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2024 Killer Nashville – Silver Falchion Awards

1 Comment / Bestselling Author, Book List, Cozy, Crime, Featured, Historical, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Paranormal, Suspense, Thriller, Western, Young Adult/Teen

The 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists represent the best books published in 2023, as determined by the judges. Full disclosure, I was a judge this year and one of my choices won! The winners in each category (indicated in red) were announced on August 24, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee, at Killer Nashville.

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE
A New Game / A.M. Adair
Siphon / Ley Esses
A Blanket of Steel / Timothy S. Johnston
Hanging the Devil / Tim Maleeny
Splinter / Paul McHugh
The Warmaker: A Black Spear Novel / Benjamin Spada

BEST COMEDY
Downsized or Dead / S.E. Greco
Shocked by Champagne / Lucy Lakestone
Cultured / DP Lyle
Citizen Orlov / Jonathan Payne
Model Suspect / TK Sheffield
A Crafty Collage of Crime / Lois Winston

BEST COZY
Under the Cocoon Moon / Kathleen Bailey
Dumpster Dying / Michelle Bennington
Puppy Love / Mike Faricy
Naked Came the Detective / Glendall Jackson
Karma Comes in Red, A Beyond Mystery / Morgan James
Trust the Terrier: A Coral Shores Veterinary Mystery / DL Mitchell

BEST HISTORICAL
Revenge at the Galliano Club / Carmen Amato
Red Flags: A Novel / Rebecca McQueen
Arsenic at Ascot, A Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery / Kelly Oliver
The Sorrowful Girl / Keenan Powell
The Last Drop of Hemlock / Katharine Schellman
A Courtesan’s Secret / Nina Wachsman

BEST INVESTIGATOR
When Things Fall Apart / Alan Brenham
Reflections in a Dragon’s Eye / Bradley Harper MD
Vessels of Wrath / Thomas Holland
These Still Black Waters / Christina McDonald
Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery / Margaret Mizushima
Splintered Loyalty / Mark Troy

BEST JUVENILE / Y.A.
Where Echoes Die / Courtney Gould
The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary / K.B. Jackson
A Place of Vengeance / David Lafferty
A Tall Dark Trouble / Vanessa Montalban
Immortality: A Love Story / Dana Schwartz
Stateless / Elizabeth Wein

BEST MYSTERY
Mouse in the Box / Lewis Allan
Indigo Road / Reed Bunzel
Beautiful Death / John Deal
Secrets Don’t Sink / Kate B. Jackson
BeatNikki’s Café / Renee James
The Empty Kayak / Jode Millman

BEST SUPERNATURAL
Monstera / EL Block
Personal Demons / L.R. Braden
The Paleontologist / Luke Dumas
Downpour / Christopher Hawkins
A Mother’s Torment / Xavier Poe Kane
Ghost Tamer / Meredith R. Lyons

BEST SUSPENSE
Don’t Close Your Eyes / Mary Alford
Deep Fake Double Down / Debbie Burke
Deadly Tides / Mary Keliikoa
Perspectives / Matthew Minson
Dead West / Linda L. Richards
The Rule of Thirds / Jeannee Sacken

BEST THRILLER
Checkout Time / John Bukowski
The Followers / Bradeigh Godfrey
The Trap / Catherine Ryan Howard
Implied Consent / Keenan Powell
Breaking Apart / Wanda Venters, MD and Mary Rae, MD
Kyd’s Game / Marc Rosenberg

BEST WESTERN
Reckoning / Baron Birtcher
Bladestay / Jackie Johnson
Sting of Lies / Carol Potenza

Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!

2024 Killer Nashville – Silver Falchion Awards Read More »

2024 Edgar Awards

Leave a Comment / Amish, Bestselling Author, Cozy, Crime, Debut Author, Featured, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Non-fiction, Suspense, Thriller, True Crime, Young Adult/Teen

The MWA (Mystery Writers of America) nominees for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards honor the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2023. The 78^th Annual Edgar® Awards were bestowed on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in New York City. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red).

BEST NOVEL
Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
The Madwomen of Paris by Jennifer Cody Epstein
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
An Honest Man by Michael Koryta
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

BEST FIRST NOVEL
The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry
The Golden Gate by Amy Chua
Small Town Sins by Ken Jaworowski
The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch
Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Boomtown by A.F. Carter
Hide by Tracy Clark
The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak

BEST FACT CRIME
In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America’s Child by Kim Cross
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux
Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders by John Glatt
Crooked: The Roaring ’20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal by Nathan Masters
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever by Barbara Rae-Venter
The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy by Joe Sexton

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Girl Forgotten by April Henry
Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby
The Sharp Edge of Silence by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum
My Flawless Life by Yvonne Woon
Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmerman

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE SCREENPLAY
“Time of the Monkey” – Poker Face, Written by Wyatt Cain & Charlie Peppers (Peacock)

“I’m a Pretty Observant Guy” – Will Trent, Written by Liz Heldens (ABC)

“Dead Man’s Hand” – Poker Face, Written by Rian Johnson (Peacock)

“Hózhó Náhásdlii (Beauty is Restore)” – Dark Winds, Written by Graham Roland & John Wirth (AMC)

“Escape from Shit Mountain” – Poker Face, Written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman

The Lilian Jackon Braun Memorial Award
Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux
Misfortune Cookie by Vivien Chien
Hot Pot Murder by Jennifer J. Chow
Murder of an Amish Bridegroom by Patricia Johns
The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell

Additional Award Nominees (Best Juvenile, Best Critical/Biographical, Best Short Story, Mary Higgins Clark Award, Sue Grafton Memorial Award) can be found at EdgarAwards.com

2024 Edgar Awards Read More »

2024 Lefty Awards

1 Comment / Bestselling Author, Cozy, Crime, Featured, Historical, Mystery, Nominated for Award

Left Coast Crime 2024 presented four Lefty Awards at the convention in Bellevue, Washington on April 13, 2024. The mystery/crime/thriller novels must have been published for the first time in the United States or Canada during 2023, in book or ebook format. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red)!

Best Humorous Mystery Novel
°	Jennifer J. Chow, Hot Pot Murder
°	Lee Matthew Goldberg, The Great Gimmelmans
°	Leslie Karst, A Sense for Murder
°	Catriona McPherson, Hop Scot
°	Cindy Sample, Dying for a Decoration
°	Wendall Thomas, Cheap Trills

Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bill Gotttfried Memorial) for books covering events before 1970
°	Cara Black, Night Flight to Paris
°	Bruce Borgos, The Bitter Past
°	Susanna Calkins, Death Among the Ruins
°	Dianne Freeman, A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder
°	Cheryl A. Head, Time’s Undoing
°	Naomi Hirahara, Evergreen

Best Debut Mystery Novel
°	Lina Chern, Play the Fool
°	Margot Douaihy, Scorched Grace
°	Josh Pachter, Dutch Threat
°	Ana Reyes, The House in the Pines
°	Nina Simon, Mother-Daughter Murder Night

Best Mystery Novel
°	Tracy Clark, Hide
°	S.A. Cosby, All the Sinners Bleed
°	Matt Coyle, Odyssey’s End
°	Jordan Harper, Everybody Knows
°	James L’Etoile, Face of Greed
°	Gigi Pandian, The Raven Thief

2024 Lefty Awards 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 were handed out in person in late April, 2024. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners (indicated in red)!

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

Agatha Awards for 2023 Titles Read More »

Irish Fiction and Mysteries – 2024 List

Leave a Comment / Bestselling Author, Book List, Cozy, Crime, Featured, Fiction, Historical, Holidays, Mystery, Short Stories/Collection, Suspense

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 »

2024 Valentine’s Day Mysteries

Leave a Comment / Book List, Cozy, Crime, Featured, Holidays, Mystery, Romance

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!

2024 Valentine’s Day Mysteries Read More »

2023 – Macavity Awards

1 Comment / Award Winner, Bestselling Author, Cozy, Debut Author, Featured, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Short Stories/Collection, Suspense

The Macavity Awards are nominated by members and friends of Mystery Readers International, and subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal. Congratulations 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

2023 – Macavity Awards Read More »