The Award Tally
FictionNonfiction

Wishlist

Saved in this browser only - it isn't synced to your other devices.

Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller

Los Angeles Times

An annual award given by the Los Angeles Times as part of its Book Prizes program, recognizing the best mystery or thriller novel published in a given year.

Latest winner · 2025

Next · expected February 2027

Shortlist announced Full award calendar

Search through 7,609 books

2025

  1. El Dorado Drive

    Megan Abbott

    Won
  2. Crooks

    Lou Berney

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Everybody Wants to Rule the World

    Ace Atkins

    Shortlisted
  4. King of Ashes

    S.A. Cosby

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Proving Ground

    Michael Connelly

    Shortlisted

2024

  1. The Puzzle Box

    Danielle Trussoni

    Won
  2. Guide Me Home

    Attica Locke

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Havoc

    Christopher Bollen

    Shortlisted
  4. The God of the Woods

    Liz Moore

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Waiting

    Michael Connelly

    Shortlisted

2023

  1. Sing Her Down

    Ivy Pochoda

    Won
  2. All the Sinners Bleed

    S. A. Cosby

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Dark Ride

    Lou Berney

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Everybody Knows

    Jordan Harper

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Time's Undoing

    Cheryl A. Head

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2022

  1. Secret Identity

    Alex Segura

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. All That's Left Unsaid

    Tracy Lien

    Shortlisted
  3. Back to the Garden

    Laurie R. King

    Shortlisted
  4. The Cartographers

    Peng Shepherd

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. We Lie Here

    Rachel Howzell Hall

    Shortlisted

2021

  1. The Turnout

    Megan Abbott

    Won
  2. Razorblade Tears

    S. A. Cosby

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. The Collective

    Alison Gaylin

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Dark Hours

    Michael Connelly

    Shortlisted
  5. Velvet Was the Night

    Silvia Moreno-Garcia

    Shortlisted

2020

  1. Blacktop Wasteland

    S. A. Cosby

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. A Beautiful Crime

    Christopher Bollen

    Shortlisted
  3. And Now She’s Gone

    Rachel Howzell Hall

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Little Secrets

    Jennifer Hillier

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. These Women

    Ivy Pochoda

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2019

  1. Your House Will Pay

    Steph Cha

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Heaven, My Home

    Attica Locke

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Lady in the Lake

    Laura Lippman

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Lost Man

    Jane Harper

    Shortlisted
  5. The Night Fire

    Michael Connelly

    Shortlisted

2018

  1. My Sister, the Serial Killer

    Oyinkan Braithwaite

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. Give Me Your Hand

    Megan Abbott

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Green Sun

    Kent Anderson

    Shortlisted
  4. November Road

    Lou Berney

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Perfect Nanny

    Leïla Slimani

    Shortlisted

2017

  1. A Book of American Martyrs

    Joyce Carol Oates

    Won
  2. Bluebird, Bluebird

    Attica Locke

    Won 3 more awards · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. The Late Show

    Michael Connelly

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Night Ocean

    Paul La Farge

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. Wonder Valley

    Ivy Pochoda

    Shortlisted

2016

  1. Dodgers

    Bill Beverly

    Won 1 more award

    Won
  2. Darktown

    Thomas Mullen

    Shortlisted
  3. His Bloody Project

    Graeme Macrae Burnet

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Girls

    Emma Cline

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The North Water

    Ian McGuire

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2015

  1. The Cartel

    Don Winslow

    Won 1 more award

    Won
  2. Bull Mountain

    Brian Panowich

    Shortlisted
  3. The Long and Faraway Gone

    Lou Berney

    Shortlisted
  4. The Sympathizer

    Viet Thanh Nguyen

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. The Whites

    Richard Price

    Shortlisted

2014

  1. Dry Bones in the Valley

    Tom Bouman

    Won
  2. After I’m Gone

    Laura Lippman

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Sins of Our Fathers

    Shawn Lawrence Otto

    Shortlisted
  4. The Girl With a Clock for a Heart

    Peter Swanson

    Shortlisted
  5. The Painter

    Peter Heller

    Shortlisted

2013

  1. The Cuckoo's Calling

    Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling)

    Won
  2. Hour of the Red God

    Richard Crompton

    Shortlisted
  3. Sycamore Row

    John Grisham

    Shortlisted
  4. The Collini Case

    Ferdinand von Schirach

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Rage

    Gene Kerrigan

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2012

  1. Broken Harbor

    Tana French

    Won
  2. Angelmaker

    Nick Harkaway

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. The Expats

    Chris Pavone

    Shortlisted
  4. The Thief

    Fuminori Nakamura

    Shortlisted
  5. The Twenty-Year Death

    Ariel S. Winter

    Shortlisted

2011

  1. 11/22/63

    Stephen King

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Won
  2. Plugged

    Eoin Colfer

    Shortlisted
  3. Snowdrops

    A D Miller

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. Started Early, Took My Dog

    Kate Atkinson

    Shortlisted
  5. The End of the Wasp Season

    Denise Mina

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2010

  1. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

    Tom Franklin

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. City of Dragons

    Kelli Stanley

    Shortlisted
  3. Collusion

    Stuart Neville

    Shortlisted
  4. Faithful Place

    Tana French

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. I’d Know You Anywhere

    Laura Lippman

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

2009

  1. The Ghosts of Belfast

    Stuart Neville

    Won
  2. A Darker Domain

    Val McDermid

    Shortlisted
  3. Black Water Rising

    Attica Locke

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Bury Me Deep

    Megan Abbott

    Shortlisted
  5. The Hidden Man

    David Ellis

    Shortlisted

2008

  1. Envy the Night

    Michael Koryta

    Won
  2. Bad Traffic

    Simon Lewis

    Shortlisted
  3. Child 44

    Tom Rob Smith

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Age of Dreaming

    Nina Revoyr

    Shortlisted
  5. The Finder

    Colin Harrison

    Shortlisted

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller in 2025?
“El Dorado Drive” by Megan Abbott won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller in 2025.
Who are the most recent Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller winners?
2025: “El Dorado Drive” by Megan Abbott; 2024: “The Puzzle Box” by Danielle Trussoni; 2023: “Sing Her Down” by Ivy Pochoda; 2022: “Secret Identity” by Alex Segura; 2021: “The Turnout” by Megan Abbott.
Has anyone won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller more than once?
Yes - 1 author has: Megan Abbott (2021, 2025).