Mystery mavens anticipate the announcement of major awards to guide them to the best crime fiction and thrillers of the year. They know about the Edgars, awarded by the Mystery Writers of America in honor of Edgar Allan Poe; the Anthony, awarded to the year’s best crime fiction at the annual Bouchercon conference; and the Agatha, honoring the best in traditional mysteries (no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence).
Add to those best-of lists now The Beltie Prize for Best Mystery, a lesser known award but mighty in influence.
The Beltie? Never heard of it? You should. It’s the award bestowed by one man (no committees, please) who just possibly might be the most discerning mystery reader in the country: Pete Mock the buyer for McIntyre’s Books, an independent bookstore in Fearrington Village, a few miles south of Chapel Hill, NC.
Pete has been with McIntyre’s since shortly after its founding 30 years ago. Although he reads widely on all topics, over the years, he’s developed a special expertise in crime fiction, that’s both wide and deep—everything from thrillers to traditional police procedurals to psychological mysteries. He carved out a major space in the book store devoted exclusively to the genre. Hundreds of mysteries line the shelves, and various lists and displays of Pete’s favorite mystery reads guide the browser. The space is adorned with a striking yellow banner warning “police line—do not cross,” and a funky skeleton dressed in seasonal finery.
The mystery room also hosts frequent author talks, including many by well-known mystery authors, including such luminaries as Cara Black, Lee Child, and Jo Nesbo.
All this is a magnet for mystery-loving residents of and visitors to Fearrington Village, and they pepper Pete for advice on what to read. He’s always got an opinion: he reads about 200 books a year, about half of which are crime fiction and thrillers. (How can he possibly read so many books? The simple answer: “I never watch TV.”)
Recently, Pete was pondering ways he could reach more people and highlight strong books that had been overlooked by reviewers and the traditional best-of lists.
So he launched the Beltie Mystery Prize last year to honor the best mystery of the year. This year’s winner is LullabyeRoadby James Anderson.
Pete calls the novel “superb,” and challenges readers: “ I dare you to read up to page 5 and want to stop. And it only gets better from there.” Set in the high desert of Utah with a truck driver protagonist and a community of eccentrics, Lullabye Roadis Anderson’s second novel set in the stark landscape of Utah’s lonely desert. (The first was The Never-Open Desert Diner.)
For Pete, setting is a critical dimension of any work of crime fiction. “If the setting is believable, the story will be believable,” he says. And the characters, including secondary characters, must be vivid. “I want to feel like I know these people.”
Pete acknowledges that publishers tend to jump on trends—like the current plethora of stories about unreliable female narrators—but he is always looking for a fresh voice, an author who is writing an original story.
So, this year, the Beltie honors Lullabye Road. And Pete is right. I read to the top of page 5 and couldn’t stop.
(And, BTW, the prize’s name? Unlike the major prizes named after renowned mystery writers or reviewers, the Beltie honors the Belted Galloway cows who make Fearrington their home. They are affectionally known as “Oreos” for the wide white stripe that spans their middles. But, somehow, Pete didn’t think calling his prize the Oreo quite hit the mark!)
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