Black Plague tale wins Arthur Ellis

A 'murder suspect investigates the killing he's accused of' mystery tale set against the backdrop of 17th century London, during the time of the Black Plague and Charles II was the big winner at the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards, just announced (hat tip to Saskatchewan-based lawyer and crime fiction fan Bill Selnes of Mysteries and More). CC Humphreys is a Canadian crime writer who grew up in Britain and has specialised in tales set in various time periods in European history, including stories about Anne Boleyn's executioner, Shakespeare's fight choreographer, and the Dracula-inspiring Vlad the Impaler.

PLAGUE by Humphreys won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel at this year's Arthur Ellis Awards. The other winners on the night were:

Best First Novel
Steve Burrows, SIEGE OF BITTERNS (Dundurn Press)

Best Novella 
Jas. R. Petrin, "A Knock on the Door", Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Short Story
Margaret Atwood, "Stone Mattress" (McClelland & Stewart)

Best Book in French
Andrée Michaud, BONDREE, Editions Québec Amérique

Best Juvenile/YA Book
Sigmund Brouwer, DEAD MAN'S SWITCH, Harvest House

Best Nonfiction Book
Charlotte Gray, THE MASSEY MURDER, HarperCollins

Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel
"Strange Things Done" by Elle Wild

Sylvia McConnell received the Derrick Murdoch Award. She began RendezVous Crime in 1998 and published 80 crime novels over the next 13 years which were written by Canadians and set in Canada.

Congratulations to all the winners!