International Thriller Writers Thriller Award Finalists!!

The International Thriller Writers Thriller Award Finalists! Congratulations to all!

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋

-Megan Collins – CROSS MY HEART

-Ruth Knafo Setton – ZIGZAG GIRL

-Gilly Macmillan – THE BURNING LIBRARY

-Sarah Pekkanen – THE LOCKED WARD

-Olivia Worley – SO HAPPY TOGETHER

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋

-James Byrne – CHAIN REACTION

-Robert Crais – THE BIG EMPTY

-John McMahon – HEAD CASES

-Christopher Reich – THE TOURISTS

-Vincent Zandri – TERMINAL MOONLIGHT

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋

-Chris Chibnall – DEATH AT THE WHITE HART

-Kelsey Cox – PARTY OF LIARS

-Sophie Stava – COUNT MY LIES

-Zoe B. Wallbrook – HISTORY LESSONS

-Liann Zhang – JULIE CHAN IS DEAD

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊

-S. A. Cosby – KING OF ASHES, Narrated by Adam Lazarre-White

-Mark Edwards – THE WASP TRAP, Narrated by John Hopkins, Anna Burnett

-Marisa Kashino – BEST OFFER WINS, Narrated by Cia Court

-Xan Kaur – WHEN DEVILS SING, Narrated by Michael Crouch, Anjali Kunapaneni, Jennifer Pickens, Landon Woodson

-CN Mabry, N'Dia Rae – THE CHEATER'S WIFE, Narrated by Ruffin Prentiss, Machelle Williams

-Michael Robotham – THE WHITE CROW, Narrated by Katy Sobey

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐋

-Liz Lawson – MURDER BETWEEN FRIENDS

-Margot McGovern – THIS STAYS BETWEEN US

-Clay McLeod Chapman – SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE

-Diana Rodriguez Wallach – THE SILENCED

-Julie Soto – THE THRASHERS

𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

-Katrina Carrasco – LEVEL UP (Bywater Books)

-Scott William Carter – THE SEDUCTION OF DR. DIMENSION (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

-Lee Child – ELEVEN NUMBERS (Amazon Original Stories)

-David Lagercrantz – FALSE NOTE (Amazon Original Stories)

-Jessica Van Dessel – THE VIOLENT SEASON (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)

FATHER BROWN Season 13 News

Father Brown, Season 13, is finally airing (February 3) on Britbox here in the U.S (one episode a week). There are 10 episodes. So glad it's not limited to 4 or even 3 episodes like so many series are these days. Several new settings and plots, too, in this season, including a trip to the seaside. Mrs McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack) returns in the first episode, and there are many guest stars. Nancy Carroll will show up as Lady Felicia once again, although not in all episodes (darn), and John Light continues his role as the infamous Hercule Flambeau. I am so missing Bunty. Of course, Mark Williams continues to play Father Brown.  

Re: BritBox premier vs. "regular" subscription: Premier only gives you a two week viewing lead on Father Brown, and episodes are dropped weekly, just as on 'regular' Britbox. Is Britbox finally listening to its subscribers? We'll see. 

DERRINGER AWARD BEST ANTHOLOGY FINALISTS 2026

Derringer Award: 2026 Best Anthology Finalists

The Short Mystery Fiction Society is a group of writers, readers, editors, publishers, and others dedicated to the promotion and celebration of mystery and crime short stories. 

The winning anthology will be determined via member vote in April and announced May 1. Derringer Award medals will be presented in October at Bouchercon in Calgary, Alberta.

The finalists for the 2026 Best Anthology Derringer Award are

Crimeucopia - The Not So Frail Detective Agency

Edited by John Connor, Murderous Ink Press)

Gone Fishin': Crime Takes a Holiday, The Eighth Guppy Anthology

Edited by James M. Jackson, Wolf's Echo Press

Hollywood Kills: An Anthology

Edited by Adam Meyer & Alan Orloff, Level Best Books - Level Short

Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense: A Superior Shores Anthology

Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk, Superior Shores Press

On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology

Edited by Curtis Ippolito, Rock and a Hard Place Press

SoWest: Danger Awaits! A Desert Sleuths Anthology

Edited by Claire A. Murray, Eva Eldridge, Suzanne E. Flaig, Denise Ganley, and Sarah Smith, DS Publishing

***

Judges are currently evaluating 495 story submissions to determine the finalists in four categories. Finalista will be announced April 1. The winners will be determined via member vote in April and announced May 1. 

The story categories are

• Best Flash Story (Up to 1,000 words)
• Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words)
• Best Long Story (4,001 to 8,000 words)
• Best Novelette (8,001 to 2

Cartoon of the Day: Ground Hog Day

Every Day is Ground Hog Day when you have a cat! Thanks, Simon's Cat.

Dog Show Mysteries: WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

The 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show starts tonight and continues through February 3 in New York City, The Show featuries thousands of dogs, agility, and obedience competitions to celebrate its milestone anniversary. It will be live-streaming. 

In honor of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, and keeping in mind how important dogs can be to mysteries and in our lives, I am posting a list of Mysteries set at Dog Shows. 

You might want to check out Mystery Readers Journal Animals in Mysteries issue. Available as a PDF. 

As always, let me know any titles/authors I missed.

MYSTERIES SET AT DOG SHOWS

Game of Dog Bones and other books in the Melanie Travis series by Laurien Berenson
Death at the Dog Show by Peter Boland

The Boxcar Children: The Mystery at the Dog Show by Gertrude Chandler
The Case of the Deadly Dog Show by Catherine Coles

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens

Fashion Goes to the Dogs by Peggy Gaffney
Final Entry and others (Murder at the Dog Show series) by Karen Harbert
Death and the Dog Show by Susan Harper 
Murder at Ring 5; Judged To Death by LF Hembree

Death by Dog Show by Arlene Kay
Nancy Drew Diaries by Carolyn Keene

The Deadly Dog Show by Jerold Last

Buried to the Brim by Jenn McKinlay

Death & Dog Shows by Tammy Tyree

The Kennel Club Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

James Sallis: R.I.P.

Sad news. Mystery author James Sallis: R.I.P.. My love and sympathy go out to Jim's wife Karyn, his family, and friends. Rest in peace, Jim!

Soho Press wrote: 

Soho Press is grieved to announce the death of author James Sallis, who passed away on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, peacefully, with his wife, Karyn, by his side, after a long illness. No funeral is planned. If you feel moved to donate in his memory, the family suggests the ACLU or the Humane Society as worthy charities that Jim valued. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother (the philosopher John Sallis), and his son, Dylan. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Karyn. 

In many ways Jim was the platonic ideal of what a writer can be, though he probably would not like it put thus. As an artist the work was everything to Jim, and he worked without boundaries or careerism. Perhaps best known for his existentialist crime fiction and neo-noirs like Drive, which was adapted by Nicolas Winding Refn into the Ryan Gosling-led film of the same name, Jim was also a poet, musicologist, literary historian, critic, editor and teacher.

His career began writing science fiction for publications edited by the likes of Damon Knight and Harlan Ellison, who was an ardent fan of Sallis and championed his work in the 1960s and ’70s. At this time Jim helped edit the influential New Worlds publication under the direction of Michael Moorcock.

As a reader and appreciator of culture, Jim was as curious and uninhibited as he was as a writer. It was a joy to talk about art in all forms with him, but his grand view of literature matched his personal approach to craft. To Jim it didn’t matter where or how good work came into existence, or how it was shelved. His groundbreaking collection of short biographical work on Jim Thompson, David Goodis and Chester Himes, collected as Difficult Lives Hitching Rides, had no critical precedent and helped usher in a new era of appraisal for now legendary writers who at the time were nearly or totally out of print. He collected and played with alacrity an impressive number of string instruments and his love of the blues and jazz was lifelong.

Jim wrote without cynicism about the strength of the human spirit and invested dignity into all his characters, no matter how far on the edge of society they live—characters like P.I. Lew Griffin, Sheriff Sarah Jane and a man known simply as “Driver.” He knew that good fiction was to be set against the faults of society but also serves to remind us that salvation is the realm of the individual.

We mourn his passing deeply but find joy in the notion that his work will be read for as long as there are books.

***

Bibliography