PASSOVER MYSTERIES //PASSOVER CRIME FICTION

Passover starts the evening of April 1 and lasts for eight days. That should give you plenty of time to read these mysteries set during this holiday. This is an updated list, but, as always, let me know any missing titles/authors. Hag Sameach!

Passover Crime Fiction

Passover by Aphrodite Anagnost
Conspirators by Michael Andre Bernstein

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks   
The Passover Commando by Irving R. Cohen

The Passover Protocols by Ellen Frankel

The Passover Murder by Lee Harris 
All Other Nights by Dara Horn
Never Nosh a Matzo Ball by Sharon Kahn
Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home by Harry Kemelman 
The Fixer by Bernard Malamud

The Empty Hours by Ed McBain
The Wolf and the Lamb by Frederick Ramsay
The Samaritans' Secret by Matt Beynon Rees
Mrs Kaplan and the Matzo Ball of Death by Mark Reutlinger
Unleavened Dead by Ilene Schneider
The Passover Plot by Hugh J. Schonfield 
The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra

Poisoned Passover: Book 2 Torah Mystery Series by Susan Van Dusen

The Lord is My Shepherd by Debbie Viguie (on my Easter list, too!)
The Big Nap by Ayelet Waldman 

Passover by Frances Williams
The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia

Passover by Jeff Yocum

Passover Short Stories in the following collections:

Dying for Chametz & Other Mystery Stories for Passover by Libby Astaire

Criminal Kabbalah, edited by Laurie R. King
Murder Is No Mitzvah, edited by Abigail Browning
Mystery Midrash, edited by Rabbi Lawrence Raphael

Jewish Noir, edited by Kenneth Wishnia.

***

"Catching Elijah" by Jeri Westerson

"Who Stole the Afikomen?" by Elizabeth Zelvin, in EQMM March/April 2021.

There are several Children's and YA Passover Mysteries including:

Sherlock Mendelson and the Missing Afikomen by David Shawn Klein, Illustrated by Bridge Starr Taylor
Jodie's Passover Adventure by Anna Levine

Shira Detective: Chametz Detective by Galia Sabbag, Illustrated by Erin Taylor

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Check out Molly Odintz's 10 Reasons Why Passover is the Noirest Holiday on CrimeReads.

Celebrating the holiday? Check out DyingforChocolate.com for Chocolate Passover Recipes.

BIRTHDAY THEMED CRIME FICTION //BIRTHDAY MYSTERIES

Today is my Birthday! Celebrate with me by reading one of these Birthday Themed Mysteries -- or, keep the list for your own Birthday! Every year I get older, and every year this list gets longer. Any titles missing? Make a comment below, and I'll add it to the list! Have a favorite? Let me know!

Birthday Crime Fiction

Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer

Happy Birthday, Turk! by Jakob Arjouni and Anselm Hollo
A Birthday to Die For by Frank Atchley
Cranberry Crimes by Jessica Beck

Birthdays Can be Deadly by Cindy Bell
The Birthday Murderer by Jay Bennett
The Birthday Party by Halini Boland

Birthday Can Be Murder by Joyce Cato

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark
Berries and Birthdays by Leena Clover

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
A Catered Birthday Party by Isis Crawford
The Birthday Gift by Ursula Reilly Curtiss
The Birthday Party: Family Reunions Can Be Murder by Chari Davenport
The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson

The Party by Elizabeth Day
The Birthday Girl by Melissa de La Cruz
There's Something about Mary by Wendy Delaney
A Birthday Secret by Nickolas Drake
The Birthday Party by Wendy Dranfield

Birthday Pie Burial by Diana Dumont
Murder Can Botch Up Your Birthday by Selma Eichler

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

The Birthday Girl by Sue Fortin
Birthday Cake and Bodies by Agatha Frost
Birthday Sprinkle Murder by Susan Gillard
Aunti Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano
The Nanny by Dan Greenburg
The Happy Birthday Murder by Lee Harris
They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer
Birthday Cake Waffle by Carolyn Q. Hunter
Birthday Girl by Matthew Iden

Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironside
Happy Birthday, Marge by Shari Hearn
The Birthday Treasure Mystery by Kaylee Huyser
Birthday Party by Marne Davis Kellogg
Murder with a Twist by Tracy Kiely
Birthday Party by C.H.B Kitchin and Adrian Wright
Spiced by Gina LaManna 

The Birthday Girl by Stephen Leather
The Birthday Murder by Lange Lewis
Creme Brulee Murder by Harper Lin
The Old Die Young by Richard Lockridge
The Birthday Killer by W. Kay Lynn
Birthdays for the Dead by Stuart McBride

False Scent by Ngaio Marsh
The Birthday Mystery by Faith Martin
The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier
Birthday Party Murder by Leslie Meier 

Birthday Cake Bloodshed by Addison Moore

Many Deadly Returns by Patricia Moyes
The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page
A Birthday Murder by Olivia Page

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 

21st Birthday by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 
Birthday, Deathday; The Cannibal Who Overate by Hugh Pentecost
The Birthday Club by Jack Peterson

Murder and Meringue Cake by Rosie A. Point
The Birthday Party by W. Price
Birthday Dance by Peter Robinson
Birthdays are Murder by Cindy Sample

The Birthday Bash by Elizabeth Sorrells
Don't Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub
The Quitters Club by Jessica Strawser
Birthday Cake and a Murder by Kathleen Suzette

Sharpe Turn by Lisa B. Thomas
The Day After the Party by Nicole Trope

Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson
The Other Half by Charlotte Vassell

The Birthday Present by Barbara Vine
Cakes for Your Birthday by C.E. Vulliamy

The Birthday Surprise by Clara Vulliamy (Children's) 
A Birthday Lunch by Martin Walker
The Birthday Girl by Sarah Ward

The Birthday by Elizabeth Wells
The Mortician's Birthday Party by Peter Whalley
Birthday Girl by Niko Wolf

The Fortieth Birthday Body by Valerie Wolzien
Happy Birthday Murder by Rachel Woods
The Birthday by Carol Wyer
The Birthday by Margaret Yorke

Short Story:

"The Birthday Dinner" by Donna Andrews in Death Dines In, edited by Claudia Bishop & Dean James

Children's: 

    Cam Jansen and the Birthday Mystery by David A. Adler, Illustrated by Susanna Natti
    The Birthday Party Mystery by Fran Manushkin

CARTOON OF THE DAY: FAN PETITIONS

 From the amazing Tom Gauld:

DOVE AWARD: Popular Culture Society

Here's an award that's near and dear to my heart. I received the Dove Award from the Detective/Mystery Caucus of the Popular Culture Association in 2016. The Dove Award recognizes the contributions to the serious study of mystery, detective, and crime fiction. 

This year's  (2026) recipient is Stewart King, associate professor of European Languages at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). King, a specialist in Spanish and Catalan crime fiction, has edited or coedited 6 books (e.g., the Cambridge Companion to World Crime Fiction, 2022), produced 35 book chapters and 28 articles, as well as coedits the journal Crime Fiction Studies. He previously served on the editorial board of Clues: A Journal of Detection. 

Previous Dove honorees include Martin Edwards, Barry Forshaw, David Geherin, Douglas G. Greene, P.D. James, H.R.F. Keating, Margaret Kinsman, and Elizabeth Foxwell.

HT: Elizabeth Foxwell

Cartoon of the Day: Dog Wisdom

Lambda Literary Awards (aka the Lammys) Finalists

The Lambda Literary Society, a champion of LGBTQ+ books and their authors, has announced the 2026 Lambda Literary Awards (aka the Lammys) Finalists. Congratulations to all. There are many categories, but here are the Finalists in the Mystery Category:

LGBTQ+ MYSTERY

• A Queer Case // Robert Holtom. Titan Books
• Every Sweet Thing Is Bitter // Samantha Crewson. Crooked Lane Books
• Girl Falling // Hayley Scrivenor. Flatiron Books
• Mirage City // Lev AC Rosen. Minotaur Books
• The Case of the Missing Maid // Rob Osler. Kensington Publishing Corporation 
• 
  
• The winners will be announced on June 12 at the 38th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony in NYC.

For other categories and finalists, go here.

Hat Tip: The RapSheet