Author | Publisher | |
| A Cry From the Dust | Carrie Stuart Parks | Thomas Nelson | |
| Baghdad Central | Elliott Colla | Bitter Lemon Press | |
| Blood Line | John J. Davis | Simon & Winter, Inc. | |
| Catch A Falling Star | Laurel Heidtman | Laurel Heidtman | |
| City of Devils | Diana Bretherick | Pegasus | |
| Criminal Gold | Ann Aptaker | Bold Strokes Books | |
| Dangerous Denial | Amy Ray | Barking Rain Press | |
| Dear Daughter | Elizabeth Little | Viking | |
| Expedition Indigo | Stacy Allen | Fiery Seas Publishing | |
| Four Corners | Wally Rudolph | Soft Skull Press | |
| Go Go Gato | Max Everhart | Camel Press | |
| Hotlanta! | Mark Nielsen | Headline Books | |
| Imogene in New Orleans | Hunter Murphy | Rolltop Publishing | |
| Indefensible | Lee Goodman | Atria Books | |
| Invisible City | Julia Dahl | Minotaur Books | |
| Last Words | Rich Zahradnik | Camel Press | |
| North of Boston | Elisabeth Elo | Pamela Dorman Books | |
| Played to Death | BV Lawson | Crimetime Press | |
| Prodigious Savant | J.J. White | Black Opal Books | |
| Ride the Lightening | Dietrich Kalteis | ECW Press | |
| Shovel Ready | Adam Sternbergh | Crown | |
| Someone Else’s Skin | Sarah Hilary | Penguin Books | |
| The American Mission | Matthew Palmer | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| The Black Hour | Lori Rader-Day | Seventh Street Books | |
| The Cottoncrest Curse | Michael H. Rubin | LSU Press | |
| The Darkest Hour | Tony Schumacher | William Morrow | |
| The Family | EDI Wilson | Bookbaby | |
| The Golden Hour | Todd Moss | G.P. Putnam’s Sons | |
| The Hawley Book of the Dead | Chrysler Szarlan | Ballantine Books | |
| The Intern’s Handbook | Shane Kuhn | Simon & Schuster | |
| The Last Breath | Kimberly Belle | Mira Books | |
| The Martian | Andy Weir | Crown | |
| The Monarch | Jack Soren | Witness Impulse | |
| The Morning Line | Tom Kenny | Createspace | |
| The Mystery of the Trinity | Richard Gid Powers | Caravel Books | |
| The Siegel Dispositions | David E. Grogan | Camel Press | |
| The Ways of the Dead | Neely Tucker | Viking | |
| The White Van | Patrick Hoffman | Atlantic Monthly Press | |
| Tomorrow and Tomorrow | Thomas Sweterlitsch | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
Best Nonfiction
Academic
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| A Tail of Hope’s Faith | Diane Weinmann | Hay House |
| Blood on the Stage, 480 B.C. to 1600 A.D.: Milestone Plays of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem, An Annotated Repertoire | Amnon Kabatchnik | Scarecrow Press |
| Bloody Italy: Essays on Crime Writing in Italian Settings | Patricia Prandini Buckler | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| Brainstorm | Daniel J. Seigel | Tarcher |
| Class and Culture in Crime Fiction: Essays on Works in English Since the 1970s | Julie H. Kim | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| German Feminist Queer Crime Fiction: Politics, Justice and Desire | Faye Stewart | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| James Ellroy: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction | Jim Mancall | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| Jolly Good Detecting: Humor in English Crime Fiction of the Golden Age | Bruce Shaw | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| Mysteries Unlocked: Essays in Honor of Douglas G. Greene | Curtis Evans | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| Politics and Society in Italian Crime Fiction: An Historical Overview | Barbara Pezzotti | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| The Executioner’s Toll, 2010: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States | Matthew T. Mangino | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis | Charles Brownson | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| The Sixth Extinction | Elizabeth Kolbert | Henry Holt |
| The Villainous Stage: Crime Plays on Broadway and in the West End | Marvin Lachman | McFarland & Company, Inc. |
| Truth in a Culture of Doubt | Andreas Kostenberger, Darrell Bock and Josh Chatraw | B&H Publishing Group |
| Your Next Mission | Lida Citroen | Palisades Publishing |
Craft and Business of Writing
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
Mainstream Crime Reference
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| 400 Things Cops Know | Adam Plantinga | Quill Driver Books |
| The Art of the English Murder | Lucy Worsley | Pegasus Books |
Memoir / Biography
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade | Waltern Kirn | Liveright Publishing Corporation |
| Careless People: Murder, Mayhem, and the Invention of The Great Gatsby | Sarah Churchwell | Penguin Press |
| Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy | Karen Abbott | Harper |
| Love! Laugh! Panic! Life With My Mother | Rosemary Mild | Magic Island Literary Works |
| Love, Freedom & The Art Of Getting There | Robert Gross | Park Bench Press |
| Miraculous Journey | Anne Strieber and Whitley Strieber | Crossroad Press |
| Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe | J.W. Ocker | The Countryman Press |
| The Good Spy | Kai Bird | Crown Trade |
| The Perfect Kill | Robert Baer | Blue Rider Press |
True Crime
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| A Deadly Wandering | Matt Richtel | William Morrow |
| Bad Paper | Jake Halpern | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Dead of Night | Gary C. King with Shelia Johnson | Pinnacle |
| Hidden Harvest: The Rise and Fall of North America’s Biggest Cannabis Grow Op | Mark Coakley | ECW Press |
| I’ll Take Care of You | Caitlin Rother | Pinnacle |
| Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime That Changed America | Kevin Cook | Norton Trade |
| Law of the Jungle | Paul M. Barrett | Crown |
| Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling | Bill Reynolds | ECW Press |
| Obsessed | M. William Phelps | Kensington |
| Operation Shakespeare: The True Story of an Elite International Sting | John Shiffman | Simon & Schuster |
| Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers | Donald B. Kraybill | Johns Hopkins University Press |
| Star-Crossed Killers | Robert Scott | Pinnacle |
| The Killing Kind | M. William Phelps | Kensington |
| The Other Side | Lacy M. Johnson | Tin House Books |
| The Phantom Killer: Unlocking the Mystery of the Texarkana Serial Murders: The Story of a Town in Terror | James Presley | Pegasus Books |
| The Skeleton Crew | Deborah Halber | Simon & Schuster |
| Tinseltown | William J. Mann | Harper |
| War of the Whales: A True Story | Joshua Horwitz | Simon & Schuster |
| When Nashville Bled: The Untold Stories of Serial Killer Paul Dennis Reid | Judith A. Yates | Judith A. Yates |
| Whitey on Trial | Margaret McLean and Jon Lieberman | Forge |
Best Picture Book / Chapter Book / Middle Grade / YA
Children’s Picture Book
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| Book | Author/ Illustrator | Publisher |
| Adventures with Barefoot Critters | Teagan White | Tundra Books |
| An Armadillo in Paris | Julie Kraulis | Tundra Books |
| Bob Goes to Mars | Katie Mary Wilson | Crossroad Press |
| Bob’s Hungry Ghost | Genevieve Cote | Tundra Books |
| Do Witches Take Baths? | Christopher David Connor | Createspace(Amazon) |
| Edie’s Ensembles | Ashley Spires | Tundra Books |
| For Such A Time As This | Angie Smith | B&H Publishing Group |
| Hope Springs | Eric Walters | Tundra Books |
| If You Happen to Have a Dinosaur | Linda Bailey | Tundra Books |
| Julia, Child | Kyo Maclear | Tundra Books |
| Nancy Knows | Cybele Young | Tundra Books |
| Nine Words Max | Dan Bar-el | Tundra Books |
| Spic-and Span! Lillian Gilbreth’s Wonder Kitchen | Monica Kulling | Tundra Books |
| The Bambino and Me | Zachary Hyman | Tundra Books |
| The Fly | Elise Gravel | Tundra Books |
| The Highest Number in the World | Roy MacGregor | Tundra Books |
| The Rat | Elise Gravel | Tundra Books |
| The Skeleton Inside Me | David Niall Wilson | Crossroad Press |
| The Slug | Elise Gravel | Tundra Books |
| The Worm | Elise Gravel | Tundra Books |
| Who Needs a Desert? | Karen Patkau | Tundra Books |
| Who Needs a Prairie? | Karen Patkau | Tundra Books |
| Who Needs a Reef? | Karen Patkau | Tundra Books |
Children’s Chapter Book
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| Book | Author/ Illustrator | Publisher |
| Cassie and Jasper to the Rescue | Bryn Fleming | WestWinds Press |
| The Case of the Buried Bones | Lewis B. Montgomery | Kane Press, Inc. |
| The Diamond Mystery | Martin Widmark | Grosset & Dunlap |
| The Frankenstein Journals | Scott Sonneborn | Capstone Young Readers |
| The Haunted Library | Dori Hillestad Butler | Grosset & Dunlap |
| The Secret of the Sea Creature | Laurie S. Sutton | Capstone Young Readers |
Middle Grade
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| A Growing Suspicion | Jacqueline Dembar Greene | American Girl Publishing |
| A Snicker of Magic | Natalie Lloyd | Scholastic |
| Ameri-Scares: California: From the Pit | Elizabeth Massie | Crossroad Press |
| Andi Under Pressure | Amanda Flower | Zonderkidz |
| Audrey | Dan Bar-el | Tundra Books |
| Millhouse | Natale Ghent | Tundra Books |
| Ollie and the Science of Treasure Hunting | Erin Dionne | Dial Books for Young Readers |
| Still Life | Jacqueline West | Dial Books for Young Readers |
| The ACB with Honora Lee | Kate De Goldi | Tundra Books |
| The Boston Breakout | Roy MacGregor | Tundra Books |
| The Dark Lady | Irene Adler | Capstone Young Readers |
| The Desperate Diva Diaries | Angie Spady | B&H Publishing Group |
| The Faire Pendant | Leah Price | Talebearers Publishing |
| The Finisher | David Baldacci | Scholastic |
| The Magnificent Lizzie Brown and the Mysterious Phantom | Vicki Lockwood | Capstone Young Readers |
| The Mystery of the Russian Ransom | Roy MacGregor | Tundra Books |
| The One Safe Place | Tania Unsworth | Algonquin Books/ Workman Publishing |
| The Swallow: A Ghost Story | Charis Cotter | Tundra Books |
| Treason | Jo Macauley | Capstone Young Readers |
| Viminy Crowe’s Comic Book | Marthe Jocelyn and Richard Scrimger | Tundra Books |
| Zombie Elementary | Howard Whitehouse | Tundra Books |
Young Adult
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| 10 Things for Teen Girls | Kate Connor | B&H Publishing Group |
| About That Night | Norah McClintock | Orca Book Publishers |
| Always Emily | Michaela MacColl | Chronicle Books |
| Astray | Amy Christine Parker | Random House Children’s Books |
| Blur | Steven James | Skyscape |
| Changing Michael | Jeff Schilling | Bancroft Press |
| Dark Tide | Greg Herren | Bold Strokes Books |
| Death Spiral | Janie Chodosh | The Poisoned Pencil |
| Disconnected | Lisa Cronkhite | The Poisoned Pencil |
| Every Breath | Ellie Marney | Tundra Books |
| Falconer | Elizabeth May | Chronicle Books |
| Falwyn: A Fairy Tale | Ashley L. Knight | Crossroad Press |
| Fire & Flood | Victoria Scott | Scholastic |
| Grunge Gods and Graveyards | Kimberly G. Giarratano | Red Adept Publishing |
| Haze | Paula Weston | Tundra Books |
| How We Fall | Kate Brauning | Merit Press |
| Jesus Jackson | James Ryan Daley | The Poisoned Pencil |
| Jex Malone | C.L. Gaber and V.C. Stanley | Merit Press |
| Mr. Samuel’s Penny | Treva Hall Melvin | The Poisoned Pencil |
| Nearly Gone | Elle Cosimano | Kathy Dawson Books |
| Safe | Mark Zubro | MLR Press, LLC |
| Spiritglass Charade | Colleen Gleason | Chronicle Books |
| Still Photo | Kim Harnes | Evernight Teen |
| The Art of Secrets | James Klise | Algonquin Books/ Workman Publishing |
| The Killing Woods | Lucy Christopher | Scholastic |
| The Number 7 | Jessica Lidh | Merit Press |
| The Voice Inside My Head | S.J. Laidlaw | Tundra Books |
| The World Outside | Eva Wiseman | Tundra Books |
| Unaccompanied Minor | Hollis Hillespie | Merit Press |
| Uncovered | S.X. Bradley | Evernight Teen |
| Wanted: Dead or In Love | Kym Brunner | Merit Press |
| What We Hide | Marthe Jocelyn | Tundra Books |
| Where the Rock Splits the Sky | Philip Webb | Scholastic |
| Who R U Really? | Margo Kelly | Merit Press |
| Zomburbia | Adam Gallardo | Kensington Publishing |
Best Anthology / Collection
Multi-Author Anthology
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| Book | Edited By | Publisher |
| Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave | Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, Leslie Wheeler | Level Best Books |
| Faceoff | Lee Child and Others | Simon & Schuster |
| Fiction River: Past Crime | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | WMG Publishing, Inc. |
| Fiction River Special Edition: Crime | Kristine Kathryn Rusch | WMG Publishing, Inc. |
| Ice Cold: Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War | Presented by MWA/ Edited by Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson | Grand Central Publishing |
| In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon | Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger | Pegasus Books |
Single-Author Collection
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| Book | Author | Publisher |
| High Crime Area | Joyce Carol Oates | The Mysterious Press |
| Love, Life, and the Art of Food | Robert N. Gross | Park Bench Press |
| Seeing Red | Terry Odell | Terry Odell |
| Shark’s Tooth | Michael Guillebeau | Ardent Writer Press |
| Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country | C.J. Box | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
| The Misadventures of Slim O. Wittz, Soft-Boiled Detective | Rosemary & Larry Mild | Magic Island Literary Works |
| Trouble in Mind | Jeffery Deaver | Grand Central Publishing |
| Wait For Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories | Craig Johnson | Viking |