2022 Macavity Nominees Announced

 

The Macavity Award Nominees 2022 

(for works published in 2021)

The Macavity Awards are nominated by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends of MRI. The winners will be announced at opening ceremonies at the Minneapolis Bouchercon.

If you're a member of MRI, a subscriber to MRJ, or a friend of MRI, you will receive a ballot later this week, so get reading. Ballots will be due by August 15.

BEST MYSTERY NOVEL

The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Co.) 

Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron Books)

1979 by Val McDermid (Atlantic Monthly)

Bobby March Will Live Forever by Alan Parks(World Noir)

We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker (Henry Holt)

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)

BEST FIRST MYSTERY NOVEL

Who is Maude Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews (Little, Brown) 

Girl A by Abigail Dean (Viking)

Deer Season by Erin Flanagan (University of Nebraska Press)

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley)

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris (William Morrow)

BEST MYSTERY SHORT STORY

“Lucky Thirteen,” by Tracy Clark (Midnight Hour, Crooked Lane Books)

“Sweeps Week,” by Richard Helms (EQMM, July/August 2021)

“Curious Incidents,”by Steve Hockensmith (EQMM, January/February 2021)

“The Road to Hana,”by R.T. Lawton (AHMM, May/June 2021)

“The White Star,” by G.M. Malliet (EQMM, July/August 2021)

“The Locked Room Library,”by Gigi Pandian (EQMM, July/August 2021)

“Julius Katz and the Two Cousins,”by Dave Zeltserman (EQMM, July/August 2021) 

BEST NONFICTION/CRITICAL

Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World by Mark Aldridge (HarperCollins)

How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America edited by Lee Child with Laurie R. King (Scribner)

The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History by Margalit Fox (Random House)

The Unquiet Englishman: A Life of Graham Greene by Richard Greene (W.W. Norton)

Tony Hillerman: A Life by James McGrath Morris (University of Oklahoma)

The Reason for the Darkness of the Night: Edgar Allan Poe and the Forging of American Science by John Tresch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) 

The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White (W.W. Norton)

BEST HISTORICAL MYSTERY

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen (Lake Union)

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)

The Hollywood Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam)

The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey)

Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (William Morrow)

Congratulations to all the nominated authors

Macavity Nominations 2013

The 2013 Macavity Award nominations have recently been announced.  They are as follows -

Best Mystery Novel:
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Crown)
The Black House by Peter May (Silver Oak)
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Other Woman by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (Algonquin Books)
The Twenty Year Death by Ariel S. Winter (Hard Case Crime)
The Last Policeman: A Novel by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books)

Best First Mystery Novel:
Low Country Boil by Susan M. Boyer (Henery Press)
Don't Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman (Minotaur Books-Thomas Dunn) 
Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal (Random House -Bantam)
The Expats by Chris Pavone (Crown)

Best Mystery Non-Fiction:
Books to Die For: The World's Greatest Mystery Writers on the World's Greatest Mystery Novels, edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke (Simon & Schuster - Atria/Emily Bestler)
Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French (Penguin)
In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero, edited by Otto Penzler (BenBella/Smart Pop)

Best Mystery Short Story:
"The Lord Is My Shamus" by Barb Goffman in Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder (Wildside)
"The Unremarkable Heart" by Karin Slaughter in Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance (Little, Brown - Mulholland Books)
"Thea's First Husband" by B.K. Stevens in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2012
"When Duty Calls" by Art Taylor in Chesapeake Crimes: This Job is Murder (Wildside Press)
"Blind Justice" by Jim Fusilli in Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance (Little, Brown - Mulholland Books)
"The Sequel" (a novella) by Jeffrey Deaver in The Strand Magazine, November-February 2012-2013

Sue Feder Historical Memorial Award:
A City of Broken Glass by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge)
Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal (Random House-Bantam)
The Confession by Charles Todd (HarperCollins)
An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd (HarperCollins)
Elegy For Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins)

Novels/stories were published for the first time in the U.S. in 2012. This award is nominated by and voted on by members and supporters of Mystery Readers International, as well as subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal. Winners will be announced at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, in September, in Albany this year. The Macavity Award is named after the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot  Congratulations and good luck to all the nominees- 

Thanks to Janet Rudolph for the information!

Calling all authors – London Mysteries for Mystery Readers Journal

Interested in writing an article on London Mysteries? Janet Rudolph the editor of the well-known mystery readers international journal – Mystery Readers Journal is looking for contributors.

Mystery Readers Journal is a review quarterly magazine with reviews, articles and author essays. Each issue focuses on a different theme. There will be two issues of London Mysteries. If you are interested in contributing then please contact Janet Rudolph at janet@mysteryreaders.org

Barry, Macavity, and Shamus Award results

Lots of awards were given out at Bouchercon and the results are below. Thanks to Janet Rudolph and Mystery Fanfare for all the results -

The Macavity Awards -

The Macavity Award is nominated and voted upon by members of Mystery Journal International. The awards were given out by Janet Rudolph on Thursday 14 October at Bouchercon the World Mystery convention, held this year in San Francisco.


Best Mystery Novel: Tower by Ken Bruen & Reed Farrel Coleman (Busted Flush Press)
The other nominees were -
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie (William. Morrow)
Nemesis by Jo Nesbø(translated by Don Bartlett) (HarperCollins)
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny(Minotaur)
The Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozan (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery Novel: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Delacorte)
The other nominees were:-
Running from the Devil by Jamie Freveletti (William. Morrow)
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur)
The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)
A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn (Picador)

Best Mystery Nonfiction: Talking about Detective Fiction by P.D. James (Alfred A. Knopf)
The other nominees were –
L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City by John Buntin (Random House: Harmony Books)
Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations About the Writing Life by Craig McDonald (Bleak House Books)
The Line Up: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives editor Otto Penzler (Little, Brown & Co)
Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo (Penguin Press)
Dame Agatha's Shorts: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion by Elena Santangelo (Bella Rosa Books)

Best Mystery Short Story:Hank Phillippi Ryan: "On the House" (Quarry: Crime Stories by New England Writers, Level Best Books)
The other nominees were –
Last Fair Deal Gone Down by Ace Atkins (Crossroad Blues, Busted Flush Press)
Femme Sole by Dana Cameron (Boston Noir, Akashic Books)
Digby, Attorney at Law by Jim Fusilli: (AHMM, May 2009)
Your Turn by Carolyn Hart (Two of the Deadliest, Harper)
The Desert Here and the Desert Far Away by Marcus Sakey (Thriller 2: Stories You Just Can't Put Down, Mira)
Amapola by Luis Alberto Urrea (Phoenix Noir, Akashic Books)


Sue Feder Historical Mystery: Rebecca Cantrell: A Trace of Smoke (Forge)
In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (Minotaur)
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd(William. Morrow)
Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur)
Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear(Henry Holt)

The Macavity Awards are named after the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot.

The Barry Awards -

The Barry Awards were presented by George Easter on Friday 15 October. The Barry Awards are nominated and voted upon by readers of Deadly Pleasures Magazine.

Best Novel: The Last Child, by John Hart (Minotaur)
The other nominees were
The Gates by John Connolly,(Atria)
The Hidden Man by David Ellis,(Putnam)
Spade and Archer by Joe Gores, (Knopf)
Locked In by Marcia Muller,(Grand Central)
Shanghai Moon by S.J. Rozan,(Minotaur)


Best First Novel: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley (Delacorte)
The other nominees were -
Beat the Repear by Josh Bazell, (Little, Brown)
A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell, (Forge)
A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Minotaur)
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (Harper)
The Ghosts of Belfast (The Twelve) by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)

Best British Novel: If the Dead Rise Not, by Philip Kerr (Quercus)
The other nominees were –
Awakening by S. J. Bolton,(Bantam Press)
The Lovers by John Connolly,(Hodder & Stoughton)
Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill, (HarperCollins)
Still Midnight by Denise Mina,(Orion)
Ignorance of Blood by Robert Wilson, (HarperCollins)


Best Paperback Original: Starvation Lake, by Bryan Gruley (Touchstone)
The other nominees were -
Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Quarry in the Middle by Max Allan Collins, (HardCase Crime)
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gutenkauf, (Mira)
Fatal Lies by Frank Tallis, (Random House Mortalis)
The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice by L. C. Tyler,(Felony & Mayhem)

Best Thriller: Running from the Devil, by Jamie Freveletti(Morrow)
The other nominees were-
No Survivors (The Survivor) by Tom Cain,(Viking)
The Gray Man by Mark Greaney,(Jove)
Columbus: a Silver Bear Thriller by Derek Haas,(Pegasus)
House Secrets by Mike Lawson,(Atlantic Monthly)
Walking Dead by Greg Rucka,(Bantam)

Mystery/Crime Novel of the Decade: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
The other nominees were –
The Guards by Ken Bruen, (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, (Little, Brown)
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, (Morrow)
Still Life by Louise Penny, (St. Martin's Minotaur)
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, (Penguin Press)

Best Short Story: “The High House Writer,” by Brendan DuBois (AHMM, July-August 2009)
The other nominees were -
My Mother's Keeper by Barbara Callahan (EQMM June 2009)
Erin's Journal by David Dean (EQMM December 2009)
Real Men Die by John H. Dirckx, (AHMM September 2009)
The High House Writer by Brendan DuBois (AHMM July-August 2009)
A Hollywood Ending by Melodie Johnson Howe, (EQMM July 2009)
Hard Blows by Morley Swingle (THE PROSECUTION RESTS)

Don Sandstrom Award for Literary Achievement in Mystery Fandom: Len & June Moffatt; Captain Bob Napier

The Shamus Awards -

The 2010 Shamus Awards, were presented on Saturday 16 October by the Private Eye Writers of America in recognition of the private eye genre and its writers.

Best Hardcover P.I. Novel: Locked In, by Marcia Muller (Grand Central)
Other nominees were –
The Silent Hour by Michael Koryta (Minotaur/St. Martin's)
Where the Dead Lay by David Levien (Doubleday)
Schemers by Bill Pronzini (Forge)
My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (William Morrow)

Best First P.I. Novel: Faces of the Gone, by Brad Parks (Minotaur)
Other nominees were -
Loser’s Town by Daniel Depp (Simon & Schuster)
The Last Gig by Norman Green (Minotaur/St. Martin's)
The Good Son by Russel D. McLean (Minotaur/St. Martin's)
Chinatown Angel by A.E. Roman(Minotaur/St. Martin's)

Best Paperback Original P.I. Novel: Sinner’s Ball, by Ira Berkowitz (Three Rivers Press)

The other nominees were -
Dark Side of the Morgue by Raymond Benson (Leisure Books)
Red Blooded Murder by Laura Caldwell(Mira)
Vengeance Road by Rick Mofina (Mira)
Body Blows by Marc Strange(Dundurn)

Best P.I. Short Story: Julius Katz by Dave Zeltserman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September/October 2009)
The other nominees were –
The Dark Island by Brendan DuBois, (Boston Noir (Akashic))
Deadline Edition by S.L. Franklin, (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, April 2009)
Blazin' on Broadway by Gary Phillips, (Phoenix Noir (Akashic))
Suicide Bonds by Tim L. Williams, (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2009)


Two other awards were also given out that of -
Best P.I. Character went to Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone and the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Robert Crais