Agatha Award Results

The Agatha Awards were given out recently.  These prizes, honouring “traditional mysteries” (those without explicit sex scenes, excessive gore, or unnecessary violence) were handed out during a banquet earlier this evening at the 27th annual Malice Domestic Conference, which is held the weekend of 1 - 3 May 2015 in Bethesda, Maryland.

*Winners

Best Contemporary: 

*Truth Be Told, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus, by Donna Andrews (Minotaur); 

A Demon Summer, by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur); 

The Long Way Home, by Louise Penny (Minotaur);

Designated Daughters, by Margaret Maron (Grand Central)

Best Historical Novel: 

*Queen of Hearts, by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Hunting Shadows, by Charles Todd (Morrow); 

An Unwilling Accomplice, by Charles Todd (Morrow); 

Wouldn’t It Be Deadly, by D.E. Ireland (Minotaur);

Murder in Murray Hill, by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)

Best First Novel: 

*Well Read, Then Dead, by Terrie Farley 
Moran (Berkley)
Circle of Influence, by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press); 

Tagged for Death, by Sherry Harris (Kensington); 

Finding Sky, by Susan O’Brien (Henery Press); 

Murder Strikes a Pose, by Tracy Weber (Midnight Ink)

Best Non-fiction: 

*Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer’s Journey, edited by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Henery Press)
400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman, by Adam Plantinga (Quill Driver); 

Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice, by Kate Flora (New Horizon Press); 

The Art of the English Murder, by Lucy Worsley (Pegasus);

The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England’s Most Notorious Doctor, by Stephen Bates (Overlook)

Best Short Story: 

*“The Odds Are Against Us,” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November 2014)
“Premonition,” by Art Taylor (from Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Barb Goffman and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press);

“The Shadow Knows,” by Barb Goffman (from Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays);

“Just Desserts for Johnny,” by Edith Maxwell (Kings River Life Magazine, January 4, 2014);

“The Blessing Witch,” by Kathy Lynn Emerson (from Best New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best)

Best Children’s/Young Adult: 

*The Code Buster’s Club, Case #4, The Mummy’s Curse, by Penny Warner (Egmont USA)
Andi Under Pressure, by Amanda Flower (ZonderKidz);

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford (Clarion); 

Uncertain Glory, by Lea Wait (Islandport Press);

Found, by Harlan Coben (Putnam Juvenile)

In addition, Sara Paretsky was presented with Malice Domestic’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her many contributions to the mystery-fiction genre.

Congratulations to all the winners!