Short Stories/Collection

Halloween Mystery List – 2023

Halloween will be here before you know it and if you’d like to pick up a fun read with a seasonal theme, here are eighty-seven titles in our updated 2023 Halloween Mystery List. Some have been around for ages, but others have recently been published or re-published. There are dozens more books with a Halloween theme, so if your favorite is not on the list, please let us know the title and author in the comments.

Click on the bold titles to read more about the individual books.

Stacey Alabaster – The Pumpkin Killer

Susan Wittig Albert – Witches’ Bane

Ritter Ames and 8 others – Midnight Mysteries: Nine Cozy Tales

Gretchen Archer – Double Jinx

 

Laurien Berenson – Howloween Murder

Susan Bernhardt – The Ginseng Conspiracy

Morgana Best – The Halloween Time Spell

Bethany Blake – Dial Meow for Murder

Susan Boles – Death of a Wolfman

Ginger Bolton –Boston Scream Murder

Lilian Jackson Braun – Cat Who Talked to Ghosts

Christin Brecher – 15 Minutes of Flame

Allison Brook – Death Overdue

Rita Mae Brown – The Litter of the Law

Catherine Bruns – Dessert Is the Bomb

Mollie Cox Bryan – Scrapbook of the Dead

Anna Celeste Burke – All Hallows’ Eve Heist

Jessica Burton – Death Goes Shopping

Ellen Byron – Murder in the Bayou Boneyard

 

Thea Cambert – Halloween at Pumpkin Hill

Nora Charles – Death with an Ocean View

Laura Childs – Frill Kill

Agatha Christie – The Hallowe’en Party

Cate Conte – Nine Lives and Alibis

Susan Rogers Cooper – Not in My Backyard

E.J. Copperman – Night of the Living Deed

Maya Corrigan – Crypt Suzette

Kathy Cranston – Pumpkins are Murder

Isis Crawford – A Catered Costume Party

James J. Cudney – Haunted House Ghost

 

Kathi Daley – The Inn at Holiday Bay

Kim Davis – Cake Popped Off

Krista Davis – Murder Outside the Lines

Jana Deleon – Swamp Spook

Steve Demaree – Murder on Halloween

Leighann Dobbs – Halloween Party Murder

Carole Nelson Douglas – Cat with an Emerald Eye

Kaitlyn Dunnett – Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones

 

Janet Evanovich – Plum Spooky

Sharon Farrow – Mulberry Mischief

Connie Feddersen – Dead in the Pumpkin Patch

Vickie Fee – It’s Your Party, Die If You Want To

Honora Finkelstein – The Lawyer Who Died Trying

‘Jessica Fletcher’ & Donald Bain – Trick or Treachery

 

Eva Gates – The Spook in the Stacks

Daryl Wood Gerber (aka Avery Aames) – Stirring the Plot

Sarah Graves – Nail Biter

 

Carolyn Haines – Hallowed Bones

Ellen Hart – Sweet Poison

Kelly Hashway – Halloween Homicide

Julia Henry – Digging Up the Remains

Lee Hollis – Death of a Wicked Witch

Carolyn Q. Hunter – Pumpkin Pie Waffle

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter – Murder on the Ghost Walk

 

Sybil Johnson – Designed for Haunting

Daniel Judson – The Violet Hour

Heather Justesen – Muffins & Murder

 

Jenny Kales – A Stew to A Kill

Tonya Kappes – A Halloween Homicide

Andrew Klavan – The Animal Hour

Cynthia Kuhn – The Spirit in Question

Joyce & Jim Lavene – Ghastly Glass

James Lilley – Death Knocks Twice

Linda Lovely – Picked Off

Alice Loweecey The Clock Strikes Nun

 

Karen MacInerney – Deadly Brew

Ed McBain – Tricks: an 87th Precinct Mystery

Jenn McKinlay – Dark Chocolate Demise

G.A. McKevett – Poisoned Tarts

Leslie Meier – Wicked Witch Murder

Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Barbara Ross – Halloween Party Murder

Alexis Morgan – Death by Jack-O-Lantern

Lynn Morrison – Stakes and Spells

Mandy Morton – Cat Among the Pumpkins

Liz Mugavero – A Biscuit, a Casket

Julie Mulhern – Send in the Clowns

 

Katie Penryn – The Witch Who Hated Halloween

Leigh Perry – The Skeleton Haunts a House

Summer Prescott & 7 others – A Very Cozy Halloween

Barbara Ross – Scared Off

 

Mary Seifert – Halloween, Hound, & Housesitting

Rachael Stapleton – Black Cats, Corpses and the Pumpkin Pantry

Kathleen Suzette – Gnome for Halloween

 

Rebecca Tope – Death in the Cotswolds

Diane Vallere – Masking for Trouble

Kirsten Weiss – Gourd to Death

Linnea West Halloween Hayride Murder

 

If you’ve read any books in the Halloween Mystery List for 2023, please let us know what you thought.

Happy Spooky reading.

 

Halloween Mystery List – 2023 Read More »

2023 Anthony Awards

Bouchercon is an annual conference named after Anthony Boucher, a mystery author and critic who helped found the Mystery Writers of America. This event honors various segments of the mystery and crime fiction community. Take a look at the nominees and winners of the coveted Anthony Award, announced in San Diego during BoucherCon in September, with the winners indicated in red.

BEST HARDCOVER
Kellye Garrett “Like a Sister”
Gabino Iglesias  “The Devil Takes You Home”
Richard Osman  “The Bullet That Missed”
Louise Penny “A World of Curiosities”
Nita Prose  “The Maid”
Alex Segura  “Secret Identity”

BEST FIRST NOVEL
Eli Cranor  “Don’t Know Tough”
Ramona Emerson  “Shutter”
Harini Nagendra  “The Bangalore Detectives Club”
Rob Osler  “Devil’s Chew Toy”
Nita Prose  “The Maid”

BEST HUMOROUS
Ellen Byron  “Bayou Book Thief”
Jennifer J. Chow “Death by Bubble Tea”
T.G. Herren  “A Streetcar Named Murder”
Catriona McPherson  “Scot in a Trap”
Raquel V. Reyes  “Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking”

BEST PAPERBACK/Ebook/Audiobook
Kelly J. Ford  “Real Bad Things”
James L’Etoile  “Dead Drop”
Jess Lourey  “The Quarry Girls”
Gabriel Valjan  “Hush Hush”
Sandra SG Wong  “In the Dark We Forget”

BEST SHORT STORY
E.A. Aymar “Still Crazy After All These Years” (Paranoia Blues)
Bruce Robert Coffin  “The Impediment” (Deadly Nightshade)
Barb Goffman “Beauty and the Beyotch” (Sherlock Holmes MM)
Curtis Ippolito  “The Estate Sale”  (Vautrin Magazine)
Gabriel Valjan  “C.O.D.” (Low Down Dirty Vote, Vol. 3)

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

 

2023 Anthony Awards Read More »

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 and winners. The winners were  announced in NYC on June 3rd. (indicated in red) 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 ThrillerFest Awards Read More »

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 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 Beyotchby 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 

 

The Agatha Awards for 2022 Books Read More »

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!

 

 

Irish Fiction & Mysteries – 2023 List Read More »

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!

 

2023 Valentine’s Day Mysteries and Fiction Read More »

Book List: Edith Maxwell

 

Edith Maxwell is a prolific writer of absorbing, wonderful mysteries. Each of her series feature strong, independent women, with true-to-life intelligent, sometimes challenging, families and an always intriguing boyfriend. The stories are layered, the characters are complex, and the mysteries are well drawn. Click on the book titles and fall into a great read. 

 

as Edith Maxwell:

Quaker Midwife Mysteries  The Agatha-nominated historical series features unconventional Quaker midwife Rose Carroll in late 1880s Amesbury, Massachusetts.
Delivering the Truth”   review here

Called to Justice

Turning the Tide” 

Charity’s Burden”  Agatha Award winner! Best Historical Novel 2020

Judge Thee Not

Taken Too Soon

“A Changing Light”


The Local Foods Mysteries feature novice organic farmer Cameron Flaherty and take place in the town of Westbury, Massachusetts.

A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die”  review here

’Til Dirt Do Us Part

Farmed and Dangerous

Murder Most Fowl

Mulch Ado About Murder

 

as Maddie Day:

The Country Store Mysteries feature Robbie Jordan and Pans ‘N Pancakes, her country store/restaurant in fictional South Lick, Indiana.
Flipped for Murder

Grilled for Murder”    review here

When the Grits Hit the Fan

Biscuits and Slashed Browns

Death over Easy

Strangled Eggs and Ham

Nacho Average Murder

Candy Slain Murder

Batter Off Dead”

Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse

Four Leaf Cleaver” coming in January, 2023


Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries
are set on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and feature Mackenzie Almeida and her sleuthing book club members.

Murder on Cape Cod”  review here

Murder at the Taffy Shop

Murder at the Lobstah Shack”

Murder in a Cape Cottage


as Tace Baker, now as Edith Maxwell
:
 

The Lauren Rousseau Mysteries feature Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau, a self-reliant, multi-talented woman who finds herself involved in college politics, local Massachusetts intrigue, and bodies.

Speaking of Murder” (new title is “Murder on the Bluffs”) review here

Bluffing is Murder”  review here

 

Short Fiction

The following stories of “murderous revenge and other crimes” were originally published in anthologies or magazines. Many have been republished as standalone short stories.

“An Ominous Silence” appears in Snowbound: Best New England Crime Stories

“The Unfortunate Death of Mrs. Edna Fogg” in Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical 

 “Murder in the Summer Kitchen” in Murder Among Friends: Mysteries Inspired by the Life and Works of John Greenleaf Whittier. 

“The Mayor and the Midwife” in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 

“Adam and Eva,” – free read on Kings River Life Magazine

“A Questionable Death” was originally published in the History and Mystery, Oh My! anthology and is a free read over at Kings River Life Magazine.

“Just Desserts for Johnny”

“Pickled” in That Mysterious Woman

“A Fire in Carriagetown” first appeared as “Breaking the Silence” in Best New England Crime Stories 2014: Stone Cold 

“The Stonecutter,” first appeared in Fish Nets: the Second Guppy Anthology

“Reduction in Force” was first published in Thin Ice: Crime Stories by New England Writers 

“Yatsuhashi for Lance” was originally published as “Obake for Lance” in Riptide: Crime Stories by New England Writers.

“An Idea for Murder,” first appeared (written as Tace Baker) in the Burning Bridges: A Renegade Fiction Anthology.

“The Importance of Blood”

“A Divination of Death” appears in Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical.

“Sushi Lessons” appears in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible.

“An Intolerable Intrusion” appears in Edgar Allen Cozy.

 

For more information about Edith and her writing life, read the Author Profile here.

 

Happy Reading!  🙂

 

 

Book List: Edith Maxwell Read More »

Scroll to Top