Peter Robinson among winners of 2018 Arthur Ellis Awards for Canadian crime writing
CBC Books | Posted: May 25, 2018 1:58 PM | Last Updated: May 25, 2018
Peter Robinson was among the winners of the 2018 Arthur Ellis Awards. His novel, Sleeping in the Ground, was named Best Novel at the annual Canadian crime writing awards gala in Toronto this week.
Sleeping in the Ground is the latest installment of Robinson's popular detective Alan Banks mystery series. In the book, a culprit behind a horrendous mass murder at a small wedding has been apprehended, but Banks can tell something's amiss. With the help of his former flame Jenny Fuller, Banks probes the suspect's past for answers and unearths some very old secrets.
"There are so many twists and turns that it is hard to catch your breath," the jury said in a statement. "You find yourself swept along by the great mystery of the murders as well as the intricacies of the inter-relationships of Banks and his fellow homicide detectives, and the suspects as well."
Trevor Cole won the prize for best nonfiction book for The Whisky King, which tells the true story of one of Canada's most notorious organized crime figures, Rocco Perri.
The other winners were:
- Best first novel: Full Curl by Dave Butler
- Best novella: How Lon Pruitt Was Found Murdered in an Open Field with No Footprints Around by Mike Culpepper
- Best short story: The Outlier by Catherine Astolfo
- Best book in French: Les tricoteuses by Marie Saur
- Best juvenile/YA book: Chase: Get Ready to Run by Linwood Barclay
- Best unpublished first crime novel: Destruction in Paradise by Dianne Scott
Gail Bowen was the recipient of the 2018 Grand Master Award. The Grand Master Award celebrates a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work who has garnered national and international recognition. Bowen has written almost 20 books for her popular Joanne Kilbourn series, which began in 1990 with Deadly Appearances. The most recent book in the series is 2017's The Winners' Circle.