Overbooked: A Resource for Readers

Overbooked specializes in providing timely information about fiction (all genres) and readable nonfiction. Overbooked has been online since 1994. Overbooked is a work in progress . . .

Overbooked is the winner of the 2008 Louis Shores - Greenwood Publishing Award: to recognize excellence in book reviewing and other media for libraries. The award recipient is selected for significant achievement related to a reviewing process that helps librarians make selection decisions.

2007 Mystery Award Nominees & Winners (Fiction)

Page Modified: September 30, 2008

Books published in 2007.

Agatha, Anthony, Barry, Mary Higgins Clark, Dilys, Edgars, Arthur Ellis Awards, Gumshoe, Hammett, Lambda, Macavity Awards, Nero Wolfe & Shamus Nominees, Thriller Writers - and assorted others when possible.

The Anthony Awards are determined at Bouchercon each year. Malice Domestic Agatha Awards are for the best cozy books per category. The Barry Awards are nominated by the staff of Deadly Pleasure mystery magazine. The Mary Higgins Clark Award is given for the book written most closely in the Mary Higgins Clark tradition. The Chester Himes Award is given to a black mystery writer for a body of work. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association presents the Dilys Winn Awards for the books most fun to sell. The Mystery Writers of America presents the Edgar Awards for achievement for the best work in the mystery field. The Arthur Ellis Awards are presented at the Canadian Crime Writers meeting. The International Association of Crime Writers' presents the Hammett Award to works of excellence by and American or Canadian writer. The Lamda Mystery awards are part of literary awards given in a a variety of areas to recognize gay/lesbian writers. The Mystery Readers International Award for Excellence is the Macavity, named in honor of T.S. Eliot's "Curious Cat". The Nero Wolfe award is given to a novel that members of the organization think best reflects the Nero Wolfe tradition. The Shamus Awards are presented by the Private Eye Writers of America to honor writers of P.I. novels.

Annotations are from Advance, the Ingram Book Magazine unless otherwise noted.

Listings are arranged alphabetically by author.

Hotlist: 2007 Crime Fiction Notables

Queenpin
Author: Abbott, Megan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 13 ISBN: 9781416534280 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
An Edgar nominee for Die a Little, Abbotts latest mystery puts a feminine twist on a classic story of underworld seduction.
Updated 4.28.08
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much: Meg Langslow
Author: Andrews, Donna
Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780312329426 Date: 2007
Agatha Award Nominee Best Novel, Lefty Award Nominee
PW
From the bestselling author of No Nest for the Wicket comes this outrageous, fun mystery that features an eccentric cast of characters and lighthearted humor.
Updated 6.4.07
In Cold Pursuit
Author: Andrews, Sarah
Publisher: Minotaur $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312342531 Date: 2007
Mary Higgins Clark Award Nominee
LJ
Updated 8.20.07
Andrews, well known for her popular series featuring forensic geologist Em Hansen, builds on that foundation and introduces a new lead character in this compelling mystery set in the isolation of Antarctica.
Wild Indigo: A Jamaica Wild Novel
Author: Ault, Sandi
Publisher: Berkley $23.95 ISBN: 9780425213698 Date: 2007
Mary Higgins Clark Award Nominee
PWLJ
In this debut mystery, Jamaica Wild, an agent with the Bureau of Land Management, witnesses a Tanoah man being trampled to death by stampeding buffalo. Was it an accident? Suicide? Foul play?
Suggested Reading:Debuts
Updated 12.28.06
No Time for Goodbye
Author: Barclay, Linwood
Publisher: Bantam $ 22 ISBN: 9780553805550 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Novel
LJ Kirkus
Cynthia Archer wakes up one morning in high school to discover that her entire family has disappeared. Twenty-five years later, she begins to notice odd and sinister signs. As dark secrets unfold, the shocking truth slowly emerges, in this gripping, pulse-pounding thriller
Updated 9.10.07
Christine Falls
Author: Black, Benjamin (John Banville)
Publisher: Holt $ 25 ISBN: 9780805081527 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Novel
KirkusLJ
In the debut crime novel from a Booker Prize-winning author, a Dublin pathologist follows the corpse of a mysterious woman into the heart of a conspiracy among the city's high Catholic society.
Updated 12.27.06
Shattered
Author: Bonansinga, Jay
Publisher: Pinnacle $ 6.99 ISBN: 9780786018772 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
In this follow-up to Twisted, FBI profiler Ulysses Grove is closing in on a serial killer known as the Mississippi Ripper, but the killer is planning a gruesome surprise for Grove that will come too close to home
Updated 4.28.08
Her Royal Spyness
Author: Bowen, Rhys
Publisher: Berkely $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780425215678 Date: 2007
Dilys Nominee, Agatha Award Nominee Best Novel
Booklist
The Agatha Award winner debuts a 1930s London mystery series, featuring a penniless 20-something member of the extended royal family. When an arrogant Frenchman, who wants her family's estate for himself, winds up dead, Victorias most important job is to clear her family name.
Updated 5.3.07
The Priest
Author: Bruen, Ken
Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780312341404 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Novel
PW
From the award-winning author of The Dramatist comes an unsettled and original novel. Readers will appreciate Bruen's stripped-down noir poetry, his superbly rendered sense of place and his evocative portrait of a person balanced on the razor's edge. ("Publishers Weekly").
Suggested Reading: Hard-Boiled | Noir
Updated 1.27.07
Stuff to Die For
Author: Bruns, Don
Publisher: Oceanview $ 24.95 ISBN: 9781933515106 Date: 2007
Lefty Award Nominee
Booklist
James' and Skip's new moving business takes a shocking turn when the contents of their first job reveals some unexpected cargo, a bloody human finger, and James and Skip must scramble to stay ahead of the criminals.
Suggested Reading: Debuts
Updated 8.20.07
The Tin Roof Blowdown: Dave Robicheaux
Author: Burke, James Lee
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 26 ISBN: 9781416548485 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Winner Best Novel
BooklistPW LJ
Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux returns in an adventure as timely as real life. Detective Robicheaux, driven by a keen sense of right versus wrong in the fight against crime following Hurricane Katrina, has his own demons of alcoholism and rage to contend with as well.
Suggested Reading: All Stars
Updated 8.1.07
Missing Witness
Author: Campbell, Gordon
Publisher: Morrow $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780061337512 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best First Novel
A brilliant defense lawyer becomes a pawn in a murder case with ingenious twists, in this electrifying debut thriller.
Updated 4.28.08
Interred With Their Bones
Author: Carrell, Jennifer Lee
Publisher: Dutton $ 25.95 ISBN: 9780525949701 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best First Novel
PW LJ
On the eve of the Globe's production of "Hamlet," Shakespearean scholar Kate Shelton is given what is claimed to be the Bards long-lost work. When a killer decides to stage theatrical murders as flesh-and-blood realities, Shelton must decipher a string of clues before anyone else dies.
Updated 8.20.07
Head Games
Author: Cavanagh, Thomas B.
Publisher: Minotaur $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312361327 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best First Novel
LJ
"I have a tumor in my head. I call it Bob . . ."
Fast-paced and acidly funny, Head Games sends up the best (and the worst) of Orlando's entertainment industry, marking Thomas B. Cavanagh as a name to watch in the world of Florida crime fiction. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 12.27.06
The Yiddish Policeman's Union
Author: Chabon, Michael
Publisher: HarperCollins $ 26.95 ISBN: 9780007149827 Date: 2007
Hammett Prize Nominee
KirkusBooklistLJ
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay pens an homage to the stylish menace of 1940s noir, in a novel that imagines if Alaska, not Israel, had become the homeland for the Jews after World War II.
Suggested Reading: All Stars | Hard-Boiled | Noir
Updated 3.2.07
Big City, Bad Blood
Author: Chercover, Sean
Publisher: Morrow $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780061128677 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Winner Best First Novel, Thriller Award Nominee Best First Novel
Disillusioned newspaper reporter-turned-private detective Ray Dudgeon isn't trying to save the world. He just wants to do a little good, but, as he's about to be reminded, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Updated 4.28.08
Bad Luck and Trouble
Author: Child, Lee
Publisher: Delacorte $ 26 ISBN: 9780385340557 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Thriller
BooklistLJKirkus
From the first shocking scenes in Child's explosive new novel, Jack Reacher is plunged like a knife into the heart of a conspiracy that is killing old friends and is on its way to something even worse.
Suggested Reading: All Stars
Updated 3.30.07
Raven Black
Author: Cleeves, Ann
Publisher: Minotaur $24.95 ISBN: 9780312359669 Date: 2007
Golden Dagger Winner
PW
Celebrated crime writer in Britain and winner of the coveted 2006 Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Cleeves now introduces a dazzling new suspense series--featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez--to U.S. mystery readers.
Updated 5.1.07
Soul Patch
Author: Coleman, Reed Farrel
Publisher: Bleak House $ 24/14.95 ISBN: 9781932557411/9781932557350 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Novel
LJ
Fourth book in the acclaimed Moe Prager mystery series taking place in New York City.
Updated 4.17.07
The Unquiet
Author: Connolly, John
Publisher: Atria $ 25.95 ISBN: 9780743298933 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Novel
PW
Private detective Charlie Parker is faced with untangling a twisted story brimming with betrayal, secrets, and murder when a psychiatrist goes missing following revelations about the harm done to children in his care.
Updated 3.30.07
The Watchman: Joe Pike
Author: Crais, Robert
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 25.95 ISBN: 9780743281638 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Thriller, Thriller Award Nominee Best Novel
Booklist
The bestselling author of The Two Minute Rule returns with his most popularcharacters, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike--and this time, the darkly compelling Joe gets to take the driver's seat. The result is Crais' most blistering thrille rto date.
Updated 1.16.07
End Games: Aurelio Zen
Author: Dibdin, Michael
Publisher: Pantheon $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780375425219 Date: 2007
Hammet Prize Nominee
n this devilishly suspenseful and entertaining adventure, Venice-born detective Aurelio Zen stumbles into a story full of unexpected twists and turns, taking readers deep into the ancient Calabrian culture--and into the darkest corners of the human heart.
Updated 4.28.08
From the Depths
Author: Doyle, Gerry
Publisher: McBooks $ 23.95 ISBN: 9781590131411 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best First Novel
Dr. Christine Myers, a forensic scientist with the CIA, has investigated some of the most heinous crimes ever committed, but nothing could prepare her for the slaughter aboard the "Dragon, "a defecting North Korean nuclear submarine. On board, Christine and a team of Navy SEALs find all the crew members dead, some with their bodies smashed and mutilated, others poisoned from chlorine gas inhalation. Was the gas leak an accident, or was it sabotage? As the SEALS submerge the sub and attempt a clandestine journey to land, Christine tries to piece together the forensic clues. But once the SEALs start dying one by one, the survivors must band together against an unseen enemy--before it's too late. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 4.28.08
Dahlia's Gone
Author: Estill, Katie
Publisher: St Martins $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780312358358 Date: 2007
Hammett Prize Nominee
This mesmerizing narrative beautifully and suspensefully explores the aftermath of tragedy, and the process of facing the truth. In Dahlia's Gone, Katie Estill has created brought to life three unforgettable characters whose lives intersect in both dramatic and mysterious ways. Dahlia's Gone looks unflinchingly at what's been lost, but in the end this is a story about redemption, the beauty of hope, and the soul-healing friendship that can be forged among women. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 4.28.08
A Beautiful Blue Death
Author: Finch, Charles
Publisher: Minotaur $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312359775 Date: 2007
Agatha Award Nominee Best First Novel
LJ
On any given day in London, all Charles Lenox, Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, wants to do is relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Lenox cannot resist another chance to unravel a mystery, even if it means trudging through the snow to her townhouse next door.
One of Jane's former servants, Prudence Smith, is dead - an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and though Prudence dabbled with the hearts of more than a few men, Lenox is baffled by an elusive lack of motive in the girl's death. When another body turns up during the London season's most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealousy that killed Prudence? Or was it something else entirely, something that Lenox alone can uncover before the killer strikes again - disturbingly close to home? - Publisher Marketing
Updated 5.1.07
Power Play
Author: Finder, Joseph
Publisher: St Martins $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312347482 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Thriller
From the "New York Times" bestselling author of Paranoia and Killer Instinct comes a pulse-pounding, high-stakes thriller set in the cutthroat corporate world. Martin's Press.
Updated 4.28.08
The Last Nightingale: A Novel of Suspense
Author: Flacco, Anthony
Publisher: Ballantine $ 12.95 ISBN: 978012977578 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
This exhilarating historical debut novel in the tradition of Caleb Carrs The Alienist is set in the heart of a disaster--the 1906 San Francisco earthquake--that sill reverberates a century later.
Updated 4.28.08
Mistress of Death
Author: Franklin, Ariana
Publisher: Putnam $ 25.95 ISBN: 9780399154140 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Novel, The Reading List Mystery Winner
Kirkus
Set in medieval England, this chilling, mesmerizing novel combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the detail and drama of historical fiction, as a "mistress of the art of death"--an early version of a medical examiner--arrives in Cambridge from Italy to investigate the suspicious deaths of four children.
Updated 10.16.06
In the Woods
Author: French, Tana
Publisher: Viking $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780670038602 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best First Novel
Booklist
Richly atmospheric, stunning in its complexity, and utterly convincing and surprising to the end, this novel marks the debut of an astonishing new voice in psychological suspense.
Suggested Reading:Debuts
Updated 5.11.07
Volk's Game
Author: Ghelfi, Brent
Publisher: Holt $ 19.95 ISBN: 9780805082548 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best First Novel
LJ
The explosive debut introducing Russian gangster Alexei Volkovoy delivers at every turn, announcing Volk as the boldest hero of a new generation.
Suggested Reading:Debuts
Updated 3.2.07
Snitch Jacket
Author: Goffard, Christopher
Publisher: Overlook $ 24.95 ISBN: 9781585679546 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best First Novel
PW
Combining elements of classic noir, dark comedy, and a misfits memoir reminiscent of Notes from the Underground, Goffard brings life to the darker side of West Coast counter-culture, in a literary crime novel that will delight readers.
Updated 8.20.07
A Real Basket Case
Author: Groundwater, Beth
Publisher: Five Star $ 25.95 ISBN: 9781594145476 Date: 2007
Agatha Award Nominee Best First Novel
Updated 4.28.08
The Book of Air and Shadows
Author: Gruber, Michael
Publisher: Morrow $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780060874469 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Thriller
KirkusBooklistPW
Hidden in the binding of a charred and ruined book is a cache of letters. They are encrypted and the key to unlocking the mysterious code has been lost for 400 years. If the letters are read, they will lead to one of the most valuable items in the history of the world.
Suggested Reading: All Stars
Updated 1.27.07
Inferno
Author: Harper, Karen
Publisher: Mira $ 6.99 ISBN: 9780778324041 Date: 2007
Mary Higgins Clark Award Nominee
Harper, the winner of the 2005 Mary Higgins Clark Award for Dark Angel, now delivers a new novel of romantic suspense. As Montana bush pilot Lauren Taylor flies a stranger into her isolated hometown, she realizes her passenger bears a striking resemblance to a serial arsonist wanted by the FBI.
Updated 4.28.08
The Ghost
Author: Harris, Robert
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 26 ISBN: 9781416551812 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Novel
From the bestselling author and literary mind behind Imperium, Pompeii, and Fatherland comes this compelling, modern political thriller ripped from todays headlines.
Updated 4.28.08
Down River
Author: Hart, John
Publisher: Minotaur $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312359317 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Novel
Booklist LJ PW
In this follow-up to his "New York Times" bestselling debut, The King of Lies, John Hart takes readers into the heart of a small Southern town, where he explores the lengths to which people will go for money, family, and pure greed--and just whether or not forgiveness is ever attainable.
Suggested Reading: All Stars
Updated 8.7.07
Stigma
Author: Hawley, Philip
Publisher: HarperCollins$ 7.99 ISBN: 9780060887445 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best First Novel
This debut thriller in a new series introduces former special-ops agent Luke McKenna, who is now a Los Angeles pediatrician. When a young Mayan boy dies in his E.R., McKenna discovers a puzzling illness is spreading among tribal Central American villages.
Updated 4.28.08
Cruel Poetry
Author: Hendricks, Vicki
Publisher: Serpents Tail $ 14.95 ISBN: 978152429270 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
Set in Miami's gaudy vacationland and the haunting atmosphere of the Everglades, Cruel Poetry is a gripping story of fatal attraction that captures the Florida behind the postcards. As the lives of Richard and Julie unravel amidst drugs and murder, Hendricks amps the adrenaline jolts and sweeps us to a bittersweet climax.
Updated 4.28.08
Heart-Shaped Box
Author: Hill, Joe
Publisher: Morrow $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780061147937 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best First Novel, The Reading List Horror Winner
LJPW
Sooner or later the dead catch up, as Judas Coyne buys a ghost for sale on the Internet. This pulse-pounding supernatural thriller is a remarkable debut novel from a blazing new talent.
Suggested Reading:Debuts
Updated 12.27.06
Robbie's WIfe
Author: Hill, Russell
Publisher: Hard Case$ 6.99 ISBN: 9780843957693 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
On a trip to England, failed screenwriter Jack Stone finds himself falling in love with the wife of the farmer he's staying with, and he's soon tempted to commit murder to have her for himself.
Updated 4.28.08
The Crime Writer
Author: Hurwitz, Gregg
Publisher: Viking $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780670063215 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Novel
Kirkus
In this fast-paced psychological thriller, a crime writer finds himself entangled in his own gruesome mystery.
Updated 5.11.07
The Shotgun Rule
Author: Huston, Charlie
Publisher: Ballantine $ 21.95 ISBN: 9780345481351 Date: 2007
Gumeshoe Award Nominee Best Novel
PW
The first stand-alone thriller by critically acclaimed author Charlie Huston, The Shotgun Rule is a raw tale of four teenage friends who go looking for a little trouble– and find it. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 8.1.07
Trouble
Author: Kellerman, Jesse
Publisher: Putnam $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780399154034 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Novel
KirkusKirkus
Following up his critically acclaimed debut Sunstroke, Kellerman pens a brilliant new thriller--twisted, sexy, and unrelentingly gripping
Updated 11.27.06
The First Stone
Author: Kelman, Judith
Publisher: Berkley $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780425213674 Date: 2007
Mary Higgins Clark Award Nominee
On quiet nights, home alone with her three-year-old, pregnant Emma hears muffled thumps and screams from the apartment above. When the doctor who lives in the apartment discovers that Emma has reported him, her life begins to unravel.
Updated 4.28.08
Thunder Bay
Author: Krueger, William Kent
Publisher: Atria $ 24 ISBN: 9780743278416 Date: 2007
Dilys Award Winner
PW
Cork OConnor is back in Krueger's eighth action-packed and utterly suspenseful thriller. OConnor is in his hometown and ready for a life of relative peace. But being back at the place where he began comes with its own set of challenges.
Updated 5.21.07
What the Dead Know
Author: Lippman, Laura
Publisher: Morrow $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780061128851 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Novel
PWKirkus
Bestselling author Lippman returns to the compelling terrain of Every Secret Thing and To the Power of Three with this indelible story of crime and vengeance in which the past becomes all too present.
Updated 1.27.07
Knee High by the Fourth of July
Author: Lourey, Jess
Publisher: Midnight Ink $ 13.95 ISBN: Date: 2007
Lefty Award Nominee
What's so wrong with admiring from a distance? Mira's quirky puppy love for Chief Wenonga, a well-muscled fiberglass statue in her Minnesota small town, might be a safer love pursuit than online dating. But when the 23-foot Chief goes missing from his cement base, Mira's not the only citizen to be crushed. The town of Battle Lake is celebrating their statue's 25th anniversary and no amount of blue, sugar-soaked popcorn balls at Wenonga Days can uplift their gloomy mood.
But when Mira runs into a dead body, the town has more pressing issues. Mira's second biggest crush, organic gardening god and dead ringer for Brad Pitt—Johnny Leeson—has disappeared. Her luck with men is running out, and a killer might be moving in. With something of her own to hide, Mira hopes she can avoid the police long enough to track down the object of her mega-crush—but is Mira trailing a statue-thief, a kidnapper, or a murderer? - Publisher Marketing
Updated 9.24.07
The Spellman Files
Author: Lutz, Lisa
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 25 ISBN: 9781416532392 Date: 2007
Dilys Nominee, Gumshoe Award Nominee Best First Novel
KirkusLJ
Meet Izzy Spellman, a 28-year-old private eye working for her family's investigative business--a family that puts the 'fun' in dysfunctional--in this irresistible, laugh-out-loud debut novel.
Suggested Reading:Debuts
Updated 3.15.07
Hard Row
Author: Maron, Margaret
Publisher: Grand Central $ 24.99 ISBN: 9780446582438 Date: 2007
Agatha Award Nominee Best Novel
LJ
For Judge Deborah Knott, it becomes clear that deep resentments over race, class, and illegal immigration are brewing in the countryside. When mutilated bodies are found, Deborah's search for the killer leads her to a desperate realm of undocumented farm workers exploited for cheap labor.
Updated 8.1.07
The Queen of Bedlam
Author: McCammon, Robert
Publisher: Pocket $ 16 ISBN: 9781416551119 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
PW
"New York Times" bestselling author McCammon returns with this new novel featuring Matthew Corbett, the magistrates clerk who investigates New York Citys first serial killer in 1702.
Updated 8.20.07
Thirteen
Author: Morgan, Richard K.
Publisher: Del Rey $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780345485250 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best Thriller
PW Booklist
From the award-winning author of Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Market Forces comes this near-future thriller featuring a hit man who has lost his desire to kill. Unfortunately, certain government officials dont want to let him off the hook that easily.
Updated 4.28.08
Pyres
Author: Nikitas, Derek
Publisher: Minotaur $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312363970 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best First Novel
Updated 4.28.08
A Thousand Bones
Author: Parrish, P.J.
Publisher: Pocket $ 7.99 ISBN: 9781416525875 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Paperback Original

he only female detective in the Miami PD's Homicide division, Joe Fryehas memories that haunt her, and a past that not even her lover, detective Louis Kincaid, truly knows. It began when Joe was an ambitious rookie cop in a small Michigan town called Echo Bay....

The bones found in the woods were the first clue in a string of unimaginably brutal murders of young women. Plunged into a heated investigation -- and caught between the dictates of a reluctant local sheriff and the state police -- Joe soon uncovers the chilling truth: In the dead of winter in the Michigan woods, she must face down a predator who has chosen "her" as a worthy opponent -- or become his next victim. - Publisher Marketing Updated 4.28.08
A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery (Armand Gamache Mysteries )
Author: Penny, Louise
Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780312352561 Date: 2007
Agatha Award Winner Best Novel
KirkusLJ
From the Dagger and Arthur Ellis Award-winning author of Still Life comes the second Gamache mystery set in the stunning countryside of Quebec.
Updated 3.2.07
The Midnight Road
Author: Piccirilli, Tom
Publisher: Bantam $ 6.99 ISBN: 9780553384086 Date: 2007
Thriller Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
From the moment he saw the girl in the snowstorm, Flynn had less than an hour to live. But he'll remember his last fifty minutes long after he's dead. As an investigator for Suffolk County Child Protective Services, Flynn has seen more than his share of misery, but nothing could prepare him for the nightmare inside the Shepards' million-dollar Long Island home. In less than an hour, that nightmare will send him plunging into a frozen harbor--and awaken him to a reality even more terrifying.
They've nicknamed Flynn "The Miracle Man" because few have ever been resuscitated after being dead so long. But a determined homicide detective and a beautiful, inquisitive reporter have questions about what really happened at the Shepard house--and why the people around Flynn are suddenly being murdered. Flynn has questions of his own, especially when one of the victims dies while handing him a note: THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. Flynn has returned from the Midnight Road--and someone wants to send him back. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 4.28.08
Silent in the Grave
Author: Raybourn, Deanna
Publisher: Mira $ 21.95 ISBN: 9780778324102 Date: 2007
Dilys Nominee, Agatha Award Nominee Best First Novel
PWKirkus
When her husband dies under suspicious circumstances, Lady Julia Grey investigates and discovers "disturbing truths about a husband she never truly knew and a world of deception, disease and sexual obsession she could never have imagined" ("Publishers Weekly").
Updated 11.27.06
Prime Time
Author: Ryan, Hank
Publisher: Harlequin $ 5.50 ISBN: 9780373881352 Date: 2007
Agatha Award Winner Best First Novel
Could an innocent e-mail offer really result in murder, mayhem and a multimillion-dollar fraud ring? The last person to ask is dead...but that won't keep Charlotte McNally from poking around. Face it--in the cutthroat world of television journalism, this seasoned reporter knows that she'd better pull out all the stops or kiss her cushy job (and that means her life) goodbye.
But all too soon her investigation leads her straight to Josh Gelston, who is a little "too" "a lot" too handsome. Could she trust a word he said? Charlie might have a nose for news, but men are a whole other story. Which means she is putting her job, life "and" heart on the line.... - Publisher Marketing
Updated 4.28.08
The Blade Itself
Author: Sakey, Marcus
Publisher: Minotaur $ 22.95 ISBN: 9780312360313 Date: 2007
Dilys Nominee
LJPW
In an explosive debut thriller reminiscent of the best of Dennis Lehane and Harlan Coben, a young Chicago professional learns that the more he has, the more he has to lose. "Taut, involving, and memorable, Marcus Sakey is an authentic, original new voice in crime fiction."--George Pelecanos.
Suggested Reading:Debuts
Updated 10.18.06
Stalin's Ghost
Author: Smith, Martin Cruz
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 26.95 ISBN: 9780743276726 Date: 2007
Hammett Prize Nominee
PWLJ
Gorky Park's Detective Arkady Renko returns to his Moscow base in Martin Cruz Smith's latest entry in the internationally bestselling series about Russian crimes, broken hearts, and the mysteries of the soul.
Updated 5.1.07
Mr. Clarinet
Author: Stone, Nick
Publisher: HarperCollins $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780060897291 Date: 2007
Gumshoe Award Nominee Best First Novel, Silver Dagger Winner
One of Britains favorite writers finally comes to America, in this novel that is gritty and unremittingly dark, replete with supervillains . . . [that] pays homage to pulp fiction and film noir.--("The Guardian")
Updated 4.28.08
Murder with Reservations
Author: Viets, Elaine
Publisher: NAL $ 21.95 ISBN: 9780451221117Date: 2007
Lefty Award Winner, Agatha Award Nomine Best Novel
Helen Hawthorne has a knack for keeping a low profile. But after a maid is found dead at the Fort Lauderdale hotel where Helen works, she knows that dead bodies mean another chance for the police--and her ex-husband--to find her.
Updated 4.28.08
Who is Conrad Hirst
Author: Wignall, Keviin
Publisher: Simon & Schuster $ 14 ISBN: 9781416540724 Date: 2007
Edgar Award Nominee Best Paperback Original
Hired gun Conrad Hirst must kill his way out of the assassin business by murdering the only four people who can identify him. But as the line between friend and enemy blurs, Hirst is left to wonder whether he is the hunter or the hunted in this heart-pounding novel of suspense.
Updated 4.28.08

2008

Hotlists

Fiction | Zoho DB

Crime Fiction |Zoho DB

Nonfiction Notables

African American Fiction | Christian Fiction

2008 Excel Files: (download - print, sort, etc.)

Crime Fiction | Fiction | African American Fiction | Christian Fiction | Nonfiction Notables

Stars

Fiction: Jan-June | July-Dec Crime Fiction: Jan-June | July-Dec

Speculative Fiction Romance Historical Nonfiction | YA

2009

Fiction | excel file

Crime Fiction | excel file

Overbooked is a volunteer project undertaken by Ann Chambers Theis: Collection Management Administrator, Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library. 9501 Lori Rd. or P.O. Box 297, Chesterfield, VA, 23832. Phone: 804.748.1760.

Overbooked is not an official Chesterfield County Public Library service. Overbooked.org is a nonprofit web site hosted by CVCO - Central Virginia's Community Online. Overbooked.com is a nonprofit web site in experimental mode. Overbooked does not endorse any commercial providers (or their products and services) linked to from this web site.

Please join the conversation(s) at Overbookers - a rather quiet social space for the chronically overbooked.

Join the Overbooked List - A quiet list for readers to share recent reads, keep up to date with details about new books, discuss favorite authors/titles, etc.

Comments, suggestions, corrections: Ann Chambers Theis (AKA Ann/ACT): overbooked1@verizon.net or ann@overbooked.com

I really appreciate all the e-mail I receive from avid readers and writers and regret that I am not able to respond to all correspondents. Special thanks to those folks who regularly help keep me on track - you know who you are....