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The Bourcheron World Mystery Convention was held a few weeks ago in St. Louis, honoring some of the best mystery books of the year.  Both the Barry Awards and the Anthony Awards are top honors, and this year's nominees were a great group of stories to add to your reading list.

I had promised you all another review before the convention, yet here I am a bit late.  Nonetheless, I'm excited to announce that Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist was honored with the Barry Award, and it was the very book I wanted to praise here as well.  Mr. Hamilton just won the Edgar Award for best mystery of the year earlier on, and now he's got the Barry Award for Best Novel too.  And I'll have to say, this one is well-deserved.  The author steps away from his Alex McKnight series to bring us a really compelling crime novel.

This is what Macmillan had to say about this book:

"Michael is no ordinary young man.  Mute since a childhood tragedy, at age eighteen he discovers that he possesses a skill he would never have expected.  Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe . . . he can open them all.

It's a talent that will make Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people, and whether he likes it or not, push him closer to a life of crime.  Until one day, when he finally sees his chance to escape, and decides to risk everything to return home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long."

The story of Michael and how he got to be a "box man" has stayed with me.  Steve Hamilton creates some memorable characters in a great mystery that you'll be staying up all night to read. And here are the other Best Novel nominees for the Barry Awards:

Nowhere to Run - C.J. Box

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter - Tom Franklin

Moonlight Mile - Dennis Lehane

Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny

Savages - Don Winslow

Also announced during the Boucheron, the Anthonys were awarded with the Best Novel going to Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny.  Honorees this year were similar to the Barry Awards:

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter - Tom Franklin
Faithful Place - Tana French
The Lock Artist - Steve Hamilton
I'd Know You Anywhere - Laura Lippman