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2023 ThrillerFest Awards

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 2023 International Thriller Writer ThrillerFest Awards finalists. The winners will be announced in NYC on June 3rd. Congratulations to all!

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
Delilah S. Dawson – THE VIOLENCE
Jennifer Hillier – THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK
Alma Katsu – THE FERVOR
Jennifer McMahon – THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL
Chris Pavone – TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON
Catriona Ward – SUNDIAL

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Lauren Nossett – THE RESEMBLANCE
Sascha Rothchild – BLOOD SUGAR
Hayley Scrivenor – DIRT TOWN
Stacy Willingham – A FLICKER IN THE DARK
Erin Young – THE FIELDS

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Mary Burton – THE LIES I TOLD
Mark Edwards – NO PLACE TO RUN
Minka Kent – UNMISSING
Freida McFadden – THE HOUSEMAID
Wanda Morris – ANYWHERE YOU RUN
Holly Wainwright – THE COUPLE UPSTAIRS
Loreth Anne White – THE PATIENT’S SECRET

BEST SHORT STORY
Dominique Bibeau – RUSSIAN FOR BEGINNERS (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Barb Goffman – THE GIFT (Down & Out Books)
Smita Harish Jain – PUBLISH OR PERISH (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Joyce Carol Oates – 33 CLUES INTO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY SISTER (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Anna Scotti – SCHRÖDINGER, CAT (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Catherine Steadman – STOCKHOLM (Amazon Original Stories)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Melissa Albert – OUR CROOKED HEARTS
Gillian French – SUGARING OFF
Kate McLaughlin – DAUGHTER
Francesca Padilla – WHAT’S COMING TO ME
Courtney Summers – I’M THE GIRL

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Bill Byrnes – EVASIVE SPECIES (Self-published)
Diane Jeffrey – THE COUPLE AT CAUSEWAY COTTAGE (HarperCollins)
Grant McKenzie – THE SEVEN TRUTHS OF HANNAH BAXTER (Self-published)
Rick Mofina – THE HOLLOW PLACE (Self-published)
Carrie Rubin – FATAL ROUNDS (Self-published)

 

2023 Left Coast Crime Awards (the Lefties)

Left Coast Crime 2023 presented four Lefty Awards at the convention in Tucson, Arizona on Saturday, March 18, 2023. To be eligible, titles must have been published for the first time in the US or Canada during 2022, in book or ebook format. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in bold)!

Best Humorous Mystery Novel
  °  Ellen Byron, Bayou Book Thief
  °  Jennifer J. Chow, Death by Bubble Tea
  °  A.J. Devlin, Five Moves of Doom
  °  T.G. Herren, A Streetcar Named Murder
  °  Catriona McPherson, Scot in a Trap

 

Best Historical Mystery Novel (events before 1970)
  °  Dianne Freeman, A Bride’s Guide to Marriage and Murder
  °  Catriona McPherson, In Place of Fear
  °  Wanda M. Morris, Anywhere You Run
  °  Karen Odden, Under a Veiled Moon
  °  Ann Parker, The Secret in the Wall
  °  Iona Whishaw, Framed in Fire

 

Best Debut Mystery Novel
  °  Erin E. Adams, Jackal
  °  Eli Cranor, Don’t Know Tough
  °  Ramona Emerson, Shutter
  °  Meredith Hambrock, Other People’s Secrets
  °  Harini Nagendra, The Bangalore Detectives Club
  °  Rob Osler, Devil’s Chew Toy
  °  Jane Pek, The Verifiers

 

Best Mystery Novel
  °  Kellye Garrett, Like a Sister
  °  Laurie R. King, Back to the Garden
  °  James L’Etoile, Dead Drop
  °  Gigi Pandian, Under Lock & Skeleton Key
  °  Louise Penny, A World of Curiosities
  °  Alex Segura, Secret Identity

 

 

Irish Fiction & Mysteries – 2023 List

View from Blarney Castle

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 47 Irish Fiction & Mysteries – 2023  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

Nelson Demille: “Cathedral

Peggy Ehrhart: “Irish Knit Murder

Patricia Falvey: “The Yellow House
Mike Faricy: “Jewels to Kill For
Tana French: “The Searcher

Alexia Gordon: “Murder in G Major
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 Bakery
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 Family
Charles Todd: “An Irish Hostage
Peter Tremayne: “Blood in Eden

Kathy Hogan Trochek: “Irish Eyes
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!

 

 

2023 Barry Awards (Crime Fiction)

Established in 1997, the Barry Awards are presented at the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, to be held this year in San Diego. The winners will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies on August 31st. 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
THE ACCOMPLICE, Steve Cavanagh
DESERT STAR, Michael Connelly
THE DARK FLOOD, Deon Meyer
SHIFTY’S BOYS, Chris Offutt
SECRET IDENTITY, Alex Segura
CITY ON FIRE, Don Winslow

Best First Mystery or Crime Novel
BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME, Jacqueline Bublitz
DON’T KNOW TOUGH, Eli Cranor
SHUTTER, Ramona Emerson
THE MAID, Nita Prose
BLOOD SUGAR, Sascha Rothchild
DIRT CREEK, Hayley Scrivenor

Best Thriller
IN THE BLOOD, Jack Carr
WINTER WORK, Dan Fesperman
SIERRA SIX, Mark Greaney
BAD ACTORS, Mick Herron
KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, Deanna Raybourn
GOERING’S GOLD, Richard O’Rawe

The National Park Mystery Series by Scott Graham

The National Park Mystery Series, by Scott Graham, features contract archaeologist Chuck Bender, Chuck’s paramedic wife, Janelle Ortega, and Chuck’s stepdaughters. The contract archeological work moves Chuck Bender and the family to different parks each summer vacation, setting the scene for stories dealing with environmental, political, and social justice issues. Janelle lends her objective suggestions to help solve the mysteries, sometimes uses her paramedic expertise, and always displays a steadying influence on Chuck and the girls.

The series began in the Grand Canyon with “Canyon Sacrifice,” a resounding success as a debut novel. A kidnapping and a murder place the family in harm’s way on the Bender honeymoon camping trip as Chuck navigates parenthood and spousal responsibilities for the first time. Readers will be mesmerized by Graham’s imageries of the Grand Canyon and the achievements/artifacts of the ancient Anasazi Indians that Bender discovered on an earlier contract dig. Prepare to be swept into the world of outdoor recreation and the wonders of archeology in the West.

Book #2, “Mountain Rampage,” moves Bender and the family to Rocky Mountain National Park where he runs a college archeology field school. The book takes place over a three-day period, with murder and mayhem that involves his brother-in-law and false accusations, and plenty of adventure to go around.

Yellowstone Standoff,” set in Yellowstone National Park, has a hair-raising premise involving rogue wolves, grizzlies, and a murdered researcher. As always, Graham delivers breathtaking descriptions of the wild and puts the reader in the middle of the terrifying action. An exciting page-turner, and the Bender family is smack dab in the middle of it all.

Book #4, “Yosemite Fall,” brings Janelle and the older daughter more to the forefront of the multi-layered storylines, with a rock-climbing competition, a deadly reunion, and a contract to solve a 150-year-old mystery as the backdrop. Janelle and Chuck are the suspects in a present-day murder, and once again, the national park is a character in the book.

Arches Enemy,” the fifth entry in the National Park Mystery Series, is set in Utah, not too far from Graham’s home in southwest Colorado. What seems like a straight forward accidental death turns into something much more. An astounding archeological find that disrupts the known timeline of interaction between several Native American tribes, is threatened by a fracking operation, and the locals are being manipulated by an unlikely source.

The core characters have developed naturally with each book as Chuck and his immediate family respond to the unfolding narratives and explore their evolving relationships. The mother subplot in “Arches Enemy” feels like Chuck is trying to herd cats – words have no influence and she is going to do what she wants to anyway. Her effect on the plot will curl your hair and remind you how nice your own mother is.

In “Mesa Verde Victim,” Bender tracks down a murderer in an area of the park with burial sites and artifacts abandoned long before by ancient Pueblo peoples. The stakes are high and the landscape descriptions marvelous.

Canyonlands Carnage” opens with thrilling white-water rafting and introduces the reader and nature enthusiasts to the spectacular world of one of the nation’s best loved parks. Mystery, murder, and mayhem mix with history to provide another great read.

Book #8 in the series, “Saguaro Sanction,” thrusts the murder of a cousin squarely into the lives of the Bender family. Graham explores the southern Arizona National Park and its archeological mysteries while addressing the cultural impact of the U.S.-Mexico border hostility.

Graham’s books are especially topical given our real-world loss of national park acreage to (IMO) misguided earlier administration policy, which chipped away at the protected lands, potentially losing ancient sites, all for the search for oil and other energy sources.

The official launch date for “Saguaro Sanction” is March 7th. Look for it.  🙂
Please visit www.scottfranklingraham.com for more information about Graham and his work.
 

 

2023 Valentine’s Day Mysteries and Fiction

Are you a fan of holiday themed reading? Published between 2016 and 2023, here is an updated  list of thirty-one 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?

 

Susan Carroll The Valentine’s Day Ball

Cherry Christensen  Secret Valentine

Colleen Cross  Witching for Love on Valentine’s Day

 

Sylvia Damsell  A Valentine Wish

Steve Demaree A Valentine Murder

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

 

Happy Reading!

 

The Agatha Awards for 2022 Books

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, 2023.

​​Best Contemporary Novel
“Bayou Book Thief” by Ellen Byron
“Death By Bubble Tea” by Jennifer J. Chow 
“Fatal Reunion” by Annette Dashofy 
“Dead Man’s Leap” by Tina de Bellegarde 
“A World of Curiosities” by Louise Penny

Best Historical Novel
“The Counterfeit Wife” by Mally Becker 
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” by Amanda Flower 
“The Lindbergh Nanny” by Mariah Fredericks 
“In Place of Fear” by Catriona McPherson 
“Under a Veiled Moon” by Karen Odden 

 Best First Novel
“Cheddar Off Dead” by Korina Moss 
“Death in the Aegean” by M. A. Monnin 
“The Bangalore Detectives Club” by Harini Nagendra 
“Devil’s Chew Toy” by Rob Osler 
“The Finalist” by Joan Long 
“The Gallery of Beauties” by Nina Wachsman 

Best Short Story  (Click on the blue titles to read the stories or find where to buy them)
Beauty and the Beyotch” by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Magazine, Feb. 2022)
“There Comes a Time” by Cynthia Kuhn, Malice Domestic Murder Most Diabolical 
“Fly Me to the Morgue” by Lisa Q Mathews, Malice Domestic Mystery Most Diabolica
The Minnesota Twins Meet Bigfoot” by Richie Narvaez, Land of 10,000 Thrills
“The Invisible Band” by Art Taylor, Edgar & Shamus Go Golden
 
Best Children’s/YA Mystery
“Daybreak on Raven Island” by Fleur Bradley
“In Myrtle Peril” by Elizabeth C. Bunce 
“#shedeservedit” by Greg Herren 
“Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer” by Frances Schoonmaker 
“Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade” by Nancy Springer 

 

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