TORONTO — Montreal-born crime author and journalist Howard Shrier has won the Arthur Ellis Award for best novel for "High Chicago."

The thriller -- about a murder probe that starts in Toronto, where Shrier now lives -- is the follow-up to his debut book, "Buffalo Jump," which won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel.

Landing the prize for best first novel at Thursday night's awards, presented by the Crime Writers of Canada, was Toronto-born Alan Bradley for "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie." The book follows an 11-year-old girl who tries to solve a murder in 1950.

North Vancouver-based investigative journalist Terry Gould won the prize for non-fiction for "Murder Without Borders," about journalists who've been killed while pursuing the truth in dangerous regions.

Other winners included Jean Lemieux for best crime writing in French with "Le mort du chemin des Arsene."

Barbara Haworth-Attard was the victor in the best juvenile category for "Haunted."

Best short story went to "Prisoner in Paradise" by Dennis Richard Murphy, and Gloria Ferris won best unpublished first crime novel for "The Corpse Flower."