Yes, the Mystery Writers of America have announced the nominees in all categories for fiction and nonfiction Edgar (for Edgar Allan Poe) awards. In past years, I have read, reviewed and ranked two or three categories. This year, I’m not likely to be as ambitious thanks to a demanding work schedule.
But I have started with the debuts: Best First Novel by an American Author. It’s always exciting to read good new authors. And when an exciting new author publishes more books… that’s wonderful. I recall loving Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews, which won the Edgar in 2014. He followed up with Palace of Treason (also fabulous!) and the latest is The Kremlin’s Candidate (which I bought but can’t read until the Edgar deep dive is complete). There’s also this.
Of this year’s nominees, the only one I had read previously is Lola, by Melissa Scrivner Love. But I didn’t start there.
First up for me was Tornado Weather. The mystery: where is 5-year-old Daisy Gonzalez? A bigger mystery – how can there be any secrets in this town where everybody knows everybody’s business?
Daisy is a bright, well-liked girl, wheelchair-bound, who disappears after school one blustery day, when her bus driver is overwhelmed, her teacher father is still at school, and the high school girl who was supposed to get her home simply forgot to meet her. She’s the subject of speculation among the residents of Colliersville, Indiana. An economically depressed small town, Colliersville and its residents are not doing all that well. Each chapter features a different point of view, from a dead Iraq war vet to his grieving grandmother to Daisy’s father to trans teen Willa (born Wally) and the grocery store clerk who thinks he hears animals speak, and knows more than he says.
The book is entrancing, not so much for Daisy’s story, but for the characters, their hard lives, and the fact that they can still find joy and show so much love, despite their imperfections. It is these imperfections – especially the stupid, thoughtless acts that lead to tragedy, as is the case with Daisy’s unnecessary death – that gives life such pathos.
Tornado Weather is a deep, insightful novel and one which is a pleasure to read, although that pleasure is mixed with pain. As it is the first one up, it takes the top spot.
Literary Lunchbox Rankings: Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Best First Novel
- Tornado Weather by Deborah E. Kennedy
Harlen Coben’s up to 30 books, both series and standalone, and I’ve been reading him since his Myron Bolitar days. (I like humor, and snark as well.) 
Also back is Kathy Reichs with 
Finally, Anne Perry is back on the mystery scene with A
Bittersweet for me was reading Sue Grafton’s 
A more thrilling read is Louise Penny’s new Chief Superintendent Gamache novel, 
Third up is Michael Connelly’s 
Friends, I am heartily sorry for spending the last five months away from my book blog, but I resolve to turn over a new leaf! Where I left you last was waiting for the outcome of the Edgar Awards banquet in New York City, after having read, reviewed and ranked finalists in three categories. I’ll cut to the chase: I’m batting .333 here – Edgar judges only agreed with me on the Best Original Paperback. We both selected Adrian McKinty’s 
For Best First Novel, I picked Heather Young’s 
And for Best Novel, I gave the Literary Lunchbox Edgar to Lyndsey Faye’s 
Literary Lunchbox Rankings: Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, Best Novel
She Rides Shotgun: a compulsive read
N
ext up in the MWA Edgar Awards category of Best First Novel is Jordan Harper’s novel She Rides Shotgun. It’s a mesmerizing, nail-biting, fast-paced and tightly plotted tale of good vs. evil with an unusual protagonist – an 11-year old, teddy-bear toting girl with ice-blue eyes and a talent for violence.
Polly McClusky’s dad, Nate McClusky, has been sentenced to death. Not by the judicial system – although he is a felon – but by the leader of Aryan Steel, a gang of white supremacists. It’s a particularly vicious sentence, because it dooms not only Nate, but ex-wife Avis and their daughter. Nate comes home to warn them, but he’s too late – Avis and her new boyfriend are dead. He scoops a wary Polly up from the sidewalk in front of her school, and they begin a deadly cat-and-mouse game with one objective: lift the “green light” and save Polly’s life. Tracking them both: Detective John Park.
Nate’s initial plan is to get Polly to a relative’s home, where she’ll be safe. On the way, he passes on the life skills taught to him by his partner in crime and dead older brother, Nick. Skills like how to take a punch. When to run. How to fight dirty. Where to stab. How to use your skinny arms to make a grown man lose consciousness. Most importantly, how to keep going when doing so is impossible, but the alternative is death.
It’s no surprise to learn in She Rides Shotgun that no place is safe and that friends can betray you, but also that there can be unexpected allies. The story is primarily Polly’s, and Harper does an amazing job of letting you inside Polly’s head, to see the confusion and sadness, but also the hard core of steel and the fierce loyalty there. Nate has been pretty much absent from Polly’s life, but is redeemed by the journey and his quest to save her, overcoming his own misjudgment through sheer will. Det. Park is wily, but one step behind.
I think you are getting the point that She Rides Shotgun gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me. How does it compare to Tornado Weather, the first book reviewed in this category? Tornado Weather is an interesting, insightful, and thoroughly readable book. But She Rides Shotgun is a compulsive, propulsive read, with out-there-but-believable characters that you care about. No competition: She Rides Shotgun takes top spot.
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Posted in Commentary, Edgar, Review
Tagged Edgar, Jordan Harper, MWA, Review, She Rides Shotgun, Tornado Weather