In Reference to Murder

Thrills Galore

The International Thriller Writers announced announce the finalists for the 2023 ITW Thriller Awards. Winners will be announced at the annual conference, ThrillerFest XVIII on Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York City. Good luck to all!

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
 
Delilah S. Dawson – THE VIOLENCE (Del Rey)
Jennifer Hillier – THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK (Minotaur)
Alma Katsu – THE FERVOR (Penguin/Putnam)
Jennifer McMahon – THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL (Simon & Schuster)
Chris Pavone – TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON (MCD)
Catriona Ward – SUNDIAL (Macmillan)
 
BEST AUDIOBOOK
 
Kimberly Belle, Fargo Layne, Cate Holahan, Vanessa Lillie – YOUNG RICH WIDOWS (Audible)
        Narrated by Dina Pearlman, Karissa Vacker, Helen Laser, Ariel Blake
Julie Clark – THE LIES I TELL (Audible)
        Narrated by Anna Caputo, Amanda Dolan
J. L. Delozier – THE PHOTO THIEF (CamCat Publishing)
        Narrated by Rachel L. Jacobs, Jeffrey Kafer
Jennifer Hillier – THINGS WE DO IN THE DARK (Macmillan Audio)
        Narrated by Carla Vega
Minka Kent – THE SILENT WOMAN (Blackstone Publishing)
        Narrated by Christine Lakin, Kate Rudd
 
BEST FIRST NOVEL
 
Lauren Nossett – THE RESEMBLANCE (Flatiron Books)
Sascha Rothchild – BLOOD SUGAR (Penguin/Putnam)
Hayley Scrivenor – DIRT TOWN (Pan Macmillan)
Stacy Willingham – A FLICKER IN THE DARK (Minotaur)
Erin Young – THE FIELDS (Flatiron Books)
 
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
 
Mary Burton – THE LIES I TOLD (Montlake Romance)
Mark Edwards – NO PLACE TO RUN (Thomas & Mercer)
Minka Kent – UNMISSING (Thomas & Mercer)
Freida McFadden – THE HOUSEMAID (Grand Central Publishing)
Wanda Morris – ANYWHERE YOU RUN (William Morrow)
Holly Wainwright – THE COUPLE UPSTAIRS (Pan Macmillan)
Loreth Anne White – THE PATIENT'S SECRET (Montlake Romance)
 
BEST SHORT STORY
 
Dominique Bibeau – RUSSIAN FOR BEGINNERS (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Barb Goffman – THE GIFT (Down & Out Books)
Smita Harish Jain – PUBLISH OR PERISH (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Joyce Carol Oates – 33 CLUES INTO THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY SISTER (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Anna Scotti – SCHRÖDINGER, CAT (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Catherine Steadman – STOCKHOLM (Amazon Original Stories)
 
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
 
Melissa Albert – OUR CROOKED HEARTS (Flatiron Books)
Gillian French – SUGARING OFF (Algonquin Young Readers)
Kate McLaughlin – DAUGHTER (Wednesday Books)
Francesca Padilla – WHAT'S COMING TO ME (Soho Teen)
Courtney Summers – I'M THE GIRL (Wednesday Books)
 
BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
 
Bill Byrnes – EVASIVE SPECIES (Self-published)
Diane Jeffrey – THE COUPLE AT CAUSEWAY COTTAGE (HarperCollins)
Grant McKenzie – THE SEVEN TRUTHS OF HANNAH BAXTER (Self-published)
Rick Mofina – THE HOLLOW PLACE (Self-published)
Carrie Rubin – FATAL ROUNDS (Self-published)

 

Agatha Accolades

The annual Malice Domestic conference announced this year's finalists for the Agatha Awards. The Agatha Awards celebrate the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie, for whom the award is named. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence, and would not be classified as "hard-boiled." Winners will be presented Saturday, April 29, 2023, during Malice Domestic 35 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Best Contemporary Novel

• Bayou Book Thief by Ellen Byron (Berkley Prime Crime)
• Death By Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow (Berkley)
• Fatal Reunion by Annette Dashofy (Level Best Books)
• Dead Man's Leap by Tina de Bellegarde (Level Best Books)
• A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

Best Historical Novel

• The Counterfeit Wife by Mally Becker (Level Best Books)
• Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower (Berkley)
• The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
• In Place of Fear by Catriona McPherson (Mobius)
• Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden (Crooked Lane Books)

Best First Novel

• Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss (St. Martin’s)
• Death in the Aegean by M. A. Monnin (Level Best Books)
• The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra (Constable)
• Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane Books)
• The Finalist by Joan Long (Level Best Books)
• The Gallery of Beauties by Nina Wachsman (Level Best Books)

Best Short Story

• "Beauty and the Beyotch," by Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Magazine, Feb. 2022)
• "There Comes a Time," by Cynthia Kuhn (Malice Domestic Murder Most Diabolical) Wildside Press
• "Fly Me to the Morgue," by Lisa Q Mathews,( Malice Domestic Mystery Most Diabolical) Wildside Press
• "The Minnesota Twins Meet Bigfoot," by Richie Narvaez, (Land of 10,000 Thrills, Bouchercon Anthology) Down & Out Books
• "The Invisible Band," by Art Taylor (Edgar & Shamus Go Golden) Down & Out Books

Best Non-Fiction

• The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards (HarperCollins)
• The Handbook to Agatha Christie: The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie by Mary Anna Evans and J. C. Bernthal (Bloomsbury Academic)
• The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie by Carla Valentine (Sourcebooks)
• Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction, Diane Vallere Ed.(Sisters in Crime)
• Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman, by Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Crime)

Best Children's/YA Mystery

• Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley (Viking Books for Young People)
• In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
• #shedeservedit by Greg Herren (Bold Strokes Books)
• Sid Johnson and the Phantom Slave Stealer by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Publishers)
• Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

Edgar Royalty

 

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) announced the recipients of its special awards, including Michael Connelly and Joanne Fluke as the 2023 Grand Masters. The honor represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as for a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality.

The Raven Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. For 2023, Mystery Writers of America selected Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), "an association of authors seeking to present a strong and united voice for members who self-identify as crime/mystery writers from traditionally underrepresented racial, cultural and ethnic backgrounds," and Eddie Muller, host of the Turner Classic Movies series Noir Alley and founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation.

The Strand Magazine will receive the Ellery Queen Award. The award was established in 1983 to honor "outstanding writing teams and outstanding people in the mystery-publishing industry." The Strand Magazine, a bimonthly periodical known as much for its incisive articles about the mystery world and its practitioners and penetrating interviews with top authors like James Patterson and Lee Child, as for unearthing lost short stories penned by now-dead literary greats, such as a 600-word short story by Raymond Chandler, written in the 1950s toward the end of his life, as well as the forgotten fiction of such giants as Dashiell Hammett, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and H.G. Wells.

All of this year's honorees will accept their awards at the 77^th Annual Edgar Awards Ceremony, which will be held on April 27, 2023 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

Some Irish Eyes Are Smiling

The shortlists were announced for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards, which celebrates Irish writing in eighteen categories.The public are now being asked to cast their votes online for the best books of the year on the An Post Irish Book Awards website. Voters may cast their votes until voting closes on November 10. The winners will be announced at a live in-person ceremony, hosted by RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan, on November 23 in the Convention Centre in Dublin. Here are this year's nods for the Irish independent Crime Fiction Book of the Year:

 

Ned Kelly Award Shortlists Announced

The Australian Crime Writers Association (ACWA) has announced the shortlist for the 2022 Ned Kelly Awards. The annual honors have been handed out annually since 1996 for excellence in crime fiction by Australian authors and are Australia’s oldest and most prestigious recognition. Congratulations to all this year's nominees!

 

Best debut crime fiction

• Sweet Jimmy (Bryan Brown, A&U)
• Shadow Over Edmund Street (Suzanne Frankham, Journey to Words Publishing)
• Cutters End (Margaret Hickey, Penguin)
• Banjawarn (Josh Kemp, UWA Publishing)

Best true crime

• The Mother Wound (Amani Haydar, Macmillan)
• Larrimah (Caroline Graham & Kylie Stevenson, A&U)
• Banquet: The untold story of Adelaide’s family murders (Debi Marshall, Vintage)
• A Witness of Fact (Drew Rooke, Scribe)

Best international crime fiction

• Case Study (Graeme Macrae Burnet, Text)
• The Heron’s Cry (Ann Cleeves, Macmillan)
• The Maid (Nita Prose, HarperCollins)
• Cry Wolf (Hans Rosenfeldt, HarperCollins)

Best crime fiction

• The Enemy Within (Tim Ayliffe, S&S)
• The Others (Mark Brandi, Hachette)
• You Had it Coming (B M Carroll, Profile Books)
• The Chase (Candice Fox, Bantam)
• Kill Your Brother (Jack Heath, A&U)
• The Family Doctor (Debra Oswald, A&U)
• The Deep (Kyle Perry, Michael Joseph).

Killer Thrillers

The International Thriller Writers announced the winners of the annual Thriller Awards at a gala banquet last night in New York City. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

 

THRILLER MASTER AWARD:  Frederick Forsyth and Diana Gabaldon

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL:  Razorblade Tears, by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron)

Also nominated:

The Turnout, by Megan Abbott (Putnam)
Rock Paper Scissors, by Alice Feeney (Flatiron)
These Toxic Things, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Thomas & Mercer)
Red Widow, by Alma Katsu (Putnam)
I Am Not Who You Think I Am, by Eric Rickstad (Blackstone)

BEST AUDIOBOOK:  Razorblade Tears, by S.A. Cosby, narrated by Adam Lazarre-White (Macmillan)

Also nominated:

Sleeping Dog Lie, by Samantha Downing, narrated by Melanie Nicholls-King and Lindsey Dorcus (Audible Originals)
How It Ends, by Rachel Howzell Hall, narrated by Joniece Abbott-Pratt (Audible Originals)
Prodigal Son, by Gregg Hurwitz, narrated by Scott Brick (Macmillan)
The Jigsaw Man, by Nadine Matheson, narrated by
Davine Henry (HarperCollins)

BEST FIRST NOVEL: My Sweet Girl, by Amanda Jayatissa (Berkley)

Also nominated:

Girl A, by Abigail Dean (HarperCollins)
Repentance, by Eloísa Díaz (Agora)
Damascus Station, by David McCloskey (Norton)
Bones of Hilo, by Eric Redman (Crooked Lane)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL: Bloodline, by Jess Lourey (Thomas & Mercer)

Also nominated:

Flight Risk, by Joy Castro (Lake Union)
Under Color of Law, by Aaron Philip Clark (Thomas & Mercer)
The Lighthouse Witches, by C. J. Cooke (Berkley)
My Mistress’ Eyes Are Raven Black, by Terry Roberts (Turner)

BEST SHORT STORY:  “The Lemonade Stand,” by Scott Loring Sanders (EQMM, January/February 2021)

Also nominated:

“Not My Cross to Bear,” by S.A. Cosby (from Trouble No More: Crime Fiction Inspired by Southern Rock and the Blues, edited by Mark Westmoreland; Down & Out)
“Demon in the Depths,” by William Burton McCormick (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], September/October 2021)
“The Interpreter and the Killer,” by Jeff Soloway (EQMM, January/February 2021)
“Bad Chemistry,” by John Wimer (EQMM, July/August 2021)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL:  The Project, by Courtney Summers (Wednesday)

Also nominated: 

The Box in the Woods, by Maureen Johnson (HarperCollins)
Calculated, by Nova McBee (Wolfpack)
Dark and Shallow Lies, by Ginny Myers Sain (Penguin Young Readers)
House of Hollow, by Krystal Sutherland (Penguin Young Readers)

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL:  Blood Parish, by E.J. Findorff (Neutral Ground)

Also nominated:

The Dark Side: Alex Hunter 9, by Greig Beck (Pan Macmillan)
Where the Wicked Tread, by John A. Connell (Nailhead)
Little Girl Taken, by Wendy Dranfield (Bookouture)
Mother May I, by S.E. Green (SEG)
Blue Madagascar, by Andrew Kaplan (Smugglers Lane Press)
Last One Alive, by Karin Nordin (HarperCollins)

Crimefest Garlands

CRIMEFEST, one of Europe’s leading crime writing conventions, has announced the winners of its annual awards at a gala banquet this evening. Now in its 15th year, the awards honored the best crime books released in 2021 in the UK.

This year also saw the Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama named in honor of Proctor, a CrimeFest team member and a much-loved figure in the world of crime fiction, who sadly died earlier this year. The award is decided by public vote from a longlist of the forty-three programs broadcast on British television in the last year that were based on a crime book. Ann Cleeves won the inaugural prize for Shetland, beating out a shortlist that included Anthony Horowitz for Alex Rider; M.C. Beaton for Agatha Raisin; and James Runcie for Grantchester.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

 

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award 

WINNER: David Heska Wanbli Weiden for Winter Counts (Simon & Schuster)

Other finalists:

Abigail Dean for Girl A (HarperCollins)
Janice Hallett for The Appeal (Viper)
Saima Mir for The Khan (Point Blank)
Rahul Raina for How to Kidnap the Rich (Abacus)
Lara Thompson for One Night, New York (Virago)

Audible Sounds of Crime Award 

WINNER: Richard Osman for The Man Who Died Twice, reader Lesley Manville (Penguin Random House Audio)

Other finalists:

Lee and Andrew Child for Better Off Dead, reader Jeff Harding (Penguin Random House Audio)
Abigail Dean for Girl A, reader Holliday Grainger (HarperFiction)
Paula Hawkins for Slow Fire Burning, reader Rosamund Pike (Penguin Random House Audio)
Lisa Jewell for The Night She Disappeared, reader Joanna Froggatt (Penguin Random House Audio)
Liane Moriarty  for Apples Never Fall, reader Caroline Lee (Penguin Random House Audio)
K.L. Slater for The Marriage, reader Lucy Price-Lewis (Audible Studios / Bookouture)
Karin Slaughter for False Witness, reader Kathleen Early (HarperCollins)

H R F Keating Award

WINNER:  Patricia Highsmith (edited by Anna von Planta) for Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Other finalists:

Lucy Andrews & Samuel Saunders (editors) for The Detective’s Companion in Crime Fiction: A Study in Sidekicks (Palgrave Macmillan)
Richard Bradford for Devils, Lusts and Strange Desires: The Life of Patricia Highsmith (Bloomsbury Caravel)
James Fleming (editor) for Bond Behind the Iron Curtain (The Book Collector)
Carla Valentine for Murder Isn’t Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie (Little, Brown Book Group)
Stephen James Walker for Hank Janson Under Cover (Telos Publishing Ltd)

Last Laugh Award

WINNER:  Mick Herron for Slough House (Baskerville)

Other finalists:

Simon Brett for An Untidy Death (Severn House)
Andrea Camilleri for Riccardino (Mantle)
Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May: London Bridge is Falling Down (Doubleday)
Janice Hallett for The Appeal (Viper)
Antti Tuomainen for The Rabbit Factor (Orenda Books)

eDunnit Award 

WINNER:  Abigail Dean for Girl A (HarperCollins)

Other finalists:

Megan Abbott for The Turnout (Virago)
Gianrico Carofiglio for The Measure of Time (Bitter Lemon Press)
Michael Connelly for The Dark Hours (Orion Fiction)
Cath Staincliffe for Running Out of Road (Constable)
Andrew Taylor for The Royal Secret (HarperCollins)

Best Crime Novel for Children (ages 8-12) 

WINNER:  M.G. Leonard for Twitch (Walker Books)

Other finalists:

Frank Cottrell-Boyce for Noah’s Gold (Macmillan Children’s Books)
Maz Evans for VI Spy: Licence to Chill (Chicken House)
Anthony Horowitz for Nightshade (Walker Books)
Anthony Kessel for The Five Clues (Crown House Publishing)
Jennifer Killick for Crater Lake Evolution (Firefly Press)
Alexandra Page (illustrator: Penny Neville-Lee) for Wishyouwas (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc)
Ella Risbridger for The Secret Detectives (Nosy Crow)

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (ages 12-16)

WINNER:  Angeline Boulley for Firekeeper’s Daughter (Rock the Boat)

Other finalists:

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé for Ace of Spades (Usborne Publishing)
Andreina Cordani for The Girl Who… (Atom)
William Hussey for The Outrage (Usborne Publishing)
Holly Jackson for As Good As Dead (Electric Monkey)
Patrice Lawrence for Splinters of Sunshine (Hodder Children’s Books)
Jonathan Stroud for The Outlaws of Scarlett & Browne (Walker Books)
C.L. Taylor for The Island (HQ)

CWA Dagger Shortlists Announced

The 2022 shortlists for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger awards, which honor the very best in the crime-writing genre, have been announced at a reception hosted at CrimeFest today. Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century. The Dagger awards ceremony will be held at the Leonardo City hotel in London on 29 June, coinciding with National Crime Reading Month, which takes place throughout June.

GOLD DAGGER

• Before You Knew My Name, Jacqueline Bublitz (Little, Brown; Sphere)
• Sunset Swing, Ray Celestin (Pan Macmillan; Mantle)
• Razorblade Tears, SA Cosby (Headline Publishing Group; Headline)
• The Unwilling, John Hart (Bonnier Books UK Ltd; Zaffre)
• The Shadows of Men, Abir Mukherjee (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)
• The Trawlerman, William Shaw (Quercus; riverrun)

IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

• Find You First, Linwood Barclay (HarperCollins; HQ)
• The Pact, Sharon Bolton (Orion)
• The Devil’s Advocate, Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
• Razorblade Tears, SA Cosby (Headline Publishing Group)
• Dead Ground, MW Craven (Little, Brown; Constable)
• Dream Girl, Laura Lippman (Faber)

JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

• Welcome to Cooper, Tariq Ashkanani (Thomas & Mercer)
• Repentance, Eloísa Díaz (Orion Publishing Group; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
• The Mash House, Alan Gillespie (Unbound; Unbound Digital)
• The Appeal, Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper Books)
• Where Ravens Roost, Karin Nordin (HarperCollins; HQ)
• How to Kidnap the Rich, Rahul Raina (Little, Brown)
• Waking the Tiger, Mark Wightman (Hobeck Books)

HISTORICAL DAGGER

• April in Spain, John Banville (Faber)
• Sunset Swing, Ray Celestin (Pan Macmillan; Mantle)
• Crow Court, Andy Charman (Unbound)
• Not One of Us, Alis Hawkins (Canelo)
• Edge of the Grave, Robbie Morrison (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan)
• A Corruption of Blood, Ambrose Parry (Canongate Books)

CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

• Hotel Cartagena, Simone Buchholz translated by Rachel Ward (Orenda Books)
• Bullet Train, Kōtarō Isaka translated by Sam Malissa (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)
• Oxygen, Sacha Naspini translated by Clarissa Botsford (Europa Editions UK Ltd; Europa Editions)
• People Like Them, Samira Sedira translated by Lara Vergnaud (Bloomsbury Publishing; Raven Books)
• The Rabbit Factor, Antti Tuomainen translated by David Hackston (Orenda Books)

SHORT STORY DAGGER

• ‘Blindsided’ by Caroline England in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)
• ‘London’ in The Jealousy Man and other stories by Jo Nesbⱷ edited by Robert Ferguson (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)
• ‘With the Others’ by TM Logan in Afraid of the Shadows edited by Miranda Jewess (Criminal Minds)
• ‘Flesh of a Fancy Woman’ by Paul Magrs in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)
• ‘Changeling’ by Bryony Pearce in Criminal Pursuits: Crime Through Time edited by Samantha Lee Howe (Telos Publishing)
• ‘When I Grow Up’ by Robert Scragg in Afraid of the Shadows edited by Miranda Jewess (Criminal Minds)

ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

• The Devil You Know: Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion, Dr Gwen Adshead & Eileen Horne (Faber)
• The Dublin Railway Murder, Thomas Morris (Penguin Random House; Harvill Secker)
• The Unusual Suspect, Ben Machell (Canongate Books)
• The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey: A true story of sex, crime and the meaning of justice, Julia Laite (Profile Books)
• Empire of Pain, Patrick Radden Keefe (Pan Macmillan; Picador)
• The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge and the Murders that Stunned an Empire, Julie Kavanagh (Atlantic Books; Grove Press UK)

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

• Cath Staincliffe
• Edward Marston
• Lin Anderson
• Mark Billingham
• Susan Hill

PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

• Faber & Faber
• HarperCollins; Harper Fiction
• Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph
• Pushkin Press; Pushkin Vertigo
• Titan Books
• Profile Books; Viper

DEBUT DAGGER Sponsored by ProWritingAid

• Henry’s Bomb, Kevin Bartlett
• Holloway Castle, Laura Ashton Hill
• The 10:12, Anna Maloney
• The Dead of Egypt, David Smith
• The Dieppe Letters, Liz Rachel Walker

Longlist Revealed for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year

The longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2022 has been revealed with debut authors and literary icons vying for the UK and Ireland’s most coveted crime fiction writing award. The award, now in its 18th year, is presented by Harrogate International Festivals and recognizes the best crime novels published in the UK and Ireland in paperback over the past year. Readers can vote online for their favorite book among the listed titles, with voting closing on May 26.

 

 

 

Edgar Excellence

Mystery Writers of America announced the winners of the 2022 Edgar Awards at a gala banquet held tonight in New York City. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

BEST NOVEL

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen (Amazon Publishing – Lake Union)
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (Macmillan Publishers – Flatiron Books)
WINNER: Five Decembers by James Kestrel (Hard Case Crime)
How Lucky by Will Leitch (HarperCollins – Harper)
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield (HarperCollins – William Morrow)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

WINNER: Deer Season by Erin Flanagan (University of Nebraska Press)
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian (Harlequin Trade Publishing – Park Row)
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins (Penguin Random House – Riverhead Books)
The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer (Penguin Random House – Viking Books/Pamela Dorman Books)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
The Album of Dr. Moreau by Daryl Gregory (Tom Doherty Associates – Tordotcom)
Starr Sign by C.S. O’Cinneide (Dundurn Press)
WINNER: Bobby March Will Live Forever by Alan Parks (Europa Editions – World Noir)
The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books)

BEST FACT CRIME

The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox (Random House Publishing Group – Random House)
WINNER: Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green (Celadon Books)
Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away by Ann Hagedorn (Simon & Schuster)
Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice by Ellen McGarrahan (Penguin Random House – Random House)
The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade by Benjamin T. Smith (W.W. Norton & Company)
When Evil Lived in Laurel:  The “White Knights” and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer by Curtis Wilkie (W.W. Norton & Company

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World by Mark Aldridge (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper360)
The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene by Richard Greene (W.W. Norton & Company)
Tony Hillerman: A Life by James McGrath Morris (University of Oklahoma Press)
The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science by John Tresch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
WINNER: The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White (W.W. Norton & Company)

 BEST SHORT STORY

“Blindsided,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn (Dell Magazines)
“The Vermeer Conspiracy,” Midnight Hour by V.M. Burns (Crooked Lane Books)
“Lucky Thirteen,” Midnight Hour by Tracy Clark (Crooked Lane Books)
WINNER: “The Road to Hana,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine by R.T. Lawton (Dell Magazines)
“The Locked Room Library,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Gigi Pandian (Dell Magazines)
“The Dark Oblivion,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Cornell Woolrich (Dell Magazines)

BEST JUVENILE

Cold-Blooded Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)
WINNER:  Concealed by Christina Diaz Gonzalez (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)
Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden by Marthe Jocelyn (Penguin Random House Canada – Tundra Books)
Kidnap on the California Comet: Adventures on Trains #2 by M.G. Leonard & Sam Sedgman (Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Feiwel & Friends)
Rescue by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Scholastic – Scholastic Press)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Feiwel & Friends)
WINNER:  Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (Macmillan Children’s Publishing – Henry Holt and Company BFYR)
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris (HarperCollins – Quill Tree Books)
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur (Macmillan Children’s Books – Feiwel & Friends)
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe (Penguin Young Readers – G.P. Putnam’s Sons BFYR)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Dog Day Morning” – The Brokenwood Mysteries, Written by Tim Balme and Nic Sampson (Acorn TV)
“Episode 1” – The Beast Must Die, Written by Gaby Chiappe (AMC+)
“We Men Are Wretched Things” – The North Water, Written by Andrew Haigh (AMC+)
“Happy Families” – Midsomer Murders, Written by Nicholas Hicks-Beach (Acorn TV)
WINNER:  “Boots on the Ground” – Narcos: Mexico, Written by Iturri Sosa (Netflix)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

WINNER: “Analogue,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Rob Osler (Dell Magazines)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet by Katherine Cowley (Tule Publishing – Tule Mystery)
Ruby Red Herring by Tracy Gardner (Crooked Lane Books)
WINNER:  Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton (Crooked Lane Books)
Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney (St. Martin’s Paperbacks)

THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD

Double Take by Elizabeth Breck (Crooked Lane Books)
WINNER: Runner by Tracy Clark (Kensington Books)
Shadow Hill by Thomas Kies (Sourcebooks – Poisoned Pen Press)
Sleep Well, My Lady by Kwei Quartey (Soho Press – Soho Crime)
Family Business by S.J. Rozan (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)

GRAND MASTER

Laurie R. King

RAVEN AWARD

Lesa Holstine – Lesa’s Book Critiques; Library Journal Reviewer

ELLERY QUEEN AWARD

Juliet Grames – Soho Press – Soho Crime