From the Private Eye Writers of America
The list of finalists for the 2026 Shamus Awards, for works first published in the U.S. in 2025, have just been released. The winners will be announced at the 2026 Bouchercon‘s Opening Ceremonies in Calgary, Alberta laster this year.
- The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole)
- Photograph by Brian Freeman (Shannon Wells)
- Hatchet Girls by Joe R. Lansdale (Hap Collins & Leonard Pine)
- Gray Dawn by Walter Mosley (Easy Rollins)
- Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (Evander Mills)
BEST FIRST P.I. NOVEL
- Chase Harlem by Elise Burke Brown (Chase Harlem)
- Miles in Time by Lee Mathew Goldberg (Miles Hardy)
- Where the Bones Lie by Nick Kolakowski (Dash Fuller)
- Shadow of the Eternal Watcher by Josh Mendoza (Duster Raines)
- The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan (Annie Gore)
BEST ORIGINAL PAPERBACK P.I. NOVEL
- The Hook and the Eye by Raymond Benson (Felix Leiter)
- Sunday or the Highway by Cindy Fazzi (Domingo)
- City Lights by Claire M. Johnson (Maggie Laurent)
- Midnight Streets by Phil Lecomber (George Harley)
- Catch Me on a Blue Day by M.E. Proctor (Declan Shaw)
BEST P.I. SHORT STORY
- “The One Cry” by F.H. Batacan (Accidents Happen; Joanna “Joe” Bonifacio)
- “Dr. Bones” by Libby Cudmore (May/June 2025, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine; Martin Wade)
- “Hours on the Phone” by Gregory Fallis (July/August 2025, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine; Hockney)
- “The Shadows” by Charles John Harper (May/June 2025, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine; Darrow Nash)
- “The Roosevelt Affair” by Adam Meyer (Crimeucopia: Not So Frail Detective Agency; Rosie Perkins)
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- The Shamus Awards: 1982-present
As bestowed by The Private Eye Writers of America
List respectfully compiled by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to John Shepphird for his help with this one. PWA Logo by Terry Beatty (copyright 2005).
