MOTHER'S DAY MYSTERIES // MOTHER'S DAY CRIME FICTION

Mother's Day: So many Mothers in Mysteries. The following is a sampling with emphasis on the Mother's Day Holiday. If I listed all the mysteries and crime fiction with famous and infamous mothers, the list would be way too long. This is an updated list, so let me know if I've missed any titles or authors.

MOTHER'S DAY MYSTERIES

Death by Windmill by Jennifer S. Alderson

The Whispers by Ashley Audrain
Angel at Troublesome Creek by Mignon F. Ballard
The Mother's Day Mystery by Peter Bartram

Mother's Day by Frankie Bow 
Mother's Day by Abigail Burdese

Mother's Day Mayhem by Lynn Cahoon 
How to Murder Your Mother-in-Law, Mum's the Word by Dorothy Cannell

Mother's Day Murder by Wensley Clarkson

A Holiday Sampler by Christine E. Collier
Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
A Catered Mother's Day by Isis Crawford 
A Darkly Hidden Truth by Donna Fletcher Crow

Motherhood is Murder (Short Stories) by Mary Daheim, Carolyn Hart, Shirley Rousseau Murphy and Jane Isenberg
The Mother's Day Mishap by Kathi Daley
Murder Can Upset Your Mother by Selma Eichler

Mother's Day by T. J. Emerson

A Mother's Day Murder by Dee Ernst
Bon Bon Voyage by Nancy Fairbanks
Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

Botched Butterscotch by Amanda Flower
Murder for Mother: Short Story collection, edited by Martin S. Greenberg
Murder Superior by Jane Haddam
A Gift for Mother's Day by K.C. Hardy
The Mother’s Day Murder by Lee Harris
"Pull my Paw"(short story) by Sue Ann Jaffarian

Mother's Day Murder by Tonya Kappes
Mother's Day: A Short Story by Renée Knight  (short story)
Every Day is Mother's Day by Hilary Mantel (not exactly a mystery, but a good read) 
Mother’s Day by Patricia MacDonald

Mother's Day Out by Karen MacInerney
The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald

Mother's Day by Dennis McDougal
Mother’s Day Murder by Leslie Meier
Mother's Day by Joshua Quittner & Michelle Siatalla
Mom, Apple Pie & Murder: A collection of New Mysteries for Mother’s Day, edited by Nancy Pickard

Mother's Day, Muffins, and Murder by Sara Rosett

A Mother's Day Murder by Genevieve Scholl
The London Monster by D. Scott

Mother’s Day by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla
Comfort Me by Debbie Viguie
Mother's Day by Ron Vincent

True Crime: 

The Mother's Day Murder by Wensley Clarkson

Any titles/authors missing?

Cartoon of the Day: Secret Agent Pickup Conversations

 

Cinco de Mayo Mysteries and Mexican Crime Fiction

Cinco de Mayo: Read a Mystery!

Cinco De Mayo, the 5th Of May, commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle of Puebla in 1862. It's primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some recognition in other parts of  Mexico, and also in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people believe, Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually September 16.

I've blogged about Cinco de Mayo Mysteries before, but I think it's always good to repost -- with a few additions -- for those who missed it or won't take the extra step to click. No judgement here.

This list is supplemented with Mexican mystery writers and books set in Mexico and on the Mexican-American border. Let me know any titles or authors you think should be included.

Add some Mexican Chocolate Treats to add to your Cinco de Mayo celebration. Check out my other Blog, Dying for Chocolate, for recipes and suggestions of great Chocolate for Cinco de Mayo: Chocolate entrees, drinks and desserts and more desserts. 

Cinco de Mayo Mysteries:

Cinco de Murder by Rebecca Adler
Cinco de Murder by Josie Callahan

Cinco de Mayo by Robert E. Cook
Margaritas and Murder by Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain
Cinco de Mayo Murders by Sydnie Goodell

The Cinco de Mayo Murder by Lee Harris
A Corpse for Cuamantla by Harol Marshall
Cinco de Mayo by Michael Martineck (science fiction/but cross-over)
Cinco de Mayo by Don Miles

The Bane of Cinco de Mayo by Nathan S. Mitchell
Cinco de Mayhem by Ann Myers 

The Cinco de Mayo Reckoning by Terry Money

***

And a few Mexican crime writers who set their mysteries in Mexico but not on Cinco de Mayo. They have not all been translated into English.

Mexican Crime Writers:
Paco Ignacio Taibo II The Uncomfortable Dead (and numerous other novels)
Eduardo Monteverde
Juan Hernandez Luna
Martin Solares
Elmer Mendoza

Rolo Diez
Yuri Herrera 

Carlos Fuentes (crime novel: The Hydra Head)

Hector Aguilar Camin

Maria Elvira Bermudez

Hardboiled Fiction on the Mexican-US Border or involved with the drug trade: 

Carlos Fuentes: Cabeza de la Hidra (The Hydra Head)
Joaquin Guerrero-Casaola: The Law of the Garrotte
Sam Hawken: The Dead Women of Juarez; Tequila Sunset
Rolando Hinojosa: Partners in Crime, Ask a Policeman
Elmer Mendoza: Silver Bullets; Kiss the Detective
Gabriel Trujillo Munoz (known for his science fiction and literary criticism, also writes detective fiction):Mesquite Road, Tijuana City Blues Don Winslow: The Cartel; The Power of the Dog; The Border; and more 

Other Crime Fiction set in Mexico

Rafael Bernal: The Mongolian Conspiracy
Roberto Bolano: The Savage Detectives 

Isabel Canas: The Hacienda
Wendy Day: Mexico, Margaritas, & Murder 

Cristina Rivera Garza: The Taiga Syndrome

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Mexican Gothic
Manuel Muñoz: What You See in the Dark

Lili Wright: Dancing with the Tiger 

YA: 

Erika L. Sanchez: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Want to find out more?

Read G.J. Demko's Landscapes of Crime: Mysteries in Mexico
"Mexican Detective Fiction" by Jose Ignacio Escribano on A Crime is Afoot

Read Lucha Corpi's: La Bloga on Chicana Crime Fiction: Where to?
Read an essay by Jennifer Insley "Border criminals, border crime: hard-boiled fiction on the American Frontier in Confluencia: Revista Hispanica de Cultura y Literatura

YA Literature? You Don't Have a Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens, edited by Sarah Cortez (Arte Publico Press)

Interested in Crime for the Holidays? Check out Mystery Readers Journal, Volume 25:1.

And a fun fact: Five most popular Tequilas in the U.S.

1. Jose Cuervo
2. Patron
3. Sauza
4. Herradura
5. Cabo Wabo

And, here's one of my favorite roses: Cinco de Mayo! a repeat bloomer with a unique shape, color, and scent!

Cartoon of the Day: Rearranging My Bookshelves

Short Mystery Fiction Society 2026 Derringer Award Winners

SMFS Official Announcement: 2026 Derringer Award Winners

Photo by Art Taylor

The Short Mystery Fiction Society is a community of writers, readers, editors, publishers, and others dedicated to the promotion and celebration of mystery and crime short stories. Since 1998, the SMFS has awarded the annual Derringers to outstanding published stories and people who have greatly advanced or supported the form. 

The 2026 Derringer Award Winners

Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer

David Dean

David Dean is an Army veteran, a retired Chief of Police, and an accomplished novelist, in addition to being one of the most popular and prolific short story writers working in the crime genre today. His stories have appeared regularly in ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE, as well as a number of anthologies, including BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES, since 1990. He has won a Derringer Award and an impressive four EQMM Readers Awards. His stories have also been nominated for the Shamus and Barry Awards and been finalists for an Edgar and multiple Derringer Awards.

Best Flash Story

(Up to 1,000 words)

"The Man Under the Bridge" by Bern Sy Moss (Spillwords, 6/1/2025)

Best Short Story

(1,001 to 4,000 words)

"Blind Pig" by Michael Bracken (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2025)

Best Long Story

(4,001 to 8,000 words)

"Whatever Kills the Pain" by C.W. Blackwell (Whatever Kills the Pain, Rock and a Hard Place Press)

Best Novelette

(8,001 to 20,000 words)

"The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe" by Tia Tashiro (Clarkesworld, January 2025) (audio version)

Best Anthology (tie)

Hollywood Kills: An Anthology edited by Adam Meyer & Alan Orloff (Level Best Books - Level Short)

On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology edited by Curtis Ippolito (Rock and a Hard Place Press)

HT: Kevin Tipple

KENTUCKY DERBY MYSTERIES

Kentucky Derby Day! There will be people cheering, betting on the horses, women in big hats, and Bourbon tipplers all around as they celebrate. I've dusted off last year's list of Kentucky Derby mysteries and added a few more titles. You can also read horse-racing mysteries to celebrate the Derby --  or you can watch the movie The Kentucky Derby (1922). It's full of grit and crime. Have a piece of Derby Pie (recipes on DyingforChocolate.com), filled with chocolate, bourbon, and nuts. Or make some Mint Julep Truffles or Kentucky Derby Bourbon Truffles.

Kentucky Derby Mysteries

King of the Roses by V.S. Anderson
The Silver Falcon by Evelyn Anthony
The False Favorite by Josh Boldt

Triple Crown by Jon Breen
Murder at Derby Time by Matt Clark

Death in Lilac Time by Frances Crane  
Triple Cross by Kit Ehrman
Intercept by Mary Jane Forbes
Bonecrack by Dick Francis
Triple Crown by Felix Francis

Silent Partner by Karen Jones
Death by Derby by Abigail Keam
Snip by Doc Macomber

Kentucky Heat by Fern Michaels
Murder at the Kentucky Derby by Charles Parmer
Dark Horse by Bill Shoemaker (Triple Crown)
The Accurst Tower by John Winslow

Kentucky Derby Short Stories

"The Gift" by Dick Francis is set at the Kentucky Derby. It is in the collection Field of Thirteen. "The Gift" first appeared as "A Day of Wine and Roses" in Sports Illustrated, 1973.

Derby Rotten Scoundrels: by authors from the Sisters in Crime chapter, Derby Rotten Scoundrels (formerly the Ohio River Valley Chapter), a collection of stories which explores a world of danger and deceit against the backdrop of fast horses, beautiful women, and great bourbon; edited by Jeffrey Marks

Low Down and Derby: by authors from the Sisters in Crime chapter, Derby Rotten Scoundrels, a collection of fast paced mystery stories set around the Kentucky Derby, by fifteen authors from the Ohio River Valley Chapter of Sisters in Crime; edited by Abigail Jones.

Murder at the Races, a collection of Short Stories including "A Derby Horse," edited by Peter Haining.
Mystery with a Splash of Bourbon, edited by Susan Bell and Elaine Munsch

Children's Mysteries

The Mystery at the Kentucky Derby by Carole Marsh

Non-Fiction

Great Horse Racing Mysteries: Tales from the Track by John McEvoy
Dancer's Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby (and 5 other non-fiction books about Thoroughbread racing and equine law) by Milton Toby

The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told: A True Tale of Three Gamblers, the Kentucky Derby, and the Mexican Cartel by Mark Paul

And there once was a thorough-bred named Mystery Novel. He did not win the Kentucky Derby.

Movies
The Kentucky Derby (1922)

Authors who Write Horse Mysteries 
(not necesssarily about the Kentucky Derby)

Gabriella Herkert, Scasser Hill, Jo Banister, Ben Petersen, Sasscer Hill, Kit Ehrman, Jody Jaffe, Bruce Alexander, Fern Michaels, Jody Jaffe, Carolyn Banks, Michele Scott, Dick Francis, Laura Crum, J.R. Lindermuth, William Murray, Mary Monica Pulver, Rita Mae Brown, Janet Dawson, Maggie Estep, Dick Francis, John Francome, Alyson Hagy, Michael Kilian, Peter Klein, Lynda La Plante, Holly Menino, John McEvoy, Jassy Mackenzie, Robert Nicholas Reeves,J. R. Rain, Bill Shoemaker, Laura Young, Lyndon Stacey, JD Carpenter, Lisa Wysocky, Sally Wright, James Ziskin, Leigh Hearon, Gabriella Herkert, Michele Scott, Annette Dashofy, D.C. Alexander 

Other Horse Mystery Short Stories
Murder at the Racetrack, edited by Otto Penzler
Field of Thirteen by Dick Francis  

May Day is Lei Day in Hawai‘i: Guest Post by Tori Eldridge

Growing up in Honolulu, the first of May meant flowers, music, and hula. My friends and I would raid the neighborhood for flowering trees. Plumeria was always the easiest to find, mostly white with yellow centers, sometimes red and pink. But my favorite place to raid was the fence on the ninth fairway of the Wai‘alae golf course, along which I also lived.

 

The best part about growing up on a golf course was playing tackle football on the fairways after school and swimming in the ditches after a big storm. Never mind that we had a swimming pool, it was way more fun to splash around with the tiny frogs and grass. No idea why! The other big fun was to ride skim boards across the clipped grass after a rain. Needless to say, my golfing parents and the country club security guards took a dim view of this.

 

But on the last day of April, I headed to the house on the ninth fairway, whose fence was covered by thick stephanotis vines. Those little white flowers had a powerful scent. When the vines were in full bloom, the fragrance traveled all the way to the green. They were so thick, no one in the house could see picking until my paper grocery sack was full.

 

Back home, I strung the stephanotis into a rope-style lei using a kui (piercing) technique, threading my needle through the stems so the faces of the white star-like blossoms all faced out. It was as thick as a double carnation lei with a sweet scent that was even stronger than ginger or the tiny green pakalana flowers I love.

 

The next day, I would wear my lei to school, as most of the kids and teachers did. And since I was a dancer, I would wear more lei with my costume for the annual May Day pageant. I danced in some sort of May Day performance from pre-school all the way to twelfth grade.

 

Different types of dance merited different types of lei. We braided haku lei with leaves and flowers to wear on our heads and often around our wrists and ankles when we danced to a chant. We twisted pikake (Hawaiian jasmine) with maile or tī vines, wili style, for hula and sometimes let the ends hang down the front of our holokū (missionary-style dresses with yokes and a train).

 

So many flowers. So many beautiful colors and scents.

 

I thought of these lei when I wrote the memorial scene near the beginning of my new Ranger Makalani Pahukula mystery, Hawai‘i Rage.

 

A shocking death on a North Kohala ranch had brought the Hiapo family and other paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) friends up the mountain on horseback to say their final farewell. My protagonist, Makalani Pahukula, rides up in a UTV with her cousin Brian, as he points out the family members in their tan palaka (checkered) shirts and lei.

 

The somber occasion is made beautiful by the horses, the family, and the flower lei they wear.

 

A procession of horses climbed beside them, each bearing a rider bedecked in colorful flower lei and paniolo attire. Only a dark-gray Appaloosa with a blanket of white on her rump walked alone with a thick rope of tiny green pakalana flowers on the saddle where her rider would have sat.

 

Makalani nudged Brian with her knee. “You didn’t want to ride with everyone else?”

 

“Not enough horses at the ranch. Rosie and some of the part-time ranch hands don’t have their own. With all the paniolo and immediate family riding in the procession, I volunteered to drive and bring you.”

 

“It was gracious of the family to invite me.”

 

“You’re ‘ohana.”

 

“Only by marriage.”

 

“Same thing to Rosie. She insisted you come.”

 

Brian’s wife rode a chestnut gelding the same color as her shoulder-length hair. A pink rose haku lei encircled the woven straw pāpale on her head. A matching rosebud lei rested against the fitted bodice of her tan-and-white-checkered palaka blouse. Instead of jeans, she wore wide gaucho-leg pants and matching cowboy boots. The outfit showed off her Hawaiian and Mexican roots.

 

“How much vaquero blood does she have?”

 

“Only one sixteenth, but it shows stronger with her Hawaiian than the haole or Japanese.”

 

“I don’t see the Japanese.”

 

“It’s less than a quarter, but combined with my Chinese and Korean, that makes Vinnie three kinds of Asian.” Brian widened his eyes. “Imagine what his great-great-grandparents would think of that.”

 

Makalani understood what he meant. The Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese had a tumultuous history to say the least. And yet, the combination blended beautifully with the Hawaiian, haole, and traces of Mexican in Brian and Rosie’s eight-year-old son. He rode behind his mother on a buckskin mare with a black mane, tail, and legs, broken up by three white feet.

 

“Vinnie sits his horse well.”

 

Brian rolled his eyes. “Too well for his own good.” But he said it with pride.

 

***

Tori Eldridge is the author of Hawai‘i Rage, Kaua‘i Storm, and the acclaimed Lily Wong ninja thriller series. Born in Honolulu—of Hawaiian, Chinese, and Norwegian descent—Tori graduated from Punahou School with classmate Barack Obama before performing as an actress, singer, and dancer on Broadway, television, and film, and earning a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. Her literary works have garnered Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Award nominations and the 2021 Crimson Scribe for Best Book of the Year. Tori lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, where she helps care for her precious mo‘opuna (grandchildren). Learn more about Tori and her books at ToriEldridge.com.

 

 

MAY DAY MYSTERIES, MORRIS DANCING, AND MORE!

"What potent blood hath modest May."- Ralph W. Emerson

Here's my updated list of May Day Mysteries. I love May Day with its Morris Dancing and the Maypole, dating back to pagan Celtic times. And, although May may seem idyllic with its flowers and showers, it can actually be quite murderous! Later this month, I will have an updated list of Cinco de Mayo Mysteries, Kentucky Derby Daby, Mother's Day Mysteries, Memorial Day Mysteries, and others that take place in May.

I've expanded my updated list of May Day Crime Fiction to include a few new May Day mysteries. Let me know if I've forgotten any titles. Be sure and check out Morris Dancing Mysteries at the end of the list.

May Day Mysteries

The May Day Mystery by Mabel Esther Allan
No Nest for the Wicket by Donna Andrews

The Neighborhood by Susan Bernhardt

The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry
The May Weeks Murders by Douglas G. Browne
The Case of the Tangled Maypole by Anna Castle
The Antique Store Detective and the May Day Murder by Clare Chase

The May Day Mystery by Octavus Roy Cohen

Murder in the Green by Lesley Cookman
May Queen Killers by Lorna Dounaeva  
Five Days in May by Paul Eiseman
The Nutting Girl by Fred DeVecca
30 Days in May by Wayne Hancock
The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy, Anthony Shaffer

Five Days in May by Christopher Hartpence
A Terrible Enemy by Jo Hiesand
May Day Murder by Jennifer David Hesse

May Day by Josie Jaffrey

Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel 
The Moonlit Door by Deryn Lake  
May Day Murder by Daisy Landish

May Day by Jess Lourey
May Might Mean Murder by Bill McGrath 
A Hearse on May-Day by Gladys Mitchell  
May Day in Magadan by Anthony Olcott 

Creeping Venom by Sheila Pim

Death in the Morning by Sheila Radley

MayDay by Amy M. Reade

The May Day Murders by Rosie Reed

The Merry Month of May by Elvi Rhodes
A Hot Day in May by Julian Jay Savarin
Merry Month of Murder by Nicholas Slade

A May Day Mystery by Sandra Sookoo

May Day Murder by Julie Wassmer
The May Day Murders by Scott Wittenburg

Morris dancing is one of the Great English Mysteries, like cricket and warm beer. 

--Rosemary Edghill, mystery writer, in Book of Moons


Morris Dancing Mysteries

The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer: A Cozy Mystery Set in Wales by Cathy Ace

As the Pig Turns; Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate; Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton
Murder of a Straw Man by Robyn Beecroft
Blind to the Bones by Stephen Booth
Thieves by Hannah Dennison
False Step by Jo Hiesand

Dumb as Morris Dancing by Scott Hunt

The Moonlit Door by Deryn Lake

The Shortest Day by Jane Langton
Stone Cold Sober by Rebecca Marks

Death of a Fool (Off with his Head) by Ngaio Marsh
Dead Men's Morris by Gladys Mitchell 
The Death-Cap Dancers by Gladys Mitchell
The Lazareth Pit by Elizabeth Patterson
All of a Winter's Night by Phil Rickman

***
May Day also has a more Activist meaning. For more information and a great list, check out Molly Odintz's Radical Noir: 26 Activist Crime Novels on CrimeReads.

Mystery Writers of America 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners

Mystery Writers of America 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2025. 
 
BEST NOVEL
The Big Empty by Robert Crais (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
 
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr (Penguin Random House – Bantam Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
 
The Backwater by Vikki Wakefield (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
 
BEST FACT CRIME
Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
Edgar Allan Poe: A Life by Richard Kopley (University of Virginia Press)
 
BEST SHORT STORY
“Julius Katz Draws a Straight Flush,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – September-October 2025 by Dave Zeltserman (Must Read Books Publishing)
 
BEST JUVENILE
Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson (Scholastic Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT
Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY
“Pilot” – Paradise, Written by Dan Fogelman (Hulu)

* * * * * *
 
OTHER AWARDS
 
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.
“How It Happened,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2025 by Billie Kay Fern (Must Read Books Publishing)
 
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster. 
All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
 
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Gone in the Night by Joanna Schaffhausen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
 
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (Severn House)
 
SPECIAL AWARDS -- PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY 13, 2026

GRAND MASTER
Donna Andrews
Lee Child
 
RAVEN AWARD
Book Passage, Corte Madera CA
 
ELLERY QUEEN AWARD
John Scognamiglio, Kensington Books
 

 

CALL FOR ARTICLES: Mysteries set in France: Mystery Readers Journal (42:2)

Call for Articles: Mystery Readers Journal: Mysteries set in France(42:2); Summer 2026

For our next issue, we are looking for articles, reviews, and author essays about crime fiction set in France.

DEADLINE: May 25, 2026

If you have a mystery that fits this theme, please consider writing an Author! Author! essay: 500–1500 words, first person, up-close and personal about yourself, your books, and the theme connection. Add title and 2-3 sentence bio.

We’re also looking for reviews and articles, too 

Send submissions to janet @ mysteryreaders . org 

Deadline: May 20, 2026. 

Author Essays are first person, about yourself, your books, and the "French setting" connection. 500-1000 words. Treat this as if you're chatting with friends and other writers in the bar or cafe (or on zoom) about your work and France in your mysteries. Be sure and cite specific titles, as well as how you use France in your books. Add title and 2-3 sentence bio. 

Reviews: 50-250 words. 

Articles: 500-1000 words. 

Deadline: May 25, 2026  

Send to: Janet Rudolph, Editor. janet @ mysteryreaders . org  

Subject Line:  Mysteries set in France.

Please let me know if you're planning to send an article, review, or author essay--or if you have any questions! 

Past issues on Mysteries set in France still available.  Check out the Tables of Contents and sample articles or order now.

Mysteries set in France (28:1) 2012

Mysteries Set in France (16:2) 2000

Subscribe to Mystery Readers Journal for 2026.

Themes in 2026: Fairs, Fetes, & Festivals; Mysteries set in France, Cross-Genre Mysteries; Mysteries set in India.

Many back issues available as PDF downloads. Here are just a few. 

Southern California: Mystery Readers Journal

Senior Sleuths: Mystery Readers Journal

Irish Mysteries: Mystery Readers Journal

Hobbies & Crafts in Mysteries: Mystery Readers Journal

And so many more... We are now in our 42nd year. 4 themed issues a year! 

Have a look at our index of fabulous issues with articles, reviews, and essays from your favorite authors and reviewers. 

***

AGATHA AWARDS: MALICE DOMESTIC 2026

The 2026 Agatha Award winners were announced during Malice Domestic 38 on April 25, 2026. The Agatha Awards honor the “traditional mystery,” books typified by the works of Agatha Christie and others. Congratulations to all.  

The Agatha Award Winners (for works published in 2025)

Best Contemporary Mystery Novel

• At Death’s Dough, by Mindy Quigley (Minotaur)

Best Historical Mystery Novel

• The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, by Kelly Oliver (Boldwood)

Best Non-fiction

• Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, by Dawn M. Barclay (Level Best)

Best First Mystery Novel

• Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery Novel

• Death in the Cards, by Mia P. Manansala (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Best Mystery Short Story

•  “Six-Armed Robbery,” by Ashley Ruth-Bernier (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous)

BOOKSTORE MYSTERIES: Independent Bookstore Day

Today is National Independent Bookstore Day. I'm a big patron on Indie Bookstores. I love visiting them in towns I visit, and, of course, at home here in Berkeley. That being said, I also love mysteries about books aka Bibliomysteries. Here's a random and totally incomplete but fun list of Bookstore Mysteries for Bookstore Day. There are so many mysteries set in bookstores that I couldn't include them all, but I invite you to comment below with your favorite titles, and I'll add them. 

Mystery Readers Journal has had several issues dedicated to Bibliomysteries that have included Bookstore Mysteries. They are still available. Check out the Tables of Content:

BiblioMysteries: Volume 30:4  (2014) 

Bibliomysteries: Volume 21: 3 (2005)

And don't forget to buy a book (or two or ten) at your local bookstore today!

BOOKSTORE MYSTERIES

Kathy Aarons: Chocolate Covered Mystery Series: Death is Like a Box of Chocolates
Victoria Abbott: The Christie Curse
Ellery Adams: The Secret, Book & Scone Society Series
Laura Alden: Murder at the PTA; Plotting at the PTA, Foul Play at the PTA, Curse of the PTA, Poison at the PTA
Ellie Alexander: A Very Novel Murder

Garrison Allen: Desert Cat, Roayl Cat, Stable Cat, Baseball Cat, Dinosaur Cat
Esmahan Aykol: Hotel Bosphorus, Baksheesh, Divorce Turkish Style
Jemma Bard: Cafe Prose Series: Prose & Poison

Lorna Barrett: Booktown Mystery Series: Murder on the Half Shelf, Murder is Binding, Bookmarked for Death, Bookplate Special, Chapter and Hearse, Sentenced to Death, Not the Killing Type, Book Clubbed, A Fatal Chapter, Title Wave, A Just Cause

Isabella Bassett: Old Bookstore Mysteries, Volumes 1-3: Out of Print, Murderous Misprint, Suspicious Small Print

Tamra Baumann: A Novel Way to Die
Mikkel Birkegaard: The Library of Shadows
Laura Gail Black: Antique Bookshop Series: For Whom the Book Tolls
Olivia Blacke: Brooklyn Murder Mystery Series: Killer Content
Maggie Blackburn: Little Bookshop of Murder

Elizabeth Blake: Jane Austen Society Mystery Series: Pride, Prejudice and Poison
Lawrence Block: Burglars Can't be Choosers, The Burglar in the Closet, The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian, The Burglar Who Traded Ted Williams, The Burglar Who Thought He was Bogart, The Burglar in the Library, The Burglar in the Rye, The Burglar on the Prowl, The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons
Michael Bowen: Washington Deceased, Faithfully Executed, Corruptly Procured, Worst Case Scenario, Collateral Damage
Ali Brandon: Double Booked for Death, A Novel Way to Die, Words with Fiends, Literally Murder, Plot Boiler, Twice Told Tail
Jon Breen: The Gathering Place, Touch of the Past
V. M. Burns: The Plot is Murder; Read Herring Hunt, The Novel Art of Murder; Wed, Read and Dead; Murder from A to Z
Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series: Guidebook to Murder
Liam Callanan: Paris by the Book
Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series: Homicide in Hardcover
Erica Chase: A Killer Read

Abby Collette: Body and Soul Food
John Connolly: The Museum of Literary Soul

Laurence Cosse: A Novel Bookstore

Cleo Coyle: Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series, including The Ghost and Mrs. McClure; The Ghost and the Dead, and more.
Cindy Daniel: Death Warmed Over...Coming Soon, A Family Affair
Vicki Delany: Body on Baker Street; Elementary, She Read, The Cat of the Baskervilles: A Curious Incident
Kathi Daley: Romeow and Juliet

Barbara Davis: The Echo of Old Books
John Dunning: Booked to Die, The Bookman's Wake, The Bookman's Promise, The Sign of the Book, The Bookwoman's Last Fling

Lauren Elliott: Beyond the Page Bookstore series: Murder by the Book; Prologue to Murder
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Alex Erickson: Bookstore Cafe series: Death by Coffee; Death by Tea, Death by Pumpkin Spice, Death by Vanilla Latte, Death by Eggnog, Death by Espresso
Amanda Flower: Magical Bookshop Series: Crime and Poetry; Prose and Cons; Murders and Metaphors 

Sarah Fox: Literary Pub Series: Wine and Punishment
Bruce Graeme: Seven Clues in Search of a Crime, House with Crooked Walls, A Case for Solomon, Work for the Hangman, Ten Trails to Tyburn, And a Bottle of Rum, Dead Pigs at Hungry Farm
Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Series: Death on Demand, Design for Murder, Something Wicked, Honeymoon with Murder, A Little Class on Murder, Deadly Valentine, The Christie Caper,  Southern Ghost, The Mint Julep Murder, Yankee Doodle Dead, White Elephant Dead, Sugar Plum Dead, April Fool Dead  Engaged To Die, Murder Walks the Plank, Death of the Party, Dead Days of Summer, Death Walked In, Dare To Die, Laughed ’Til He Died, Dead by Midnight, Death Comes Silently; Dead, White, and Blue; Death at the Door, Don’t Go Home, Walking on My Grave, Death on Demand

Joan Hess: Strangled Prose, The Murder at the Murder at the Mimosa Inn, Dear Miss Demeanor,  A Really Cute Corpse, A Diet to Die For, Roll Over and Play Dead,  Death by the Light of the Moon, Poisoned Pins, Pickled to Death, Busy Bodies, Closely Akin to Murder;  A Holly, Jolly Murder ; A Conventional Corpse, Out on a Limb, The Goodbye Body, Damsels in Distress, Mummy Dearest, Deader Homes and Gardens, Murder as a Second Language, Pride v. Prejudice
Caroline Kepnes: You

Alice Kimberly (Cleo Coyle): The Haunted Bookshop Series: The Ghost of Mrs McClure; The Ghost and the Dead Deb, The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library; The Ghost and the Femme Fatale, The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion; The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller,
Allison Kingsley: Mind Over Murder, A Sinister Sense, Trouble Vision, Extra Sensory Deception
Jayne Ann Krentz: The Shop on Hidden Lane

Essie Lang: Castle Bookshop Series: Trouble on the Books
Josh Lanyon: Fatal Shadows, A Dangerous Thing, The Hell You Say, Death of a Pirate King, The Dark Tide
S.A. Lelchuk: Save Me From Dangerous Men; One Got Away
Amy Lillard: Main Street Book Club Series: Can't Judge a Book by its Murder
T.C. LoTempio: Buried in a Book

Charlie Lovett: The Bookman's Tale

Marianne MacDonald: Death's Autograph,  Ghost Walk, Smoke Screen, Road Kill, Blood Lies; Die Once, Three Monkeys, Faking It
T. J. MacGregor: The Hanged Man,  Black Water, Total Silence, Category Five, Cold as Death
Karen MacInerney: A Killer Ending
Molly MacRae: Plaid and Plagiarism, Scones and Scoundrels
Russell D. McLean: Ed's Dead
Elizabeth C. Main: Murder of the Month, No Rest for the Wicked
Christine Matthews (w/Robert Randisi); Murder is the Deal of the Day, The Masks of Auntie Laveau, Same Time, Same Murder

Sue Minix: Murder at the Bookstore (and more Bookstore Mysteries) 

Judy Moore: Cozy Mysteries to Die For series: A Book Signing to Die For
Terrie Farley Moran: Well Read, Then Dead; Caught Read-Handed, Read to Death
Walter Mosley: Fearless Jones, Fear Itself, Fear of the Dark
Amy Meyerson: The Bookshop of Yesterdays

Elizabeth Penny: Chapter and Curse
Otto Penzler, ed.: Bibliomysteries (2 volumes): Short Stories
Bill Petrocelli: Through the Bookstore Window
Mark Pryor: The Bookseller series  (multiple titles), The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris (2026)
Michael Redhill: Bellevue Square

S.A. Reeves: A Murder at the Church; A Legacy of Lies (Bookshop Mysteries) 

Kym Roberts: Fatal Fiction
Paige Shelton: The Cracked Spine; Lost Books and Old Bones; A Christmas Tartan
Sheila Simonson: Larkspur, Skylark, Mudlark, Meadowlark, Malarkey
Robin Sloan: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Matthew J. Sullivan: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore
Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

Carolyn Wells: Murder in the Bookshop
Vanessa Westermann: An Excuse for Murder

Gayle Wigglesworth: Tea is for Terror, Washington Weirdos, Intrigue in Italics, Cruisin' for a Brusin', Malice in Mexico
T.E. Wilson: Mezcalero
M.K. Wren: Curiosity Didn’t Kill the Cat; A Multitude of Sins, Oh Bury Me Not, Nothing's Certain by Death, Seasons of Death, Wake Up, Darlin’ Corey, Dead Matter,  King of the Mountain
Carlos Ruiz Zafron: The Shadow of the Wind

And a few other Bookstore Novels, not necessarily mysteries:

Jenny Colgan: The Bookshop on the Corner

Penelope Fitzgerald: The Bookshop

Nina George: The Little Paris Bookshop

Helene Hanff: 84 Charing Cross Road

Veronica Henry: How to Find Love in a Bookshop

Amy Meyerson: The Bookshop of Yesterdays

Deborah Meyler: The Bookstore

Christopher Morley: Parnassus on Wheels; The Haunted Bookshop

Robin Sloan: Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore 

Gabrielle Zevin: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

YA: 

Anna James: Tilly and the Bookwanderers

Let me know if I've forgotten any of your favorites.

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA 2026 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLIST & GRAND MASTER RECIPIENT RICK MOFINA

Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) announced the Shortlists for the 2026 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. Winners will be announced on Friday, May 29, 2026.

GRAND MASTER AWARD RECIPIENT
Rick Mofina has been named the recipient of the 2026 Grand Master Award. This prestigious biennial honor recognizes a Canadian crime writer with a substantial body of work who has garnered significant national and international acclaim while demonstrating a steadfast commitment to the crime-writing community. CWC selected Mofina for this distinction based on his prolific output, professional integrity, and years of dedicated service to both the organization and the genre.

THE 2026 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE SHORTLISTS

The Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel, with a $1000 prize

Sue Hincenbergs, The Retirement Plan, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Jen Sookfong Lee, The Hunger We Pass Down, McClelland & Stewart
Tamara L. Miller, Into the Fall, Thomas and Mercer
Louise Penny, The Black Wolf, Minotaur Books
Eddy Boudel Tan, The Tiger and the Cosmonaut, Viking Canada

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

Ray Critch, The Beltane Massacre, Breakwater Books
Jan Field, Yesterday’s Lies, La Cloche Publishing
Joel Nedecky, The Broken Detective, Run Amok Crime
David L. Tucker, A Painting to Die For, Otter & Osprey Press
A.L. Wahdel, Too Dark For the Light, Butterfly 80 Publishing

Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize

Lis Angus, That Other Family, Next Chapter
Angela Douglas, Every Fall, Rising Action Publishing Co.
Uzma Jalaluddin, Detective Aunty, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
C.S. Porter, Salt on Her Tongue, Vagrant Press
Chevy Stevens, The Hitchhikers, St. Martin’s Press

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

Shelley Adina, The Engineer’s Nemesis, Moonshell Books
Mel Anastasiou, Stella Ryman and the Search for Thelma Hu, Pulp Literature Press
Alice Fitzpatrick, A Dark Death, Stonehouse Publishing
Laury Silvers, Some Justice: A Ghazi Ammar Medieval Mystery,Independently Published
Iona Whishaw, The Cost of a Hostage, TouchWood Editions

Best Crime Short Story, sponsored by Crime Writers of Canada with a $200 prize

Lis Angus, Under the Circumstances, A Capital Mystery Anthology, Ottawa Press and Publishing
Madeleine Harris Callway, The Lost Diner, Pulp Literature Press (story on p.115)
Barbara Fradkin, Cold Shock, A Capital Mystery Anthology, Ottawa Press and Publishing
Billie Livingstone, The Headache, Dark Yonder (story on p.31)
Sylvia Maultash Warsh, Polly Wants a Freakin’ Cracker, Malice Domestic: Murder Most Humorous, Wildside Press

Best French Language Crime Book, sponsored by Carrick Publishing with a $500 prize

Chrystine Brouillet, Le regard des autres, Druide
André Jacques, Jeux d’ombres, Druide
Steve Laflamme, La mémoire du labyrinthe, Libre Expression
Maureen Martineau, Une nuit d’été à Littlebrook, Héliotrope
Martin Michaud, Delta Zéro, Libre Expression

Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book, sponsored by Superior Shores Press with a $250 prize

Charis Cotter The Mystery of the Haunted Dancehall, Tundra Books
Vicki Grant, Death by Whoopee Cushion, Tundra Books
Claire Hatcher-Smith, The Mizzy Mysteries: A Skeleton in the Closet, Tundra Books
Tanya Lloyd Kyi, The City of Lost Cats, Tundra Books
John Lekich, Bark Twice for Murder, Orca Book Publishers

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

Robert Cree with Therese Greenwood, The Many Names of Robert Cree: How a First Nations Chief, Brought Ancient Wisdom to Big Business and Prosperity to His People, ECW Press
John L. Hill, Acts of Darkness: Notorious Criminals, Their Defenders, Prosecutors, and Jailers, Durvile & UpRoute 
Kathleen Lippa, Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada’s North, Dundurn Press 
Lorna Poplak, On the Lam: Great (and Not So Great) Escapes from Prison, Dundurn Press 
Julian Sher & Lisa Fitterman, Hitman: The Untold Story of Canada’s Deadliest Assassin, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author, sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize

Anne Burlakoff, Val's Story
William Hall, The Less You Know
Francis K. Lalumière, Lens Flare
Barbara Stokes, Death Scent
Isabelle Zimmermann, Blistered

THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB and MARBLE HALL MURDERS News

MASTERPIECE PBS has announced that The Marlow Murder Club, Season 3, and Marble Hall Murders will premiere on Sunday, September 6. 
 
Additional casting for Marble Hall Murders (beyond previously confirmed stars Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan) has also been announced, including Mark Bonnar (Ludwig, Guilt, Dept. Q) and Patricia Hodge (All Creatures Great and Small, A Very English Scandal). 
 
In Season 3 of The Marlow Murder Club, we return to the charming riverside village of Marlow. Now a key part of DI Tanika Malik’s crime solving team, Judith, Suzie and Becks are back and facing a string of high-profile murders. The previously released first look photos from the season can be found here.
 

Marble Hall Murders sees editor Susan Ryeland (Lesley Manville) hired to work on a continuation novel of the Atticus Pünd (Tim McMullan) series, written by a troubled young author. When the job leads Susan into another murder case,  she unexpectedly finds herself a suspect. In the world of the novel, Atticus Pünd is visiting the island of Corfu when he becomes embroiled in the murder of Lady Margaret Chalfont, whose family he investigates with the assistance of a Greek detective.