The Agatha Awards – 2019 Books
The nominees for the Agatha Awards for 2019 Books (named for Agatha Christie) have been announced. The nominated titles will be voted upon by the attendees at the annual Malice Domestic conference for mystery and crime writers/fans in early May, 2020. Awards will be announced at the banquet. The nominated books were first published in the United States by a living author between January 1 and December 31, 2019.
The Agatha Awards recognize the "traditional mystery," meaning that there is no graphic sex and no excessive violence in the writing. Thrillers or hard-boiled detectives cannot be found here, but instead, picture Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot at work.
Congratulations to all the nominees! 🙂
Best Contemporary Novel (6 titles this year)
“Fatal Cajun Festival” by Ellen Byron
“The Long Call” by Ann Cleeves
“Fair Game” by Annette Dashofy
“The Missing Ones” by Edwin Hill
“A Better Man” by Louise Penny
“The Murder List” by Hank Philippi Ryan
Best First Mystery Novel
“A Dream of Death” by Connie Berry
“One Night Gone” by Tara Laskowski
“Murder Once Removed” by S. C. Perkins
“When It’s Time for Leaving” by Ang Pompano
“Staging for Murder” by Grace Topping
Best Historical Mystery
“Love and Death Among the Cheetahs” by Rhys Bowen
“Murder Knocks Twice” by Susanna Calkins
“The Pearl Dagger” by L. A. Chandlar
“Charity’s Burden” by Edith Maxwell
“The Naming Game” by Gabriel Valjan
Best Nonfiction
“Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story” by Laird R. Blackwell
“Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrified Los Angeles” by Julia Bricklin
“Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee” by Casey Cep
“The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women” by Mo Moulton
“The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” by Hallie Rubenhold
Best Children/Young Adult
“Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers” by Shauna Holyoak
“Two Can Keep a Secret” by Karen MacManus
“The Last Crystal” by Frances Schoonmaker
“Top Marks for Murder (A Most Unladylike Mystery)”
by Robin Stevens
“Jada Sly, Artist and Spy” by Sherri Winston
Best Short Story (links are highlighted)
"Grist for the Mill" by Kaye George in A Murder of Crows (Darkhouse Books)
"Alex’s Choice" by Barb Goffman in Crime Travel (Wildside Press)
"The Blue Ribbon" by Cynthia Kuhn in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"The Last Word" by Shawn Reilly Simmons, Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"Better Days" by Art Taylor in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
Happy Reading!
“New York Times Best Fiction and Nonfiction of 2019”
It’s always interesting to see which books the Book Review editors choose for their “Best of…” lists for the year. The titles are sometimes bestsellers, sometimes from debut or international writers, but more importantly, the NYT Book Review editors have fallen in love with the story (or the writing) and ta-da! the book makes the list.
Check out their Best of Fiction and Nonfiction choices from 2019. Listed in alphabetical order by author, click on the book titles to read their reviews.
Fiction:
“Night Boat to Tangier” by Kevin Barry
“Exhalation” by Ted Chiang
“The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner
“Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli
“Disappearing Earth” by Julia Phillips
Nonfiction:
“The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom
“The Club” by Leo Damrosch
“Midnight in Chernobyl” by Adam Higginbotham
“Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe
“No Visible Bruises” by Rachel Louise Snyder
Have you read any of the titles? Please let us know what you thought in the comments below.
Christmas Themed Mysteries – 2019
Christmas may be the most popular holiday topic for mysteries. When compiling this list, there were hundreds to choose from. Yes, hundreds. Do we, as readers, connect with the topic of murder at the holidays because our families and friends bring out the worst in us? Do the writers deliver a way for us to fantasize about doing in the dastardly boyfriend/cousin/landlord? Only you and your active imagination know for sure. 😉
If you are a fan of Christmas themed fiction, then this list of thirty-eight novels, novellas, and short stories is for you. The books were recommended by avid cozy booksellers, as well as NBR 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”
Carolyn Ridder Aspenson + 10 other authors: “The 12 Cozy Mystery Carols of Christmas”
Donna Andrews: “Owl Be Home for Christmas”
Mary Angela: “Very Merry Murder”
Joy Avon: “In Peppermint Peril”
Laurien Berenson: “Wagging through the Snow”
Leslie Budewitz: “As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles”
Ellen Byron: “A Cajun Christmas Killing”
Lynn Cahoon: “Santa Puppy”
Vicki Delany: “Silent Night, Deadly Night”
Leighann Dobbs: “Grievance in Gingerbread Alley”
Barbara Early: “Murder on the Toy Town Express”
Morris Fenris: “Miracle of Christmas Boxed Set”
Beatrice Fishback: “Winter Writerland”
Amanda Flower: “Premeditated Peppermint”
Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier: “Christmas Sweets”
Jacqueline Frost: “Twelve Slays of Christmas”
Daryl Wood Gerber: “Wreath between the Lines”
Patrice Greenwood: “As Red as Any Blood”
Carolyn Haines: “Gift of Bones”
Victoria Hamilton: “Breaking the Mould”
Jo A Heistand: “A Recipe for Murder”
Julie Hennrikus: “A Christmas Peril”
CeeCee James: “The Frosty Taste of Scandal”
Miranda James: “Six Cats a Slayin”
Laura Levine: “Death of a Neighborhood Scrooge”
Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross: “Yule Log Murder”
Liz Mugavero: “Purring around the Christmas Tree”
Nancy Naigle: “Christmas Joy”
Gail Oust: “The Twelve Dice of Christmas”
James Patterson, Maxine Paetro: “The 19th Christmas”
Anne Perry: “A Christmas Gathering”
Summer Prescott: “Christmas Reunion Killer”
Karen Schaler: “Christmas Camp”
Julie Seedorf: “The Discombobulated Decipherers”
Jane Willan: “The Hour of Death”
Sherryl Woods: “Christmas at White Pines”
Happy Choosing!
Book List: Jessica Estavao/Jessie Crockett/Jessica Ellicott
Jessica Estavao is a talented, bestselling, award-winning New England author with several entertaining mystery series to her credit. She is one of the “Wicked Authors,” a group of women writing wicked good mysteries mostly set in New England. Take a look at the list of her books below and see if you’ve read them all. (Click on the titles to learn more about the books)
Granite State Mysteries (as Jessie Crockett)
Her debut mystery in the Granite State series, “Live Free or Die”, was the 2011 winner of the Daphne DuMaurier Award for Mainstream Mystery, an auspicious beginning to her career.
Sugar Grove Mysteries (as Jessie Crockett)
The series begins “Drizzled with Death,” one hilarious romp through championship pancake breakfasts, maple syrup, and animals on the loose. Who knew that falling dead head first into a stack of pancakes could be used as a crime scene setting?
“Drizzled with Death” – review here 
Change of Fortune Mysteries (as Jessica Estavao)
Jessie moved her next series back in time to 1890’s Orchard Beach, Maine, with a con artist and tarot card reader protagonist. Ruby tries to stay one step ahead of the law, while helping her straight arrow aunt keep her hotel. Great fun featuring an innovative female lead character.
review here
Beryl and Edwina Mysteries (as Jessica Ellicott)
Jessie’s current series is set in post WW1 England and introduces the former Finishing School duo of Edwina, the conservative English character, to Beryl’s adventurous American persona. They reunite many years later in the quiet (or is it?) southern English village of Warmsley Parva when Edwina advertises for a boarder and Beryl crashes onto her property.
Beryl and Edwina, while culturally and personally quite different, are fond of each other even after years apart. They find that their distinctive talents help them wonderfully well in their new business venture, a ‘private inquiry agency’ that solves mysteries in the charming village, while earning them an income.
Ellicott has written a series that is both historically enlightening and entertaining, with the sometimes serious subject matter of the day woven into the story of the two women drawn together by economics as well as friendship. Beautifully researched, the books reveal societal views about women 100 years ago, and peek inside the quaint village shops that have survived despite the post-war challenges.
Edwina’s shrewd intellect and Beryl’s clever approach to the mysteries outwit lesser minds and create a few comical moments to save the day and befuddle the clueless. These two engaging, intelligent women will capture your hearts and minds as you enjoy these wonderful books.
review here
National Book Awards – 2019
The prestigious National Book Awards–2019 for last year's books were bestowed in New York City on November 20, 2019. There were 25 finalists – five each in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People's Literature.
Take a look at the finalists and winners (indicated in red) and click on the titles to learn more about the books:
FINALISTS FOR FICTION:
- Susan Choi, Trust Exercise
- Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Sabrina & Corina: Stories
- Marlon James, Black Leopard, Red Wolf
- Laila Lalami, The Other Americans
- Julia Phillips, Disappearing Earth
FINALISTS FOR NONFICTION:
- Sarah M. Broom, The Yellow House
- Tressie McMillan Cottom, Thick: And Other Essays
- Carolyn Forché, What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance
- David Treuer, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present
- Albert Woodfox with Leslie George, Solitary
FINALISTS FOR POETRY:
- Jericho Brown, The Tradition
- Toi Derricotte, “I”: New and Selected Poems
- Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic
- Carmen Giménez Smith, Be Recorder
- Arthur Sze, Sight Lines
FINALISTS FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE:
-
Khaled Khalifa, Death Is Hard Work
Translated from the Arabic by Leri Price -
László Krasznahorkai, Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming
Translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet -
Scholastique Mukasonga, The Barefoot Woman
Translated from the French by Jordan Stump -
Yoko Ogawa, The Memory Police
Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder -
Pajtim Statovci, Crossing
Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston
FINALISTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE:
- Akwaeke Emezi, Pet
- Jason Reynolds, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks
- Randy Ribay, Patron Saints of Nothing
- Laura Ruby, Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
- Martin W. Sandler, 1919 The Year That Changed America
Congratulations to all!!!
Macavity Awards-2019
Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate their favorite mysteries in five categories from the previous year for the Macavity Awards. The winners of this coveted award were announced at the end of October, 2019, at the Bouchercon convention in Dallas, Texas.
Mystery Readers International, Mystery Readers Journal, and the Macavity Awards, were created by Anthony Award winner, Janet Rudolph.
The winning titles are indicated in red.
Best Novel:
- Lou Berney: November Road
- Alison Gaylin: If I Die Tonight
- Jane Harper: The Lost Man
- Jennifer Hillier: Jar of Hearts
- Naomi Hirahara: Hiroshima Boy
-
Lisa Unger: Under My Skin
Best First Novel:
- Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, the Serial Killer
- John Copenhaver: Dodging and Burning
- Delia Owens: Where the Crawdads Sing
- Catherine Steadman: Something in the Water
-
C.J. Tudor: The Chalk Man
Best Nonfiction:
- Laird R. Blackwell: The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton: A Critical Study of the Father Brown Stories and Other Detective Fiction
- Margalit Fox: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer
- Leslie S. Klinger: Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s
- Michelle McNamara: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
- Laura Thompson: Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life
-
Sarah Weinman: The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World
Best Short Story: (Click on titles in red for links to the stories)
- Craig Faustus Buck: “Race to Judgment” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov/Dec 2018)
- Leslie Budewitz: “All God’s Sparrows” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/Jun 2018)
- Barb Goffman: “Bug Appétit” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov/Dec 2018)
- Barry Lancet: “Three-Star Sushi” (Down & Out: The Magazine, Vol.1, No. 3)
- Gigi Pandian: “The Cambodian Curse” (The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories)
-
Art Taylor: “English 398: Fiction Workshop” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Jul/Aug 2018)
Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery:
- Dianne Freeman: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder
- Elsa Hart: City of Ink
- Laurie R. King: Island of the Mad
- Sujata Massey: The Widows of Malabar Hill
- Ann Parker: A Dying Note
-
Charles Todd: A Forgotten Place
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners! 🙂
Bloody Scotland Crime Book of the Year 2019 – McIlvanney Prize
The Scotland Crime Book of the Year Award, now called The McIlvanney Prize, is given at Bloody Scotland, a premier conference for crime writers. Eligible authors must be born in Scotland, live there, or set their books there. The winner receives 1,000 pounds and the book is promoted for a year by a major bookstore chain in Great Britain. The winners of both awards were announced on Friday, September 20, 2019 and are indicated in red.
McIlvanney Prize Shortlist and winner:
• Breakers, by Doug Johnstone
• Conviction, by Denise Mina
• The Way of All Flesh, by “Ambrose Parry”, aka Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman
• A Treachery of Spies, by Manda Scott
McIlvanney Debut Prize Shortlist and winner:
• All the Hidden Truths, by Claire Askew
• From the Shadows, by G.R. Halliday
• Black Camp 21, by Bill Jones
• In the Silence, by M.R. Mackenzie
• The Peat Dead, by Allan Martin
Congratulations to all!
Previous winners are noted below:
2018: Liam McIlvanney – “The Quaker”
2017: Denise Mina – “The Long Drop”
2016: Chris Brookmyre – “Black Widow”
2015: Craig Russell – “The Ghosts of Altona”
2014: Peter May – “Entry Island”
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