The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #1
Best non fiction:
The Taking of K-129 by Josh DeanI renamed it Grand Theft Sub -How the CIA stole a Soviet submarine.
We still do not have the complete story of how the CIA recovered the Soviet sub from deep in the Marianas trench in the Pacific, but this is the closest we have gotten, so far. The Navy SEALs who were on board and who received the (still sealed) Congressional Medal of Honor are not talking. And the NAVY Specialist who was responsible for dealing with nuclear material has died, so there are still unanswered questions.Recovering the sub has been compared to putting a man on the moon. Josh Dean follows the evidence and creates a thriller.The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #2
Best Non fiction Holocaust story
The Pharmacist of Auschwitz - the untold story by Patricia Posner.
Trisha Posner's research and story telling is second to none in a compelling and heartbreaking true account of what happened at Auschwitz. A valuable addition to Holocaust scholarship and a must read for anyone committed to World War II history.
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #3
Best Autobiography
The Pigeon Tunnel by John Le Carre
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards # 4Best Kiwi Thriller
MEGABYTE by Cat Connor
(Spoiler alert! That's my blurb on the cover.)
Cat Connor has written nine thrillers based on her FBI Special agent Ellie Conway who somehow manages to balance realistically portrayed family life with the unexpected and stressful adventures she is thrust into.
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #5
Best Continuing Cop Fiction Series set in an exotic location:Bruno Chief of Police by Martin Walker
Bruno, the first novel is eminently readable, like a great Bordeaux. Each novel in the series gets better and better, combining fascinating local history with national events, culinary wonders and interesting characters. Bruno continues to surprise and fascinate without having to have the obligatory hero faults over crime series writers rely on.
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #6
Best Self Help Book
When It's Never About You by Ilene Cohen Ph.D.
Dr Ilene's first book is a winner.
Now I need her to write a guide about "People-Pisser-Offs".
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #7
Best non fiction book rediscovered after being stolen from military library and sold on Amazon.
KGB The Secret Work of Soviet Secret Agents by John Barron.
All the well documented events and the relentless espionage, sabotage and assassinations of the KGB are presented in a very readable format. Still very relevant and a healthy reminder that Cold War or no War, we are still facing the same merciless tactics from a renamed agency.
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #8Best Mystery
Prussian Blue a Bernie Gunther novel by Philip Kerr.
Bernie Gunther continues to be seduced into insurmountable intrigues and violent amoral situations, but somehow survives in what must be one of the best written series in any category.
The Jaded Kiwi 2017 Book Awards #9
When you have to dig up a dead character (Smiley) and write one of your best novels despite what the critics claim.
A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carre.
The master story teller returns to his original sources and methods and creates a masterpiece.