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2024 ThrillerFest Awards

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Thriller writers bring us thrills and chills and keep us turning the pages long into the wee hours of the morning. We love those stay-awake reads! Check out the 2024 International Thriller Writer ThrillerFest Awards finalists. The winners will be announced in NYC on June 3^rd. Congratulations to all!

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
S.A. Cosby – ALL THE SINNERS BLEED
Robert Dugoni – HER DEADLY GAME
J.T. Ellison – IT’S ONE OF US
Mick Herron – THE SECRET HOURS
Joe Ide – FIXIT
C.J. Tudor – THE DRIFT

BEST FIRST NOVEL
I.S. Berry – THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW
Amy Chua – THE GOLDEN GATE
Margot Douaihy – SCORCHED GRACE
Kerryn Mayne – LENNY MARKS GETS AWAY WITH MURDER
Steve Urszenyi – PERFECT SHOT: A THRILLER

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Tracy Clark – HIDE
Luke Dumas – THE PALEONTOLOGIST
Tess Gerritsen – THE SPY COAST
Lisa Gray – TO DIE FOR
Jonathan Maberry – CAVE 13: A JOE LEDGER AND ROGUE TEAM INTERNATIONAL NOVEL
J. Todd Scott – CALL THE DARK

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Sorboni Banerjee, Dominique Richardson – RED AS BLOOD
Darcy Coates – WHERE HE CAN’T FIND YOU
Courtney Gould – WHERE ECHOES DIE
Andrea Hannah – WHERE DARKNESS BLOOMS
Elizabeth Wein – STATELESS

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Jeff Buick – THE VULTURE FUND
Rona Halsall – THE BIGAMIST
Matt Phillips – A GOOD RUSH OF BLOOD
Lisa Regan – CLOSE HER EYES
Robert Swartwood – THE KILLING ROOM
Laura Wolfe – THE IN-LAWS

From the ITW site: “With more than 5,000 members in 49 countries, representing over 3.2 billion book sales, ITW is the world’s leading organization for thriller writers. ITW helps authors hone their craft, learn about the business aspects of publishing, and helps connect writers with readers.”

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Irish Fiction and Mysteries – 2024 List

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St. Patrick’s Day will be here soon! For those of you that focus your reading on holiday/cultural themed books, the list below features Irish writers, mysteries/suspense set in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day murders, or titles with Irish characters central to the plot. Some are modern classics, some are newbies, but all are entertaining reads. You’re sure to find a story in the updated list of 50 Irish Fiction & Mysteries – 2024 that you will want to read again and again. (Links included for bold titles)

Lisa Alber: “Path into Darkness”

Maeve Binchy: “Chestnut Street”
Furlong-Bollinger: “Paddy Whacked”
Ellie Brannigan “Murder at an Irish Castle”
Verity Bright “Murder in an Irish Castle”
Declan Burke: “The Lost and the Blind”

Steve Cavanagh: “Th1rt3en”
Sheila Connolly: “Fatal Roots”
Kathy Cranston: “Apple Seeds and Murderous Deeds”
Sinead Crowley: “One Bad Turn”

Kathi Daley: “Shamrock Shenanigans”
Maddie Day: “Four Leaf Cleaver”
Frank Delaney: “The Last Storyteller”
Dicey Deere: “The Irish Village Murder”
Nelson Demille: “Cathedral”

Peggy Ehrhart: “Irish Knit Murder”
Patricia Falvey: “The Yellow House”
Tana French: “The Searcher”
Alexia Gordon: “Murder in G Major”
Jean Grainger: “For All the World”
Andrew Greeley: “The Bishop at the Lake”

Jane Haddam: “A Great Day for the Deadly”
Lyn Hamilton: “The Celtic Riddle”
Lee Harris: “The St. Patrick’s Day Murder”
Erin Hart: “The Book of Killowen”
Jonathan Harrington: “A Great Day for Dying”

Mary Anne Kelly: “Twillyweed”
Amanda Lee: “The Long Stitch Good Night”

Dan Mahoney: “Once in, Never Out”
Caimh McDonnell: “A Man with One of Those Faces”
Brian McGilloway: “The Last Crossing”
Adrian McKinty: “The Chain”
Ralph M. McInerny: “The Green Revolution”
Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross: “Irish Coffee Murder”
Catie Murphy “Dead in Dublin”

Stuart Neville: “So Say the Fallen”
Carlene O’Connor: “Murder at an Irish Chipper”
Susanne O’Leary: “The Lost Girls of Ireland”
Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: “Death Takes Up a Collection”

Helen Page: “Equal of God”
Louise Phillips: “The Doll’s House”
J.M. Poole “Case of the Shady Shamrock”

Janet Elaine Smith: “In St. Patrick’s Custody”
Jo Spain: “Beneath the Surface”

Patrick Taylor: “An Irish Country Welcome”
Charles Todd: “An Irish Hostage”
Peter Tremayne: “Blood in Eden”
Kathy Hogan Trochek: “Irish Eyes”

Eliza Watson “How to Handle an Ancestry Scandal”
Traci Wilton “Mrs. Morris and the Pot of Gold”

If your favorite Irish Fiction & Mysteries titles are not on the list, let me know and I’ll add them! Happy choosing and reading!

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2024 Barry Awards – Crime Fiction

Leave a Comment / Award Winner, Bestselling Author, Book List, Crime, Debut Author, Featured, Fiction, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Suspense, Thriller

Established in 1997, the Barry Awards are presented at the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, to be held this year in Nashville. The winners will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies on August 29th. Voted on by readers of the Deadly Pleasures mystery magazine, the award was named in honor of Barry Gardner, an American critic and lover of great crime fiction. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Best Mystery or Crime Novel
Lou Berney, DARK RIDE
S. A. Cosby, ALL THE SINNERS BLEED
Eli Cranor, OZARK DOGS
Jordan Harper, EVERYBODY KNOWS
Dennis Lehane, SMALL MERCIES
Adrian McKinty, THE DETECTIVE UP LATE

Best First Mystery or Crime Novel
Michael Bennett, BETTER THE BLOOD
I.S. Berry, THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW
Bruce Borgos, THE BITTER PAST
Amy Chua, THE GOLDEN GATE
Deepti Kapoor, AGE OF VICE
Nina Simon, MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT
Iris Yamashita, CITY UNDER ONE ROOF

Best Paperback Original
Mystery or Crime Novel
Mia P. Manansala, MURDER AND MAMON
Rick Mofina, EVERY THING SHE FEARED
Jake Needham, WHO THE HELL IS HARRY BLACK?
Jesse Sutanto, VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS
Vanda Symon, EXPECTANT
Scott Von Doviak, LOWDOWN ROAD

Best Thriller
Mark Greaney, BURNER
Mick Herron, THE SECRET HOURS
John Lawton, MOSCOW EXILE
Anthony McCarten, GOING ZERO
T. J. Newman, DROWNING

2024 Barry Awards – Crime Fiction Read More »

Agatha Awards for 2023 Titles

Leave a Comment / Book List, Cozy, Debut Author, Featured, Historical, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Short Stories/Collection

The Agatha Awards are bestowed upon crime fiction and nonfiction works centered on the mystery to be solved, rather than the violence that surrounds the deeds. This year’s awards will be handed out in person in late April, 2024. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Best Contemporary Mystery
“Wined And Dined in New Orleans” – Ellen Byron
“Helpless” – Annette Dashofy
“The Weekend Retreat” – Tara Laskowski
“A Case of the Bleus” – Korina Moss
“The Raven Thief” – Gigi Pandian

Best Historical Mystery
“Death Among the Ruins” – Susanna Caulkins
“Act Like A Lady, Think Like a Lord” – Celeste Connally
“I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” – Amanda Flower
“Times Undoing” – Cheryl Head
“The Mistress of Bhatia House” – Sujata Massey

Best First Mystery Novel
“Glory Be” – Danielle Arceneaux
“The Hint of Light” – Kristin Kisska
“Dutch Threat” – Josh Pachter
“Crime and Parchment” – Daphne Silver
“Mother and Daughter Murder Night” – Nina Simon

Best Mystery Short Story
“The Knife Sharpener” – Shelley Costa in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, July/Aug 2023
“A Good Judge of Character” – Tina De Bellegarde in Malice Domestic Murder Most Traditional
“Real Courage” – Barb Goffman in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14
“Ticket to Ride” – DruAnn Love/Kristopher Zgorski in Happiness is a Warm Gun
“Shamu, World’s Greatest Detective” – Richie Narvaez in Time in San Diego BoucherCon 2023

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2024 Valentine’s Day Mysteries

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Are you a fan of holiday themed reading? Published between 2016 and 2024, here is an updated list of thirty-five novels, novellas, and short stories centered around Valentine’s Day. Be prepared to sigh, or giggle, or be entranced by the selection. Click on the titles to discover more about the books and enjoy!

Jennifer S. Alderson Death by Baguette
Carolyn Arnold Valentine’s Day is Murder

Belle Bailey A Sugar Maple Valentine
Patti Benning Tall, Dark, and Deadly
Bellamy Bloom & Addison Moore Murder Bites
Franky A. Brown What Happened to Romance?

Thea Cambert A Fine Point of Murder
Susan Carroll The Valentine’s Day Ball
Cherry Christensen Secret Valentine
Colleen Cross Witching for Love on Valentine’s Day

Kathi Daley The Valentine Mystery
Sylvia Damsell A Valentine Wish
Steve Demaree A Valentine Murder
Leighann Dobbs My Fatal Valentine
Liz Dodwell Valentine’s Day: a Polly Parrett Pet-Sitter Cozy

Jessica L. Elliott Operation: Romance

Tammy Falkner A Valentine’s Day Miracle
Amanda Flower Honeymoons Can Be Hazardous

Deborah Garner A Flair for Truffles
Patricia Gligor Marnie Malone
Donna Grant My Fiery Valentine

Holly Hepburn Valentine’s Day at the Star and Sixpence
Liwen Y. Ho Romantically Ever After

June McCrary Jacobs Handmade Hearts

Libby Klein Theater Nights Are Murder

Jackie Lau A Big Surprise for Valentine’s Day
Lia London Love from A to Z

Ava Mallory & nine more authors Stirring Up Love & Mystery
Jenn McKinlay Royal Valentine
Leslie Meier Valentine Candy Murder
Mobile Writers Guild Valentine’s Day Pieces (Anthology)
Addison Moore & Bellamy Bloom Sealed with a Hiss

Summer Prescott A Blossom of Murder

Amy M. Reade Be My Valencrime

Jessica Thompson A Caterer’s Guide to Valentines and Violence

Happy Reading!

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2023 Goodreads Choice Awards

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Thanks to “Publishers Lunch,” a daily publication for the book business, we have a list of the winners of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards. This is one of the few book awards chosen and voted upon by the readers themselves, with hundreds of thousands participating each year. Here is the winning list, in order of number of votes received.

Romantasy: Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros (397,565 votes)
Fiction: Yellowface, by R. F. Kuang (200,722 votes)
Romance: Happy Place, by Emily Henry (157,687 votes)
Memoir & Autobiography: The Woman in Me, by Britney Spears (132,867 votes)
YA Fantasy: Divine Rivals, by Rebecca Ross (117,671 votes)
Mystery & Thriller: The Housemaid’s Secret, by Freida McFadden (86,468 votes)
Horror: Holly, by Stephen King (77,993 votes)
Fantasy: Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo (75,800 votes)
Young Adult Fiction: Check & Mate, by Ali Hazelwood (68,736 votes)
Historical Fiction: Weyward, by Emilia Hart (62,211 votes)
Science Fiction: In the Lives of Puppets, by T.J. Klune (57,535 votes)
Debut Novel: Weyward, by Emilia Hart (45,420 votes)
History & Biography: The Wager, by David Grann (40,132 votes)
Humor: Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond, by Henry Winkler (36,770 votes)
Nonfiction: Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond (25,910 votes)

Congratulations to all!

2023 Goodreads Choice Awards Read More »

2023 – Christmas Themed Mysteries and Romance

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Christmas is the most popular holiday theme for mysteries and fiction of all varieties. There are hundreds from which to choose, with some writers focusing entirely on Christmas in every book they publish.

If you are a fan of Christmas themed fiction, then this updated 2023 list of sixty-seven novels, novellas, and short stories is for you. The books were recommended by avid cozy booksellers and reviewers, as well as NBR and Kerrian’s Notebook subscribers. Click on the titles to find out more about the books, then snuggle up with a great Christmas read.

Susan Wittig Albert “The Darling Dahlias & the Poinsettia Puzzle”

Gretchen Archer “Double Deck the Halls”

Donna Andrews “Dashing Through the Snowbirds”

Mary Angela “Very Merry Murder”

Joy Avon “In Peppermint Peril”

Laurien Berenson “Here Comes Santa Paws”

Susan Bernhardt “Murder Under the Tree”

Brittany E. Brinegar “Holly Jolly Murder”

Leslie Budewitz “As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles”

Anna Celeste Burke “Cowabunga Christmas”

Ellen Byron “A Cajun Christmas Killing”

Lynn Cahoon “Have a Holly Haunted Christmas”