John Sandford was up against some pretty big names when the International Thriller Writers nominated him for their annual Thriller Award (which was presented at their ThrillerFest conference, of course). Michael Connelly, Jeffrey Deaver, Mo Hayder and Brian Freeman (another Twin Cities thriller writer) were all nominated, but it was Sandford who prevailed.
"Bad Blood," which came out last September (and will be out in paperback this coming October), took teh prize for best hardcover novel. (Will he win again next year for best paperback novel? Wouldn't that be, um, a thrill?)
In his acceptance speech, Sandford recognized Mike Sweeney, his friend and collaborator of the novel. Sweeney, like Sandford, is a former reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
"Bad Blood" is the latest of the Virgil Flowers series, in which Flowers helps a small-town Minnesota sheriff solve a series of backwoods killings. The latest Flowers installment, "Shock Wave," pubs in October.
