The Agatha Award Nominees

Hurray! The Agatha Award nominees have been announced. Winners will be chosen at this year's Malice Domestic Conference in Bethesda, MD, April 28-30. It's a great conference for those who love traditional mysteries. 

​​2022
Best Contemporary Novel
Bayou Book Thief, Ellen Byron (Berkley Prime Crime)
Death By Bubble Tea, Jennifer J. Chow (Berkley)
Fatal Reunion, Annette Dashofy (Level Best Books)
Dead Man's Leap, Tina de Bellegarde (Level Best Books)
A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel
The Counterfeit Wife, Mally Becker (Level Best Books)
Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Amanda Flower (Berkley)
The Lindbergh Nanny, Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
In Place of Fear, Catriona McPherson (Mobius)
Under a Veiled Moon, Karen Odden (Crooked Lane Books)

Best First Novel
Cheddar Off Dead, Korina Moss (St. Martin’s)
Death in the Aegean, M. A. Monnin (Level Best Books)
The Bangalore Detectives Club, Harini Nagendra (Constable)
Devil’s Chew Toy, Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books)
The Finalist, Joan Long (Level Best Books)
The Gallery of Beauties, Nina Wachsman (Level Best Books)

Best Short Story
"Beauty and the Beyotch," Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Feb. 2022)
"There Comes a Time," Cynthia Kuhn, Malice Domestic Murder Most Diabolical (Wildside Press)
"Fly Me to the Morgue," Lisa Q Mathews, Malice Domestic Mystery Most Diabolical (Wildside Press)
"The Minnesota Twins Meet Bigfoot," Richie Narvaez, Land of 10,000 Thrills, Bouchercon Anthology (Down & Out Books)
"The Invisible Band," Art Taylor, Edgar & Shamus Go Golden (Down & Out Books)

Best Non-Fiction
The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators, Martin Edwards (HarperCollins)
The Handbook to Agatha Christie: The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, Mary Anna Evans and J. C. Bernthal (Bloomsbury Academic)
The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie, Carla Valentine (Sourcebooks)
Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction, Diane Vallere Ed. (Sisters in Crime)
Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman, Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Crime)

​Best Children's/YA Mystery
Daybreak on Raven Island, Fleur Bradley (Viking Books for Young People)
In Myrtle Peril, Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
#shedeservedit, Greg Herren (Bold Strokes Books)
Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer, Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Publishers)
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

Edgar Award Nominees Announced

Mystery Writers of America has announced the 2018 Nominees for the Edgar Allan Poe Awards (known as the Edgars), honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2017. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at a banquet on April 26, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. 

Congratulations to the nominees and this years' honorees.

BEST NOVEL

The Dime by Kathleen Kent (Hachette Book Group - Little, Brown & Co./Mulholland Books)
Prussian Blue by Philip Kerr (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (Hachette Book Group - Little, Brown & Co./Mulholland Books)
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus Books)
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti (Penguin Random House – The Dial Press)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper (HarperCollins – Ecco)
Dark Chapter by Winnie M. Li (Polis Books)
Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love (Penguin Random House – Crown)
Tornado Weather by Deborah E. Kennedy (Macmillan – Flatiron Books)
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich (Random House)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Ragged Lake by Ron Corbett (ECW Press)
Black Fall by Andrew Mayne (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper Paperbacks)
The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola (Sourcebooks – Sourcebooks Landmark)
Penance by Kanae Minato (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown & Co./Mulholland Books)
The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong (Text Publishing)

BEST FACT CRIME

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)
The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn (Simon & Schuster)
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse (W.W. Norton & Company – Liveright)
The Man From the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill and Rachel McCarthy James (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case that Captivated a Nation by Brad Ricca (St. Martin’s Press)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women who Created an Icon by Mattias Bostrom (Grove/Atlantic – The Mysterious Press)
Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay (St. Martin’s Press)
Murder in the Closet: Essays on Queer Clues in Crime Fiction Before Stonewall by Curtis Evans (McFarland Publishing)
Chester B. Himes: A Biography by Lawrence P. Jackson (W.W. Norton & Company)
Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes by Michael Sims (Bloomsbury USA)

BEST SHORT STORY

“Spring Break” – New Haven Noir by John Crowley (Akashic Books)
“Hard to Get” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Jeffery Deaver (Dell Magazines)
“Ace in the Hole” – Montana Noir by Eric Heidle (Akashic Books)
“A Moment of Clarity at the Waffle House” – Atlanta Noir by Kenji Jasper (Akashic Books)
“Chin Yong-Yun Stays at Home” – Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by S.J. Rozan (Dell Magazines)

BEST JUVENILE

Audacity Jones Steals the Show by Kirby Larson (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)
Vanished! By James Ponti (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
The Assassin’s Curse by Kevin Sands (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
First Class Murder by Robin Stevens (Simon & Schuster – Simon & Schuster BFYR)
NewsPrints by Ru Xu (Scholastic – Graphix)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group – Feiwel & Friends)
Grit by Gillian French (HarperCollins Publishers – HarperTeen)
The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak (Simon & Schuster)
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (Simon & Schuster – Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (HarperCollins Publishers – Balzer + Bray)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Episode 1” – The Loch, Teleplay by Stephen Brady (Acorn TV)
“Something Happened” – Law and Order: SVU, Teleplay by Michael Chernuchin (NBC Universal/Wolf Entertainment)
“Somebody to Love” – Fargo, Teleplay by Noah Hawley (FX Networks/MGM)
“Gently and the New Age” – George Gently, Teleplay by Robert Murphy (Acorn TV)
“The Blanket Mire” – Vera, Teleplay by Paul Matthew Thompson & Martha Hillier (Acorn TV)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"The Queen of Secrets" - New Haven Noir by Lisa D. Gray (Akashic Books)

GRAND MASTER

Jane Langton
William Link
Peter Lovesey

RAVEN AWARD

Kristopher Zgorski, BOLO Books
The Raven Bookstore, Lawrence Kansas

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

Robert Pépin

* * * * * *

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

The Vineyard Victims by Ellen Crosby (Minotaur)
You’ll Never Know Dear by Hallie Ephron (HarperCollins – William Morrow)
The Widow’s House by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins – William Morrow Paperbacks)
Uncorking a Lie by Nadine Nettmann (Llewellyn Worldwide – Midnight Ink)
The Day I Died by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins – William Morrow Paperbacks)

Mystery Wednesday

Mystery Writer's of America announced the Grand Master, Raven and Ellery Queen Award recipients this week. There are three 2017 Grand Masters ...Jane Langton, William Link, and Peter Lovesey. The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. 

The Raven Bookstore and Kristopher Zgorski will receive the 2018 Raven Award. Kristopher runs the book review website, BOLO Books. 

The Ellery Queen Award honors “outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry." This year's honoree is book translator, Robert Pépin. 

Janet Rudolph (an Edgar winner herself) has background of all these recipients over on Mystery Fanfare. 

2017 Anthony Award Winners

The Anthony Awards were given out at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Toronto, Canada this weekend and we have all the winners. More great stories to add to the TBR pile. I'm proud to have a story included in the winning anthology - Blood on the Bayou. 

ANTHONY AWARD WINNERS 

Best Novel

A Great Reckoning – Louise Penny [Minotaur] 

Best First Novel

IQ – Joe Ide [Mulholland]

Best Paperback Original

Heart of Stone – James W. Ziskin [Seventh Street] 

Best Short Story 

"Oxford Girl" – Megan Abbott, Mississippi Noir [Akashic]

Best Critical Nonfiction Work

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin [Liveright]

Best Children’s/YA Novel

The Girl I Used to Be – April Henry [Henry Holt] 

Best Anthology

Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 – Greg Herren, ed. [Down & Out]

Best Novella (8,000-40,000 words)

The Last Blue Glass – B.K. Stevens, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2016 [Dell]

Macavity Awards

The 2017 Macavity Awards, named after TS Elliot, were awarded at Bouchercon this weekend by Janet Rudolph and Mystery Readers International. We have all the nominees and winners listed below. It's a great list of wonderful works to add to your TBR pile. Congratulations to all who were nominated. 

Best Novel:
Louise Penny: A Great Reckoning (Minotaur)

• Megan Abbott: You Will Know Me (Little, Brown)
• Matt Coyle: Dark Fissures (Oceanview)
• Noah Hawley: Before the Fall (UK, Hodder & Stoughton; US, Grand Central Publishing)
• Mick Herron: Real Tigers (UK, John Murray; US, Soho)
• Laura Lippman: Wilde Lake (Wm. Morrow)

Best First Novel:
Joe Ide: IQ (Mulholland Books)

• Fiona Barton: The Widow (UK, Bantam; US, NAL)
• Flynn Berry: Under the Harrow (Penguin)
• Bill Beverly: Dodgers (No Exit Press)
• Renee Patrick: Design for Dying (Forge)

Best Short Story:
Art Taylor: “Parallel Play” (Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning, Wildside Press)

• Lawrence Block: “Autumn at the Automat” (In Sunlight or in Shadow, Pegasus Books)
• Craig Faustus Buck: “Blank Shot” (Black Coffee, Darkhouse Books)
• Greg Herren: “Survivor’s Guilt” (Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016, Down & Out Books)
• Paul D. Marks: “Ghosts of Bunker Hill” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Dec. 2016)
• Joyce Carol Oates: “The Crawl Space” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Sept.-Oct. 2016)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Novel:
James W. Ziskin: Heart of Stone (Seventh Street Books)

• Susanna Calkins: A Death Along the River Fleet  (Minotaur)
• Lyndsay Faye: Jane Steele  (UK: Headline Review; US, G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
• Edith Maxwell: Delivering The Truth  (Midnight Ink)
• Catriona McPherson: The Reek of Red Herrings (US: Minotaur; UK: Houghton Stodder)
• Ann Parker: What Gold Buys (Poisoned Pen Press)

Best Nonfiction:
Margaret Kinsman: Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (McFarland)

• Jane K. Cleland: Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats  (Writer’s Digest Books)
• Ruth Franklin: Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life (Liveright Publishing)
• David J. Skal: Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker, the Man Who Wrote Dracula (Liveright Publishing)
• Kate Summerscale: The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer (Penguin)

Anthony Award Nominations

The 2017 Anthony Awards have been announced by the world's largest mystery convention. There are so many great books and stories on this list. I'm proud to have a story in Blood on the Bayou, one of the nominees for best anthology. 

Congratulations to all who were nominated.

Best Novel

• You Will Know Me – Megan Abbott [Little, Brown]
• Where It Hurts – Reed Farrel Coleman [G.P. Putnam’s Sons]
• Red Right Hand – Chris Holm [Mulholland]
• Wilde Lake – Laura Lippman [William Morrow]
• A Great Reckoning – Louise Penny [Minotaur]

Best First Novel

• Dodgers – Bill Beverly [Crown]
• IQ – Joe Ide [Mulholland]
• Decanting a Murder – Nadine Nettmann [Midnight Ink]
• Design for Dying – Renee Patrick [Forge]
• The Drifter – Nicholas Petrie [G.P. Putnam’s Sons]

Best Paperback Original

• Shot in Detroit – Patricia Abbott [Polis]
• Leadfoot – Eric Beetner [280 Steps]
• Salem’s Cipher – Jess Lourey [Midnight Ink]
• Rain Dogs – Adrian McKinty [Seventh Street]
• How to Kill Friends and Implicate People – Jay Stringer [Thomas & Mercer]
• Heart of Stone – James W. Ziskin [Seventh Street] 

Best Short Story

• “Oxford Girl” – Megan Abbott, Mississippi Noir [Akashic]
• “Autumn at the Automat” – Lawrence Block, In Sunlight or in Shadow [Pegasus]
• “Gary’s Got A Boner” – Johnny Shaw, Waiting to Be Forgotten [Gutter]
• “Parallel Play” – Art Taylor, Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning [Wildside]
• “Queen of the Dogs” – Holly West, 44 Caliber Funk: Tales of Crime, Soul and Payback [Moonstone] 

Best Critical Nonfiction Work

• Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life – Peter Ackroyd [Nan A. Talese]
• Letters from a Serial Killer – Kristi Belcamino & Stephanie Kahalekulu [CreateSpace]
• Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life – Ruth Franklin [Liveright]
• Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker – David J. Skal [Liveright]
• The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer – Kate Summerscale [Bloomsbury/Penguin] 

Best Children’s/YA Novel

• Snowed – Maria Alexander [Raw Dog Screaming]
• The Girl I Used to Be – April Henry [Henry Holt]
• Tag, You’re Dead – J.C. Lane [Poisoned Pen]
• My Sister Rosa – Justine Larbalestier [Soho Teen]
• The Fixes – Owen Matthews [HarperTeen] 

Best Anthology

• Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns – Eric Beetner, ed. [Down & Out]
• In Sunlight or in Shadow – Lawrence Block, ed. [Pegasus]
• Cannibals: Stories from the Edge of the Pine Barrens – Jen Conley [Down & Out]
• Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 – Greg Herren, ed. [Down & Out]
• Waiting To Be Forgotten: Stories of Crime and Heartbreak, Inspired by the Replacements – Jay Stringer, ed. [Gutter] 

Best Novella (8,000-40,000 words)

• Cleaning Up Finn – Sarah M. Chen [All Due Respect Books]
• No Happy Endings – Angel Luis Colón [Down & Out]
• Crosswise – S.W. Lauden [Down & Out]
• Beware the Shill – John Shepphird [Down & Out]
• The Last Blue Glass – B.K. Stevens, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2016 [Dell]

2017 Thriller Award Nominations

This week International Thriller Writers announced the 2017 Thriller Award Nominations and there are so many wonderful stories to choose from.

The 2017 ITW Thriller Award Winners will be announced at ThrillerFest XII, July 15, 2017, at the Grand Hyatt (New York City.) Mystery Playground will be covering the event conference live.

A big congratulations to all who were nominated. 

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

Megan Abbott — YOU WILL KNOW ME (Little, Brown and Company)

Reed Farrel Coleman — WHERE IT HURTS (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Noah Hawley — BEFORE THE FALL (Grand Central Publishing)

Laura McHugh — ARROWOOD (Spiegel & Grau)

Ben H. Winters — UNDERGROUND AIRLINES (Mulholland Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Bob Bickford — DEADLY KISS (Black Opal Books)

J.L. Delozier — TYPE AND CROSS (WiDo Publishing)

David McCaleb — RECALL (Lyrical Underground)

Nicholas Petrie — THE DRIFTER (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

E.Z. Rinsky — PALINDROME (Witness Impulse)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Robert Dugoni — IN THE CLEARING (Thomas & Mercer)

Anne Frasier — THE BODY READER (Thomas & Mercer)

Paul Kemprecos — THE MINOAN CIPHER (Suspense Publishing)

Jonathan Maberry — KILL SWITCH (St. Martin’s Griffin)

Stephen Maher — SALVAGE (Dundurn)

BEST SHORT STORY

Eric Beetner — “The Business of Death” UNLOADED: CRIME WRITERS WRITING WITHOUT GUNS (Down & Out Books)

Laura Benedict — “The Peter Rabbit Killers” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

Brendan DuBois — “The Man from Away” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

Joyce Carol Oates — “Big Momma” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

Art Taylor — “Parallel Play” CHESAPEAKE CRIMES: STORM WARNING (Wildside Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Pierce Brown — MORNING STAR (Del Rey)

Elle Cosimano — HOLDING SMOKE (Disney-Hyperion)

A.J. Hartley — STEEPLEJACK (TOR Teen)

Billy Taylor — THIEVING WEASELS (Dial Books)

Kara Thomas — THE DARKEST CORNERS (Delacorte Press)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

James Scott Bell — ROMEO’S WAY (Compendium Press)

Sean Black — THE EDGE OF ALONE (Sean Black)

Sibel Hodge — UNTOUCHABLE (Wonder Women Publishing)

J.F. Penn — DESTROYER OF WORLDS (J.F. Penn)

Richard Thomas — BREAKER (Alibi)

Thriller Award Nominees

The International Thriller Writers have announced the nominees for the 2017 Thriller Awards. There are some great books in here. Congratulations to all who were nominated. The awards will be given out at Thrillerfest in NYC in July. 

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

Megan Abbott — YOU WILL KNOW ME (Little, Brown and Company)
Reed Farrel Coleman — WHERE IT HURTS (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Noah Hawley — BEFORE THE FALL (Grand Central Publishing)
Laura McHugh — ARROWOOD (Spiegel & Grau)
Ben H. Winters — UNDERGROUND AIRLINES (Mulholland Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Bob Bickford — DEADLY KISS (Black Opal Books)
J.L. Delozier — TYPE AND CROSS (WiDo Publishing)
David McCaleb — RECALL (Lyrical Underground)
Nicholas Petrie — THE DRIFTER (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
E.Z. Rinsky — PALINDROME (Witness Impulse)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Robert Dugoni — IN THE CLEARING (Thomas & Mercer)
Anne Frasier — THE BODY READER (Thomas & Mercer)
Paul Kemprecos — THE MINOAN CIPHER (Suspense Publishing)
Jonathan Maberry — KILL SWITCH (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Stephen Maher — SALVAGE (Dundurn)

BEST SHORT STORY

Eric Beetner — “The Business of Death” UNLOADED: CRIME WRITERS WRITING WITHOUT GUNS (Down & Out Books)
Laura Benedict — “The Peter Rabbit Killers” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Brendan DuBois — “The Man from Away” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Joyce Carol Oates — “Big Momma” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Art Taylor — “Parallel Play” CHESAPEAKE CRIMES: STORM WARNING (Wildside Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Pierce Brown — MORNING STAR (Del Rey)
Elle Cosimano — HOLDING SMOKE (Disney-Hyperion)
A.J. Hartley — STEEPLEJACK (TOR Teen)
Billy Taylor — THIEVING WEASELS (Dial Books)
Kara Thomas — THE DARKEST CORNERS (Delacorte Press)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

James Scott Bell — ROMEO’S WAY (Compendium Press)
Sean Black — THE EDGE OF ALONE (Sean Black)
Sibel Hodge — UNTOUCHABLE (Wonder Women Publishing)
J.F. Penn — DESTROYER OF WORLDS (J.F. Penn)
Richard Thomas — BREAKER (Alibi)

Shamus Award Nominees

The Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) announced the nominees for this years Shamus Awards. The winners will be announced at the PWA Banquet at Bouchercon 2016 in New Orleans, LA in September. Congratulations to all who were nominated, but specially Grant Bywaters and JA Jance. 

Best Original Private Eye Paperback  

CIRCLING THE RUNWAY by J.L. Abramo. Down & Out Books

THE LONG COLD by O'Neil De Noux. Big Kiss Productions

SPLIT TO SPLINTERS by Max Everhart. Camel Press

THE MAN IN THE WINDOW by Dana King. Independent

RED DESERT, Clive Rosengren by Moonshine Cove Publishing

Best First Private Eye Novel:

THE RED STORM by Grant Bywaters. St. Martins/Minotaur

NIGHT TREMORS by Matt Coyle. Oceanview Publishing

TROUBLE IN ROOSTER PARADISE by T.W. Emory. Coffeetown Press

DEPTH by Lev Ac Rosen. Regan Arts

THE DO-RIGHT by Lisa Sandlin. Cinco Puntos Press

Best Private Eye Short Story

“The Runaway Girl from Portland, Oregon” by C.B. Forrest in  Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, October 2015

 “The Sleep of Death” by David Edgerley Gates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, December 2015

“The Dead Client” by Parnell Hall in  Dark City Lights: New York Stories (edited by Lawrence Block)

“The Dead Detective” by Robert S. Levinson in Coast to Coast: Murder from Sea to Shining Sea (edited by Andrew McAleer & Paul D. Marks)

“The Continental Opposite” by Evan Lewis in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May 2015

Best Private Eye Novel

THE PROMISE by Robert Crais. G.P. Putnam's Sons

DANCE OF THE BONES by J.A. Jance.  William Morris

GUMSHOE by Robert Leininger. Oceanview Publishing

BRUSH BACK by Sara Paretsky. G.P. Putnam's Sons

BRUTALITY by Ingrid Thoft. G.P. Putnam's Sons

2016 Agatha Awards

Malice Domestic announced the Agatha Award Winners at their convention in Bethesda, MD last night. Congratulations to all who won and who were nominated. 

Best Contemporary Novel

Margaret Maron, Long Upon the Land (Grand Central Publishing)

Best Historical Novel

Laurie R. King, Dreaming Spies (Bantam)

Best First Novel

Art Taylor, On the Road with Del and Louise (Henery Press)

Best Non-Fiction

Martin Edwards, The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story  (HarperCollins)

Best Short Story

Barb Goffman, “A Year Without Santa Claus?” (AHMM)

Best Children’s/Young Adult

Amanda Flower, Andi Unstoppable  (Zonderkidz) 

2016 International Thriller Award Nominees

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) has announced the  2016 Thriller Awards Nominees. The winners will be announced at ThrillerFest XI, July 9, 2016, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.  Congratulations to all who were nominated. 

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

Ian Caldwell – THE FIFTH GOSPEL (Simon & Schuster)

Tess Gerritsen – PLAYING WITH FIRE (Ballantine)

Paula Hawkins – THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Riverhead Books)

David Morrell – INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD (Mulholland Books)

Karin Slaughter – PRETTY GIRLS (William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL

Sandra Block – LITTLE BLACK LIES (Grand Central)

LS Hawker – THE DROWNING GAME (Witness Impulse)

Gilly Macmillan – WHAT SHE KNEW (William Morrow)

Brian Panowich – BULL MOUNTAIN (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Hester Young – THE GATES OF EVANGELINE (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Marc Cameron – DAY ZERO (Pinnacle)

John Gilstrap – AGAINST ALL ENEMIES (Pinnacle)

Andrew Mayne – NAME OF THE DEVIL (Bourbon Street Books)

D.J. McIntosh – THE ANGEL OF EDEN (Penguin Canada)

Jean Rabe – POCKETS OF DARKNESS (WordFire Press)

BEST SHORT STORY

Reed Farrel Coleman – “Feeding the Crocodile” JEWISH NOIR (PM Press)

Jeffrey Deaver – “Repressed” (Diversion Books)

Sharon Hunt – “The Water Was Rising” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

Terrence McCauley – “El Cambalache” (Thuglit)

Joyce Carol Oates – “Gun Accident: An Investigation” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Alan Gratz – CODE OF HONOR (Scholastic Press)

Nicole Maggi – THE FORGETTING (Sourcebooks Fire)

Michelle Painchaud – PRETENDING TO BE ERICA (Viking Books for Young Readers)

Emily Ross – HALF IN LOVE WITH DEATH (Merit Press)

Allan Stratton – THE DOGS (Sourcebooks Fire)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL

Diane Capri – JACK AND JOE (AugustBooks)

Chris Kuzneski – THE PRISONER’S GOLD (Chris Kuzneski)

Robert McClure – DEADLY LULLABY (Alibi)

Caitlin O’Connell – IVORY GHOSTS (Alibi)

Eric Rickstad – LIE IN WAIT (Witness Impulse)

The 2016 Barry Nominees

Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine has announced the nominees for the Barry Awards. The Awards will be given out during the opening ceremonies at Bouchercon 2016 in New Orleans this September. To find out how you can vote for the winners, go check out Deadly Pleasures. 

Congratulations to all who were nominated. There are some great books on this list. 

Best Novel

C. J. Box, BADLANDS
John Connolly, A SONG OF SHADOWS
Owen Laukkanen, THE STOLEN ONES
Michael Robotham, LIFE OR DEATH
Jeff Siger, DEVIL OF DELPHI
Don Winslow, THE CARTEL

Best First Novel

John A. Connell, RUINS OF WAR
Glen Erik Hamilton, PAST CRIMES
Elsa Hart, JADE DRAGON MOUNTAIN
Paula Hawkins, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Ausma Zehanat Khan, THE UNQUIET DEAD
Brian Panowich, BULL MOUNTAIN

Best Paperback Original

Kristi Belcamino, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO WEEP
Lou Berney, THE LONG AND FARAWAY GONE
Max Allan Collins, QUARRY’S CHOICE
Sarah Hilary, NO OTHER DARKNESS
Ragnar Jonasson, SNOW BLIND
James W. Ziskin, STONE COLD DEAD

Best Thriller

Marc Cameron, BRUTE FORCE
Chris Holm, THE KILLING KIND
M. A. (Mike) Lawson, VIKING BAY
Stefanie Pintoff, HOSTAGE TAKER
Taylor Stevens, THE MASK
A. J. Tata, FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC

Agatha Award Nominees

The Agatha Award nominations are out from Malice Domestic. Malice, as it afectionately known, is a conference for traditional and cozy mysteries held every year in Bethesda, MD. This year it will be held April 29th - May 1st. Congratulations to all who were nominated. It's especially great to see Catriona McPherson, Hank Phillipi Ryan, Susanna Calkins, Laurie R,. King, Art Taylor, Ellen Byron, Terrie Farley Moran and Amanda Flower on this list. Good luck everyone. 

Best Contemporary Novel

Annette Dashofy, Burned Bridges    (Henery Press)

Margaret Maron,    Long Upon the Land (Grand Central Publishing)

Catriona McPherson, The Child Garden (Midnight Ink)

Louise Penny, Nature of the Beast (Minotaur Books)

Hank Phillipi Ryan, What You See (Forge Books)

Best Historical Novel

Rhys Bowen, Malice at the Palace (Berkley)

Susanna Calkins, The Masque of a Murderer (Minotaur Books)

Laurie R. King,    Dreaming Spies (Bantam)

Susan Elia Macneal, Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante (Banntam)

Victoria Thompson, Murder on Amsterdam Avenue (Berkley)

Best First Novel

Tessa Arlen, Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman (Minotaur Books)

Cindy Brown, Macdeath (Henery Press)

Ellen Byron, Plantation Shudders (Crooked Lane Books)

Julianne Holmes, Just Killing Time (Berkley)

Art Taylor, On the Road with Del and Louise (Henery Press)

Best Non-Fiction

Zack Dundas, The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes    (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Martin Edwards, The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story    (HarperCollins)

Kathryn Harkup,    A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie    (Bloomsbury USA)

Jane Ann Turzillo, Unsolved Murders and Disappearances in Northeast Ohio (Arcadia Publishing)

Kate White (Editor), Harlan Coben (Contributor) and Gillian Flynn (Contributor), The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For (Quirk Books)

Best Short Story

Barb Goffman, “A Year Without Santa Claus?” (AHMM)

Edith Maxwell, “A Questionable Death” History& Mystery, Oh My (Mystery & Horror, LLC)

Terri Farley Moran, “A Killing at the Beausoleil” (EQMM)

Harriette Sackler, “Suffer the Poor” History& Mystery, Oh My (Mystery & Horror, LLC)

B.K. Stevens, “A Joy Forever” (AHMM)

Best Children’s/Young Adult

Blue Balliett, Pieces and Players (Scholastic Press)

Joelle Charbonneau, Need (HMH Books for Young Readers)

Amanda Flower, Andi Unstoppable    (Zonderkidz)

Spencer Quinn, Woof (Scholastic Press)

B.K. Stevens, Fighting Chance: A Martial Arts Mystery (Poisoned Pen Press)

2016 Edgar Award Nominees Announced

This morning, Mystery Writers of America announced the Nominees for the 2016 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2015. The Edgar® Awards will be presented to the winners at the Mystery Writers of America Gala Banquet, April 28, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. 

Congratulations to all of the nominees. I'm very excited to see Catriona McPherson on the list for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, Lou Berney for Best Paperback Original, Glen Erik Hamilton for Best First Novel and Janet Rudolph as the Ellery Queen Award recipient. 

BEST NOVEL

The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

The Lady From Zagreb by Philip Kerr (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Life or Death by Michael Robotham (Hachette Book Group – Mulholland Books)

Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy (Penguin Random House - Dutton)

Canary by Duane Swierczynski (Hachette Book Group – Mulholland Books)

Night Life by David C. Taylor (Forge Books)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Past Crimes by Glen Erik Hamilton (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

Where All Light Tends to Go by David Joy (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll (Simon & Schuster)

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Grove Atlantic – Grove Press)

Unbecoming by Rebecca Scherm (Penguin Random House - Viking)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter by Malcolm Mackay (Hachette Book Group – Mulholland Books

What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

Woman with a Blue Pencil by Gordon McAlpine (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)

Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

BEST FACT CRIME

Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot that Avenged the American Genocide by Eric Bogosian (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company)

Where The Bodies Were Buried: Whitey Bulger and the World That Made Him by T.J. English (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully by Allen Kurzweil (HarperCollins Publishers - Harper)

Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid (Grove Atlantic – Grove Press)

American Pain: How a Young Felon and his Ring of Doctors Unleashed America's  Deadliest Drug Epidemic by John Temple (Rowman & Littlefield – Lyons Press)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins Publishers - HarperCollins)

The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue by Frederick Forsyth (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald by Suzanne Marrs and Tom Nolan (Arcade Publishing)

Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica by Matthew Parker (Pegasus Books)

The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett by Nathan Ward (Bloomsbury Publishing – Bloomsbury USA)

BEST SHORT STORY

"The Little Men" – Mysterious Bookshop by Megan Abbott (Mysterious Bookshop)

"On Borrowed Time" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Mat Coward (Dell Magazines)

"The Saturday Night Before Easter Sunday” – Providence Noir by Peter Farrelly (Akashic Books)

"Family Treasures" – Let Me Tell You  by Shirley Jackson (Random House)

"Obits" – Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King (Simon & Schuster - Scribner)

“Every Seven Years” – Mysterious Bookshop by Denise Mina (Mysterious Bookshop)

BEST JUVENILE

Catch You Later, Traitor by Avi (Algonquin Young Readers - Workman)

If You Find This by Matthew Baker (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Curiosity House: The Shrunken Head by Lauren Oliver & H.C.Chester  (HarperCollins Publishers – HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands  (Simon & Schuster - Aladdin)

Footer Davis Probably is Crazy by Susan Vaught (Simon & Schuster – Paula Wiseman Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Endangered by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Children’s Books - HarperTeen)

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis (HarperCollins Publishers – Katherine Tegen Books)

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma (Algonquin Young Readers - Workman)

Ask the Dark by Henry Turner (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – Clarion Books)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

"Episode 7," - Broadchurch, Teleplay by Chris Chibnall (BBC America)

"Gently with the Women" - George Gently, Teleplay by Peter Flannery (Acorn TV)

"Elise - The Final Mystery" - Foyle's War, Teleplay by Anthony Horowitz (Acorn TV)

 "Terra Incognita" - Person of Interest, Teleplay by Erik Mountain & Melissa Scrivner Love (CBS/Warner Brothers)

"The Beating of her Wings" - Ripper Street, Teleplay by Richard Warlow (BBC America)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

"Chung Ling Soo’s Greatest Trick" – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 

by Russell W. Johnson (Dell Magazines)

GRAND MASTER

Walter Mosley

RAVEN AWARDS

Margaret Kinsman

Sisters in Crime

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

Janet Rudolph, Founder of Mystery Readers International

* * * * * *

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER - MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody (Minotaur Books – A Thomas Dunne Book)

The Masque of a Murderer by Suzanne Calkins (Minotaur Books)

Night Night, Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson (Llewellyn Worldwide – Midnight Ink)

Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)