English crime writer P.D. James was named Grand Master, and books from the St. Martin's Press family won three of the top awards at the annual Edgar Allan P Awards ceremonies April 29.
Mr. White's Confession by Robert Clark, published by Picador, was named the year's best mystery novel. The other two SMP titles to receive honors were A Cold Day in Paradise by Steve Hamilton, as best first novel, and To the Last Breath by Carlton Stowers, best factual crime story.
Other awards: best paperback original: The Widower's Two-Step by Rick Riordan (Bantam); best critical/biographical book: Mystery and Suspense Writers: The Literature of Crime, Detection, and Espionage, edited by Robin Winks and Maureen Corrigan (Scribner); best young adult: The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin (Delacorte); best children's: Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf).
The Ellery Queen Award, given to an outstanding person or writing team in the mystery publishing industry, went to Sara Ann Freed, executive editor at Mysterious Press.
