2011 Dilys Award

Louise Penny has won the 2011 Dilys Award for her novel, Bury Your Dead. The Dilys is presented annually at Left Coast Crime by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association to the book we most enjoyed selling in the past year. This is the second Dilys Award for Louise, who also won for her first novel, Still Life. The trophy will be presented to Louise at the Kerrytown BookFest on Sunday, September 11 at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market.

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2010 Anthony Awards

Voted on by Bouchercon attendees

Best Novel:: The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny
Best First Novel:: A Bad Day for Sorry, Sophie Littlefield
Best Paperback Original:: Starvation Lake, Bryan Gruley
Best Critical Nonfiction:: Talking about Detective Fiction, P.D. James

2010 Barry Awards

Voted on by readers of Deadly Pleasures

Best Novel:: The Last Child, John Hart
Best First Novel:: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley
Best Paperback Original:: Starvation Lake, Bryan Gruley

2010 Macavity Awards

Voted on by readers of Mystery Readers Journal

Best Novel:: The Tower, Ken Bruen and Reed Farrell Coleman
Best First Novel:: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

No sweeps, I guess Alan Bradley was as close as it got. I'm surprised he didn't also win the Anthony, though that particular category is often a surprise (kind of like the Best Supporting Actor/Actress Oscar). Am a little shocked by the winner of the Macavity best novel, and I was sorry to see that the terrific Stefanie Pintoff didn't pick up an award, or S.J. Bolton for her remarkable Awakening, which I think in future years will be regarded as a shocking oversight. Finally, many well-deserved congratulations to Louise Penny and Bryan Gruley.

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A few comments: I was disappointed to see S.J. Bolton's excellent novel Awakening only on the Barry list for "Best British Novel." This book is on my personal Best of the Decade list, and belonged on every Best Novel list, as far as I'm concerned. I see a smackdown for Best Novel: John Hart, S.J. Rozan and Louise Penny. Jello wrestling for a decision, anyone? And Best First—in every award listing—I'm not going out on a limb to predict Alan Bradley as a clear winner. He needs to pack a large suitcase! And Bryan Gruley should take home one of the PBO prizes, he's nominated for both an Anthony and a Barry in this category. And don't get me started on the appropriateness of Ken Bruen on the "Best of the Decade" list...I'd love your comments! If you e-mail me your thoughts on any of the categories I'll include them in a future blog post on "Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room."

2010 Agatha Winners

These awards were presented at this year's Malice Domestic Conference.

Best Novel:: The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny
Best First Novel:: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley
Best Childrens'/YA:: The Hanging Hill, Chris Grabenstein

2010 Agatha Nominees

Somehow, these slipped past me—the winners will be announced at Malice Domestic at the end of April.

Best Novel:: Swan for the Money, Donna Andrews; Bookplate Special, Lorna Barrett; Royal Flush, Rhys Bowen; The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny; Air Time, Hank Phillippi Ryan
Best First Novel:: For Better, For Murder, Lisa Bork; The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley; Posed for Murder, Meredith Cole; The Cold Light of Mourning, Elizabeth Duncan; In the Shadow of Gotham, Stephanie Pintoff

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2010 Anthony Nominations

Voted on by Bouchercon attendees.

Best Novel:: The Last Child, John Hart; The Mystic Art of Erasing all Signs of Death, Charlie Houston; The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson; The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny; The Shanghai Moon, S.J. Rozan
Best First Novel:: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley; Starvation Lake, Bryan Gruley; A Bad Day for Sorry, Sophie Littlefield; The Ghosts of Belfast, Stuart Neville; In the Shadow of Gotham, Stephanie Pintoff

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2010 Barry Awards

Voted on by readers of Deadly Pleasures Magazine. This year, there's a "Best of the Decade" category. I see two overlaps from my own list!

Best of the Decade:: The Guards, Ken Bruen; The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson; Mystic River, Dennis Lehane; Still Life, Louise Penny; The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz-Zafon
Best Novel:: The Gates, John Connelly; The Hidden Man, David Ellis
(this is excellent, and nice to see it nominated, I haven't seen any other
nominations for the wonderful Ellis recently); Spade & Archer, Joe Gores; The Last Child, John Hart; Locked In, Marcia Muller; The Shanghai Moon, S.J. Rozan
Best First Novel:: Beat the Reaper, John Bazell; The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley; A Trace of Smoke, Rebecca Cantrell; A Bad Day for Sorry, Sophie Littlefield; Black Water Rising, Attica Locke; The Ghosts of Belfast, Stuart Neville

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2010 Dilys Awards

The 2010 Dilys Winn award is presented by IMBA (Independent Mystery Booksellers Association) to the book we most enjoyed selling over the past year. The winner was named at Left Coast Crime.

Winner:: TThe Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

Nominees:: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley; A Quiet Belief in Angels, R. J. Ellroy; The Dark Horse, Craig Johnson; The Girl Who Played with Fire, Steig Larsson; The Ghosts of Belfast, Stuart Neville; The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny; The Shanghai Moon, S.J. Rozan

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2010 Edgar Winners

Best Novel:: The Last Child, John Hart
Best First Novel:: In the Shadow of Gotham, Stefanie Pintoff
Best Factual Crime:: Columbine, Dave Cullen
Mary Higgins Clark Award:: Awakening, SJ Bolton

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2010 Macavity Nominees

Voted on by members of Mystery Readers International.

Best Novel:: Bury Me Deep, Megan Abbott; Tower, Ken Bruen and Reed Farrell Coleman; Nemesis, Jo Nesbo; The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny; The Shanghai Moon, S.J. Rozan
Best First Novel:: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley; Running from the Devil, Jamie Freveletti; A Bad Day for Sorry, Sophie Littlefield; The Ghosts of Belfast, Stuart Neville; A Beautiful Place to Die, Malla Nunn

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And check MysteryWriters.org for a full Edgar nominations list. Highlights include John Hart's The Last Child (Best Novel); Bryan Gruley's Starvation Lake (Best First Novel); Megan Abbott's Bury Me Deep (Best Paperback Original); and S.J. Bolton's Awakening (the Mary Higgins Clark Award).

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2009 Anthony Winners

These awards were presented at this year's Bouchercon in October. The winners are determined by Bouchercon attendees.

Best Novel:: The Brass Verdict, Michael Connelly
Best First Novel:: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson
Best Paperback Original:: The State of the Onion, Julie Hyzy

Best Short Story:

"A Sleep Not Unlike Death", Sean Chercover

2009 Anthony Awards

Best Novel:: Trigger City, Sean Chercover; The Brass Verdict, Michael Connelly; Red Knife, William Kent Krueger; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson; The Cruelest Month, Louise Penny
Best First Novel:: Pushing Up Daisies, Rosemary Harris; Stalking Susan, Julie Kramer; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson; Death of a Cozy Writer, G.M. Malliet; Child 44, Tom Rob Smith
Best Paperback Original:: The First Quarry, Max Allan Collins; Money Shot, Christa Faust; State of the Onion, Julie Hyzy; In a Dark Season, Vicki Lane; South of Hell, P.J. Parrish

2009 Barry Award Winners

(given by the Editors & readers of Deadly Pleasures & Mystery News)

Best Novel:: The Draining Lake, Arnaldur Indridason
Best First Novel:: Child 44, Tom Rob Smith
Best Paperback Original:: The State of the Onion, Julie Hyzy

2009 Dilys Awards

The "Dilys" is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the book we most enjoyed selling during the past year. Winners have included Dennis Lehane, Val McDermid, Julia Spencer-Fleming, Jasper Fforde and Louise Penny, making this year's nominees a good bet.

Winner:: Trigger City, Sean Chercover

Nominees:: Trigger City, Sean Chercover; The Victoria Vanishes, Christopher Fowler; Silent in the Sanctuary, Deanna Raybourn; Child 44, Tom Rob Smith; Dawn Patrol, Don Winslow

2009 Macavity Award Winners

(given by Mystery Readers International)

Best Novel:: Where Memories Lie, Deborah Crombie
Best First Novel:: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson

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Annual Edgar Rant

Oh, if only my annual Edgar rant weren't necessary - I always hope for the best when I see the nominations, but usually I get the worst. There were a few nice surprises - notably Megan Abbott's inclusion on the PBO list for Queenpin - but as to the rest, I have a few questions. This year one of my questions is, did the Edgar voters forget that women also write books? There are a very few of them sprinkled here and there, but they are definitely of the high concept, very noir variety (and here I give Abbott a pass, as she is so original and such a breath of fresh air in our genre). Apparently the voters want to add to a long list of past blunders by not including what I feel - and I'm not alone, it's been on many "best of" lists this year - is Laura Lippman's strongest book, What the Dead Know. There weren't too many better books written last year. And if they're going to feature small presses, that's great - but then why not include Mary Logue's fine novel, Maiden Rock? It was loaded with everything a great mystery should be loaded with - great characters, a fast paced narrative, a memorable setting, and even, woven in, a message on the perils of drug use. And, I know he's a guy, so maybe doesn't belong in this paragraph, but there aren't too many better American mystery writers at the moment than William Kent Krueger. He has never been nominated for an Edgar - though he's won practically every other award the field has to offer - and this year's novel, Thunder Bay, is a classic.

And to get to one of my bigger objections - Michael Chabon on the Best Novel list. Chabon is a literary novelist who is slumming in our genre - why reward him for slumming? Every review I read of this book pointed out that the mystery part wasn't so great. He will probably be on every other list and be nominated for every "literary" award - so why nominate him here? Why not reward the vitality and originality and just plain great writing that does exist in our genre? It's time to ditch the insecurity - mysteries are great and deserve to be rewarded and acknowledged, Edgar voters. They are nothing to be ashamed of! I know all the voters are themselves writers. They should be proud of what they do. Which brings me to my last point - I was delighted to see Reed Farrell Coleman on the list. He is a straight up mystery writer with an original point of view and an interesting way of telling his stories. And because I am so disgusted, instead of posting the list like I usually do, I'll tell you to go find it for yourselves online. Cluelass.com has an easy to access list, and so does the Mystery Writers of America website. Just think, though, in the future the puzzlement of readers when they realize that books like Mystic River, L.A. Requiem, A Place of Execution, Iron Lake, A Great Deliverance and now, What the Dead Know were either not nominated or didn't win. I guess these authors can take comfort in knowing that the great Cary Grant never won an Oscar either, but just like the above named oversights, that's just plain dumb.

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2008 Anthony Winners

(nominated & voted on by all attendees at Bouchercon)

Best Novel:: What the Dead Know, Laura Lippman
Best First Novel:: In the Woods, Tana French
Best Paperback Original:: A Thousand Bones, P.J. Parrish

2008 Barry Award Winners

(given by the Editors & readers of Deadly Pleasures & Mystery News)

Best Novel:: What the Dead Know, Laura Lippman
Best First Novel:: In the Woods, Tana French
Best Paperback Original:: Queenpin, Megan Abbott

2008 Dilys Award Nominees

The "Dilys" is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the book we most enjoyed selling during the past year. The winner was announced at Left Coast Crime in Denver CO March 6-9, 2008.
This year's winner is William Kent Kruger, for Thunder Bay.

Nominees:: Her Royal Spyness, Rhys Bowen; Thunder Bay, William Kent Kruger; Silent in the Grave, Deanna Raybourn; The Blade Itself, Marcus Sakey; The Spellman Files, Lisa Lutz

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2007 Macavity Award Winners

(given by Mystery Readers International)

Best Novel:: What the Dead Know, Laura Lippman
Best First Novel:: In the Woods, Tana French

2008 Shamus Award Winners

(given by the Private Eye Writers of America)

Best Novel:: Soul Patch, Reed Farrel Coleman
Best Paperback Original:: Big City, Bad Blood, Sean Chercover

2007 Barry Award Winners

(these are voted on by the editors and readers of Deadly Pleasures)

Best Novel:: The Night Gardener, George Pelacanos
Best First Novel:: Still Life, Louise Penny

2007 Barry Award Nominees

Best Novel:: White Shadow, Ace Atkins; Oh Danny Boy, Rhys Bowen; The Last Assassin, Barry Eisler; The Prisoner of Guantanamo, Dan Fesperman; City of Shadows, Ariana Franklin; The Night Gardener, George Pelacanos
Best First Novel:: The Faithful Spy, Alec Berenson; Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn; The Berlin Conspiracy, Tom Gabbay; King of Lies, John Hart; Still Life, Louise Penny; A Field of Darkness, Cordelia Read

2007 Anthony Winners

(these are voted on by all the attendees of Bouchercon) Yay and congratulations to Jim Huang, a friend and deserving winner for his wonderful book Mystery Muses; and as anyone who is a newsletter or web reader of mine knows, I think Louise Penny is a more than deserving Best First novel winner!

Best Novel:: No Good Deeds, Laura Lippman
Best First Novel:: Still Life, Louise Penny
Best Critical Nonfiction:: Mystery Muses, Jim Huang & Austin Lugar, Editors

2007 Anthony Nominees

Best Novel:: All Mortal Flesh, Julia Spencer-Fleming; The Dead Hour, Denise Mina; Kidnapped, Jan Burke; No Good Deeds, Laura Lippman; The Virgin of the Small Plains, Nancy Pickard
Best First Novel:: A Field of Darkness, Cordelia Read; The Harrowing, Alexandra Sokoloff; Holmes on the Range, Steve Hockensmith; King of Lies, John Hart; Still Life, Louise Penny
Best Paperback Original:: Ashes and Bones, Dana Cameron; Baby Shark, Robert Fate; The Cleanup, Sean Doolittle; A Dangerous Man, Charlie Houston; 47 Rules of Highly Effective Bank Robbers, Troy Cook; Shotgun Opera, Victor Gischler; Snakeskin Shamisen, Naomi Hirahara
Best Critical Nonfiction:: The Beautiful Cigar Girl, Daniel Stashower; Don't Murder Your Mystery, Chris Roerden; Mystery Muses, Jim Huang & Austin Lugar, Editors; Read 'Em Their Writes, Gary Warren Niebuhr; The Science of Sherlock Holmes, E.J. Wagoner

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2007 Agatha Nominees

Best Novel:: The Saddlemaker's Wife, Earlene Fowler; Why Casey Had to Die, L.C. Hayden; The Virgin of the Small Plains, Nancy Pickard; All Mortal Flesh, Julia Spencer-Fleming; Messenger of Truth, Jacqueline Winspear
Best First Novel:: Consigned to Death, Jane Cleland; The Chef Who Died Sauteeing, Honora Finkelstein and Susan Smiley; Feint of Art, Hailey Lind; Murder on the Rocks, Karen MacInerney; The Heat of the Moon, Sandra Parshall
Best Paperback Original:: The Goodbye Kiss, Massimo Carlotto; The Open Curtain, Brian Evenson; Snakeskin Shamisen, Naomi Hirahara; The Deep Blue Alibi, Paul Levine; City of Tiny Lights, Patrick Neate

2007 Edgar Winners

Best Novel:: The Janissary Tree, Jason Goodwin
Best First Novel:: The Faithful Spy, Alex Berenson
Best Paperback Original:: Snakeskin Shamisen, Naomi Hirahara

2007 Edgar Nominees

Best Novel:: The Pale Blue Eye, Louis Bayard; The Janissary Tree, Jason Goodwin; The Dead Hour, Denise Mina; The Virgin of the Small Plains, Nancy Pickard; The Liberation Movements, Olen Steinhauer
Best First Novel:: The Faithful Spy, Alex Berenson; Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn; King of Lies, John Hart; Holmes on the Range, Steve Hockensmith; A Field of Darkness, Cordelia Reid
Best Paperback Original:: The Goodbye Kiss, Massimo Carlotto; The Open Curtain, Brian Evenson; Snakeskin Shamisen, Naomi Hirahara; The Deep Blue Alibi, Paul Levine; City of Tiny Lights, Patrick Neate

2007 Dilys Award Nominees

The "Dilys" is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the book we most enjoyed selling during the past year. Recent winners have included Julia Spencer-Fleming, Val McDermid, and Jasper Fforde. This year's winner is Louise Penny, for her absolutely beautiful novel, Still Life.

Nominees:: Billy Boyle, James R, Benn; Holmes on the Range, Steve Hockensmith; The Mournful Teddy, John J. Lamb; Still Life, Louise Penny; The Virgin of the Small Plains, Nancy Pickard; The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

2007 Macavity Award Winners

(these are awarded by Mystery Readers International)

Congratulations to Jim Huang, a friend and deserving winner for his wonderful book Mystery Muses

Best Novel:: The Virgin of Small Plains, Nancy Pickard
Best First Novel:: Mr. Clarinet, Nick Stone
Best Nonfiction:: Mystery Muses, Jim Huang & Austin Lugar, Editors
Sue Feder Historical Mystery:: O Danny Boy, Rhys Bowen

2007 Shamus Award Winners

(these are awarded to P.I. Novels by the Private Eye Writers of America)

Yay and congratulations to P.J. Parrish who finally snagged a well deserved and long overdue Shamus award.

Best Novel:: The Dramatist, Ken Bruen
Best Paperback Original:: An Unquiet Grave, P.J. Parrish

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2006 Anthony Winners

Best Novel: Mercy Falls, William Kent Krueger
Best First Novel: The James Deans, Reed Farrell Coleman

2006 Edgar Nominees

Best Novel:: The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly; Red Leaves, Thomas Cook; Vanish, Tess Gerritsen; Drama City, George Pelacanos; Citizen Vince, Jess Walter
Best First Novel:: Die a Little, Megan Abbott; Immoral, Brian Freeman; Run the Risk, Scott Frost; Hide Your Eyes, Alison Gaylin; Officer Down, Theresa Schwegel
Best Paperback Original:: Homicide My Own, Anne Argula; The James Deans, Reed Farrel; Girl in the Glass, Jeffrey Ford; Kiss Her Goodbye, Allan Guthrie; Six Bad Things, Charlie Huston

The only nominations on this list that got me excited (aside from Connelly's The Lincoln Lawyer) were Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams (Best Young Adult) and Flush by Carl Hiaasen (Best Juvenile). I'm not sure why the books are in two different categories but both my kids & I read and enjoyed these - Down the Rabbit Hole is especially good and different and truly captures the voice of it’s 14 year old narrator.

2006 Dilys Award Nominees

The Dilys is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association to the "book we most enjoyed selling" over the past year. For me, that book would have been Mitchell Bartoy's The Devil's Own Rag Doll, but here's the official list.: Thirty-Three Teeth, Colin Cotterill; In a Teapot, Terence Faherty; The Cold Dish, Craig Johnson; Half Broken Things, Morag Joss; The Tenor Wore Tap Shoes, Mark Schweitzer; The Power of the Dog, Don Winslow

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2005 Awards Announcements

2005 Winner of the Anthony Award for Best Novel - William Kent Kruger's wonderful novel, Blood Hollow, Congratulations. Kent!

2005 Edgar Winners

Best Novel: California Girl, T. Jefferson Parker
Best First Novel: Country of Origin, Don Lee
Best Paperback Original: True Confession, Domenic Stansberry

2005 Agatha Winners

Best Novel: Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear
Best First Novel: Dating Dead Men, Harley Jane Kozak

Edgar Rant Revisited
Usually my Edgar rant occurs when the nominations are announced - how could so-and-so be overlooked? - this year, it's the winner that I find stunning. I was so happy to see so many women nominated in the Best Novel category - notably Julia Spencer-Fleming (Out of the Deep I Cry) and Laura Lippman (By a Spider's Thread) - that I had real hopes for a deserving winner. Both novels are excellent and both were on my top 10 list for last year; while T. Jefferson Parker, a safe and pleasant middle of the road writer, goes ahead and wins his second Edgar. Both Spencer-Fleming and Lippman have been criminally overlooked in the past (for In the Bleak Midwinter and Every Secret Thing) - at least this year, I suppose, they were nominated. Guess I'll look forward to next year.

Edgar & Agatha Nominations

This year the Edgar committee actually nominated - to my surprise - American women in the best novel category. Since two of them were on my own top 10 list for the year, I couldn't be happier.

2005 Edgar Nominations

Best Novel: Evan's Gate, Rhys Bowen; By a Spider's Thread, Laura Lippman; Remembering Sarah, Chris Mooney; California Girl, T. Jefferson Parker; Out of the Deep I Cry, Julia Spencer-Fleming*
Best First Novel: Little Girl Lost, Richard Aleas; Relative Danger, Charles Benoit; Cloud Atlas, Liam Callanan; Tonight I Said Goodbye, Michael Kortya*; Country of Origin, Don Lee; Bahamarama, Bob Morris
Best Paperback Original: The Librarian, Larry Beinhart; Into the Web, Thomas H. Cook*; Dead Men Rise Up Never, Ron Faust; Twelve-Step Fandango, Chris Haslam; The Confession, Dominic Stansberry

*Asterisk denotes our picks for the winner. See if we're right when the Edgars are announced April 28.

2005 Agatha Nominations
(A good year for Laura Lippman!)

Best Novel: We'll Always Have Parrots, Donna Andrews; By a Spider's Thread, Laura Lippman*; High Country Fall, Margaret Maron; The Pearl Diver, Sujata Massey; Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear
Best First Novel: Till the Cows Come Home, Judy Clemens; Arson and Old Lace, Patricia Harwin*; I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason, Susan Kandel; Dating Dead Men, Harley Jane Kozak; The Clovis Incident, Pari Noskin Taichert

Dilys Winner Accounced
The winner of the annual Dilys Winn award, given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA), to the book we most enjoyed selling during the past year, was announced at Left Coast Crime in El Paso, Texas. This year's winner is Jeff Lindsay for his book Darkly Dreaming Dexter.

2005 Dilys Award Nominations
The nominees for the 2004 Dilys award have been announced. This award is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the book we most enjoyed selling during the past year.

The Enemy, Lee Child

Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Jeff Lindsay

Something Rotten, Jasper Fforde

The Intelligencer, Leslie Silbert

Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear

Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon

2004 Awards Announcements

2004 Dilys Winner Accounced
The winner of this year's Dilys Winn Award is Jasper Fforde for his novel Lost in a Good Book. This book recently came out in paper and is on our historical table towards the back of the store. This award is given by a national group of mystery booksellers to the book we most enjoyed selling during the year.

2004 Dilys Award The nominees for the 2004 Dilys award have been announced. This award is given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the book we most enjoyed selling during the past year. The winner will be announced at Left Coast Crime in February.

Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, Donna Andrews

The Sixth Lamentation, William Brodrick

Lost in a Good Book, Jasper Fforde

Monkeewrench, PJ Tracy

Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear

Best Novel: Every Secret Thing, Laura Lippman - This novel also won the Barry Award for Best Novel.
A writer I met at Magna Cum Murder thinks Laura Lippman should have her very own
category, because she's won in almost every one!
Best First Novel: Monkeewrench, P.J. Tracy
Best Historical Novel (Herodotus Award): For the Love of Mike, Rhys Bowen

Best Novel: The Guards, Ken Bruen
Best Short Story: "Lady on Ice", Loren D. Estleman, from A Hot and Sultry Night for Crime (anthology)

Best Novel: Resurrection Men, Ian Rankin
Best First Novel: Death of a Nationalist, Rebecca Pawel
Paperback Original: Find Me Again, Sylvia Maultash Warsh

Agatha Winners

Best Novel

Letter From Home, Carolyn Hart

Best First Novel

Best First Novel

Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear

2004 Edgar Nominations

Best Novel: The Guards, Ken Bruen; Lost Light, Michael Connelly; Out, Natsuo Kirino; Resurrection Men, Ian Rankin; Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
Best First Novel: 12 Bliss Street, Martha Conway; Offer of Proof, Robert Heilbrun; Night of the Dance, James Hime; Death of a Nationalist, Rebecca Pawel; The Bridge of Sighs, Olen Steinhauer
Best Paperback Original: Cut and Run, Jeff Abbott; The Last Witness, Joel Goldman; Wisdom of the Bones, Christopher Hyde; Southland, Nina Rovoyr; Find Me Again, Sylvia Maultash Watsh
Criminal Omissions: The Last Witness, K.J. Erickson; Blood is the Sky, Steve Hamilton

2004 Agatha Nominations

Best Novel: Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, Donna Andrews; Mumbo, Gumbo, Jerrilyn Farmer; Letter From Home, Carolyn Hart; Dream House, Rochelle Krich; Last Lessons of Summer, Margaret Maron; Shop Til You Drop, Elaine Viets
Best First Novel: Dealing in Murder, Elaine Flinn; Haunted Ground, Erin Hart; Take the Bait, S.W. Hubbard; Alpine for You, Maddy Hunter; Murder Off Mike, Joyce Krieg; O'Artful Death, Sarah Stewart Taylor; Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear

The Agathas are announced at Malice Domestic at the end of April.

2003 Awards Announcements

Several of the major mystery awards - the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Barry - are presented at Bouchercon every year. This year's winners are listed below.

2003 Anthony Award Winners awarded by Bouchercon attendees

Best Novel: City of Bones, Michael Connelly
Best First Novel: In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming
Best Critical: They Died in Vain, Jim Huang, Editor

2003 Macavity Award Winners awarded by Mystery Readers International

Best Novel: Winter and Night, S.J. Rozan
Best First Novel: In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming
Best Critical: They Died in Vain, Jim Huang, Editor

2003 Barry Award Winners awarded by the editors of Deadly Pleasures Magazine

Best Novel: City of Bones, Michael Connelly
Best First Novel: In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming

To our knowledge, no-one has ever won the Anthony, Macavity, Barry and Dilys award in one year, as did Julia Spencer-Fleming this year. If you haven't read this remarkable book yet, better pick it up soon! (And when Sara Parestsky was browsing at Aunt Agatha's, the book she wanted was Julia's second novel, A Fountain Filled with Blood).

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