The Barry Awards
Bestowed by Deadly Pleasures Magazine

In 1997, Deadly Pleasures began to present awards for excellence in crime fiction. The awards were named in honour of Barry Gardner, a well-respected reviewer, and a regular contributor to the magazine.

The first Barry Awards were voted upon by the editorial staff (there was not enough time to go through a nominating and a voting process). Since then, the awards have been chosen by subscribers to the magazine and by visitors to its web site.

| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |

1997 BARRY AWARDS

BEST NOVEL:

  • Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey
  • Hearts And Bones by Margaret Lawrence
  • Dance Of The Dead by Thomas Perry
  • The Wood Beyond by Reginald Hill
  • Speak No Evil by Rochelle Krich
  • The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Walking Rain by Susan Wade
  • The Grass Widow by Teri Holbrook
  • Fade Away by Harlan Coben (Myron Bolitar)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Test Of Wills by Charles Todd
  • A Brother's Blood by Michael C. White
  • A Killing In Quail County by Jameson Cole
  • Lie Down With Dogs by Jan Gleiter
  • What The Deaf Mute Heard by G.D. Gearino
  • Fatal Gift by H. Michael Frase

BEST NON-FICTION

  • Detecting Women 2 by Willetta L. Heising

1998 BARRY AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Backspin by Harlan Coben (Myron Bolitar)
  • Big Red Tequila by Rick Riordan (Tres Navarre)
  • The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey
  • Dead Body Language by Penny Warner

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Killing Floor by Lee Child (Jack Reacher)
  • No Human Involved by Barbara Seranella
  • Except The Dying by Maureen Jennings
  • Free Reign by Rosemary Aubert
  • Flower Net by Lisa See
  • Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon

1999 BARRY AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

  • On Beulah Height by Reginald Hill - tie
  • Gone, Baby Gone by Dennis Lehane - tie (Patrick Kenzie & Angela Gennaro)
  • Evan Help Us by Rhys Bowen
  • Blood Work by Michael Connelly (Terry McCaleb )
  • The Coffin Dancer by Jeffery Deaver
  • Judas Child by Carol O'connell
  • The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
  • All The Dead Lie Down by Mary Willis Walker

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
  • The Contrary Blues by John Billheimer
  • A Cold Day In Paradise by Steve Hamilton (Alex McKnight)
  • The Doctor Digs A Grave by Robin Hathaway
  • Tidewater Blood by William Hoffman
  • A Likeness In Stone by J. Wallis Martin
  • Billy Dead by Lisa Reardon
  • A Criminal Appeal by D.R. Schanker

2000 BARRY AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Every Move She Makes by Robin Burcell
  • An Antidote For Avarice by Caroline Roe
  • Them Bones by Carolyn Haines
  • The Hunted by Jerry Kennealy
  • The Last Song Dogs by Sinclair Browning (Trade Ellis)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
  • The Immortal Game by Mark Coggins (August Riordan)
  • Lie In The Dark by Dan Fesperman
  • White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones
  • Every Trace by Greg Main

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

  • A Place Of Execution by Val Mcdermid
  • River Of Darkness by Rennie Airth
  • Every Dead Thing by John Connolly (Charlie Parker)
  • Rough Justice by Colin Falconer
  • The Chalon Heads by Barry Maitland

2001 BARRY AWARDS

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

  • Deep South by Nevada Barr
  • Places In The Dark by Thomas H. Cook
  • Running Blind by Lee Child (Jack Reacher)
  • Cross Dressing by Bill Fitzhugh
  • Winter Of The Wolf Moon by Steven Hamilton (Alex McKnight)
  • Unwanted Company by Barbara Seranella

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • The Kidnapping Of Rosie Dawn by Eric Wright (Joe Barley)
  • Dive Deep And Deadly by Glynn Marsh Alam
  • Death Dances To A Reggae Beat by Kate Grilley
  • Little Mexico by Cathie John
  • Distemper by Beth Saulnier

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Conspiracy Of Paper by David Liss
  • In Her Defense by Stephen Horn
  • The Ice Harvest by Scott Phillips
  • Street Level by Bob Truluck (Duncan Sloan)
  • Death Of A Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

  • Black Dog by Stephen Booth
  • Dark Hollow by John Connolly (Charlie Parker)
  • The Beach Road by Sarah Diamond
  • The Certainty Of Doing Evil by Colin Falconer
  • The Reaper by Peter Lovesey

2002 BARRY AWARDS

BEST NOVEL

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Killing Gifts by Deborah Woodworth
  • Rode Hard, Put Away Dead by Sinclair Browning (Trade Ellis)
  • Death Is A Cabaret by Deborah Morgan
  • The Fourth Wall by Beth Saulnier
  • Straw Men by Martin J. Smith

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • Open Season by C. J. Box
  • Third Person Singular by K.J. Erickson
  • Chasing The Devil's Tail by David Fulmer (Valentin St. Cyr)
  • Perhaps She'll Die by M.K. Preston
  • Blindsighted by Karen Slaughter
  • Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

  • Dancing With Virgins by Stephen Booth
  • Blood Junction by Caroline Carver
  • The Killing Kind by John Connolly (Charlie Parker)
  • Dialogues Of The Dead by Reginald Hill
  • Death In Holy Orders by P.D. James
  • Killing The Shadows by Val Mcdermid
  • The Falls by Ian Rankin

2003 BARRY AWARDS
Presented at the 2003 Bouchercon held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

BEST NOVEL

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • In A Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming
  • The Devil's Redhead by David Corbett
  • Not All Tarts Are Apple by Pip Granger
  • The Blue Edge Of Midnight by Jonathon King (Max Freeman)
  • The Distance by Eddie Muller (Billy Nichols)
  • Buck Fever by Ben Rehder

BEST BRITISH NOVEL

  • The White Road by John Connolly (Charlie Parker)
  • Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham
  • The Master Of Rain by Tom Bradby
  • The Business Of Dying by Simon Kernick
  • Diamond Dust by Peter Lovesey
  • The Yeare's Midnight by Ed O'connor

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Cold Silence by Danielle Girard
  • Black Jack Point by Jeff Abbott
  • Fatal Truth by Robin Burcell
  • The Bone Orchard by D. Daniel Judson (Declan "Mac" MacManus)
  • Prison Blues by Anna Salter
  • Pipsqueak by Brian Wiprud

2004 BARRY AWARDS
Presented at the 2004 Bouchercon held in Toronto.

BEST NOVEL

  • Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman
  • The Guards by Ken Bruen (Jack Taylor)
  • The Small Boat Of Great Sorrows by Dan Fesperman
  • Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King
  • Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
  • Fountain Filled With Blood by Julia Spencer- Fleming

BEST FIRST MYSTERY NOVEL

  • Monkeewrench by P. J. Tracy
  • Mission Flats by Bill Landay
  • Bridge Of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer
  • The Barbed-Wire Kiss by Wallace Stroby
  • Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs)
  • Clea's Moon by Edward Wright

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

  • The Distant Echo by Val Mcdermid
  • Lazybones by Mark Billingham
  • Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler
  • The Murder Exchange by Simon Kernick
  • The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey
  • The American Boy (U.S. Title: "An Unpardonable Crime") by Andrew Taylor

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Tough Luck by Jason Starr
  • Dealing In Murder by Elaine Flinn
  • Wisdom Of The Bones by Christopher Hyde
  • The Courier by Jay Maclarty
  • The Shadow Of Venus by Judith Van Gieson
  • Murder Between The Covers by Elaine Viets

BEST MYSTERY SHORT STORY

  • "Rogues' Gallery" by Robert Barnard (March 2003, EQMM)
  • "The Blind Pig" by Doug Allyn (May 2003, EQMM)
  • "Always Another War" by Brendan Dubois (July-August 2003, AHMM)
  • "The Mask Of Peter" by Clark Howard (April 2003, EQMM)
  • "Rogue's Run" by Donald Olson (April 2003, EQMM)

2005 BARRY AWARDS
Presented at the 2005 Bouchercon held in Chicago.

BEST NOVEL

  • The Enemy by Lee Child (Jack Reacher)
  • Alone At Night by K. J. Erickson
  • Darkly, Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
  • Remembering Sarah by Chris Mooney
  • Little Scarlet by Walter Mosley (Easy Rawlins)
  • Hard Revolution by George Pelecanos (Derek Strange)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

  • The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • Relative Danger by Charles Benoit
  • Walking Money by James O. Born
  • The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
  • Skinny Dipping by Claire Matturro
  • Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas

BEST BRITISH CRIME NOVEL

  • Flesh & Blood by John Harvey
  • The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham
  • The Dramatist by Ken Bruen (Jack Taylor)
  • Tokyo (U.S. Title: "The Devil Of Nanking") by Mo Hayder
  • The Crime Trade by Simon Kernick
  • First Drop by Zoë Sharp

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

  • Tagged For Murder by Elaine Flinn
  • The Librarian by Larry Beinhart
  • Into The Web by Thomas H. Cook
  • Last Seen In Aberdeen by M.G. Kincaid
  • The Confession by Domenic Stansberry
  • Twisted City by Jason Starr

BEST THRILLER

  • Rain Storm by Barry Eisler (John Rain)
  • Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly
  • Bagman by Jay Maclarty
  • Whirlwind by Joseph Garber
  • A Death In Vienna by Daniel Silva
  • Paranoia by Joseph Finder

BEST SHORT STORY

  • "The War In Wonderland" by Edward D. Hoch (Green For Danger)
  • "Cold Comfort" by Catherine Aird (Chapter And Hearse And Other Mysteries)
  • "Facing Up" by Melodie Johnson Howe (July 2004, EQMM)
  • "Rumpole And The Christmas Break" by John Mortimer (No. XIV, The Strand Magazine; Rumpole)
  • "Murder by The Missing Heir And The Boiled Egg" by Amy Myers (Criminal Appetites)
  • "Ledgers" by Neil Schofield (July 2004, EQMM)

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