As Twittered by Sarah Weinman and posted to The Rap Sheet:
Best Short Story: “Skinhead Central,” by T. Jefferson Parker (from The Blue Religion, edited by Michael Connelly; Little, Brown)
Also nominated: “A Sleep Not Unlike Death,” by Sean Chercover (from Hardcore Hardboiled, edited by Todd Robinson; Kensington Publishing); “Skin and Bones,” by David Edgerley Gate (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, October 2008); “Scratch of a Woman,” by Laura Lippman (from Hardly Knew Her; Morrow); and “La Vie en Rose,” by Dominique Mainard (from Paris Noir; edited by Aurelien Masson; Akashic Books)
Showing posts with label The Blue Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Blue Religion. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
"Skinhead Central" by T. Jefferson Parker
From: The Blue Religion ed. Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company, 2008.
This Edgar-nominated story is told from the viewpoint of Sally, who has moved with her retired cop husband Jim from Laguna Beach to Spring Lake, Idaho. Shortly after the move, a 19-year-old skinhead named Dale shows up looking for work. Jim begrudgingly gives him some, but when Sally's jewelry bag goes missing, it's easily traced to Dale. The next day, Dale's younger brother Jason returns the bag and takes a beating from Dale for his trouble.
Calling on a network of contacts stretching back to California, Jim learns that Dale and Jason's father is an abusive ex-con. Jim and Sally take an unusual interest in the boys' future.
"Skinhead Central" is written so crisply, in a voice so knowing, I read it aloud.
This Edgar-nominated story is told from the viewpoint of Sally, who has moved with her retired cop husband Jim from Laguna Beach to Spring Lake, Idaho. Shortly after the move, a 19-year-old skinhead named Dale shows up looking for work. Jim begrudgingly gives him some, but when Sally's jewelry bag goes missing, it's easily traced to Dale. The next day, Dale's younger brother Jason returns the bag and takes a beating from Dale for his trouble.
Calling on a network of contacts stretching back to California, Jim learns that Dale and Jason's father is an abusive ex-con. Jim and Sally take an unusual interest in the boys' future.
"Skinhead Central" is written so crisply, in a voice so knowing, I read it aloud.
Friday, January 16, 2009
NBS Special Report: 2009 Best Short Story Edgar Nominees
As presented by the Mystery Writers of America:
BEST SHORT STORY
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" - Hardcore Hardboiled by Sean Chercover (Kensington Publishing)
"Skin and Bones" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by David Edgerley Gates (Dell Magazines)
"Scratch of a Woman" - Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
"La Vie en Rose" - Paris Noir by Dominique Mainard (Akashic Books)
"Skinhead Central" - The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD (Best First Short Story)
"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)
Congratulations and good luck to all.
The full list of Edgar nominees via Sarah Weinman's Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind.
BEST SHORT STORY
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" - Hardcore Hardboiled by Sean Chercover (Kensington Publishing)
"Skin and Bones" – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by David Edgerley Gates (Dell Magazines)
"Scratch of a Woman" - Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
"La Vie en Rose" - Paris Noir by Dominique Mainard (Akashic Books)
"Skinhead Central" - The Blue Religion by T. Jefferson Parker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD (Best First Short Story)
"Buckner's Error" - Queens Noir by Joseph Guglielmelli (Akashic Books)
Congratulations and good luck to all.
The full list of Edgar nominees via Sarah Weinman's Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind.
Friday, August 22, 2008
"Friday Night Luck" by Edward D. Hoch
From: The Blue Religion ed. Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company, 2008.
Working on a crime-scene cleanup crew, Will Blackstone aspires to be a police detective. His chances dim when he's caught smoking marijuana during a shift as a citizen volunteer, but on a whim he decides not to turn in his uniform and badge, and no one keeps after him about it.
Some days later, while cleaning up an apparent double-murder, Blackstone finds an address book the police have missed. The book leads him to believe the second man isn't dead. Blackstone does his best to investigate, imperiling himself in the process. A well-served blend of optimism and realism.
Working on a crime-scene cleanup crew, Will Blackstone aspires to be a police detective. His chances dim when he's caught smoking marijuana during a shift as a citizen volunteer, but on a whim he decides not to turn in his uniform and badge, and no one keeps after him about it.
Some days later, while cleaning up an apparent double-murder, Blackstone finds an address book the police have missed. The book leads him to believe the second man isn't dead. Blackstone does his best to investigate, imperiling himself in the process. A well-served blend of optimism and realism.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
"Father's Day" by Michael Connelly
From: The Blue Religion ed. Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company, 2008.
This powerful story opens with a hospital curtain being pulled over the body of a dead child. The child's father admits to leaving the child alone in his car while he was distracted by business that brought him into the office on a weekend. At interview, Bosch suspects the man is lying and expertly baits him into telling the truth.
This powerful story opens with a hospital curtain being pulled over the body of a dead child. The child's father admits to leaving the child alone in his car while he was distracted by business that brought him into the office on a weekend. At interview, Bosch suspects the man is lying and expertly baits him into telling the truth.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"The Drought" by James O. Born
From: The Blue Religion ed. Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company, 2008.
In a drought of murder cases, Ben Stoltz, a senior Homicide detective with the Broward County Sheriff's office, investigates the case of a young officer who shot a man who'd disarmed him of his ASP expandable baton. Born shows Stoltz to be a man of extreme focus, whose dedication to the job estranges him from his wife and family. Under pressure from a state's attorney to help indict the young officer or face a transfer out of Homicide, will Stoltz compromise or keep his integrity?
In a drought of murder cases, Ben Stoltz, a senior Homicide detective with the Broward County Sheriff's office, investigates the case of a young officer who shot a man who'd disarmed him of his ASP expandable baton. Born shows Stoltz to be a man of extreme focus, whose dedication to the job estranges him from his wife and family. Under pressure from a state's attorney to help indict the young officer or face a transfer out of Homicide, will Stoltz compromise or keep his integrity?
Saturday, April 26, 2008
"Contact and Cover" by Greg Rucka
From: The Blue Religion ed. Michael Connelly. Little Brown and Company, 2008.
Novelist and comic book writer Rucka delivers his trademark authenticity and white-knuckle action in this story of three female Portland, Oregon police officers who serve their own justice on a misogynistic partner after the system fails them. From a brand new collection of nineteen stories on "cops, criminals, and the chase."
Novelist and comic book writer Rucka delivers his trademark authenticity and white-knuckle action in this story of three female Portland, Oregon police officers who serve their own justice on a misogynistic partner after the system fails them. From a brand new collection of nineteen stories on "cops, criminals, and the chase."
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