Of the books on the list, The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti (The Dial Press) is probably as close as any of them come to spec fic. The Washington Post Book World gave it a wonderful review and describes the setting as "surreal" (one step from magic realism, don't you think?). It sounds a little like Oliver Twist set in 19th century New England.
It will be interesting to see which book wins. I'm rooting for the most spec fic-ish.
