The Strand Mystery Magazine has announced its nominees for the 2008 Strand Magazine Critics Awards. Recognizing excellence in the field of mystery fiction, the Critics Awards are judged by a select group of book reviewers from the nation’s top daily newspapers. Otto Penzler served as the award chair for best novel and Andrew Gulli served as the award chair for best first novel. This year’s judges include Dennis Drabelle of The Washington Post, David Ulin of the LA Times, Lev Grossman of Time Magazine, Carol Memmott of USA Today, Maureen Corrigan of NPR, and Bruce DeSilva of the Associated Press.

Best Novel:

• When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown and Company)
• Master of the Delta by Thomas H. Cook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Company)
• Lush Life by Richard Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
• Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown and Company)

Best First Novel:

• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
• City of the Sun by David Levien (Doubleday)
• A Cure for Night by Justin Peacock (Doubleday)
• Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)
• A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley (Harper)

Awards will be presented in the categories of Best Novel and Best First Novel at an invitation-only cocktail party, hosted by The Strand on July 8, 2009, in New York City. A lifetime achievement award will be given posthumously to English author John Mortimer.