'Bad Blood' receives 2011 Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel

The International Thriller Writers announced the winners of the 2011 Thriller Awards during this year’s ThrillerFest in New York City on July 9.

BAD BLOOD by John Sandford received the Best Hardcover Novel award.

The other finalists in that category included:
- THE REVERSAL by Michael Connelly
- EDGE by Jeffery Deaver
- THE BURYING PLACE Brian Freeman
- SKIN by Mo Hayder.

THE COLD ROOM by J.T. Ellison received the Best Paperback Original Novel award.

The other finalists in that category included:
- DOWN AMONG THE DEAD MEN by Robert Gregory Browne
- YOU CAN'T STOP ME by Max Allan Collins and Matthew Clemens
- TORN APART by Shane Gericke
- THE VENICE CONSPIRACY by Jon Trace

STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens received the Best First Novel award.

The other finalists in that category included:
- THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE by Carla Buckley
- THE POACHER'S SON by Paul Doiron
- THE INSIDER by Reece Hirsch
- DRINK THE TEA by Thomas Kaufman

"The Gods for Vengeance Cry" by Richard Helms from Dell Magazine won the Best Short Story award.

R L Stine received the ThrillerMaster Award.

Joe McGuiness received the True Thriller Award.

Karin Slaughter received the Silver Bullet Award.

For more information on the Thriller Awards or the International Thriller Writers, visit http://thrillerwriters.org.

The International Thriller Writers Awards are relatively new, having been around since only 2006. What follows is a list of the all-time winners.

2006
Thrillermaster: Clive Cussler
Best Novel: The Patriots Club by Christopher Reich
Best First Novel: Improbable by Adam Fawer
Best Paperback Original: Pride Runs Deep by R. Cameron Cooke
Best Screenplay: Caché (Hidden), Michael Haneke

2007
Thrillermaster: James Patterson
Best Novel: Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder
Best First Novel: Mr Clarinet by Nick Stone
Best Paperback Original: An Unquiet Grave by P.J. Parrish
Best Screenplay: The Good Shepherd by Eric Roth

2008
Thrillermaster: Sandra Brown
Best Novel: The Ghost by Robert Harris
Best First Novel: Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Best Paperback Original: The Midnight Road by Tom Piccirilli
Silver Bullet Award: Macy's and David Baldacci

2009
Thrillermaster: David Morrell
Best Novel: The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
Best First Novel: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Best Short Story: The Edge of Seventeen by Alexandra Sokoloff
Silver Bullet Award: Brad Meltzer

2010
Thrillermaster: Ken Follett
Best Hard Cover Novel: Lisa Gardner by The Neighbor
Best Paperback Original Novel: Tom Piccirilli by The Coldest Mile
Best First Novel: Jamie Freveletti by Running from the Devil
Best Short Story: Twist Phelan, "A Stab in the Heart"
True Thrill Award: Mark Bowden
Silver Bullet Award: Linda Fairstein

In the end, how many of the books mentioned above have you read? Which did you like or dislike? Which would you recommend and why? Let us know in the comments section below.