Tuesday, 23 January 2024
2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations

Mystery Writers of America has announced the nominees for the 2024 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced in 2023. The 78th Annual Edgar® Awards will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square. Congratulations to all of this year's nominees!

BEST NOVEL

Flags on the Bayou, by James Lee Burke (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
All the Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)
The Madwomen of Paris, by Jennifer Cody Epstein (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
Bright Young Women, by Jessica Knoll (Simon & Schuster – Simon Element – Marysue Rucci Books)
An Honest Man, by Michael Koryta (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown and Company – Mulholland Books)
The River We Remember, by William Kent Krueger (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
Crook Manifesto, by Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House – Doubleday)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

The Peacock and the Sparrow, by I.S. Berry (Simon & Schuster – Atria Books)
The Golden Gate, by Amy Chua (Macmillan Publishing – Minotaur Books)
Small Town Sins, by Ken Jaworowski (Macmillan Publishing – Henry Holt and Co.)
The Last Russian Doll, by Kristen Loesch (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Murder by Degrees, by Ritu Mukerji (Simon & Schuster)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Boomtown, by A.F. Carter (Penzler Publishers - Mysterious Press)
Hide, by Tracy Clark (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The Taken Ones, by Jess Lourey (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Lowdown Road, by Scott Von Doviak (Hard Case Crime)

BEST FACT CRIME

In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America’s Child, by Kim Cross (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall, by Zeke Faux (Penguin Random House – Crown Currency)
Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders, by John Glatt (Macmillan Publishers – St. Martin’s Press)
Crooked: The Roaring ’20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal, by Nathan Masters (Hachette Book Group – Hachette Books)
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever, by Barbara Rae-Venter (Penguin Random House – Ballantine Books)
The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy, by Joe Sexton (Simon & Schuster – Scribner)

BEST CRITICAL /BIOGRAPHICAL

Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder, by David Bordwell (Columbia University Press)
Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction, by Max Allan Collins & James L. Traylor (Penzler Publishers – Mysterious Press)
A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe, by Mark Dawidziak (Macmillan Publishing – St. Martin’s Press)
Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe, by Robert Morgan (LSU Press)
Love Me Fierce in Danger – The Life of James Ellroy, by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Publishing – Bloomsbury Academic)

BEST SHORT STORY

“Hallowed Ground,” by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
“Thriller,” Thriller by Heather Graham (Blackstone Publishing)
“Miss Direction,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023 by Rob Osler (Dell Magazines)
“The Rise,” Amazon Original Stories, by Ian Rankin (Amazon Publishing)
“Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand,” Amazon Original Stories, by Lisa Scottoline (Amazon Publishing)

BEST JUVENILE

Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity, by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Hachette Book Group – Workman Publishing – Algonquin Young Readers)
The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, by Adrianna Cuevas (Macmillan Publishers – Farrar, Straus and Giroux BFYR)
Epic Ellisons: Cosmos Camp, by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins Publishers – Versify)
The Jules Verne Prophecy, by Larry Schwarz & Iva-Marie Palmer (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Girl Forgotten, by April Henry (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Star Splitter, by Matthew J. Kirby (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)
The Sharp Edge of Silence, by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (HarperCollins Publishers – Quill Tree Books)
My Flawless Life, by Yvonne Woon (HarperCollins Publishers – Katherine Tegen Books)
Just Do This One Thing for Me, by Laura Zimmerman (Penguin Young Readers – Dutton Books for Young Readers)

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE TELEPLAY

“Time of the Monkey” – Poker Face, written by Wyatt Cain & Charlie Peppers (Peacock)
“I’m a Pretty Observant Guy” – Will Trent, written by Liz Heldens (ABC)
“Dead Man’s Hand” – Poker Face, written by Rian Johnson (Peacock)
“Hózhó Náhásdlii (Beauty is Restore)” – Dark Winds, written by Graham Roland & John Wirth (AMC)
“Escape from Shit Mountain” – Poker Face, written by Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman (Peacock)

ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD

“Errand for a Neighbor,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2023, by Bill Bassman (Dell Magazines)
“The Body in Cell Two,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May-June 2023, by Kate Hohl (Dell Magazines)
“The Soiled Dove of Shallow Hollow,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January-February 2023, by Sean McCluskey (Dell Magazines)
“It’s Half Your Fault,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July-August 2023, by Meghan Leigh Paulk (Dell Magazines)
“Two Hours West of Nothing,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2023, by Gabriela Stiteler (Dell Magazines)

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD

Play the Fool, by Lina Chern (Penguin Random House – Bantam)
The Bones of the Story, by Carol Goodman (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Of Manners and Murder, by Anastasia Hastings (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
The Three Deaths, of Willa Stannard by Kate Robards (Crooked Lane Books)
Murder in Postscript, by Mary Winters (Penguin Random House – Berkley)

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

Hard Rain, by Samantha Jayne Allen (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
An Evil Heart, by Linda Castillo (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)
Bad, Bad Seymour Brown, by Susan Isaacs (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
Past Lyingm, by Val McDermid (Grove Atlantic – Atlantic Monthly Press)
A Stolen Child, by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books)

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD

Glory Be, by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Books – Pegasus Crime)
Misfortune Cookie, by Vivien Chien (Macmillan – St. Martin’s Paperbacks)
Hot Pot Murder, by Jennifer J. Chow (Penguin Random House – Berkley)
Murder of an Amish Bridegroom, by Patricia Johns (Crooked Lane Books)
The Body in the Back Garden, by Mark Waddell (Crooked Lane Books)

GRAND MASTERS

Katherine Hall Page
R.L. Stine

ELLERY QUEEN

Michaela Hamilton

2024 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominations
Teri Duerr
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Thursday, 21 December 2023
Review: "Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas" by Vicki Delany

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas
by Vicki Delany
Crooked Lane Books, September 2023, $30.99

In Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas, author Vicki Delany's 6th Year-Round Christmas mystery series, shop owner Merry Wilkinson finds that in America's "Christmas Town" of Rudolph, New York, it is beginning to look a lot like murder.

Merry's mother, a former opera star, has been talked into joining the cast of a musical version of A Christmas Carol as part of the town's annual Christmas play—and that's where things take a turn for everyone involved when the body of one of the amateur theater actors turns up murdered in Merry's store, Mrs. Claus’s Treasures.

Paula Monahan wasn't exactly the most beloved person in town and the list of suspects is long and quite varied. Between her trouble-making during rehearsals and issues in her personal and professional life, any number of people have good reason to have wanted Paula dead.

Merry vows to stay out the investigation, but when her store clerk Jackie and Merry's mother are among the suspects, she can't help but start asking questions—even after Detective Diane Simmonds makes it clear she doesn't want Merry involved. It isn't long before the clues lead to threats and even an attempted attack on Merry's mother. Even so, Merry is indefatigable in the the face of danger as she tries to figure out who murdered Paula.

The relationships between the regular series characters continue to grow and evolve in this book. I like the cordial but still somewhat distant relationship between Merry and Detective Simmonds. Clearly they are friendly but keep each other at an arm's length—largely due to Merry's unwelcome nosing around. The supporting cast as a whole is great. Merry's parents are so different from each other and yet they perfectly complement one another at the same time. Merry's coworkers and fellow business owners provide their own moments of fun. The clueless way Merry's clerk Jackie goes through life could be off-putting, but here it works. Even an antagonistic business owner named Margie is given a moment to shine. Heck, I even loved all the ego-driven characters that made up the massively dysfunctional theater group.

There's a number of believable twists and turns in the plot of Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas, but what really made this book such a draw was how once the reveal is made, you realize that the killer was staring you in the face the whole time and yet you never realized it. That's what makes this series, one that has become dear to my heart, such a great read with each successive novel. Add to that the fact that I'm not usually one to get carried away by holiday spirit, yet enjoyed my time in Rudolph, and it is a great testament to the strength of Vicki Delany's writing. Simply put, Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas is a wonderful gift for mystery lovers everywhere.

Review: "Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas" by Vicki Delany
Jay Roberts
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Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Review: "The Christmas Guest" by Peter Swanson

The Christmas Guest
by Peter Swanson
William Morrow, October 2023, $19.99

Those familiar with Peter Swanson’s writings know that he likes to play a shell game with plot twists and character identity, and that the reader sometimes scores (the terrific Eight Perfect Murders) but can also come away feeling swindled (Every Vow You Break). I read his latest, the 96-page novella The Christmas Guest, wondering if, in the spirit of the holidays, I’d feel compelled to give it a charitable pass. But I don’t have to shill; Swanson has pulled off a winning entry.

The Christmas Guest is largely told through 30-year-old diary entries of Ashley Smith, an art student who, in 1989, is invited to join classmate Emma Chapman, and her family, for the holidays. “I’m actually going to an English country house for Christmas!” writes the lonely, orphaned American. “It sounds like the beginning of a romance novel, or else maybe a murder mystery.” Umm, foreshadowing is a Swanson signature.

Once she reaches Starvewood Hall—yeah, it’s got its own name—and meets Emma’s weird parents, our narrator enthusiastically details day to day activities and dishes about the others gathered at the estate. They include Emma’s handsome, enigmatic brother, Adam, as well as a touchy-feely author of spy novels named Daniel.

Ashley also describes a night at the pub where one of the patrons is completely taken aback by her appearance. Turns out Ashley strongly resembles a local teenager who was found murdered a few months back. Adam, who had had been seeing the girl, was questioned about the still-unsolved crime.

Returning to Starvewood, Ashley finds herself alternately creeped out and excited by what she’s discovered. Remembering her late mother’s love of gothic thrillers, she imagines herself on a book cover, fleeing from a foreboding house. Only instead of wearing a nightgown she’s in her PJ bottoms and a UCLA t-shirt.

A cunning plotter, Swanson is adept at both embracing and dashing reader expectations. It may be a slender volume, but The Christmas Guest delivers plenty of surprises—and a rather evil twist. You can read it in a single sitting, but the characters and their alliances will linger, much like the Ghost of Christmas Past. While delivering the scent of pine boughs and blood-spattered murder, this book reminds that less is often more.

Review: "The Christmas Guest" by Peter Swanson
Pat H. Broeske
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