MACAVITY AWARDS 2022

 MACAVITY AWARDS 2022 Winners

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 were announced at the opening ceremonies at the Minneapolis Bouchercon. 

Best Mystery Novel

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

Best First Mystery Novel

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley)

Best Mystery Short Story

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

Best Non-Fiction/Critical 

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

Best Historical Mystery: Sue Feder Memorial Award

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)

Congratulations to all the winners and nominated authors

The Macavity Award Nominees 2020

The Macavity Award Nominees 2020 

(for works published in 2019)

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 Virtual Sacramento Bouchercon. Congratulations to all.

If you're a member of MRI, a subscriber to MRJ, or a friend of MRI, you will receive a ballot by August 1.

Best Mystery Novel 
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha (Ecco)
This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (Atria)
Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman (Wm. Morrow)
The Chain by Adrian McKinty (Mulholland)
The Murder List by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)
Sarah Jane by James Sallis (Soho Crime)

Best First Mystery 
The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge (Agora Books)
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (Penguin)
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (Sarah Crichton Books)
One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)
Call Me Evie by J.P. Pomare (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (Random House)

Best Mystery Short Story 
“West Texas Barbecue” by Michael Chandos (The Eyes of Texas, edited by Michael Bracken—Down & Out Books)
“Alex's Choice” by Barb Goffman (Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman—Wildside Press)
“The Cardboard Box” by Terence Faherty (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2019)
"Whiteout” by G.M. Malliet (EQMM, Jan/Feb 2019)
“Brother’s Keeper” by Dave Zeltserman (EQMM, May/June 2019)
“Better Days,” by Art Taylor (EQMM, May/June 2019)

Best Mystery Nonfiction/Critical 
Hitchcock and the Censors by John Billheimer (University Press of Kentucky)
Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland)
Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan by Ursula Buchan (Bloomsbury)
Norco '80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History by Peter Houlahan (Counterpoint)
The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and Her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women, by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)
Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin (Counterpoint Press)

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery 
Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
The Pearl Dagger by L.A. Chandlar (Kensington)
A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)
Charity’s Burden by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)
The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott (Vintage)

The Macavity Award Nominees 2018

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 Bouchercon in St Petersburg, FL, in September. Congratulations to all.

Best Mystery Novel
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (Harper)
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (Mulholland)
Glass Houses by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Old Man by Thomas Perry (Mysterious)
The Force by Don Winslow (Wm. Morrow)

Best First Mystery Novel
Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)
The Dry by Jane Harper (Flatiron)
She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper (Ecco)
The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal (Wm. Morrow)
The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka (Minotaur)
Lost Luggage by Wendall Thomas (Poisoned Pen)

Best Mystery-Related Nonfiction
From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Bostrom (Mysterious Press)
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards (Poisoned Pen/British Library)
Chester B. Himes: A Biography by Lawrence P. Jackson (W.W. Norton)
The Man From the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James (Scribner)
Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes by Michael Sims (Bloomsbury)
Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer (Harper Perennial)

Best Mystery Short Story
“As Ye Sow,” by Craig Faustus Buck, in Passport to Murder: Bouchercon Anthology 2017 (Down and Out Books)
“The #2 Pencil,” by Matt Coyle, in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea (Down & Out Books)
“Infinite Uticas,” by Terence Faherty (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2017)
“Whose Wine is it Anyway?” Barb Goffman, in 50 Shades of Cabernet (Koehler Books)
“Windward,” by Paul D. Marks, in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea (Down & Out Books)
“A Necessary Ingredient,” by Art Taylor, in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea (Down & Out Books)

Sue Feder Memorial Award: Best Historical Mystery
Dangerous to Know by Renee Patrick (Forge)
The Devouring by James R. Benn (Soho Crime)
In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen (Lake Union Publishing)
Cast the First Stone by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street Books)
Racing the Devil by Charles Todd (Wm. Morrow)
A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus)

2015 David S Thompson Award

Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, is proud to announce that the recipients of the 2015 David S. Thompson Award are Bill & Toby Gottfried. 

The David S. Thompson Award, named for the late beloved publisher, bookseller, and crime fiction reader advocate, is presented by the National Bouchercon Board torecognize EXTRAORDINARY efforts to develop and promote the mystery and crime fiction community. Nominees include writers, publishers, readers, editors, and fans.

Extraordinary Efforts: Who best to receive this award than that extraordinary couple, Bill and Toby Gottfried, who have promoted mysteries and crime fiction through their involvement in mystery conventions, books groups, book buying, discussions and so more more. Bill and Toby exemplify what's best about the Mystery Community.

Toby and Bill have attended almost every Bouchercon since 1985. Their involvement in the mystery community goes far beyond attending conferences and buying books. They have actively participated on multiple Bouchercon committees and have chaired two Left Coast Crime Conventions. They plan vacations and travel around mystery conventions. At each convention, they make authors and readers feel welcome, breaking bread with them, and welcoming them in every possible way into the mystery community as friends and family.

Their involvement in the mystery community is driven by a love of people intellect, mystery, history, and fun.

The David S. Thompson Award will be presented at Bouchercon 2015 in Raleigh, NC, on Saturday, October 10, 2015.

For more information, contact Janet Rudolph at janet@mysteryreaders.org

Macavity Award Nominations

The Macavity Award is named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favourite mysteries in four categories.

The year listed is the year of the award, for books published in the previous year.

2015

Best Mystery Novel:

The Missing Place by Sophie Littlefield  (Gallery)

The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood (Penguin)

The Lewis Man by Peter May (Quercus)

The Day She Died by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)

The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

The Last Death of Jack Harbin by Terry Shames (Seventh Street)

Best First Mystery Novel:

Blessed Are the Dead by Kristi Belcamino (Witness Impulse)

Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman (W. W. Norton)

Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Minotaur)

Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary (Penguin)

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little (Viking)

The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day (Seventh Street)

Best Mystery-Related Nonfiction:

The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis by Charles Brownson  (McFarland)

Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe by J.W. Ocker (Countryman)

400 Things Cops Know: Street Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman by Adam Plantinga (Quill Driver)

Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey by Hank Phillippi Ryan, editor (Henery Press)

Best Mystery Short Story:

"Honeymoon Sweet" by Craig Faustus Buck:  (Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014, edited by Dana Cameron; Down & Out)

"The Shadow Knows" by Barb Goffman (Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)

"Howling at the Moon" by Paul D. Marks (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014)

"The Proxy" by Travis Richardson (Thuglit #13, Sept./Oct. 2014)

"The Odds Are Against Us" by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014)

Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award:

Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime)

Things Half in Shadow by Alan Finn (Gallery)

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris (Knopf)

A Deadly Measure of Brimstone by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur)

Present Darkness by Malla Nunn (Atria)

Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd (Wm. Morrow)

Congratulations to all the nominees.

Hat tip to Mystery Readers International.

Macavity Award Nomminations

The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members and friends of Mystery Readers International and subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal.

Nominations are for works published in the U.S. in 2013. Winners will be announced at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention in Long Beach (CA) on 13 November 2014. Congratulations to all!

Best Mystery Novel

Sandrine’s Case by Thomas H. Cook (Mysterious Press)

Dead Lions by Mick Herron (Soho Crime)

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books)

The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood (Penguin Books)

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)

Standing in Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin (Reagan Arthur Books)

Best First Mystery 

Yesterday’s Echo by Matt Coyle (Oceanview Publishing)

Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman (Minotaur Books)

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman (Ballantine Books)

Norwegian by Night by Derek Miller (Faber & Faber)

A Killing at Cotton Hill by Terry Shames (Seventh Street Books)

Best Mystery Short Story 

“The Terminal” by Reed Farrel Coleman (Kwik Krimes, edited by Otto Penzler; Thomas & Mercer)

“The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository” by John Connolly (Bibliomysteries: Short Tales about Deadly Books, edited by Otto Penzler; Bookspan)

“The Dragon’s Tail” by Martin Limon (Nightmare Range: The Collected Sueno and Bascom Short Stories, Soho Books)

“The Hindi Houdini” by Gigi Pandian (Fish Nets: The Second Guppy Anthology, edited by Ramona DeFelice Long; Wildside Press)

“Incident on the 405” by Travis Richardson (The Malfeasance Occasional: Girl Trouble, edited by Clare Toohey; Macmillan)  

“The Care and Feeding of Houseplants” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2013)

Best Nonfiction

The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece by Roseanne Montillo (William Morrow)

Being Cool: The Work of Elmore Leonard by Charles J. Rzepka (Johns Hopkins University Press)

The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower (Minotaur Books)

Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award 

A Murder at Rosamund's Gate by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur Books)

Saving Lincoln by Robert Kresge (ABQ Press)

Dandy Gilver and a Bothersome Number of Corpses by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books)

Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell (Little, Brown)

Ratlines by Stuart Neville (Soho Crime)

Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare

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

Macavity Award Nominations

The Macavity Award nominations for books published in 2008 and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International have been announced.

The nominations can be found here

Congratulations to all the nominees. The awards will be presented in October at Bouchercon in Indianapolis.

Birthday congratulations to Crimespree and Mystery Readers Journal

Those of you like me who are avid readers or contributors to Crimespree Magazine will be aware that this august magazine turns five this year. If you have any special Crimespree moment that you would like to share whether it relates to the magazine itself or those two indomitable figures in the crime fiction world Jon and Ruth Jordan then please post here.

Another of my favourite journals to which I have contributed at least one essay (and will hopefully in due course contribute some more) is 25 years old this year as well. The journal in question is of course Mystery Readers Journal. More information can be found on the excellent blog of the editor Janet Rudolph.

Congratulations to both Crimespree Magazine and Mystery Readers Journal on their 5 and 25 anniversaries respectively.