Cartoon of the Day: Books

 

MOONFLOWER MURDERS: Trailer & Air Date!

Lesley Manville returns as book editor turned sleuth Susan Ryeland and Tim McMullan as famous literary detective Atticus Pünd in Anthony Horowitz's Moonflower Murders. Moonflower Murders premieres on Masterpiece Mystery! Sunday, September 15 at 9/8c. When Susan Ryeland's idyll in Crete is disturbed by the shadow of a murder committed eight years ago, can she uncover the secret hidden in Alan Conway’s book before it's too late? Mark your calendars!

Like the Magpie Murders prequel, Moonflower Murders was adapted by author Anthony Horowitz. 

Sign up for the MASTERPIECE e-newsletter for all the breaking news on British dramas and mysteries coming to the small screen.

Cartoon of the Day: Cat Book Clubs

 

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS 2024

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the Winners of the 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Since 1984, Crime Writers of Canada has recognized the best in mystery, crime, suspense fiction, and crime nonfiction by Canadian authors, including citizens abroad and new residents. 

Maureen Jennings is this year’s recipient of the 2024 Grand Master Award. Established in 2014, the Grand Master (GM) Award recognizes a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work that has garnered national and international recognition.

THE 2024 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS

The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel sponsored by Rakuten Kobo, with a $1000 prize

Loreth Anne White, The Maid's Diary, Montlake

Best Crime First Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, with a $1000 prize

Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers, Harper Perennial 

The Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Charlotte Engel and Crime Writers of Canada, with a $500 prize

Joan Thomas, Wild Hope, Harper Perennial/HarperCollins

The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, with a $500 prize

Nita Prose, The Mystery Guest, Viking

Best Crime Short Story

Marcelle Dubé, Reversion, Mystery Magazine

The Best French Language Crime Book (Fiction and Nonfiction)

André Marois, La sainte paix, Héliotrope

Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book, sponsored by Shaftesbury Films with a $500 prize (Fiction and Nonfiction)

Cherie Dimaline, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls, Tundra Books 

The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book sponsored by David Reid Simpson
Law Firm (Hamilton), with a $300 prize

Michael Lista, The Human Scale, Véhicule Press

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author

Craig H. Bowlsby, Requiem for a Lotus

MACAVITY AWARD NOMINATIONS 2024

The Macavity Award Nominations 2024
(for works published in 2023)

The Macavity Awards are nominated by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI. Congratulations to all.

If you're a member of MRI, a subscriber to MRJ, or a friend of MRI, you will receive a ballot in June.

Macavity Nominees 2024

For works published in 2023

Best Mystery

Dark Ride by Lou Berney (William Morrow)

Hide by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer)

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Hogarth)

Murder Book by Thomas Perry (Mysterious)

Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House - Doubleday) 

Best First Mystery

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Atria)

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Macmillan Publishing - Minotaur)

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (Zando/Gillian Flynn Books)

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji (Simon & Schuster) 

Dutch Threat by Josh Pachter (Genius Book Publishing) 

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon (William Morrow)

Best Mystery Short Story

“Real Courage” by Barb Goffman (Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14, Oct. 2023)

“Green and California Bound” by Curtis Ippolito (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Sept/Oct 2023)

“Ticket to Ride” by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, (Happiness is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles, ed. Josh Pachter, Down & Out Books)

“Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand” by Lisa Scottoline (Amazon Original Stories) 

“One Night in 1965” by Stacy Woodson (More Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties, ed. Michael Bracken, Down & Out Books)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery

Time's Undoing by Cheryl Head (Dutton)

Evergreen by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster-Atria Books) 

Our Lying Kin by Claudia Hagadus Long (Kasva Press)

The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead Books)

Best Mystery-related Nonfiction/Critical 

Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction by Anjili Babbar (Syracuse University Press)

Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction by Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor (Mysterious Press/Penzler Publishers) 

A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak (St. Martin’s Press) 

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux (Crown Currency) 

Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe, by Robert Morgan (LSU Press)

Maine Literary Award Finalists: Crime Fiction

2024 Finalists 

Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance announced the finalists for the 2024 Maine Literary Awards. 

Book Award for Crime Fiction: 

Barbara Burt, Dissonance: A Novel of Music & Murder

Katherine Hall Page, The Body in the Web

Bryan Wiggins with Lee Thibodeau, The Corpse Bloom

***

For other categories, go here.

PRESUMED INNOCENT: Apple TV+ Limited Series

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent, a limited series premiering June 12 on Apple TV+. I read the novel years ago and loved it. Sounds like a good production. I'm looking forward to it.

There was a 1990 film made of the 1987 novel Presumed Innocent starring Harrison Ford. It's still available to stream.

The Apple TV+ production of Presumed Innocent is an eight-part limited series starring and executive produced by Jake Gyllenhaal, hailing from David E. Kelley and executive producer J.J. Abrams. The cast also includes Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, O-T Fagbenle, Chase Infiniti, Nana Mensah, Renate Reinsve, Peter Sarsgaard, Kingston Rumi Southwick and Elizabeth Marvel. 

Cartoon of the Day: Westminster

It's just wrong that a golden retriever has never won Best of Show at Westminster. Reign and Bella agree with me!! 🐾🐾 

CALEB CARR: R.I.P.

Caleb Carr, military historian and author of the 1994 period crime novel The Alienist, died from cancer this last Thursday, May 23. He was 68 years old.

Caleb Carr, military historian and author, wrote The Alienist, The Angel of Darkness, The Lessons of Terror, Killing Time, The Devil Soldier, The Italian Secretary, and The Legend of Broken

Read TheRapSheet's obituary here. 

The Washington Post here. 

The NYT here. 

DI RAY: SEASON 2

I'm so glad that PBS will be airing DI Ray, Season 2 this June.

DI Ray is a British South Asian detective struggling to succeed in a world in which her sex and color put her in a minority on most teams. Parminder Nagar returns as DI Ray; Gemma Whelan s DCI Kerry Henderson, and more. In season 2, DI Rachita Ray is promoted to work on a homicide investigation. She suspects she's been chosen for her ethnicity rather than her ability. 

Season 2 premieres Sunday, June 16th, on PBS and PBS Masterpiece. There will be 6 episodes.

Friday Funnies: Dogs

 

All I ask is a Theme and a Deadline. Guest post by Susan Daly

What moves short story writers to get creative? To get us past staring out the window for inspiration?

After years of writing short crime fiction and finding my way into a surprising—to me—number of anthologies, I like to think I’ve nailed down what gets me kickstarted.

A theme and a deadline.

Fortunately, writer and publisher Judy Penz Sheluk of Superior Shores Press has been feeding this habit now through four anthologies. 

Judy’s good at themes. Moonlight & Misadventure, Heartbreaks & Half Truths, Best Laid Plans... You get the idea. 

Last fall, she tossed out her latest challenge—Larceny & Last Chances—along with a deadline, mid-February. Tons of time, as viewed from the halcyon days of November.

Larceny? Piece of cake. Someone steals something. Add a few lost and found chances. The writer’s mind kicks in.

Tick tick tick...

Late January. I’m still staring out the window at bare branches. Not a story in sight. Lots of crumpled ideas lying around. 

What happened to “all I need is a theme and a deadline”?

I’m sorry Judy but—

No. Don’t give up yet. This is about last chances, right? Well, that’s what I need. A Hail Mary pass. A last moment shot on goal.

Time to dip into my stash of old half-done tales. This one? No. This one? Not hardly. 

Okay, what about this one? A story conceived for a really off-beat submission call. Erotic mystery tales involving classical orchestra instruments. Yes, really. 

I may know nothing about classical instruments, but I have other talents from my past. Writing talents, I mean. In the long run, however, I never finished it. Just as well, as it turned out, because the project was eventually cancelled.

The abandoned story, in the face of February’s looming deadline, has it all: fully plotted outline, engaging opening scenes, characters just begging to be resurrected.  Larceny involving a valuable viola. A last chance to recover it. Sex. A beguiling tattoo.

Wait....back up there. Judy had made it clear. No overt sex. (Also, no werewolves.)

With barely a week left to submit, my storyteller’s mind finally shifts into gear. The characters come back to life, the opening scenes flow into the rest of the story, the sex scenes remain unwritten. My Hail Mary pass has worked.

I sit back in astonishment at how months of not writing has eventually turned into a week of pure production.

Perhaps, after all, I need more than the Theme and the Deadline. I need a cache of old stories to dig out, dust off and clean up. And not just a deadline, but a looming deadline staring me down. 

Judy accepted my story, ‘Hail Mary Blues,’ for the anthology. 

I’m pleased with it too. No werewolves. No sex.  

But I left in the beguiling tattoo. 

***

 
About the book: Larceny & Last Chances: Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, hope. Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk and featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.
 
About Susan Daly: Susan Daly writes short crime fiction as her way of crusading for social justice. Her stories have appeared in a surprising number of mystery anthologies, and ‘A Death at the Parsonage’ won the Arthur Ellis Award for best short story from Crime Writers of Canada.  She lives in Toronto and hangs out with Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, and other known criminal types. Find Susan at www.susandaly.com.
 
About the editor: Judy Penz Sheluk is a former journalist and magazine editor and the bestselling author of two mystery series, several short stories, and two books on publishing. She is also the publisher and editor of four Superior Shores Anthologies. Find out more at www.judypenzsheluk.com.
 
 

MEMORIAL DAY CRIME FICTION //MEMORIAL DAY MYSTERIES

Memorial Day aka Decoration Day is a day of remembrance of those men and women who fell protecting us, for those who didn't return home. Many people go to cemeteries and memorials on the last Monday in May, and there's a tradition to fly the flag at half mast. Memorial Day in the U.S. is part of a three day holiday weekend. Many think of this weekend as the beginning of Summer, a time for Barbecues, the Beach, the Cabin, and S'mores. Not planning a get-together? You can celebrate Memorial Day by reading some of these Mysteries set during the Memorial Day Weekend.

In memory of all who served their country, here's an updated list of Mysteries set during Memorial Day Weekend. Let me know if I've forgotten any titles. You may also want to check out my Veterans Day Mystery List.

Memorial Day Mysteries

Death is Like a Box of Chocolates by Kathy Aarons
Last Man Standing by David Baldacci
The Twenty Three by Linwood Barclay
Treble at the Jam Fest by Leslie Budewitz
The Decoration Memorial Day War by David H. Brown
Memorial Day by Sandra Thompson Brown and Duane Brown
Flowers for Bill O'Reilly: Memorial Day by Max Allan Collins

Black Echo by Michael Connelly  

Absolute Certainty by Rose Connors
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer Fleming (not technically Memorial day, but it fits the theme)
Memorial Day by Vince Flynn

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
Memorial Day by Harry Shannon
Beside Still Waters by Debbie Viguie
Who Killed the Neanderthal by Cheryl Zelenka

Children's Mysteries:

Trixie Belden: The Mystery of the Memorial Day Fire by Kahryn Kenny
Sam's Top Secret Journal: Memorial Day by Sean Adelman, Siri Bardarson, Dianna Border & Andrea Hurst

Rosemary is for Remembrance. Check out the recipe for Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies on my other blog: DyingforChocolate.com

 

The Marlow Murder Club TV News!

I'm really looking forward to this production. 

MASTERPIECE Mystery! today announced that The Marlow Murder Club, adapted by author Robert Thorogood, will premiere on PBS Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 9/8c. Samantha Bond, Jo Martin, Cara Horgan and Natalie Dew star in The Marlow Murder Club. And, great news, The Marlow Murder Club has already been renewed for a second season!

Sign up for the Masterpiece Email Newsletter for breaking news on upcoming shows and adaptations.

Why are plot twists pleasurable? Guest Post by John Copenhaver

If you’re a crime fiction lover, you’re most likely a fan of plot twists. I know I am. I've had several twists and turns in all of my novels, including my most recent novel, Hall of Mirrors.
 
But why do we like these twists so much? On reflection, I love the moment when I’m forced to reevaluate the narrative I’ve been told, where nothing is as it seems. Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl (2012) provides one such moment (spoiler alert): When we discover that Amy Dunne’s diary is a fraud, a convincing invention designed to implicate her husband Nick in her faked murder, we’re forced to reevaluate Amy and Nick, and the dynamic of their relationship. We also must confront our own gullibility. Amy’s not only tricking Nick and the police; she’s fooling us. We’re implicated. The famous reveal of Agatha Christie’s 1926 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, where our narrator is also our villain, laid the groundwork for Flynn’s brilliant psychological novel.
 
But back to the question: Why do we find earthshaking reveals like the one in Gone Girl pleasurable? Sure, there’s an appreciation that the author has played on our assumptions, our compulsion to follow the red herrings and be distracted by skillful misdirection, or even our built-in biases about particular characters—Christie often counts on our tendency to underestimate the help. While I admire these twists in classic whodunits, I don’t always feel moved by them. To be fair, I experience pleasure, but it’s more intellectual, not emotional.
 
In contrast, several novels with surprise endings have floored me. Interestingly, neither novel is a mystery per se: Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Margaret Atwood’s Blind Assassin. In both cases, the revelation, which I won’t spoil, cast a shadow backward, making me reevaluate not just the characters I encountered but the meaning of the text itself. What exactly had I just experienced? How has its meaning changed? I admire the author’s skill, but that pleasure was followed by something more profound and mysterious. It wasn’t just about discovering concealed information—who killed so-and-so—but finding out something about myself.
 
These sorts of twists, I believe, are superior because they require us to think differently—to reflect and reconsider. They are pleasurable because we gain a sense of having broken through an illusion, of now seeing the world more clearly for what it is, even if that vision is darker or more complex. I go for this effect in my own work; in the final moments of my novels, I want to tilt perspective and upend assumptions. I’m particularly interested in pressing the reader to reevaluate or, perhaps, own their sympathies for characters who do bad or transgressive things. I want to leave the reader in a more morally complicated place, not free them from it.
 
When we learn that the actual Amy Dunne is vicious and vengeful, we must reconsider why her performance in her diary is so compelling. At first, this might be humbling—owning that a sociopath has taken us in often is—but it’s followed by the pleasure of clear-sightedness. After all, learning the truth is empowering. Interestingly, by the end of Gone Girl, Amy and Nick can neither be fully embraced nor easily dismissed. Yes, they are terrible people, but they are also familiar to us and not easy to set aside, which is a deliciously uncomfortable thought.

***

John Copenhaver won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery for Dodging and Burning and the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery for The Savage Kind. He is a co-founder of Queer Crime Writers and an at-large board member of Mystery Writers of America. He cohosts on the House of Mystery Radio Show. He’s a faculty mentor in the University of Nebraska’s Low-Residency MFA program and teaches at VCU in Richmond, VA.

THOUGHTS ON THE MURKY MIDDLE: Guest Post by Baron Birtcher

While attending a recent writers conference, I had the opportunity sit in the audience while a panel of respected writers and colleagues were asked to opine about their approach to the craft. As often happens during Q&A, the conversation shifts to either (a) “Plotter vs. Pantser” or (b) “The Murky Middle” of a manuscript. 
            

For those of you who have attended a writers conference, you know what I’m talking about. 
            

Personally, having long ago lost interest in conversing about item (a), I do feel compelled to weigh-in on item (b). Here’s why:  When the question came up at the conference panel, the author who replied first gave a lengthy and world-weary reply about slogging through “the Murky Middle” and how painful that process can be. I happened to be seated in the audience beside an award-winning female colleague whom I respect greatly, and upon hearing this world-weary reply, we both shared a look that included raised eyebrows and shrugs of puzzlement. 
            

“I like the Middle,” my to-remain-anonymous colleague whispered to me. 
            

“I do, too,” I responded. “That’s where all the good stuff happens.”
            

Not to put too fine a point on it, but here’s where I come down on the subject: If the Middle is ‘Murky’ it’s yourfault as the author. So, fix it. 

Because, in a Three-Act story structure, the second act is where the action happens. Here’s a brief review:
                        Act 1: Setup, exposition, inciting incident
                        Act 2: Confrontation, rising action, character development
                        Act 3: Resolution: lead-up, climax, conclusion
 
Therefore, if your second act is murky, you’re missing an opportunity to more fully develop your cast of characters, your setting, and—particularly in the case of a series—an opportunity to deepen your reader’s engagement with the breadth and scope of the narrative as a whole. Ask yourself ‘Why?’ Were you in a hurry to get to that next scene (which is not uncommon)? We all know how easy it can be to get lost in the weeds of our own stories, we’ve all done it. It’s equally easy to get lost in the weeds of the fabulous amount of research that we want to regurgitate and show off to our readers. We need to resist those temptations, and instead, focus on calibrating the pace of the narrative to the tone of the story we’ve actually set out to tell.
            

I often equate the process to what it is like to listen to a great piece of music. At least that’s a perspective that works for me. Each of us has our own methodology or metaphor; But if you find yourself slogging through your own work, this is clearly a sign that you might need to step outside, take a walk and clear your head. Which is usually all it takes. Or maybe just a good night’s sleep. Come back and reevaluate your work with a fresh perspective.
            

Now, just to be clear: I’m not anybody’s advocate for formulaic writing. In fact, I despise it. I like exploring the boundaries of literary convention as much as the next writer… But when our work is aimed at keeping our reader engaged within a linear narrative, and the story seems to bog down in that proverbial “Murky Middle,” I suggest that you take a good hard look at the overall pace of your narrative, and determine whether you may be missing out on an opportunity to actually slow down, dig a little deeper and consider a slightly different manner of engagement among your characters, your readers (and yourself). You might discover that if you take your foot off the gas pedal and listen to your characters more closely, they might teach you a little something you didn’t expect from them. 
            

Long and the short of it is this, IMO: Embrace the deep water in your story, the complicated, beautiful, Mysterious Middle, and don’t dread the density. It’s exactly where the heart of your story may reside.

***

Baron Birtcher is the winner of the Silver Falchion Award (Hard Latitudes); Winner of Killer Nashville Readers Choice Award (South California Purples); and Best Book of the Year Award for Fistful Of Rain.
He has also been nominated for the Nero Award, the Lefty, the Foreword Indie, the Claymore, and the Pacific Northwest's Spotted Owl Awards. 
 
I invite you to join me on the ride with Sheriff Ty Dawson, and to (re)visit those heady, turbulent, beautiful and terrifying times of the 1970s; and to join me on Facebook and Instagram at: 
            Facebook: www.facebook.com/BaronRBirtcher
            Instagram: www.instagram/BaronBirtcher_author
 Books in the Ty Dawson series: 
            South California Purples
            Fistful Of Rain
            Reckoning
            Knife River
 

 

Cartoon of the Day: Crow Bar

 

LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD (LAMMY AWARDS) FINALISTS

To see finalists in all categories, go here:  https://lambdaliterary.org/awards/current-finalists/

Of specfic interterest to the mystery reader:

LGBTQ+ Mystery

• A Calculated Risk // Cari Hunter (Bold Strokes Books)

• Don’t Forget the Girl // Rebecca McKanna (Sourcebooks Landmark)

• The Good Ones // Polly Stewart (HarperCollins Publishers)

• Transitory // J. M. Redmann (Bold Strokes Books)

• Where the Dead Sleep // Joshua Moehling (Poisoned Pen Press)

Cartoon of the Day: Cats & Dogs

 

BARBECUE MYSTERIES: National Barbecue Day

Today is National Barbecue Day, so to celebrate here's my Barbecue Mysteries list. So many ways to murder someone at a barbecue, from the sauce to the skewers to the grill, not to mention the tiny wires on the barbecue brush (true crime!). This is an updated list of Barbecue Crime Fiction. Let me know if I've forgotten any authors/titles!

Barbecue Mysteries

Delicious and Suspicious; Hickory Smoked Homicide; Finger Lickin' Dead; Rubbed Out by Riley Adams  (Elizabeth Craig Spann) - The Memphis BBQ Mystery Series

The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Omnibus 4 (books 19-22): Road Trip: BBQ and a Brawl, BBQ Delivered with Attitude, BBQ With a Side of No Apologies, BBQ and STFU by Michael Anderle

Bad Move by Linwood Barclay
Honey BBQ Murder by Patti Benning 

Murder Well-Done by Claudia Bishop
Nice Day for a Murder by C.A. Broadribb

Crime Rib by Leslie Budewitz

Topped Chef by Lucy Burdette

Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron
Low and Slow: Sweet and Savory Murder at the BBQ Cookoff by Randy Cade 
A Bullet at the BBQ by SL Calder 

Several Dan Rhodes books by Bill Crider
Murder at the Blue Ridge Barbecue Festival by Gene Davis
The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson
Grilled for Murder by Maddie Day

Memphis Ribs by Gerald Duff

Murder Can Singe Your Old Flame by Selma Eichler
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
Barbecues & Brooms by Bella Falls

The Politics of Barbecue by Blake Fontenay
Grilling the Subject by Daryl Wood Gerber
Barbecue, Bourbon and Bullets by M.E. Harmon
A Trunk, a Canoe, and all the Barbecue by A. W. Hartoin

Cotton Comes to Harlem by Chester Himes
The Big Barbecue by Dorothy B. Hughes
Barbeque Bedlam by Lizzie Josephson 

Close to Home by Cara Hunter

Blossoms, Barbeque, & Blackmail by Tonya Kappes
Bonfires, Barbeques and Bodies by Susan Keene 
Spare Ribs and Cold Cuts by Kamaryn Kelsey 
Barbecue Blues: A Professor Doug Wilson Mystery (Professor Doug Wilson Mysteries Book 3) by Duke Kuehn

Murder in Mesquite Springs by Glenda Stewart Langley

Bad News Barbecues: by Maisy Marple 

Bullets & Barbecue by Mary Maxwell

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Thou Shalt Not Grill by Tamar Myers 

Hush My Mouth by Cathy Pickens
The BBQ Burger Murder by Rosie A. Point

Hawg Heaven Cozy Mysteries by Summer Prescott 

Barbecue Can Be Deadly by Ryan Rivers 

Say You're Sorry by Michael Robotham

The Sheriff and..  (series) by D. R. Meredith

The King is Dead by Sarah Shankman

Stiffs and Swine by J.B. Stanley
Barbecue and Murder by Kathleen Suzette

Revenge of the Barbecue Queens by Lou Jane Temple
Murder at the Barbecue by Liz Turner

Murder, Basted and Barbecued by Constance Turner
Barbecue by A. E.H. Veenman

Death on a Platter by Elaine Viets

Teaberry Blues, Brew & BBQ by R. A. Wallace

A Bad Day for Barbecue by Jonathan Woods
Books, Barbecue, and Murder by Lori Woods  

Short Stories: 

"Gored" by Bill Crider
"A Bad Day for Barbecue" by Jonathan Woods

Young Readers:  

The Barbecue Thief by Starike

Want a little chocolate on the barbie today? 
Check out recipes on my other blog: DyingforChocolate.com

S'mores on the Grill  
Savory Chocolate Barbecue Sauces
Chocolate Ancho Chile Rub
Cocoa Spiced Salmon Rub 
Scharffen Berger Cacao Nib Rub for Tri Tip
SaveSaveSaveSave

2024 British Book Awards: The Nibbies

The 2024 British Book Awards, the Nibbies, were given out Monday night in London. The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by The Bookseller. 

Of interest to Mystery Readers:

Crime and Thriller Book of the Year: Lisa Jewell: None of this is True (Century)

Non-fiction: Lifestyle and Illustrated: G.T Karber:  Murdle (Souvenir Press)

Freedom to Publish Award: Georgian-Russian author Grigori Chkhartishvili, who writes historical mysteries under the byline “Boris Akunin,” became only the third recipient of the Freedom to Publish Award (following Arabella Pike and Salman Rushdie).

HT: TheRapSheet

BOUCHERCON CONVENTION ATTENDANCE SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM

The Convention Attendance Support Grant (CAS) is created to assist fans and writers of the mystery genre by offering a financial subsidy to offset associated costs to attend and participate in the current annual Bouchercon convention.

The Grant includes a paid registration fee, and reimbursement for up to Five-Hundred Dollars ($500.00). There will be five CAS grant recipients for Nashville Bouchercon.



Program Elements:

Who May Apply?

• Anyone who will be attending the next upcoming Bouchercon convention, and
• Anyone willing to contribute up to four hours of volunteering during the eligible convention.

What is the Financial Assistance Offered?

• The Convention registration fee is waived.
• Travel and lodging costs are reimbursed up to $500.00.
• Note: Awardees will be sent a reimbursement check within fifteen business days of the conclusion of Bouchercon and after receipts have been scanned/mailed to the Bouchercon Administrator.

What are the Requirements?

• Applicants will need to submit a 300-to-500-word essay on the applicant’s interest in the crime fiction/mystery genre; interest in attending Bouchercon; and need for assistance.
• Grant recipients will be required to volunteer during the Bouchercon convention for no less than four hours.
• Applicants will need to agree to abide to the Bouchercon Code of Conduct.

Go Here to get the Application form: https://forms.gle/uHpvvH5wY4Mv9KBcA

Deadline: Send applications no later than May 31st to:

bouchercon@bouchercon.com