CHECK IT OUT

The best thrillers, whodunits and detective novels published last year

and during the last century -- as determined by attendees of Bouchercon

World Mystery Convention, the International Assn. of Crime Writers and

the Private Eye Writers of America -- are no longer a secret.

Announced this month at the annual convention of mystery aficionados,

they include page-turners by contemporary authors such as Martin Cruz

Smith, as well as works by such masters of the genre as Agatha Christie

and Daphne du Maurier.

For “Havana Bay,” his fourth book starring Moscow investigator Arkady

Renko, a panel of judges awarded Martin Cruz Smith the 2000 Hammett

Prize, recognizing literary excellence in crime writing. The newest

installment of the series launched by “Gorky Park” finds a suicidal Renko

investigating the disappearance of his former KGB nemesis, and the

murders of a Cuban boxer and a prostitute in steamy Havana.

For excellence in the private eye genre, former arson

investigator-turned-author Don Winslow captured the 2000 Shamus Award for

“California Fire and Life.” The fireball of a crime story involves the

house-fire death of a wealthy Orange County mother and the investigation

by insurance claims adjuster Jack Wade into a case that grows to involve

the Russian mob, Vietnamese gangs, real estate scams and corporate

corruption.

For the best mystery published in 1999, the 2000 Anthony Award went to

Peter Robinson for “In a Dry Season,” the British writer’s 10th gem

starring detective inspector and walking midlife crisis Alan Banks. While

dealing with the angst of a failed marriage, a career undermined by a

jealous superior and a son who drops out of college to become a rock

musician, Banks tackles a mystery launched by a boy’s discovery of human

remains that had been buried more than 50 years ago.

Homicide and madcap hilarity combine in “Murder With Peacocks,” Donna

Andrews’ “Best First Novel” Anthony Award-winner about a heroine roped

into being a bridesmaid for the nuptials of her mother, her brother’s

fiancee’ and her best friend. Quirky characters and a plot with ludicrous

twists contribute to the fun of this good-natured farce on weddings and

small-town entanglements.

In a new “Best Novel of the Century” Anthony Award category,

“Rebecca,” Daphne du Maurier’s romantic mystery that still enthralls

readers 60 years after it was first published, was the favorite of

Bouchercon attendees. Set in Cornwall, the dark tale is told by the

second Mrs. de Winters, who recounts her growing obsession with her

husband’s first wife, the beautiful, now dead, Rebecca.

Perhaps the most honored author of this year’s Bouchercon convention

was Agatha Christie, posthumously regaled with the “Best Series of the

Century” Anthony Award for her Hercule Poirot mysteries. Christie also

was named “Best Writer of the Century” for a career that spanned 57 years

and enthralled readers with 78 mystery novels, in addition to dramas,

short stories, poetry, romances and nonfiction works.

* CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Melissa Adams, in collaboration with

Claudia Peterman. All titles may be reserved from home or office

computers by accessing the catalog at o7 www.newportbeachlibrary.orgf7

.