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And Then There Were Three
The Beltie Mystery Award is one step closer to it’s fateful conclusion today with the announcement of the prize’s shortlist. And it’s definitely a list to die for!
Our mystery guru in residence, Pete Mock, devours an approximate 100 mystery books a year, and he has painfully winnowed his top picks of 2017 down to just three. As a reminder, the long list of nominees were:
James Anderson: The Never-Open Desert Diner
Ryan Gattis: Safe
Joe Ide: IQ
Julia Keller: Fast Falls the Night
Bill Loehfelm: The Devil’s Muse
Thomas Mullen: Lightning Men
Thomas Perry: The Old Man
Zoe Sharp: Fox Hunter
After a last minute swap, Pete’s trio of finalists are…
Ryan Gattis’ Safe: “A gritty urban Robin Hood story featuring a young safe-cracker working for the DEA just before the last Great Recession. His girlfriend is a loan officer who sees the housing crisis coming and knows who’s going to get screwed. Together they begin to skim from the safes he cracks and thus the troubles begin.”
Thomas Perry’s The Old Man: “One of the first mysteries I ever read was Thomas Perry’s Butcher’s Boy. Now, thirty years later, here he is with The Old Man, and he is as good as ever. Like a fine wine he ages well. All hail Thomas Perry!”
Zoe Sharp’s Fox Hunter: “You know you’re doing something right when Lee Child writes an intro for your books, and he’s right when he says ‘If Jack Reacher were a woman, he’d be Charlie Fox.’ She’s ex-military turned bodyguard and someone you don’t want to mess with- though if she’s your friend, you have a friend for life.”
McIntyre’s is offering a “Pete’s Hit List” discount – buy four or more of the long listed books for 15% off – it’s a killer deal.
Tune back in on February 20th to see which one of these books buries the others and gets away with murder!
– Kelley, McIntyre’s Bookseller