McCavity Award Nominees for Best Mystery 2010

Mystery Readers International has announced its nominees for Best Mystery 2010, in four categories. Here are the books and authors chosen:

Best Novel


Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)

Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman (Busted Flush Press)

Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie (Wm. Morrow)

Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, translated by Don Bartlett (HarperCollins)

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny (Minotaur)


The Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozan (Minotaur)



Best First Novel

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Delacorte)

Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti (Wm. Morrow)

A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur)

The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Picador)



Best Nonfiction

L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City by John Buntin (Random House: Harmony Books)

Talking about Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Alfred A. Knopf)

Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations About the Writing Life by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)

The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives, edited by Otto Penzler (Little, Brown & Co)

Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo (Penguin Press)

Dame Agatha's Shorts: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion by Elena Santangelo (Bella Rosa Books)



Sue Feder Historical

A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge)

In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur)

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (Wm. Morrow)

Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear (Henry Holt)



Best Short Story

"Last Fair Deal Gone Down" by Ace Atkins in Crossroad Blues (Busted Flush Press)

"Femme Sole" by Dana Cameron in Boston Noir (Akashic Books)

"Digby, Attorney at Law" by Jim Fusilli, (AHMM, May 2009)

"Your Turn" by Carolyn Hart in Two of the Deadliest (Harper)

"On the House" by Hank Phillippi Ryan in Quarry: Crime Stories by New England Writers (Level Best Books)

"The Desert Here and the Desert Far Away" by Marcus Sakey in Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can’t Put Down (Mira)

"Amapola" by Luis Alberto Urrea in Phoenix Noir (Akashic Books).

Haven't read any of these as yet but they're on my list.

Best Mysteries/Crime Fiction for 2009

Looking for a good mystery or crime fiction novel but can't decide which one to pick from the hundreds on the library or bookstore shelves?

Here are some recent ones you might want to look at  - 2009 books nominated for an award this year.

The Mystery Writers of America gives the Edgar Awards every year to honor Edgar Allan Poe. The prize goes to the best mystery fiction and nonfiction published in the previous year.

The 2010 nominees include

Best Novel:
· The Missing by Tim Gautreaux
· The Odds by Kathleen George
· The Last Child by John Hart
· The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston
· Nemesis by Jo Nesbø, translated by Don Bartlett
· A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Best First Novel by an American Author:
· The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano
· Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley
· The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
· A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield
· Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
· In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Best Paperback Original:
· Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott
· Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano
· The Lord God Bird by Russell Hill
· Body Blows by Marc Strange
· The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice by L.C. Tyler

I haven't read any on the list as yet but  it's a place to start in a search for some of the best crime fiction out there. Winners of the Edgar Awards will be announced April 29.

Best Mystery and Humor books

Need a good laugh combined with a good mystery read? Try one of the books below.

Left Coast Crime will have its 20th Mystery Convention March 11-14 in Los Angeles.

One of its awards is THE LEFTY - for the most humorous mystery published in a particular year. Lefty winners:

2009: Greasing the Pinata by Tim Maleeny
2008: Murder With Reservations by Elaine Viets
2007: Go to Helena Handbasket by Donna Moore
2006: Cast Adrift by Peter Guttridge

2005: We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews and Blue Blood by Susan McBride
2004: Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer
2003: The Hearse Case Scenario by Tim Cockey and Pipsqueak by Brian M. Wiprud
2002: Dim Sum Dead by Jerrilyn Farmer and Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh
2000: Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
1999: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
1998: Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
1996: The Fat Innkeeper by Alan Russell

I read the 2000 winner, Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews, some years back, and it is truly hilarious. I recommend it if you need a good laugh while you wonder who dunnit.

Macavity Awards 2009 Nominees

Heads up for mystery/suspense lovers looking for good reads!
The following mystery works have been nominated for the Macavity Awards 2009. Members and subscribers to the Mystery Readers Journal will be considering the following nominees:

Best Mystery Novel

Trigger City by Sean Chercover (Wm. Morrow)
Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie (Wm. Morrow)
The Dying Breed (UK)/ The Price of Blood (US) by Declan Hughes (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)
The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason (Minotaur)
Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Fault Tree by Louise Ure (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)
Calumet City by Charlie Newton (Simon & Schuster)
An Innocent Client by Scott Pratt (Onyx)
A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley (Harper; Headline)
The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell (Minotaur)

Best Nonfiction/Critical

African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey (McFarland)
Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto (Columbia Univ.)
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Perseverance Press)
Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction by David Geherin (McFarland)
Edgar Allan Poe : An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Harry Lee Poe (Metro)
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale (Walker)

Best Mystery Short Story

"The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
"A Sleep Not Unlike Death" by Sean Chercover (Hardcore Hardboiled, ed. by Todd Robinson, Kensington)
"Keeping Watch Over His Flock" by Toni L. P. Kelner (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
"Scratch a Woman" by Laura Lippman (Hardly Knew Her, Wm. Morrow)
"Between the Dark and the Daylight" by Tom Piccirilli (EQMM, Sep/Oct 2008)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery

A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Stealing Trinity by Ward Larsen (Oceanview)
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (Thorndike/ Random House UK)
Veil of Lies by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland (Michael Joseph/ Delacorte)
Nox Dormienda by Kelli Stanley (Five Star)

Awards will be presented in October at the Bouchercon conference in Indianapolis.
For information, contact Janet Rudolph, Editor, Mystery Readers Journal
email: janet@mysteryreaders.org

Agatha Award for Traditional Mysteries, 2008

"Traditional mysteries" written in the manner of an Agatha Christie novel have been recognized in the 2008 Agatha Award competition. The nominees are:

* award winners.

Best Novel:
Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
* The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming



Best First Novel:
Through a Glass, Deadly by Sarah Atwell
The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris
* Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet
Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan

To see the complete list of winners and categories, visit The Agatha Awards.

Best Mysteries, Macavity Award Nominations

Mystery Readers International and Mystery Reader Journal have nominated the following mystery novels for The Macavity Awards.

Awards for 2009 will be presented in October at Bouchercon in Indianapolis.


2009

Best Mystery Novel:

Louise Penny: The Cruelest Month (Minotaur)
Sean Chercover: Trigger City (Wm. Morrow)
Deborah Crombie: Where Memories Lie (Wm. Morrow)
Declan Hughes: The Dying Breed (UK) / The Price of Blood (US) (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)
Arnaldur Indridason: The Draining Lake (Minotaur)
Lisa Lutz: Curse of the Spellmans (Simon & Schuster)
Louise Ure: The Fault Tree (Minotaur)


Best First Mystery:

Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf)
Zoe Ferraris: Finding Nouf (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
G.M. Malliet: Death of a Cozy Writer (Midnight Ink)
Charlie Newton: Calumet City (Simon & Schuster)
Scott Pratt: An Innocent Client (Onyx)
Michael Stanley: A Carrion Death (Harper; Headline)
Dan Waddell: The Blood Detective (Minotaur)



Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery:

Kelli Stanley: Nox Dormienda (Five Star)
Rhys Bowen: A Royal Pain (Berkley)
Ward Larsen: Stealing Trinity (Oceanview)
David Liss: The Whiskey Rebels (Thorndike/ Random House UK)
Jeri Westerson: Veil of Lies (Minotaur)
Karen Maitland: Company of Liars (Michael Joseph/ Delacorte)



For past winners and a complete list of categories and nominations for 2009, visit Mystery Readers International:The Macavity Awards

Best Mystery Awards, 2008

Left Coast Crime 2009, March 7-12, 2009, Hawaii has announced its nominees for best mystery book awards; winners will be announced at the LCC Hawaii conference on March 11.

The Mystery Award nominees are:

Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award

Nox Dormienda, A Long Night Sleeping by Kelli Stanley (Five Star)

Touchstone by Laurie King (Bantam)

Tell Me Pretty Maiden by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin Press)

A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen (Berkeley Prime Crime)

A Fatal Waltz by Tasha Alexander (Harper Collins)

Hawaii Five-O

Angel Falls by Baron Birtcher (Iota)

Fractured by Karin Slaughter (Delacorte Press)

The Black Path by Asa Larsson (Delta)

July 2008, Delta

The Angel of Knowlton Place by Kate Floral (Five Star)

Mahu Fire by Neil S. Placky (Alyson Books)

Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)

Lefty

Thugs and Kisses by Sue Ann Jaffarian ( Midnight Ink)

Six Geese a Slaying by Donna Andrews (St. Martins)

Murder at the Bad Girl's Bar and Grill by N.M.Kelby (Shaye Areheart Books/Random House Group)

Greasing the Pinata by Tim Maleeny (Poisoned Pen Press)

Getting Old is to Die For by Rita Lakin (Dell/Bantam)

It Happened One Knife by Jeffrey Cohen (Berkeley Prime Crime)

Contact the LCC if you wish to attend the conference and cast your vote. Left Coast Crime Conference 2009/

Can't go to the conference? You can visit their official website for a list of mystery novels set in Hawaii.

Best Mystery Awards 2008

Members and subscribers of the Mystery Readers Journal are now in the process of voting for the best mysteries of the year. Here are two of the categories they have announced for the annual Macavity Awards for books published in 2007.

Best Novel
Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman

The Unquiet by John Connolly

Blood of Paradise by David Corbett

Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

Best First Mystery
In the Woods by Tana French

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Stealing the Dragon by Tim Maleeny

The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Matt Beynon Rees

Those interested in joining and voting can do so on the Mystery Readers Journal website. There is a fee to join up or subscribe.

I haven't read any of the above books, but they are on my list!