Lovey Award Nominees

Best First Novel
Honor Above All by J. Bard-Collins
Stinking Rich by Rob Brunet
The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day
Death Stalks Door County by Patricia Skalka

Best Traditional or Amateur Sleuth
Dangerous Threads by David Ciambrone
Implications by Richard Davidson
Tradition of Deceit by Kathleen Ernst
Bean in Love by Annie Hansen
Wolf Pack by Jeanne Meeks
Sex Change by T'Gracie Reese and Joe Reese
Fatal Reaction by Jennie Spallone
Dead Between the Lines by Denise Swanson

Best SuspenseBlack Stiletto: Secrets and Lies by Raymond Benson
Once Upon a Crime by Evelyn Cullet
The Conan Doyle Notes by Diane Gilbert Madsen
Titania's Suitor by C.L. Shore
The House on the Dunes by Nancy Sweetland
Murder Across the Ocean by Charlene Wexler

Best Police Procedural or PI 
Mercy by B.J. Daniels
Murder in the Ballpark by Robert Goldsborough
Nobody's Child by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Retribution by Annie Rose Alexander

Best Historical
The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander
From the Charred Remains by Susanna Calkins
Death at Chinatown by Frances McNamara
Shall We Not Revenge by D. M. Pirrone

Best Thriller
Black Stiletto: Endings & Beginnings by Raymond Benson
Run by Andrew Grant
Death and White Diamonds by Jeffery Markowitz

Best Paranormal or Sci Fi
Unmasked by EM Kaplan
Plagued by Quilt by Molly MacRae
Buried Innocence by Terri Reid

Best Series
The Black Stiletto Mysteries by Raymond Benson
The Miller Sisters Series by Gale Borger
The Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough
The Leigh Girard Series by Gail Lukasik
Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries by Molly MacRae
The Emily Cabot Mysteries by Frances McNamara
The Nina Bannister Mysteries by T'Gracie Reese and Joe Reese
The Charlie Fox Series by Zoe Sharp
The Scumble River Mysteries by Denise Swanson

Best Short Story
Death of a Sad Face (A Serafina Florio Short Story) by Susan Russo Anderson
Ghost (MWA  Anthology) by Raymond Benson
Perko's Farm (Down, Out and Dead) by Rob Brunet
What We Do For Love (Kiddieland & Other Misfortunes) by Tim Chapman
Dr. Watson's Casebook  (In the Company of Sherlock Holmes) by Andrew Grant
No Good Deed (Fiction River Crime Edition) by Libby Fischer Hellmann
The Inheritance (Romancing the Lakes of Minnesota -Autumn) by Kathleen Nordstrom
Ghost Light (Romancing the Lakes of Minnesota -Autumn) by Rachael Passan
Tales Around the Jack O'Lantern (A Mary O'Reilly Short Story) by Terri Reid -

The awards will be given out at the Love is Murder XVI  Mystery Writers & Readers Conference in Chicago  February 6-7-8, 2015 

The Lovey Awards 2014

Love is Murder conference recently took place between 7^th and 9th February 2014 in Chicago.  The Lovey Awards were given out over the weekend and they are as follows –

  

Best First Novel:
Bright and Yellow, Hard and Cold, by Tim Chapman (Allium Press)

The Butterfly Sister, by Amy Gail Hansen (Morrow)

Bad Policy, by James M. Jackson (Barking Rain Press)

Buried Truth, by Gunter Kaesdorf (Cambridge)

One Man’s Castle by J. Michael Major (Five Star)

Rim to Rim: Death in the Grand Canyon, by Jeanne Meeks (CreateSpace)  Deception, by Sue Myers (CreateSpace)

Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth:

Death of a Garden Hoe, by Gale Borger (Echelon Press)

Dangerous Threads, by Dave Ciambrone (L & L Dreamspell)

Murder by the Seaside, by Julie Anne Lindsey (Carina Press)

Peak Season for Murder, by Gail Lukasik (Five Star)

Locked Within, by Helen Macie Osterman (Dark Oak Mysteries)

Best Suspense:

The Black Stiletto: Stars & Stripes by Raymond Benson (Oceanview)
Fear of Beauty, by Susan Froetschel (Seventh Street)

Havana Lost, by Libby Fischer Hellmann (Red Herrings Press)

Deceived by Julie Anne Lindsey (Merit Press)

Inconspicuous by M.E. May (CreateSpace);

Brilliance by Marcus Sakey (Thomas & Mercer)

The Fate of Mercy Alban, by Wendy Webb (Hyperion)

Best Paranormal/Sci-fi:
Blood Red, by Heather Graham (Mira)

How I Started the Apocalypse, Book Two, by Brian Pinkerton (Severed Press);

Girl Z: My Life as a Teenage Zombie by Christine Verstraete (Intrigue)

The Vanishing, by Wendy Webb (Hyperion)

Best Series:

Close-Up on Murder (Murder, She Wrote) by Donald Bain (NAL)
Totally Evil (The Miller Sisters Mysteries) by Gale Borger (Echelon Press)

The Ice Woman Assignment (The Stark & O’Brian Series) by Austin Camacho (Intrigue)

Emma Caldridge Series by Jamie Freveletti (Morrow)

Krewe of Hunters Series by Heather Graham (Mira)

Best Short Story:

“Once Upon a Time in the Woods” by Raymond Benson (from Kwik Krimes, edited by Otto Penzler; Thomas & Mercer)

“Harry’s Loss of Grace” by Luisa Buehler

“War Secrets” by Libby Fischer Hellmann (from Mystery Writers of America Presents The Mystery Box, edited by Brad Meltzer; Grand Central)  

“A Letter to My Ex” by J. Michael Major (in Splatterlands: Reawakening the Splatterpunk Revolution, edited by Anthony Rivera and Sharon Lawson; Grey Matter Press)

Winners in bold.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominated authors.

(H/T Mystery Fanfare)

Love is Murder

Best First Novel
Courting Murder, by Bill Hopkins
Souljourner, by D. L. Marriott
Perfidy, by Michele May
In her Shadow, by August McLaughlin
 
Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth
Where Did You Die, by Patricia K. Batta
The Trashy Gourmet, by David Ciambrone
A Small Hill to Die On, by Elizabeth Duncan
The Lightkeeper’s  Legacy, by Kathleen Ernst
Dabblers, by Kathryn Flatt
The Lost Artist, by Gail Lukasik

Last Wool and Testament, by Molly MacRae
Emma Winberry and the Evil Eye, by Helen Osterman
Murder in the Round, by Patricia Rockwell (an Amelia Barnes Acoustic Mystery)
Crosscurrents, by Powell Smily, with Susan Smily and Honora Finkelstein

Best Thriller
Hitman: Damnation, by Raymond Benson
The Black Stiletto: Black & White, by Raymond Benson
The Ninth Day, by Jamie Freveletti
Company Orders, by David J. Walker

Best Police Procedural
Portrait of Murder, by Rob Riley
The Sons of Jude, by Brandt Dobson

Best Paranormal/Sci-Fi
Walk-In, by Honora Finkelstein and Susan Smily
When the Moon is Gibbous and Waxing, by Angela Myers

Best Historical
Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, by Robert Goldsborough
Death at Woods Hole, by Frances McNamara
The Bootleggers Nephew, by Sara Wisseman

Best Suspense
A Bitter Veil, by Libby Fischer Hellman
Moonlight for Maggie, by Karen L. Syed

Best Series
Get Fluffy, by Sparkle Abbey (the Pampered Pets mystery series)
Thy Will be Done, by Richard M. Davidson (the Lord's Prayer mystery series)
The Janus Reprisal, by Jamie Freveletti (Robert Ludlum's Covert One series)
Killerfind by Sharon Woods Hopkins (the Rhetta McCarter mysteries)
Trickster’s Point, by William Kent Krueger (the Cork O'Connor mystery series)
The Watch, by Jerry Peterson (the AJ Garrison crime novels)

Best Short Story
"Harry's Fall From Grace" by Luisa Buehler, prequel to the Grace Marsden mystery series
"The Love Nest", by Sharon I. Cook, in The Legend Of Judgment Rock & Other Mystery Stories
"Capital Partners", by Libby Fischer Hellman, in Writes of Spring
"Early's Christmas", by Jerry Peterson, in Stories of the Season anthology
"The Case of the Extra Ingredient", by Mary Welk, in Hot Crime, Cool Chicks

The Lovey Awards will be given out as part of the 14^th annual Love is Murder Conference that is due to take place between 1-3 February 2013 in Chicago.  The awards will be presented during the banquet on the Saturday evening. 

Congratulations to all the nominees!

Hat tip to Janet Rudolph and Mystery Fanfare for the information.