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2024 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 2024 International Thriller Writer ThrillerFest Awards finalists. The winners will be announced in NYC on June 3rd. 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

Bunratty Castle Farmhouse, Ireland

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!

 

Irish Fiction and Mysteries – 2024 List Read More »

2023 – Macavity Awards

The Macavity Awards are nominated by members and friends of Mystery Readers International, and subscribers to Mystery Readers JournalCongratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red)!
Mystery Readers International, Mystery Readers Journal, and the Macavity Awards, were created by Anthony Award winner, Janet Rudolph.

Best Mystery Novel:
Laurie R. King: Back to the Garden 
Chris Pavone:
Two Nights in Lisbon 
Louise Penny: A World of Curiosities 
Ian Rankin:
A Heart Full of Headstones 
Deanna Raybourn:
Killers of a Certain Age 
Alex Segura:
Secret Identity

Best First Mystery:
Jacqueline Bublitz: Before You Knew My Name
A.J. Devlin: Five Moves of Doom
Ramona Emerson: Shutter
Rob Osler: Devil’s Chew Toy
Jane Pek: The Verifiers
Nita Prose: The Maid

Best Mystery Short Story:
Brendan DuBois: “The Landscaper’s Wife” (Mystery Tribune, Aug/Sep 2022)
Barb Goffman: “Beauty and the Beyotch” (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Jan 2022)
Donna Moore: “First You Dream, Then You Die” (Black is the Night, Titan Books)
Anna Scotti: “Schrödinger, Cat” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mar/Apr 2022)
Catherine Steadman: “Stockholm” (Amazon Original Stories)
Jess Walter: “The Angel of Rome” (in The Angel of Rome and Other Stories, Harper)
Melissa Yi: “My Two-Legs” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Sep/Oct 2022)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery:
Mariah Fredericks: The Lindbergh Nanny
Catriona McPherson: In Place of Fear 
Wanda M. Morris: Anywhere You Run
Ann Parker: The Secret in the Wall
Gary Phillips: One-Shot Harry
Lev A.C. Rosen: Lavender House

 

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2023 – Christmas Themed Mysteries and Romance

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

Robyn Carr “A Virgin River Christmas

Nancy Coco “Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas

Cate Conte “A Whisker of a Doubt

Maya Corrigan “Gingerdead Man

 

Kim Davis “Frosted Yuletide Murder

Maddie Day “Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse”

Sharon Daynard  “Murder Points North

Vicki Delany “Dying in a Winter Wonderland

Hannah Dennison “A Killer Christmas at Honeychurch Hall

Maria DiRico “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder

Leighann Dobbs “Grievance in Gingerbread Alley

 

Barbara Early “Murder on the Toy Town Express”

Peggy Ehrhart “Silent Knit, Deadly Knit

Morris Fenris “Christmas Angel Charity

Beatrice Fishback “Winter Writerland

Amanda Flower “Candy Cane Crime

Joanne Fluke “Christmas Cupcake Murder

Jacqueline Frost “Slashing Through the Snow

 

Daryl Wood Gerber “Wreath between the Lines

John Gray “Manchester Christmas

Patrice Greenwood “As Red as Any Blood

 

Carolyn Haines “A Garland of Bones

Victoria Hamilton “Breaking the Mould”

Jo A Heistand “A Recipe for Murder

Julie Hennrikus “A Christmas Peril”

 

Liz Ireland “Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings

CeeCee James “The Frosty Taste of Scandal

Miranda James “Six Cats a Slayin”

 

Tina Kashian “Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder

Laura Levine “Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge”

Sherry Lynn “Murder Under the Mistletoe

 

Debbie Macomber “Dear Santa

VL McBeath “A Christmas Murder

Clara McKenna “Murder on Mistletoe Lane

Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Peggy Ehrhart  “Christmas Card Murder

Ada Moncrieff “Murder Most Festive

 

Nancy Naigle “Hope at Christmas

Carlene O’Connor “Murder at an Irish Christmas

Gail Oust: “The Twelve Dice of Christmas”

 

James Patterson, Maxine Paetro: “The 19th Christmas

Kathy Manos Penn “Candy Canes, Canines & Crime

Anne Perry “A Christmas Legacy

 

Amy M. Reade “The Worst Noel

Heather Redmond “A Christmas Carol Murder

Barbara Ross “Nogged Off

Rosemarie Ross “Christmas Candy Corpse

 

Karen Schaler “A Royal Christmas Fairy Tale

Julie Seedorf  “The Discombobulated Decipherers”

Ann Simas “Merry Witchy Christmas

Jennifer Snow “A Lot Like Christmas

 

Michele Pariza Wacek “Three French Hens and a Murder

Heather Weidner “Christmas Lights and Cat Fights

Jane Willan  “Abide with Me

Traci Wilton “Mrs. Morris and the Ghost of Christmas Past

Sherryl Woods: “Christmas at White Pines

 

 

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Book List: Author Ellen Byron

Ellen Byron’s writing is like her: clever, funny, deeply sincere, and thoughtful. Her books are full of diverse, quirky characters – just like the people you know in your own neighborhood or at work. When I read the dialogue, I feel as if I’m joining a real conversation. When her characters are cooking, I’m there in the kitchen as well and the aromas waft right off the pages. It’s no wonder that her work has won so many awards.

Take a look at her current book list and click on the titles to learn more about the books. Click on the ‘review here’ links to read what I thought about specific titles.

 

Cajun Country Mystery Series – Agatha and Lefty Award winning series, set primarily in New Orleans

Plantation Shudders

Body on the Bayou

A Cajun Christmas Killing

 “Mardi Gras Murder” – review here

“Fatal Cajun Festival”

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard

Cajun Kiss of Death

Series review here

 

 

 

Catering Hall Mysteries (as Maria DiRico) Set in Queens, a borough of NYC, with all the food and Long Island feel that a Queens cozy should have!

Here Comes the Body

Long Island Iced Tina

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder”

Four Parties and a Funeral”

The Witless Protection Program” (coming in March, 2024)

 

Vintage Cookbook Mystery Series   A new amateur sleuth is in town (New Orleans)

Bayou Book Thief

Wined and Died in New Orleans

 

Enjoy each of the series from this engaging, talented author, found at https://www.ellenbyron.com/   and on Facebook as well as other social media.

You’re welcome!   🙂

(Photo and art work courtesy of Ellen Byron)

 

Book List: Author Ellen Byron Read More »

2023 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year

From the Barnes & Noble site:
“We are pleased to announce the 12 finalists for our 2023 Book of the Year. The program, now in its fifth year, asks B&N booksellers across the country to nominate a title they find truly outstanding and in which they have felt the most pride in recommending to readers over the previous year. This year, the list features six novels, four nonfiction books, one middle-grade title and one picture book. The Barnes & Noble Book of the Year is voted on by booksellers and announced the week of November 13th.”
The winner is indicated in red.

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiMillo

The Wager by David Grann

The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Zilot & Other Important Rhymes by Bob Odenkirk

Chili Crisp by James Park

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Congratulations to all the finalists and the winner!

 

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2023 CrimeFest Awards

CrimeFest celebrates the best of crime fiction first published in the UK. In general, the titles are sent in by the publishers for consideration, then read and reduced to the list of finalists you see below. A group of British crime fiction reviewers selects both the finalists and the winners. The awards were presented on May 13. The category winners are indicated in red.

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award

  • A Good Day to Die, by Amen Alonge
  • Bad for Good, by Graham Bartlett
  • The Maid, by Nita Prose
  • Ashes in the Snow, by Oriana Rammuno, translated by Katherine Gregor
  • Kalmann, by Joachim B. Schmidt, translated by Jamie Lee Searle
  • Dirt Town, by Hayley Scrivenor
  • The Siege, by John Sutherland
  • A Flicker in the Dark, by Stacy Willingham

eDunnit Award

  • The Cliff House, by Chris Brookmyre
  • Desert Star, by Michael Connelly
  • The Botanist, by M.W. Craven
  • The Book of the Most Precious Substance, by Sara Gran
  • A Heart Full of Headstones, by Ian Rankin
  • Nine Lives, by Peter Swanson

Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel)

  • Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, by Christopher Fowler
  • The Locked Room, by Elly Griffiths
  • Bad Actors, by Mick Herron
  • Hope to Die, by Cara Hunter
  • Mr. Campion’s Mosaic, by Mike Ripley
  • The Moose Paradox, by Antti Tuomainen

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! 

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