2005 Shamus Award Winners and Nominees

Best Novel

Winner

The Silver Face (While I Disappear) by Edward Wright

Hollywood in the '50s is the setting for this second noir mystery featuring John Ray Horn, former cowboy actor. Originally published in the US as While I Disappear.

trade paperback, available April 2007,, $12.50

Other Nominees

Fade to Clear by Leonard Chang

Korean-American PI Allen Choice does a favor for his old girlfriend, a decision he may come to regret

Out of Print

Choke Point by James C. Mitchell

Border Patrol agent turned PI Brinker goes into Mexico in search of answers in the murder of a reporter

Out of Print

The Wake-up by Robert Ferrigno

retired special-ops agent decides to teach a guy a lesson but things get totally out of hand

trade paperback, $13

After the Rain by Chuck Logan

Phil Broker and his wife are finally reunited when Broker travels to North Dakota to help her uncover a rogue intelligence network

paperback, $7.99

Best First P.I. Novel

Winner

The Dead by Ingrid Black

odd sort of mystery that features a woman ex-FBI agent living in Dublin and seeking a serial killer

Out of Print

Other Nominees

Little Girl Lost by Richard Aleas

outstanding PI debut features Manhattan detective who investigates the death of an old girlfriend who had become a stripper.

paperback, $6.99

The Last Goodbye by Reed Arvin

down on his luck attorney drawn into friend’s murder; by the author of The Will

paperback, $7.50

Aspen Pulp by Patrick Hasburgh

TV writer turned PI uses what he's learned from detective shows in search for missing cheerleader

Out of Print

Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

young man anwers an ad in Victorian London, finds himself employed by a Sherlock Holmes-like detective

trade paperback, $14

Best Paperback Original P.I. Novel

Winner

Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips

man comes to Hollywood to be a screenwriter but finds himself offering protection to a damsel in distress in this contemporary version of a '40s noir crime novel

paperback, $6.99

Other Nominees

Call the Devil by His Oldest Name by Sallie Bissell

a frantic suspenser that starts with a stolen baby that leads along the Cherokee Trail of Tears

paperback, $6.99

Shadow of the Dahlia by Jack Bludis

Out of Print

The London Blitz Murders by Max Allan Collins

Murder in London in 1942 investigated by Sir Bernard Spillsbury assisted by Agatha Christie

Out of Print

Island of Bones by P.J. Parrish

Lewis Kincaid investigates a young woman's murder and a private island that holds deadly secrets

paperback, $6.99