Notable Crime Fiction Debuts
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Crime Fiction Notable Books: 2001
| Author | Title | Date | Stars ~ Notes 1st novel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abramo, J. L. | Catching Water in a Net | Oct | 1st SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Andrews, Robert | A Murder of Honor | Jan |  |
| Baldacci, David | Last Man Standing | Nov | |
| Barr, Nevada | Blood Lure | March |
PW Notable |
| Bates, Karen Grigsby | Plain Brown Wrapper: Alex Powell (trade paper) | July | BCALA Honor Book |
| Beaton, M.C. | Death of a Dustman: Hamish McBeth | March | |
| Beaton, M.C. | Agatha Raisin and the Love From Hell | Dec | |
| Benioff, David | The 25th Hour | Jan |
1st SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Black, Ethan | All the Dead Were Strangers | Aug | |
| Bland, Eleanor Taylor | Whispers in the Dark: Marti MacAlister | Nov | |
| Block, Lawrence (ed) | The Best American Mystery Stories 2001 | Oct | |
| Blunt, Giles | Forty Words for Sorrow | June | |
| Bowen, Rhys | Murphy's Law: Molly Murphy | Oct | Mary Higgins Clark Nominee |
| Box, C.J. | Open Season | July | 1st NYTBR Notable Edgar Nominee Best First Novel LA Times Award Nominee Booklist Best Crime Novels Booklist Best New Series |
| Braun, Lillian Jackson | The Cat Who Smelled a Rat | Jan | PW Notable |
| Brett, Simon | Death in the Downs: Fethering | Aug | |
| Bromell, Henry | Little America | June |
NYTBR Notable LA Times Award Nominee Booklist Best Spy Novels |
| Brown, Rita Mae & Sneaky Pie | Claws and Effect: Mrs. Murphy | Feb 27 | PW Notable |
| Browne, Marshall | The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders | May | PW Notable LJ Best Genre LA Times Award Nominee |
| Buchanan, Edna | You Only Die Twice | April | |
| Buffa, D.W. | The Judgement | May | Edgar Nominee Best Novel |
| Chazin, Suzanne | The Fourth Angel | Feb 19th | 1st |
| Child, Lee | Echo Burning: Jack Reacher | July | |
| Coben, Harlan | Tell No One | June 19 |
SF Chronicle Best Mystery Edgar Nominee Best Novel |
| Coburn, Andrew | Widow's Walk | April | |
| Cockey, Tim | Hearse of a Different Color | Feb | |
| Cohen, Gabriel | Red Hook | Oct | Edgar Nominee Best First Novel Booklist Best New Series |
| Colapinto, John | About the Author | Aug | |
| Coleman, Reed Farrel | Walking the Perfect Square | Nov | |
| Connelly, Michael | A Darkness More Than Night | Jan 23rd | |
| Connolly, John | Dark Hollow: Charlie 'Bird' Parker | July | |
| Coonts, Stephen | America: Jake Grafton | Aug | |
| Cornwell, Patricia | Isle of Dogs | Nov | PW Notable |
| Coward, Mat | In and Out: Packham and Mitchell | Dec | |
| Crais, Robert | Hostage | Aug 7 | NYTBR Notable |
| Crider, Bill | A Romantic Way to Die: Dan Rhodes | Nov | |
| Crombie, Deborah | A Finer End: Duncan Kincaid & Gemma Jones | May 1 | Book World Rave |
| Crumley, James | The Final Country | Aug |
PW Notable NYTBR Notable |
| Crusie, Jennifer | Fast Women | May | |
| Daheim, Mary | Sutre Self: Bed-and-Breakfast | Feb | |
| Davidson, Diane Mott | Sticks and Scones | April 3 | PW Notable |
| Davies, Freda | A Fine and Private Place | Nov | |
| Deaver, Jeffrey | Blue Nowhere | May |
PW Notable SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Decure, John | Reef Dance | Sept | 1st |
| DeMarnis, Rick | A Clod of Wayward Marl | Feb | |
| Deutermann, P.T. | Hunting Season | Feb | |
| Doss, James D. | Grandmother Spider: Charlie Moon | Jan | |
| Dunant, Sarah | Mapping the Edge | Feb | |
| Dunning, John | Two O'Clock, Eastern Wartime | Jan | Booklist Top Crime Book |
| Edge, Arabella | The Company: The Story of a Murderer | July | 1st |
| Ellis, David | Line of Vision | Jan | 1st Edgar Nominee Best First Novel |
| Ellroy, James | The Cold Six Thousand | May | |
| Erickson, K. J. | Third Person Singular | Jan |
1st |
| Evanovich, Janet | Seven Up | June | PW Notable Booklist Best Crime Novels |
| Fairstein, Linda A. | The Deadhouse | Sept | Book World Rave |
| Farrow, John | Ice Lake | July | |
| Ferrigno, Robert | Flinch | Oct |
Booklist Best Crime Novels |
| Fiffer, Sharon | Killer Stuff | Sept | 1st |
| Frances, Clare | Deceit | June | |
| Frederickson, Michael | Witness for the Dead | May | |
| French, Nicci | The Red Room | Aug | |
| Furst, Alan | Kingdom of Shadows | Jan |
Booklist Top Crime Book PW Notable Book World Rave Hammett Nominee |
| Fusilli, Jim | Closing Time | Sept |
1st |
| Fyfield, Frances | Undercurrents | April | |
| Gaiman, Neil | American Gods | July |
|
| Gardner, Lisa | The Third Victim (paper) | Jan | |
| Gaus, P.L. | Clouds Without Rain: Ohio Amish Mystery | June | PW Notable |
| George, Elizabeth | Traitor to Memory | June 26 | |
| George, Kathleen | Taken | May 8 | |
| Gerritsen, Tess | The Surgeon | Aug | |
| Gill, Bartholomew | The Death of an Irish Sinner: McGarr | June |
Booklist Best Crime Novels Runners-Up |
| Gold, Glen David | Carter Beats the Devil | Sept | PW Notable 1st NYTBR Notable Book World Rave |
| Gores, Joe | Cons, Scams & Grifts: DKA File | Aug |
PW Notable |
| Gorman, Ed (ed) | The World's Finest Mysteries and Crime Stories | Dec | |
| Grafton, Sue | P is for Peril | June 6th |
PW Notable Book World Rave |
| Gunn, Elizabeth | Six Pound Walleye: Jake Hines | June |
PW Notable |
| Gutman, Amy | Equivocal Death | Jan | 1st |
| Haddam, Jane | True Believers: Gregor Demarkian | April | |
| Haig, Brian | Secret Sanction | July |
1st SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Hamilton, Denise | Jasmine Trade: Eve Diamond | July | 1st Edgar Nominee Best First Novel |
| Hamilton, Steve | The Hunting Wind: Alex McKnight | June |
Booklist Best Breakout Bets |
| Handler, David | The Cold Blue Blood: Berger & Mitry | Oct |
Dilys Nominee |
| Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia | Blood Sinister: Bill Slider | Sept | |
| Hawke, Simon | The Slaying of the Shrew | Dec | |
| Hayder, Mo | The Treatment: Jack Caffery | Dec | |
| Hayes, John R. | Catskill | Sept |
1st |
| Hecht, Daniel | The Babel Effect | Jan | |
| Henry, Sue | Dead North: An Alaska Mystery | June | |
| Hess, Joan | Maggody and the Moonbeams | Aug | |
| Higgins, Jack | Edge of Danger | Feb |
PW Notable |
| Highsmith, Patricia | Selected Stories | Aug | |
| Hirschfeld, Corson | Too High | Sept |
|
| Hunter, Evan & Ed McBain | Candyland: A Novel of Obsession | Jan |
PW Notable Book World Rave |
| Hunter, Stephen | Pale Horse Coming | Oct | |
| Iles, Greg | Dead Sleep | August | |
| Isaacs, Susan | Long Time No See | Aug |
NYTBR Notable Book World Rave |
| James, Bill | Panicking Ralph: Harpur & Iles | May | |
| James, Bill | Pay Days: Harpur & Iles | Sept | |
| James, P.D. | Death in Holy Orders: Adam Dalgliesh | April 10 | SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| James, Russell | Painting in the Dark | April | |
| Janes, J. Robert | Kaleidoscope | Nov | Booklist Best Breakout Bets |
| Jones, Solomon | Pipe Dream (trade paper) | July |
Booklist Best Crime Novels Runners-Up |
| Jones, Susanna | The Earthquake Bird | Sept | 1st Creasy Dagger |
| Joseph, Mark | The Wild Card | Aug | SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Kaminsky, Stuart | Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express | Oct | |
| Kanon, Joseph | The Good German | Oct | NYTBR Notable |
| Keating, H.R.F. | Breaking and Entering: Inspector Ghote | Nov | |
| Kelly, Thomas | The Rackets | June | NYTBR Notable |
| Kelman, Judith | Summer of Storms | March | Mary Higgins Clark Nominee |
| Kent, Gordon | Peacemaker | April | |
| Kilmer, Nicolas | Lazarus Arise | Oct | |
| King, Ross | Ex-Libris | March |
Booklist Top Crime Book |
| Klaven, Andrew | Man and Wife | Nov |
|
| Krueger, William Kent | Purgatory Ridge: Cork O'Connor | March | Dilys Nominee |
| Kurland, Michael | The Great Game: Professor Moriarty | June |
PW Notable |
| Kurzweil, Allen | The Grand Complication | Aug |
NYTBR Notable |
| Langton, Jane | Murder at Monticello: Homer Kelly | Feb | |
| Le Carre, John | The Constant Gardner | Jan |
PW Notable |
| Lehane, Dennis | Mystic River | Feb 6 |
Booklist Top Crime Book PW Notable NYTBR Notable Dilys Nominee Hammett Nominee |
| Lippman, Laura | In a Strange City | Sept |
NYTBR Notable Book World Rave |
| Lovesey, Peter | The Reaper | April |
Dilys Nominee |
| MacDonald, Hector | The Mind Game | March | 1st |
| Maitland, Barry | The Chalon Heads: Kathy and Brock | Aug | |
| Malone, Michael | First Lady | Sept | |
| Mann, Jessica | A Private Inquiry | Feb | |
| Maron, Margaret | Uncommon Clay: Deborah Knott | May | PW Notable |
| Martel, John S. | Billy Strobe | Sept | |
| Mayor, Archer | Tucker Peake: Joe Gunther | Nov | PW Notable |
| McBain, Ed | Money, Money, Money: 87th Precinct | Sept | PW Notable Edgar Best Novel Nominee |
| McBain, Ed/Evan Hunter | Candyland: A Novel in Two Parts | Jan | Book World Rave |
| McDermid, Val | Killing the Shadows | Oct | Book World Rave |
| McDowell, Iain | A Study in Death | Dec | 1st |
| McGarrity, Michael | Under Color of the Law: Kevin Kerney | July | |
| McMillan, Ann | Civil Blood: Civil War Mystery | June | LJ Best Genre |
| Meyers, Annette | Murder Me Now: Olivia Brown | Jan | |
| Mina, Denise | Exile | March | NYTBR Notable |
| Mosley, Walter | Fearless Jones | June | PW Notable |
| Muller, Marcia | Point Deception | July | Booklist Best Crime Novels Runners-Up |
| Nava, Michael | Rag and Bone: Henry Rio | March | LJ Best Genre |
| Nelscott, Kris | Smoke-Filled Rooms: Smokey Dalton | Aug | Booklist Best Crime Novels |
| Norbu, Jamyang | Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years | Jan | Book World Rave |
| O'Brien, Charles | Mute Witness | May | PW Notable 1st |
| Padgett, Abigail | The Last Blue Plate Special | March | Book World Rave |
| Pamuk, Orhan | My Name is Red | Aug | NYTBR Notable |
| Paretsky, Sara | Total Recall: V.I. Warshawski | Sept | Book World Rave |
| Parker, T. Jefferson | Silent Joe | April | Hammett Nominee Edgar Nominee Best Novel LA Times Award Nominee |
| Parker, Robert B. | Death in Paradise | Oct | Book World Rave |
| Parker, Robert B. | Potshot: Spenser | March | |
| Parks, Tim | Mimi's Ghost | Jan | |
| Parry, Owen | Call Each River Jordan | Oct | |
| Patterson, Richard North | Protect and Defend | Jan | |
| Pattison, Eliot | Water Touching Stone: Shan Tao Yun | June | |
| Pelecanos, George | Right as Rain | Feb | Booklist Top Crime Book Book World Rave Hammett Nominee |
| Perez-Reverte, Arturo | Nautical Chart | Oct | Book World Rave Booklist Best Crime Novels |
| Perry, Anne | The Whitechapel Conspiracy: The Pitts | Feb | |
| Perry, Thomas | Death Benefits: Stillman & Walker | Jan 16 | |
| Peters, Elizabeth | Lord of the Silent: Amelia Peabody | June | PW Notable |
| Pickard, Nancy | Ring of Truth: Marie Lightfoot | June | |
| Pickard, Nancy | The Secret Ingredient Murders: Eugenia Potter | Jan 9 | |
| Powers, Tim | Declare | Jan | |
| Preston, Marcia | Perhaps She'll Die | July | Mary Higgins Clark Nominee |
| Rankin, Ian | The Falls: John Rebus | Nov | PW Notable |
| Rawlinson, Peter | The Richmond Diary | Dec | |
| Redfern, Elizabeth | The Music of the Spheres | July | |
| Reed, Mary & Eric Mayer | Two for Joy | Jan | |
| Reichs, Kathy | Fatal Voyage: Temperance Brennan | July | |
| Reilly, Matt | Temple | Jan | |
| Rendell, Ruth | Piranha to Scurfy: Stories | Feb | |
| Reuland, Rob | Hollowpoint | March | Hammett Nominee |
| Riordan, Rick | The Devil Went Down to Austin | May 29 | Booklist Best Breakout Bets |
| Ripley, W.L. | Springer's Gambit | June | Booklist Best New Series |
| Robinson, Peter | Aftermath | Oct | |
| Robinson, Lynda | Slayer of the Gods | June | |
| Rosenfeld, Arthur | Diamond Eye | July | Booklist Best New Series |
| Rowland, Laura Joh | Black Lotus: Sano Ichiro | April | LJ Best Genre |
| Rozan, S.J. | Reflecting the Sky: Chin & Smith | Feb | Edgar Best Novel Nominee |
| Rucka, Greg | Critical Space: Atticus Kodiak | Oct | |
| Sallis, James | Ghost of a Flea: Lew Griffin | Nov | |
| Sandford, John | Chosen Prey | May | |
| Shannon, John | The Orange Curtain: Jack Liffey | April | LJ Best Genre |
| Shapiro, Robert L. & Walt Becker | Misconceptions | May | |
| Silva, Daniel | The Kill Artist | Jan | Book World Rave |
| Silvis, Randall | On Night's Shore | Jan | |
| Simmons, Dan | Hardcase | June | |
| Simpson, Marcia | Sound Tracks: Alaska Panhandle | May | Booklist Best Crime Novels Runners-Up |
| Siporin, Alan | Fire's Edge | Feb | |
| Slaughter, Karin | Blindsighted | Aug | Book World Rave |
| Smolens, John | Cold | Sept | |
| Spence, Gerry | Half Moon and Empty Stars | June | 1st |
| Stabenow, Dana | The Singing of the Dead: Kate Shugak | May | |
| Standiford, Les | Deal with the Dead | Feb | |
| Stark, Richard | Firebreak | Nov | |
| Stella, Charles P. | Eddie's World | Dec | |
| Stone, Jonathan | The Heat of Lies | Jan | |
| Straley, John | Cold Water Burning | Jan 2 | |
| Stroud, Carsten | Black Water Transit | Aug 7 | |
| Stroyar, J.N. | The Children's War | June | |
| Swain, James | Grift Sense: Tony Valentine | June | |
| Talton, Jon | Concrete Desert: David Mapstone | July | 1st |
| Tasker, Peter | Samurai Boogie (trade paper) | Oct | PW Notable |
| Thayer, James | Force 12 | March | |
| Theroux, Marcel | The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes | April | NYTBR Notable |
| Thornton, Betsy | High Lonesome Road: Chloe Newcomb | Feb | |
| Thurlo, Aimee and David | Red Mesa: Ella Clah | April | |
| Tobin, Besty | Bone House | Feb | 1st |
| Tramble, Nichelle D. | The Dying Ground | Jan | 1st SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Traxler, Patricia | Blood | Sept | 1st |
| Walter, Jess | Over Tumbled Graves | Feb | NYTBR Notable |
| Walters, Minette | The Shape of Snakes | July | NYTBR Notable |
| Webb, Don | Endless Honeymoon | Jan | |
| Webb, James H. | Lost Soldiers | Sept | SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Westlake, Donald | Bad News: Dortmunder | April | PW Notable NYTBR Notable |
| White, Michael C. | A Dream of Wolves | Jan | Booklist Top Crime Book Book World Rave |
| Whitelaw, Stella | Wave and Die | Aug | |
| Williams, John | Cardiff Dead (trade paper) | Aug | Booklist Best Crime Novels Runners-Up |
| Wilson, Robert | Company of Strangers | Oct | SF Chronicle Best Mystery |
| Wiltse, David | Heartland | March | |
| Wimberley, Darryl | Strawman's Hammock | Nov | PW Notable |
| Woodrell, Daniel | The Death of Sweet Mister | May | Booklist Best Crime Novels |
| Woods, Stuart | Cold Paradise: Stone Barrington | April | Book World Rave |
| Lovett, Sarah | Dante's Inferno: Dr. Sylvia Strange | April | Book World Rave |