CARTOON OF THE DAY: THE VISIT

 

Barry Award Nominations: Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

The 2026 Barry Award Nominations

The Barry Awards are nominated by Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine. Congratulations to all. The winners of the 2026 Barry Awards will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon (Calgary, Canada) on October 22, 2026.

Best Mystery
THE IMPOSSIBLE THING, Belinda Bauer (Atlantic Monthly)
CROOKS, Lou Berney (William Morrow)
KING OF ASHES, S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
THE BLACK WOLF, Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
THE WHITE CROW, Michael Robotham (Scribner)
PRESUMED GUILTY, Scott Turow (Grand Central)

Best First Mystery
LEVERAGE, Amran Gowani (Atria Books)
ALL THE OTHER MOTHERS HATE ME, Sarah Harman (Putnam)
DEAD MONEY, Jakob Kerr (Bantam)
THE VANISHING PLACE, Zoe Rankin (Berkley)
STILLWATER, Tanya Scott (Atlantic Monthly)
JULIE CHAN IS DEAD, Liann Zhang (Atria Books)

Best Paperback Original Mystery
CRIMSON THAW, Bruce Robert Coffin (Severn River)
SPLINTERED JUSTICE, Kim Hays (Seventh Street Books)
MAKING A KILLING, Cara Hunter (William Morrow)
IF TWO ARE DEAD, Rick Mofina (MIRA)
WOLF SIX, Alex Shaw (Boldwood Books)
THE DENTIST, Tim Sullivan (Atlantic Crime)

Best Thriller
WITNESS 8, Steve Cavanagh (Atria Books)
THE OLIGARCH’S DAUGHTER, Joseph Finder (Harper)
MIDNIGHT BLACK, Mark Greaney (Berkley)
CLOWN TOWN, Mick Herron (Soho Crime)
HEAD CASES, John McMahon (Minotaur Books)
THE MAILMAN, Andrew Welsh-Huggins (Mysterious Press)

FINGERPRINT AWARDS SHORTLISTS: Capital Crime Festival

The Capital Crime Festival  (London, UK) announced the shortlists for its annual Fingerprint Awards, which champion the very best in crime writing from the past year across the globe, as voted for by readers. The shortlists were selected by the festival’s board members from a longlist curated by the Tastemakers Committee, a panel of leading independent bloggers and reviewers, who championed their standout titles across each category. 

Readers can now vote for their preferred winners in each category on the Capital Crime website through Saturday, May 30th. The winners will be revealed at the Fingerprint Awards on the evening of Thursday, June 18th as part of the Capital Crime event in London at the Royal Leonardo Hotel. Congrats to this year's finalists!

 
Audiobook of the Year

• Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

• King of Ashes by  S A Cosby

• We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough 

• Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

• Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver

True Crime Book of the Year

• Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold 

• Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts-Guiffre 

• Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 

• A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders by Prof. David Wilson 

• A Flower Travelled in My Blood by Haley Cohen Gilliland  

Debut Crime Book

• Broken by Jón Atli Jónasson

• Deadline by  Steph McGovern 

• Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

• The Day of the Roaring by Nina Bhadreshwar

• This is Not A Game by Kelly Mullen

Genre-Busting Book

• Kill Them with Kindness by Will Carver 

• Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict Book

• Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville

• Small Fires by Ronnie Turner

• Manhattan Down by Michael Cordy  

Historical Crime Book of the Year

• The Art of A Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson 

• The Rush by Beth Lewis 

• Dangerous by Essie Fox

• Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee

• Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz 

Thriller Book of the Year

• The Chemist by A A Dhand

• Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell 

• Human Remains by Jo Callaghan 

• The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

• Some of Us Are Liars by Fiona Cummins

Overall Crime Book of the Year

• The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani

• The Final Vow by M W Craven

• Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan

• The Good Father by Liam McIlveney

• We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

Cartoon of the Day: Cat Book Clubs

 

PRINT EDITION NOW AVAILABLE: Mystery Readers Journal: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries (42:1)

Mystery Readers Journal: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries (42:1) is now available in print. 

Purchase the Print issue here.

This issue is also available as a PDF. 

Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries

Volume 42, No. 1, Spring 2026

Buy this print edition! Also available as a downloadable PDF.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES

• May Day, Maypoles, and Morris Dancing Mysteries (and a Recipe for Maypole Chocolate Cake) by Janet Rudolph

• The Fête of Mortals—The Trigger for Crime by Alan Cassady-Bishop

• Graham Greene: The Man for a White Elephant Stall by Moira Redmond

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• The Welsh Have a Word for It… by Cathy Ace

• Murder Can’t Stop de Carnival—or Writing About It! by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier

• Spectacles, Sangria, and Selkies by Rowan Dillon

• Celebrating Crime on the Page, with the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries by Leslie Budewitz

• There is Nothing Better Than a Fair or Festival by Nancy Coco

• Searching for Carnevale by Yves Fey

• Faire at a Fire Station Sparks a Mystery Plot by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

• Summer Festivals Are Hot in a Wintry City by Janice MacDonald

• Why I Set My Murder Mystery at an English Literary Festival by Mark McCrumb

• World’s Fairs as Bookends to a Mystery Series by Frances McNamara

• Asian Festivals & Fairs by Larry and Rosemary Mild

• It Takes a Village Fair: Setting the Stage for Murder by Paula Munier

• Murder Under the Bunting: Festivals as Crime Scenes by Neil S. Plakcy

• Round and Round: Why We Can’t Resist a Carousel by Bernard O’Keefe

• Murder Midst the Bunting by Ann Sutton

• Mardi Gras State of Mind by Martha Reed

• Come Taste My Wine: The Balmetto Festival in Borgofranco d’Ivrea by D.R. Ransdell

• What’s Fair About It? by Nancy Wikarski

• Comic Cons Make Murder Mysteries More Fun! by Melissa Westemeier

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Lesa Holstine and Aubrey Nye Hamilton

• Children’s Hour: Fairs, Fêtes, & Festivals in Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman

• Real Crime at Fêtes and Festivals by Cathy Pickens

• Crime Seen: Fun—and Fear—at the Fair by Kate Derie

• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet Rudolph

ITW THRILLER AWARDS 2026

The International Thriller Writers announced the 2026 Thriller Awards last night at ThrillerFest. 

Best Standalone Novel: Cross My Heart, by Megan Collins (Atria)

Best Series Novel: The Big Empty, by Robert Crais (Putnam)

Best First Novel: Party of Liars, by Kelsey Cox (Minotaur)
 
Best Audiobook: The White Crow, by Michael Robotham; narrated by Katy Sobey (Simon & Schuster)

Best Young Adult Novel: The Silenced, by Diana Rodriguez Wallach (Delacorte Press)

Best Short Story: “The Violent Season,” by Jessica Van Dessel (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July/August 2025)

There were also Special Recognitions announced during the ThrillerFest Awards Banquet:

2026 ThrillerMaster, Lisa Scottoline
2026 ThrillerMaster, Harlan Coben
2026 Silver Bullet Award, Douglas Preston
2026 Spotlight Guest, Rachel Howzell Hall
2026 Spotlight Guest, Luis Alberto Urrea
2026 Thriller Legend, Barbara Peters
2026 ThrillerFan, Jordon Moblo
2026 Thriller Volunteer of the Year, James L'Etoile

HT: The Rap Sheet. Thanks, Jeff!

ANTHONY AWARD NOMINATIONS: BOUCHERCON 2026

Congratulations to the Anthony Award nominees! 

Voting will take place at Bouchercon in Calgary. Winners will be announced on October 24, 2026.

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Crooks by Lou Berney 

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny 

Death of an Ex by Delia Pitts 

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover 

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove 

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs 

Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg 

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook 

Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern 

Edge by Tracy Clark 

Crimson Thaw by Bruce Robert Coffin 

River of Lies by James L'Etoile 

This Violent Heart by Heather Levy 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘀/𝗬𝗔 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 

Well-Behaved Children Seldom Make History by Chris Chan 

Miles in Time by Lee Matthew Goldberg 

The Scammer by Tiffany D. Jackson 

Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala 

Risky Pursuit by Nancy G. West 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹/𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗙𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover's Travel Guide to New England by Dawn M. Barclay 

L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood by Anne Soon Choi 

Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers by Caroline Fraser 

The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story by Pagan Kennedy 

Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida by Gilbert King 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆/𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 

Whatever Kills the Pain by C.W. Blackwell 

Blood On the Bayou: Case Closed edited by Don Bruns 

Crime Ink: Iconic: An Anthology of Crime Fiction Inspired by Queer Icons edited by John Copenhaver & Salem West 

On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology edited by Curtis Ippolito Hollywood Kills edited by Adam Meyer & Alan Orloff 

𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 

"Six-Armed Robbery" by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier 

"AITA for Using My Husband's Hobby to Teach Him a Lesson" by Mindy Carlson 

"Hollywood Prometheus" by Christa Faust 

"Brotherly Love" by Cheryl A. Head 

"Finding Jimmy Baldwin" by Cheryl A. Head 

"The Skies Are Red" by Richie Narvaez

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

A Maypole of Deceit by Victoria Tait

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