Search
Edgar Best Novel Award
2021
Nominations
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Before She Was Helen by Caroline B Cooney
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
The Missing American by Kwei Quartey
The Distant Dead by Heather Young
2020
Winner
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

Nominations
Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland
The River by Peter Heller
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee
Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham
2019
Winner
Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley

Nominations
The Liar’s Girl by Catherine Ryan Howard
House Witness by Mike Lawson
A Gambler’s Jury by Victor Methos
Only to Sleep by Lawrence Osborne
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

2018
Winner
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
 
Shortlist
The Dime by Kathleen Kent
Prussian Blue by Philip Kerr
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
 
2017
Winner
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
 
Shortlist
The Ex by Alafair Burke
Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
What Remains of Me by Alison Gaylin
 
2016
Winner
Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy
 
Shortlist
The Strangler Vine by MJ Carter
The Lady from Zagreb by Philip Kerr
Life or Death by Michael Robotham
Canary by Duane Swierczynski
Night Life by David C Taylor
 
2015
Winner
Mr Mercedes by Stephen King
 
Shortlist
This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash
Wolf by Mo Hayder
The Final Silence by Stuart Neville
Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin
Cop Town by Karin Slaughter
 
2014
Winner
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
 
Shortlist
Sandrine's Case by Thomas H Cook
The Humans by Matt Haig
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Standing in Another Man's Grave by Ian Rankin
Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy
 
2013
Winner
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
 
Shortlist
The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins
The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Potboiler by Jesse Kellerman
Sunset by Al Lamanda
All I Did Was Shoot My Man by Walter Mosley
 
2012
Winner
Gone by Mo Hayder
 
Shortlist
The Ranger by Ace Atkins
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
1222 by Anne Holt
Field Gray by Philip Kerr
 
2011
Winner
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
 
Shortlist
Caught by Harlan Coben
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Faithful Place by Tana French
The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan
I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
 
2010
Winner
The Last Child by John Hart
 
Shortlist
The Missing by Tim Gautreaux
The Odds by Kathleen George
Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston
Nemesis by Jo Nesbø
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn​
2009
Winner
Blue Heaven by CJ Box
 
Shortlist
Missing by Karin Alvtegen
Sins of the Assassin by Robert Ferrigno
The Price of Blood by Declan Hughes
The Night Following by Morag Joss
Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz
 
2008
Winner
Down River by John Hart
 
Shortlist
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black
Priest by Ken Bruen
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman
 
2007
Winner
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
 
Shortlist
The Pale Blue Eyes by Louis Bayard
Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris
The Dead Hour by Denise Mina
The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
Liberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer
 
2006
Winner
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter
 
Shortlist
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
Red Leaves by Thomas H Cook
Vanish by Tess Gerritsen
Drama City by George Pelecanos
 
2005
Winner
California Girl by T Jefferson Parker
 
Shortlist
Evan's Gate by Rhys Bowen
By a Spiders Thread by Laura Lippman
Remembering Sarah by Chris Mooney
Out of the Deep I Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming
 
2004
Winner
Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin
 
Shortlist
The Guards by Ken Bruen
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
 
2003
Winner
Winter and Night by SJ Rozan
 
Shortlist
Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews
Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke
City of Bones by Michael Connelly
No Good Deed by Manda Scott
 
2002
Winner
Silent Joe by T Jefferson Parker
 
Shortlist
The Judgment by DW Buffa
Tell No One by Harlan Coben
Money, Money, Money by Ed McBain
Reflecting the Sky by SJ Rozan
 
2001
Winner
The Bottoms by Joe R Lansdale
 
Shortlist
A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
A Dangerous Road by Kris Nelscott
Red Light by T Jefferson Parker
The Whole Truth by Nancy Pickard
 
2000
Winner
Bones by Jan Burke
 
Shortlist
River of Darkness by Rennie Airth
L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais
Strawberry Sunday by Stephen Greenleaf
In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson
1999
Winner
Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark
 
Shortlist
Blood Work by Michael Connelly
Beyond Recall by Robert Goddard
A Likeness in Stone by J Wallis Martin
The Last Days of Il Duce by Domenic Stansberry
 
1998
Winner
Cimarron Rose by James Lee Burke
 
Shortlist
Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie
A Wasteland of Strangers by Bill Pronzini
Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
The Purification Ceremony by Mark T Sullivan
 
1997
Winner
The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H Cook
 
Shortlist
With Child by Laurie R King
Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence
Pentecost Alley by Anne Perry
Mean Streak by Carolyn Wheat
 
1996
Winner
Come to Grief by Dick Francis
 
Shortlist
The Bookman's Wake by John Dunning
The Shadow Man by John Katzenbach
The Summons by Peter Lovesey
The Roaring Boy by Edward Marston
 
1995
Winner
The Red Scream by Mary Willis Walker
 
Shortlist
Lights Out by Peter Abrahams
A Long Line of Dead Men by Lawrence Block
Miami, It's Murder by Edna Buchanan
Wednesday's Child by Peter Robinson
 
1994
Winner
The Sculptress by Minette Walters
 
Shortlist
Free Fall by Robert Crais
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Hoeg
Wolf in the Shadows by Marcia Muller
The Journeyman Tailor by Gerald Seymour
 
1993
Winner
Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron
 
Shortlist
Backhand by Liza Cody
32 Cadillacs by Joe Gores
White Butterfly by Walter Mosley
Pomona Queen by Kem Nunn
 
1992
Winner
A Dance at the Slaughterhouse by Lawrence Block
 
Shortlist
Don't Say a Word by Andrew Klavan
Prior Convictions by Lia Matera
I.O.U. by Nancy Pickard
Palindrome by Stuart Woods
 
1991
Winner
New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith
 
Shortlist
Fade the Heat by Jay Brandon
Whiskey River by Loren Estleman
Bones and Silence by Reginald Hill
Deadfall In Berlin by RD Zimmerman
 
1990
Winner
Black Cherry Blues by James Lee Burke
 
Shortlist
Goldilocks by Andrew Coburn
A Question of Guilt by Frances Fyfield
Death of a Joyce Scholar by Bartholomew Gill
The Booster by Eugene Izzi
1989
Winner
A Cold Red Sunrise by Stuart M Kaminsky
 
Shortlist
Joey's Case by KC Constantine
Sacrificial Ground by Thomas H Cook
A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman
In the Lake of the Moon by David L Lindsey
 
1988
Winner
Old Bones by Aaron Elkins
 
Shortlist
A Trouble of Fools by Linda Barnes
Nursery Crimes by BM Gill
Rough Cider by Peter Lovesey
The Corpse in Oozak's Pond by Charlotte MacLeod
 
1987
Winner
A Dark-Adapted Eye by Barbara Vine
 
Shortlist
The Blind Run by Brian Freemantle
Come Morning by Joe Gores
A Taste for Death by PD James
The Straight Man by Roger L Simon
 
1986
Winner
The Suspect by LR Wright
 
Shortlist
City of Glass: The New York Trilogy, Part 1 by Paul Auster
A Shock to the System by Simon Brett
An Unkindness of Ravens by Ruth Rendell
The Tree of Hands by Ruth Rendell
 
1985
Winner
Briarpatch by Ross Thomas
 
Shortlist
The Black Seraphim by Michael Gilbert
The Twelfth Juror by BM Gill
Emily Dickinson is Dead by Jane Langton
Chessplayer by William Pearson
 
1984
Winner
LaBrava by Elmore Leonard
 
Shortlist
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Little Drummer Girl by John le Carré
Texas Station by Christopher Leach
The Papers of Tony Vietch by William McIlvanney
 
1983
Winner
Billinsgate Shoal by Rick Boyer
 
Shortlist
Eight Million Ways to Die by Lawrence Block
Split Images by Elmore Leonard
The Captain by Seymour Shubin
Kahawa by Donald E Westlake
 
1982
Winner
Peregrine by William Bayer
 
Shortlist
The Other Side of Silence by Ted Allbeury
Death in a Cold Climate by Robert Barnard
Dupe by Liza Cody
The Amateur by Robert Littell
Bogmail by Patrick McGinley
 
1981
Winner
Whip Hand by Dick Francis
 
Shortlist
Death of a Literary Widow by Robert Barnard
Death Drop by BM Gill
The Spy's Wife by Reginald Hill
Man on Fire by AJ Quinnell
 
1980
Winner
The Rheingold Route by Arthur Maling
 
Shortlist
Death of a Mystery Writer by Robert Barnard
Fire in the Barley by Frank Parrish
Make Death Love Me by Ruth Rendell
A Coat of Varnish by CP Snow
1979
Winner
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
 
Shortlist
The Snake by John Godey
Listening Woman by Tony Hillerman
A Sleeping Life by Ruth Rendell
The Shallow Grave by Jack S Scott
 
1978
Winner
Catch Me: Kill Me by William H Hallahan
 
Shortlist
Laidlaw by William McIlvanney
Nightwing by Martin Cruz Smith
 
1977
Winner
Promised Land by Robert B Parker
 
Shortlist
The Cavanaugh Quest by Thomas Gifford
A Madness of the Heart by Richard Neely
The Glory Boys by Gerald Seymour
The Main by Trevanian Trevanian
 
1976
Winner
Hopscotch by Brian Garfield
 
Shortlist
The Gargoyle Conspiracy by Marvin Albert
Operation Alcestic by Maggie Rennert
Harry's Game by Gerald Seymour
The Money Harvest by Ross Thomas
 
1975
Winner
Peter's Pence by Jon Cleary
 
Shortlist
The Man Who Loved Zoos by Malcolm Bosse
Goodbye and Amen by Francis Clifford
The Silver Bears by Paul Erdman
The Lester Affair by Andrew Garve
 
1974
Winner
Dance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman
 
Shortlist
The Rainbird Pattern by Victor Canning
Amigo, Amigo by Francis Clifford
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James
Dear Laura by Jean Stubbs
 
1973
Winner
The Lingala Code by Warren Kiefer
 
Shortlist
Five Pieces of Jade by John Ball
Tied Up in Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh
The Shooting Gallery by Hugh C Rae
Canto for a Gypsy by Martin Cruz Smith
 
1972
Winner
The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
 
Shortlist
The Fly on the Wall by Tony Hillerman
Shroud for a Nightingale by PD James
Sir, You Bastard by GF Newman
Who Killed Enoch Powell? by Arthur Wise
 
1971
Winner
The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
 
Shortlist
The Hound and the Fox and the Harper by Shaun Herron
Beyond this Point Are Monsters by Margaret Millar
Many Deadly Returns by Patricia Moyes
Autumn of a Hunter by Pat Stadley
The Hot Rock by Donald E Westlake
 
1970
Winner
Forfeit by Dick Francis
 
Shortlist
A Pride of Heroes (The Old English Peep Show) by Peter Dickinson
Miro by Shaun Herron
Blind Man with a Pistol by Chester Himes
When in Greece by Emma Lathen
Where the Dark Streets Go by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
1969
Winner
A Case of Need by Jeffery Hudson & Michael Crichton
 
Shortlist
Picture Miss Seeton by Heron Carvic
Skin Deep (A Glass-Sided Ants' Nest) by Peter Dickinson
The Valentine Estate by Stanley Ellin
Blood Sport by Dick Francis
God Speed the Night by Dorothy Salisbury Davis & Jerome Ross,
 
1968
Winner
God Save the Mark by Donald E Westlake
 
Shortlist
Lemon in the Basket by Charlotte Armstrong
The Gift Shop by Charlotte Armstrong
A Parade of Cockeyed Creatures by George Baxt
Flying Finish by Dick Francis
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
 
1967
Winner
King of the Rainy Country by Nicolas Freeling
 
Shortlist
Odds Against by Dick Francis
Killer Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh
The Busy Body by Donald E Westlake
 
1966
Winner
The Quiller Memorandum by Adam Hall
 
Shortlist
Funeral in Berlin by Len Deighton
The Perfect Murder by HRF Keating
The Far Side of the Dollar by Ross Macdonald
The Pale Betrayer by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart
 
1965
Winner
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
 
Shortlist
The Night of the Generals by Hans Hellmut Kirst
The Fiend by Margaret Millar
This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart
 
1964
Winner
The Light of the Day by Eric Ambler
 
Shortlist
The Make-Believe Man by Elizabeth Fenwick
Grieve for the Past by Stanton Forbes
The Expendable Man by Dorothy B Hughes
The Player on the Other Side by Ellery Queen
 
1963
Winner
Death and the Joyful Woman by Ellis Peters
 
Shortlist
The Zebra-Striped Hearse by Ross Macdonald
Seance by Mark McShane
The Evil Wish by Jean Potts
Knave of Hearts by Dell Shannon
The Ballad of the Running Man by Shelley Smith
 
1962
Winner
Gideon's Fire by JJ Marric
 
Shortlist
Nightmare by Anne Blaisdell
The Green Stone by Suzanne Blanc
The Night of Wenceslas by Lionel Davidson
The Wycherly Woman by Ross Macdonald
 
1961
Winner
Progress of a Crime by Julian Symons
 
Shortlist
The Traces of Brillhart by Herbert Brean
The Devil's Own by Peter Curtis
Watcher in the Shadows by Geoffrey Household
 
1960
Winner
The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
 
Shortlist
The List of Adrian Messenger by Philip MacDonald
1959
Winner
The Eighth Circle by Stanley Ellin
 
Shortlist
The Madhouse in Washington Square by David Alexander
Miss Fenny (The Woman in the Woods) by Charity (Lee) Blackstock & Ursula Torday
A Gentleman Called by Dorothy Salisbury Davis
 
1958
Winner
Room to Swing by Ed Lacy
 
Shortlist
The Longest Second by Bill Ballinger
The Night of the Good Children by Marjorie Carleton
The Bushman Who Came Back by Arthur Upfield
 
1957
Winner
A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong
 
Shortlist
The Man Who Didn't Fly by Margot Bennett
 
1956
Winner
Beast in View by Margaret Millar
 
Shortlist
The Case of the Talking Bug by Gordon Gordon & Mildred Gordon
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
 
1955
Winner
The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
 
1954
Winner
Beat Not the Bones by Charlotte Jay