The Agatha Awards honor “traditional mysteries” (containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence). Winners will be announced at the 27th annual Malice Domestic Conference, in Bethesda, Maryland, from May 1 to 3.
BEST CONTEMPORARY NOVEL
The Good, The Bad and The Emus, Donna Andrews (Minotaur Books)
A Demon Summer, G.M. Malliet (Minotaur Books)
Truth Be Told, Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)
The Long Way Home, Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Designated Daughters, Margaret Maron (Grand Central Publishing)
BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL
Hunting Shadows, Charles Todd (William Morrow)
An Unwilling Accomplice, Charles Todd (William Morrow)
Wouldn’t It Be Deadly, D.E. Ireland (Minotaur Books)
Queen of Hearts, Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Murder in Murray Hill, Victoria Thompson (Berkley)
BEST CHILDREN’S / YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Andi Under Pressure, Amanda Flower (ZonderKidz)
Greenglass House, Kate Milford (Clarion Books)
Uncertain Glory, Lea Wait (Islandport Press)
The Code Busters Club, Case #4: The Mummy’s Curse, Penny Warner (Egmont USA)
Found, Harlan Coben (Putnam Juvenile)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Circle of Influence, Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
Tagged for Death, Sherry Harris (Kensington Publishing)
Finding Sky, Susan O’Brien (Henery Press)
Well Read, Then Dead, Terrie Farley Moran (Berkley Prime Crime)
Murder Strikes a Pose, Tracy Weber (Midnight Ink)
BEST NONFICTION
400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman, Adam Plantinga (Quill Driver Books)
Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer’s Journey, Hank Phillippi Ryan, ed. (Henery Press)
Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice, Kate Clark Flora (New Horizon Press)
The Art of the English Murder, Lucy Worsley (Pegasus Books)
The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England’s Most Notorious Doctor, Stephen Bates (Overlook Press)
BEST SHORT STORY
“The Odds Are Against Us,” Art Taylor, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, November 2014
“Premonition,” Art Taylor, Chesapeake Crimes Homicidal Holidays, Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley, eds. (Wildside Press)
“The Shadow Knows,” Barb Goffman, Chesapeake Crimes Homicidal Holidays, Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley, eds. (Wildside Press)
“Just Desserts for Johnny,” Edith Maxwell, Kings River Life Magazine, January 4, 2014
“The Blessing Witch,” Kathy Lynn Emerson, Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave, Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler, eds. (Level Best Books)
GUESTS OF HONOR
Charles and Caroline Todd
INTERNATIONAL GUEST OF HONOR
Ann Cleeves
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Sara Paretsky
