Non-fiction

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 78th 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 »

2023 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year

Leave a Comment / Award Winner, Bestselling Author, Book List, Cookbooks, Featured, Fiction, Nominated for Award, Non-fiction, Young Adult/Teen

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!

 

2023 Barnes & Noble Book of the Year Read More »

2023 – National Book Awards

4 Comments / Featured, Fiction, Nominated for Award, Non-fiction

From the National Book Award site: “The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best literature published in the United States, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in our culture.” A panel of judges selects a Longlist of ten titles per category for The National Book Awards, which is then narrowed to five Finalists. Each Finalist receives a prize of $1,000, a medal, and a Judge’s citation. Winners receive $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.” Click on the highlighted titles for more information about the books. The National Book Foundation announced the winners (indicated in red) of the National Book Awards at a ceremony in New York on Wednesday, November 15.

Fiction
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars (Pantheon Books)
Aaliyah Bilal, Temple Folk (Simon & Schuster)
Paul Harding, This Other Eden (Norton)
Hanna Pylväinen, The End of Drum-Time (Holt)
Justin Torres, Blackouts (FSG)

Nonfiction
Ned Blackhawk, The Rediscovery of America (Yale University Press)
Cristina Rivera Garza, Liliana’s Invincible Summer (Hogarth)
Christina Sharpe, Ordinary Notes (FSG)
Raja Shehadeh, We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I (Other Press)
John Vaillant, Fire Weather (Knopf)

Translated Literature
Bora Chung, Cursed Bunny, Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur (Algonquin Books)
David Diop, Beyond the Door of No Return, Translated from the French by Sam Taylor (FSG)
Stênio Gardel, The Words That Remain, Translated from the Portuguese by Bruna Dantas Lobato (New Vessel Press)
Pilar Quintana, Abyss, Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman (World Editions)
Astrid Roemer, On a Woman’s Madness, Translated from the Dutch by Lucy Scott (Two Lines Press)

 

2023 – National Book Awards Read More »

The Agatha Awards for 2022 Books

Leave a Comment / Bestselling Author, Cozy, Crime, Debut Author, Featured, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Non-fiction, 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, 2023, and are indicated in red.

​​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 Diabolical 
“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 

 

The Agatha Awards for 2022 Books Read More »

2023 Edgar Awards

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

Mystery Writers of America announced the nominees for the 2023 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2022. Awards were given in person on April 27, 2023, in New York City. The winners are indicated in red.

BEST NOVEL
Devil House by John Darnielle
Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett
Gangland by Chuck Hogan
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
The Maid by Nita Prose

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
Don’t Know Tough by Eli Cranor
Shutter by Ramona Emerson
More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Quarry’s Blood by Max Allan Collins
On a Quiet Street by Seraphina Nova Glass
Or Else by Joe Hart
Cleopatra’s Dagger by Carole Lawrence
A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre

BEST FACT CRIME
Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale
Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse
Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles
American Caliph: The True Story of a Muslim Mystic, a Hollywood Epic, and the 1977 Siege of Washington, D.C. by Shahan Mufti
American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America’s Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“One Mighty and Strong” – Under the Banner of Heaven, Written by Brandon Boyce (Hulu)
“Episode 1” – Magpie Murders, Written by Anthony Horowitz (Masterpiece/PBS)
“Episode 1″ – Karen Pirie, Written by Emer Kenny (BritBox)
“When Harry Met Fergus” – Harry Wild, Written by David Logan (Acorn TV)
“The Reagan Way” – Blue Bloods, Written by Siobhan Byrne O’Connor (CBS)
“Eighteen Wheels A Predator” – Law & Order: SVU, Written by Brianna Yellen & Monet Hurst-Mendoza (NBC Universal)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
The Disinvited Guest by Carol Goodman
A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
Never Name the Dead by D.M. Rowell

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD
Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique
An Unforgiving Place by Claire Kells
Hideout by Louisa Luna
Behind the Lie by Emilya Naymark
Secrets Typed in Blood by Stephen Spotswood

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD
The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
Smile Beach Murder by Alicia Bessette
Desert Getaway by Michael Craft
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

 

Nominees for Best Juvenile, Best Critical/Biographical, Best Short Story can be found on the Edgar website: Edgarawards.com

 

2023 Edgar Awards Read More »

NYT Top Ten – Best Fiction and Nonfiction 2022

Leave a Comment / Book List, Featured, Fiction, General, Non-fiction

The New York Times Book Reviews announced its 10 Best Books of the Year of 2022, with five fiction and five nonfiction titles. Books published in 2022 were eligible and were narrowed to this list by the Book Editors staff.

Fiction:

“Checkout 19” by Claire-Louise Bennett

“Trust” by Hernan Diaz

“The Candy House”  by Jennifer Egan

“Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver

“The Furrows” by Namwali Serpell

 

Nonfiction

“Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us” by Rachel Aviv

“Stay True: A Memoir” by Hua Hsu

“We Don’t Know Ourselves” by Fintan O’Toole

“Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation” by Linda Villarosa

“An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us” by Ed Yong

 

 

NYT Top Ten – Best Fiction and Nonfiction 2022 Read More »

2022 Mystery Writers of America – Edgar Awards

Leave a Comment / Book List, Crime, Debut Author, Featured, Historical, Mystery, Nominated for Award, Non-fiction, Young Adult/Teen

The nominees for the 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television from 2021, were announced in January, 2022. The winners were revealed on April 28, 2022 in New York City and are noted here in red.

BEST NOVEL
The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Five Decembers by James Kestrel
How Lucky by Will Leitch
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield

 

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza
What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins
The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell
The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke
The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory
Starr Sign by C.S. O’Cinneide
Bobby March Will Live Forever by Alan Parks
The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell

 

BEST FACT CRIME
The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox
Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green
Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away by Ann Hagedorn
Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice by Ellen McGarrahan
The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade by Benjamin T. Smith
When Evil Lived in Laurel:  The “White Knights” and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer by Curtis Wilkie

 

BEST JUVENILE
Cold-Blooded Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden by Marthe Jocelyn
Kidnap on the California Comet: Adventures on Trains #2 by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman
Rescue by Jennifer A. Nielsen

 

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe

 

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Dog Day Morning” – The Brokenwood Mysteries, Written by Tim Balme (Acorn TV)
“Episode 1” – The Beast Must Die, Written by Gaby Chiappe (AMC+)
“The Men Are Wretched Things” – The North Water Written by Andrew Haigh (AMC+)
“Happy Families” – Midsomer Murders, Written by Nicholas Hicks-Beach (Acorn TV)
“Boots on the Ground” – Narcos: Mexico, Written by Iturri Sosa (Netflix)

 

Please visit https://mysterywriters.org/mwa-announce-the-2022-edgar-award-nominations for information about nominees in the Short Story, Best Critical/Biographical, Mary Higgins Clark, and Sue Grafton Awards.

 

From the site: “MWA is the premier organization for mystery writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and those who are devoted to the genre. The organization encompasses some 3,000 members including authors of fiction and non-fiction books, screen and television writers, as well as publishers, editors, and literary agents.”

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

 

2022 Mystery Writers of America – Edgar Awards Read More »

Scroll to Top