Happy Birthday to Me! Birthday Crime Fiction

Today's my Birthday. Even though I've had both shots, I won't be venturing too far or celebrating with a crowd. But we can all celebrate virtually by reading one of these Birthday Themed Mysteries. Every year I get older, and the list gets longer. Any titles missing? Make a comment below, and I'll add to the list!

Birthday Crime Fiction

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
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 Birthday Girl by Melissa De La Cruz
There's Something about Mary by Wendy Delaney
A Birthday Secret by Nickolas Drake
Murder Can Botch Up Your Birthday by Selma Eichler

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
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 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Birthday Girl by Stephen Leather
The Birthday Murder by Lange Lewis
Creme Brulee Murder by Harper Lin
The Birthday Killer by W. Kay Lynn
Birthdays for the Dead by Stuart MacBride
False Scent by Ngaio Marsh
The Birthday Mystery by Faith Martin
Birthday Party Murder by Leslie Meier 

Deadly Birthday by CT Mitchell
Many Deadly Returns by Patricia Moyes
The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page 
Birthday, Deathday 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
The Birthday Bash by Elizabeth Sorrells
Don't Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub
Birthday Cake and a Murder by Kathleen Suzette

Sharpe Turn by Lisa B. Thomas
Fear in the Sunlight by Nicola Upson
The Birthday Present by Barbara Vine
The Birthday Surprise by Clara Vulliamy (Children's) 

A Birthday Lunch by Martin Walker
The Birthday by Elizabeth Wells
The Mortician's Birthday Party by Peter Whalley
The Fortieth Birthday Body by Valerie Wolzien
The Birthday by Carol Wyer
The Birthday by Margaret Yorke

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

2020 HAMMETT NOMINEES

2020 HAMMETT NOMINEES 

The International Association of Crime Writers, North America announced the 2020 Hammett Nominees. The Hammett Prize is given for literary Excellence in Crime Writing

The 2020 reading committee, consisting of Christopher Chan, Marni Graff, Debbi Mack, and Chair J. Madison Davis made a number of difficult choices and the following books (in alphabetical order) have been selected for the short list: 

Murder In Old Bombay by Nev March (Minotaur) Based on a true story, in 1892 a soldier recovering from wounds investigates a murder. 

The Mountains Wild by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Minotaur) A New York detective revisits the disappearance of her cousin in Ireland two decades ago. 

Three Hours in Paris by Cara Black (Soho) In World War II, a young female sniper is sent to Paris to assassinate the Führer. 

When These Mountains Burn by David Joy (Putnam) A father in Appalachia confronts the opioid epidemic in an attempt to rescue his son. 

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Ecco) Vigilante Virgil Wounded Horse investigates the spread of heroin on the reservation. 

Congratulations to all!

PINCKLEY PRIZES FOR CRIME FICTION AND TRUE CRIME WRITING

The Women’s National Book Association of New Orleans established the Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction in 2012 for women writers to honor the memory of Diana Pinckley (1952-2012), a longtime crime fiction columnist for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, and her passion for mysteries.

New this year, the Pinckley Prize for True Crime Writing is intended to honor a book which illuminates the reality of women’s lives; it need not be a debut work.

C.S. Harris (Candace Procter) and Angie Kim are the recipients of the 2020 Pinckley Prizes for Crime Fiction. Emma Copley Eisenberg is the inaugural winner of the Pinckley Prize for True Crime Writing. The prizes will be presented during the 2021 Bouchercon which takes place in New Orleans in August.

 

Miss Scarlet and The Duke Season 2

MASTERPIECE and Element 8 Entertainment have announced a second season of Miss Scarlet and The Duke, the popular mystery starring Kate Phillips as the fearless, first-ever female detective in Victorian London and Stuart Martin as her childhood friend and potential love interest Inspector William “The Duke” Wellington. 

Almost eight million viewers tuned in to the series’ first season, which premiered on PBS in January as part of MASTERPIECE ‘s 50th anniversary lineup. It was streamed 3.6 million times. 

“Miss Scarlet and The Duke was an instant fan favorite,” says Susanne Simpson, executive producer of MASTERPIECE. “Our audience couldn’t resist its lighthearted tone and the appealing characters so wonderfully portrayed by Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin. We’re delighted the show will return for a second season.” MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by GBH Boston. 

In a performance called “enthralling” by IndieWire, Phillips (The Crown, Wolf Hall) plays Eliza Scarlet, daughter of a retired investigator played by Kevin Doyle (Downton Abbey), who tutored young Eliza in the crime-solving arts. When he dies, she is left penniless and determined to become a private detective to support herself. Unfortunately, detectives have always been men, but a family friend at Scotland Yard called The Duke and played by Martin (Jamestown) offers to help. So begins a collaboration that grows into something more ardent. “Will they or won’t they?” became the subject of much speculation across MASTERPIECE social communities. 

Writer/Creator Rachael New says: "I'm absolutely thrilled at the news that Miss Scarlet and The Duke will be back for a season 2. I have so much in store for Duke, Eliza and her crew. With even more action, adventure and of course a nice big dollop of romance, it's going to be a cracking season. The fans are going to LOVE it!" 

"We have found our dream partners in MASTERPIECE and PBS Distribution,” says Patricia Lenahan Ishimoto, Managing Partner, Element 8. “They have embraced the series and given us the gift of creative license to continue to unfold the magic that Rachael New has so thoughtfully crafted for Eliza, Duke and their eclectic band of friends. We can't wait to see what she has in store for them." – more – 

The second season of Miss Scarlet and the Duke will air on MASTERPIECE on PBS in 2022.

Cartoon of the Day: Zoom

Cartoon of the Day: Specialist Delivery Services Available from Local Bookshops

From the wonderful Tom Gault:

Beverly Cleary: R.I.P.

I was very saddened to read this HarperCollins press releasetoday.  Beverly Cleary, R.I.P. 

Beloved Children’s book author Beverly Cleary died on March 25, 2021, in Carmel, California, where she’d lived since the 1960s. She was 104 years old.

 

Beverly Cleary’s first book, Henry Huggins, was published in 1950, immediately setting a standard for realistic children’s fiction. More than forty published books later, Beverly Cleary has become beloved by generations of children. Mrs. Cleary has also inspired authors, including Judy Blume, to deal with the real issues in young readers’ lives. As the author and reviewer Ilene Cooper said in ALA Booklist, “When it comes to writing books kids love, nobody does it better.”

 

Suzanne Murphy, President and Publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books shared: “We are saddened by the passing of Beverly Cleary, one of the most beloved children’s authors of all time. Looking back, she’d often say, ‘I’ve had a lucky life,’ and generations of children count themselves lucky too—lucky to have the very real characters Beverly Cleary created, including Henry Huggins, Ramona and Beezus Quimby, and Ralph S. Mouse, as true friends who helped shape their growing-up years. We at HarperCollins also feel extremely lucky to have worked with Beverly Cleary and to have enjoyed her sparkling wit. Her timeless books are an affirmation of her everlasting connection to the pleasures, challenges, and triumphs that are part of every childhood.”

 

Born on April 12, 1916, in McMinnville, Oregon, Beverly Bunn spent her early years on the family farm in Yamhill. Her mother set up a library for the small town in a lodge room upstairs over a bank. There young Beverly learned to love books. However, when her family moved to Portland, she found herself in the grammar school’s low reading circle, an experience that gave her a lifelong sympathy for the problems of struggling readers.

 

As she recounts in her autobiography A Girl from Yamhill, she had a breakthrough one rainy Sunday afternoon:

 

The outside world drizzled, the inside world was heavy with the smell of pot roast and my father’s Sunday after-dinner cigar, and I was so bored I picked up The Dutch Twins to look at the pictures. Suddenly I was reading and enjoying what I read! It was a miracle. I was happy in a way I had not been happy since starting school.

 

By the third grade she had conquered reading and spent much of her childhood with books from the public library. A teacher suggested that she should write for boys and girls when she grew up, and the idea appealed to her. But after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley (where a dormitory is named in her honor) she specialized in librarianship at the University of Washington, Seattle (which today honors her contribution to Northwest literature with the Beverly Cleary Endowed Chair for Children and Youth Services).

 

Her early dream of writing for children was rekindled when "a little boy faced me rather ferociously across the circulation desk and said: 'Where are the books about kids like us?'” Henry Huggins, his dog, Ribsy, and the gang on Klickitat Street, including Beezus and her younger sister, Ramona, were an instant success with young readers. The awards came later, beginning with a Newberry Honor in 1978 for Ramona and Her Father and one in 1982 for Ramona Quimby, Age 8. She received the 1984 John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, which was inspired by letters she’d received from children.

Mrs. Cleary has also been honored with the American Library Association’s 1975 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Catholic Library Association’s 1980 Regina Medal, and the University of Southern Mississippi’s 1982 Silver Medallion, all presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children’s literature. In addition, Mrs. Cleary was the 1984 United States author nominee for the prestigious international Hans Christian Andersen Award.

 

In 2000, to honor her invaluable contributions to children’s literature, Beverly Cleary was named a “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress; in addition, she was awarded the 2003 National Medal of Art from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2009 her ever-popular Ramona series was made into a movie, Ramona and Beezus, and in 2010 she received the Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award, marking the first time this honor has gone to an author of books for children.

 

In 2016, to celebrate her monumental one hundredth birthday, three of her books were reissued with forewords by luminaries Judy Blume, Amy Poehler, and Kate DiCamillo. And in 2017, her first series—the Henry Huggins books—was reissued with original art from the late Louis Darling. These six titles included forewords by award-winning authors and artists Tony DiTerlizzi, Marla Frazee, Tom Angleberger, Jeff Kinney, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and Cece Bell.

 

Her books have sold more than 85 million copies and have been translated into twenty-nine different languages, which speaks to the worldwide reach and love of her stories.

 

With all of these honors, of greatest importance to Beverly Cleary were the more than thirty-five statewide awards her books received, based on the direct votes of her young readers.

 

When children asked Mrs. Cleary where she got her ideas, she would reply, “From my own experience and from the world around me.” Ramona and her classmates participated in the D.E.A.R. program because it was so often mentioned in letters from children who enjoyed “Drop Everything and Read” activities. Today D.E.A.R Day is celebrated nationwide on April 12, in honor of Beverly Cleary’s birthday.

 

She was predeceased by her husband, Clarence Cleary, and is survived by their two children, Malcolm and Marianne, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

AGATHA AWARD NOMINEES 2020

The 2020 MALICE DOMESTIC AGATHA AWARDS NOMINEES

Best Contemporary Novel 

Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews (Minotaur) 

Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books) 

From Beer to Eternity by Sherry Harris (Kensington) 

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny (Minotaur) 

The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day (William Morris)

Best Historical Novel 

The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen (Berkeley) 

Fate of a Flapper by Susanna Calkins (Griffin) 

A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington) 

Taken Too Soon by Edith Maxwell (Beyond the Page Publishing) 

The Turning Tide by Catriona McPherson (Quercus)

Best First Novel 

A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison (Crooked Lane Books) 

Winter Witness by Tina deBelgarde (Level Best Books) 

Derailed by Mary Keliikoa (Epicenter Press, Inc.) 

Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer (Kensington) 

Murder Most Sweet by Laura Jensen Walker (Kensington)

Best Short Story 

"Dear Emily Etiquette" by Barb Goffman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Sep/Oct) 

"The Red Herrings at Killington Inn" by Shawn Reilly Simmons Masthead: Best New England Crime Stories (Level Best Books) 

"The Boy Detective & The Summer of ‘74" by Art Taylor (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Jan/Feb) 

"Elysian Fields" by Gabriel Valjan California Schemin’: The 2020 Bouchercon Anthology (Wildside Press) 

"The 25 Year Engagement" by James Ziskin In League with Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon (Pegasus Crime) 

Best Non-Fiction 

Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, 

Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy by Leslie Brody (Seal Press) 

American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI by Kate Winkler Dawson (G. P. Putnam) 

Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club) 

Phantom Lady: Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock by Christina Lane (Chicago Review Press) 

H. R. F. Keating: A Life of Crime by Sheila Mitchell (Level Best Books) 

Best Children's/YA 

Mystery Midnight at the Barclay Hotel by Fleur Bradley (Viking Books for Young Readers) 

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers) 

Saltwater Secrets by Cindy Callaghan (Aladdin) 

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks (Katherine Teagen Books) Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco by Richard Narvaez (Piñata Books) 

Congratulations to all of the nominees! 

The Agatha Awards will be presented during MORE THAN MALICE, an online virtual crime festival coming this July. Registration is now open! Join us for unique panels and presentations, and of course The Agatha Awards! 

Register Now for MORE THAN MALICE

Cartoon of the Day: Some Literary Collective Nouns

PASSOVER CRIME FICTION // PASSOVER MYSTERIES

Many will celebrate Passover by zoom this year because of the Pandemic. And, there will definitely be no large communal seders. Nevertheless, since you're home and Passover lasts for eight days, you should have plenty of time to read several of these books. Most are available as eBooks from your library, other eBook sites, or favorite independent bookstores. This is an updated list, but, as always, let me know any missing titles.

Passover Crime Fiction

Passover by Aphrodite Anagnost
Conspirators by Michael Andre Bernstein 
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 
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 Malamed

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
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 Short Stories in the following collections:
Criminal Kabbalah, edited by Laurie R. King
Murder Is No Mitzvah, edited by Abigail Browning
Mystery Midrash, edited by Rabbi Lawrence Raphael

There are several children's and YA Passover Mysteries including:
Jodie's Passover Adventure by Anna Levine

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.

Historical Mysteries I: Mystery Readers Journal (37:1)

Mystery Readers Journal: Historical Mysteries I (Volume 37:1// Winter 2020-2021) is available as a PDF and hardcopy. If you're a PDF subscriber, you should have received download instructions. Hard copy subscription copies should arrive this week. PDF Contributor Copies went out yesterday. Don't forget, we'll be having a second issue of this great theme: Historical Mysteries II (37:2) this summer. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue. If you don't see your article, it will be in Historical Mysteries II.

Historical Mysteries I

Volume 37, No. 1, Spring 2021

Buy this back issue! Available in hardcopy or as a downloadable PDF.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• The Journey to the Rajah and Dangerous Women by Hope Adams
• Writing Historical Mysteries: Opening a Door to the Past by Marty Ambrose
• Going Back—Way Back—in History to Write a “What If” Mystery by Gray Basnight
• “And Then I Wrote… ” by Albert Bell
• A Devoted Bookworm Reveals All by Cordelia Frances Biddle
• Why I Write Historical Mystery by Rhys Bowen
• Historical Mysteries: Character at the Heart of Solving a Mystery by Mary F. Burns
• The Allure of Mysterious Objects by Susanna Calkins
• It May Have Happened, It May Not Have Happened; But It Could Have Happened by Donis Casey
• Getting it Right: Why Research Is So Important When Writing Historical Novels by Janet Dawson
• The Personal Side of Historical Fiction: The Cooper Vietnam Era Quartet by D. Z. Church
• Finding Emotional Authenticity in Historical Fiction by John Copenhaver
• Where in the World Is the Heart of King Robert Bruce? Mystery at the Great Divide by Michael Cooper
• Real Time and Imaginary People by Lynn Downey
• Changing Places by Carola Dunn
• Reinventing the Golden Age in Gallows Court and Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards
• The Ultimate Unreliable Narrator by Cecilia Ekbäck
• Women in Prison by Kathy Lynn Emerson
• Mysteries Can Teach the Past—and Speak Timeless Truths by Charles Fergus
• An Era of Mystery by Dianne Freeman
• The Jekyll and Hyde Duality of Wartime Britain by Stephanie Graves
• Me and My Tribe: Why I Adopted a Family of Neanderthals and Had to Tell You About Them by Kaye George
• The Contents of the Cauldron by Elsa Hart
• Tainted Testimony by Russell Hill
• When History Rewrites Itself by David Housewright
• Yesterday… All Our Troubles Seemed So Far Away… by Steve Hockensmith
• Where’s the Mystery in History? by Michael Jecks
• Wolves, Castles and Research by Gay Toltl Kinman
• I Guess Faulkner Was Right by Abigail Keam
• History and the Active Reader by Larry Maness
• Pumping Up a Past to Forge a Future, or, How I Invented a History for “Came A Horseman” by Paul McHugh
• There’s Nothing Historical About History by Bruno Morchio
• Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell
• How to Be a Historian by Sharan Newman
• Crimes of Fashion by Renee Patrick
• Storytelling and Historytelling by Ben Pastor
• Explorers by David Rich
• History? Yawn… by Priscilla Royal
• Passing Muster: When Historians Vetted Our Historical Thriller by Michael H. Rubin
• Quo Vadis, Mr. Saylor? by Steven Saylor
• A Little Truth or Two About Murder by Caroline Todd
• Hit & Myth by Marilyn Todd
• A Personal Historical Murder Mystery by Paul Vidich
• History, The Art of the Backward Glance by Gabriel Valjan
• On Ending a Series by Jeri Westerson
• Was Edgar Allan Poe Guilty of Murder? by Bruce Wetterau
• Some Thoughts on Writing Ye Olde Historical Fiction by N. S. Wikarski
• Poppy Flowers at the Front by Jon Wilkins

ARTICLES

• Thomas Pynchon’s Take on 1970s California Noir by Sean Day
• Crimes of Authority in Pious 19th Century Poland by Jay Gertzman

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Lesa Holstine, L.J. Roberts, Jack Bates, Lucinda Surber
• Just the Facts: History’s First Detectives by Jim Doherty
• Children’s Hour: Historical Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman
• Crime Seen: History on “Mystery!” by Kate Derie
• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph

***

SUBSCRIBE to Mysteries Readers Journal for 2021. 

Themes in 2021: History Mysteries 1; History Mysteries 2; Texas; Cold Cases. 

Call for articles: We're looking for reviews, articles, and Author! author! essays. Review: 50-150 words, articles, 500-1000 words. Author Essays: 500-1000 words, first person, upclose and personal about yourself, your books, and the "theme" connection. Deadline for History Mysteries II: April 10, 2021.  

Send queries to Janet Rudolph: janet @ mysteryreaders . org

Cartoon of the Day: Prepositions

 

MORE THAN MALICE 2021: Registration Open

More Than Malice Registration is Now Open 

More Than Malice (July 14th-17th) is a crime fiction festival designed to fill the void left when the 2021 live Malice Domestic had to be cancelled. 

More Than Malice is not intended to be a recreation of the standard Malice Domestic in virtual format; rather it is a new entity designed to bring together a unique collection of invited authors exploring every avenue on the crime fiction map. 

Over the coming weeks, there will be announcements of the stellar line-up of confirmed invitees. You will see names like David Baldacci, James Lee Burke, S. A. Cosby, Carol Goodman, Peter Lovesey, Lisa Scottoline, and Lisa Unger, just to name a few. 

Registration fee has an introductory rate of $60. 

Click here to register now for More than Malice: A Virtual Crime Fiction Festival: July 14th-17th at the special early-bird price of $60. Stay tuned for much more exciting information and updates in the coming days and weeks.

LEFTY AWARDS PRESENTATION: Left Coast Crime - April 10

 

Lefty Awards Presentation

The 2021 Lefty Awards will be presented on April 10, 2021. We aren’t able to gather in person at our traditional Awards Banquet this year, but hope you will join us online with your beverage of choice. This Zoom Webinar is free, but advance registration is required. Left Coast Crime registrants are the first to receive the news about this event. We will be announcing the webinar to the public soon.

Registration Link

[Note: Left Coast Crime is charged for each registration.]

---

Schedule

Start Time: 4:00 PM PDT, 5:00 MDT, 6:00 CDT, 7:00 pm EDT
Note: The webinar will open 15 minutes before start time to give everyone a chance to sign on, chat for a bit, and propose some virtual toasts.

Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel Presented


Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel Presented


Lefty Award for Best Humorous Novel Presented


Lefty Award for Best Novel Presented



Support local bookstores by ordering the Lefty nominated books through Bookshop.org.

---

2021 Lefty Award Nominees

Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel

• Ellen Byron, Murder in the Bayou Boneyard (Crooked Lane Books)
• Jennifer J. Chow, Mimi Lee Gets a Clue (Berkley Prime Crime)
• Carl Hiaasen, Squeeze Me (Alfred A. Knopf)
• Cynthia Kuhn, The Study of Secrets (Henery Press)
• J. Michael Orenduff, The Pot Thief Who Studied the Woman at Otowi Crossing (Aakenbaaken & Kent)
• Sung J. Woo, Skin Deep (Agora Books)

Lefty Nominees for Best Historical Mystery Novel for books set before 1970

• Susanna Calkins, The Fate of a Flapper (Minotaur Books)
• Dianne Freeman, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder (Kensington Books)
• Laurie R. King, Riviera Gold (Bantam Books)
• Catriona McPherson, The Turning Tide (Quercus)
• Ann Parker, Mortal Music (Poisoned Pen Press)
• James W. Ziskin, Turn to Stone (Seventh Street Books)

Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel

• Daisy Bateman, Murder Goes to Market (Seventh Street Books)
• Mary Keliikoa, Derailed (Camel Press)
• Erica Ruth Neubauer, Murder at the Mena House (Kensington Books)
• Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club (Viking)
• Halley Sutton, The Lady Upstairs (Putnam)
• David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Winter Counts (Ecco)

Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories)

• Tracy Clark, What You Don’t See (Kensington Books)
• S.A. Cosby, Blacktop Wasteland (Flatiron Books)
• Matt Coyle, Blind Vigil (Oceanview Publishing)
• Rachel Howzell Hall, And Now She’s Gone (Forge)
• Louise Penny, All the Devils Are Here (Minotaur Books)

Lucinda Surber & Stan Ulrich, Lefty Awards Co-Chairs
 

---

ABQ in ’22: Our Next In-Person Convention!
Left Coast Crime 2022: Albuquerque, New Mexico

When: April 7–10, 2022
Where: Hyatt Regency Albuquerque
Guest of Honor: Mick Herron
Guest of Honor: Catriona McPherson
Fan Guest of Honor: Kristopher Zgorski
Toastmaster: Kellye Garrett
Ghost of Honor: Tony Hillerman
Visit the LCC 2022 website for more details and to register.

Not sure if you are registered for Albuquerque? Check the Attendee page for your name.

 

BRITISH BOOKS OF THE YEAR (THE NIBBIES) SHORTLIST 2021

A celebration of books and bookselling

The British Book Awards (aka The Nibbies, aka THE publishing event of the year) will take place virtually this year on 13 May. The book trade shone from every possible corner in 2020, with publishers, retailers, agents and authors pushing far beyond what we'd ever imagined possible in the most extreme conditions. We cannot wait to bring everyone together to celebrate the industry's achievements as we announce the winners of our fabulous Nibbies trophies.

Books of the Year – The 2021 shortlists in full:

Fiction BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (Dialogue Books)

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein (Europa Editions)

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett (Macmillan, Pan Macmillan)

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Canongate)

The Mirror and The Light by Hilary Mantel (4th Estate, HarperCollins)

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press, Headline)

Début BOOK OF THE YEAR

Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (Fig Tree, Penguin Random House)

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré (Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton)

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan (W&N, Orion)

Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez (Dialogue, Little, Brown)

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Bloomsbury Circus)

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart (Picador, Pan Macmillan)

Crime & Thriller BOOK OF THE YEAR

The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child (Transworld, Penguin Random House)

The Patient Man by Joy Ellis (Joffe Books)

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (HarperFiction, HarperCollins)

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (Sphere, Little, Brown)

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Viking, Penguin Random House)

A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin (Orion Fiction)

Pageturner of the Year

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch (Gollancz, Orion)

Rag and Bone Christmas by Dilly Court (HarperFiction, Harper Collins)

All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle (Hodder & Stoughton)

Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff (HarperVoyager)

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owen (Corsair, Little, Brown)

Just My Luck by Adele Parks (HQ, HarperCollins)

The winners of the nine Book of the Year awards will contest the overall Book of the Year category at a virtual ceremony on 13th May.

BARRY AWARD NOMINATIONS

Deadly Pleasures Magazine announced The Barry Award Nominations. Congratulations to all

Best Novel

THE BOY FROM THE WOODS, Harlan Coben
THE LAW OF INNOCENCE, Michael Connelly
BLACKTOP WASTELAND, S. A. Cosby
AND NOW SHE’S GONE, Rachel Howzell Hall
MOONFLOWER MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz
ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE, Louise Penny

Best First Novel

DEEP STATE, Chris Hauty
MURDER IN OLD BOMBAY by Nev March
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB, Richard Osman
THE EIGHTH DETECTIVE, Alex Pavesi
WINTER COUNTS, David Heska Wanbli Weiden
DARLING ROSE GOLD, Stephanie Wrobel

Best Paperback Original

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, Alyssa Cole
MONGKOK STATION, Jake Needham
HIDE AWAY, Jason Pinter
BAD NEWS TRAVELS FAST, James Swain
DARKNESS FOR LIGHT, Emma Viskic
TURN TO STONE, James W. Ziskin

Best Thriller

DOUBLE AGENT, Tom Bradby
BLIND VIGIL, Matt Coyle
ONE MINUTE OUT, Mark Greaney
THE LAST HUNT, Deon Meyer
EDDIE’S BOY, Thomas Perry
THE WILD ONE, Nick Petrie

 

RETRO READING POSTER: March

ICELANDIC BLOOD DROP AWARD (Blóðdropinn)

Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s lBráðin (The Prey), received the Icelandic Blood Drop Award (Blóðdropinn) for the best crime novel of 2020.  From Shotsmag: “The ‘Blood Drop’ Award is a crime fiction prize, hosted by Crime Writers of Iceland. The novel that receives the prize becomes the Icelandic nomination for the Glass Key, an award given annually to a crime novel from one of the Nordic countries—Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Usually, every Icelandic crime novel published each year is automatically nominated.”

HT: The Rap Sheet

PETER JAMES' GRACE on Britbox in April

From Deadline:

Britbox, the BBC and ITV’s joint-venture streamer, has acquired ITV’s John Simm drama Grace for the U.S. and Canada. The service will premiere the drama on April 27.

Told as two feature-length episodes, Grace is an adaptation of Peter James’ Roy Grace crime novels from Endeavour creator Russell Lewis. It is a co-production between Jekyll & Hyde producer Tall Story Pictures, Second Act Productions, and Derren Brown’s Vaudeville Productions.

It is based on James’ first two Roy Grace books Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead, which introduce Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a hard-working police officer who has given his life to the job.

 Read More Here.

Cartoon of the Day: Dogs

Cartoon of the Day: St Patrick's Day

NAACP IMAGE AWARDS: Outstanding Literary Works-Fiction Nominees

NAACP IMAGE AWARDS 2021: Outstanding Literary Works (Mystery/Thrillers highlighted)

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction

• Black Bottom Saints – Alice Randall (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Lakewood – Megan Giddings (HarperCollins Publishers)
• Riot Baby – Tochi Onyebuchi (TorDotCom Publishing, imprint of Tom Doherty Associates)
• The Awkward Black Man – Walter Mosley (Grove Atlantic)
• The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett (Riverhead Books)

To see nominees in all categories, go HERE.