Agatha Awards. Mystery Books. Malice Domestic. Winners. Shortlists. Historic.

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The Agatha Awards are administered by Malice Domestic® . The organisation holds an annual "fun fan" convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery--books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.

The genre is generally characterised by mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence; usually featuring an amateur detective, they have a confined setting and characters who know one another. Novels and stories featuring police officers and private detectives may qualify for the Agatha, but materials generally classified as “hard boiled” are not appropriate.

They are awarded in five mystery book categories:
Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children's/Young Adult

Blog: Defining Literary Crime Genres: Not So Easy To Solve

Mystery Solved as Agatha Winners Revealed

27TH APRIL, 2008- The wait is over for another year as the mystery surrounding the winners of this years Aggies was revealed at the annual banquet held during the Malice Domestic Conference in Arlington Virginia. Without further ado:

2007 Winner: Best Novel Best Novel: A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery (Three Pines Mysteries)by Louise Penny - Authors web-site - Book details below

2007 Winner Best First Novel: Prime Time (Harlequin Next) by Hank Phillippi Ryan- Authors web site- Book details below

2007 Winner Best Non-fiction: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Charles Foley, Jon Lellenberg, and Daniel Stashower- Book details below

2007 Best Short Story: "A Rat's Tale", by Donna Andrews (Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine Sept./Oct.2007)- Authors website

2007 Best Children's/Young Adult: The Light in the Cellar: A Molly Mystery (American Girl Mysteries) by Sarah Master Buckey- recent article about Sarah Masters Buckey on NewHampshire.com- Book details below

In addition, British novelist Peter Lovesey (The Headhunters) was given Malice Domestic’s Lifetime Achievement Award. And the Poirot Awards (honouring “individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the Malice Domestic genre”) went to Linda Landrigan, the editor of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and Janet Hutchings, editor of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

Winning Book Descriptions

2007 Winner: Best Novel Best Novel: A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery (Three Pines Mysteries)by Louise Penny (left)- Authors web-site
Welcome to winter in Three Pines, a picturesque village in Quebec, where the villagers are preparing for a traditional country Christmas, and someone is preparing for murder.

No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter—and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her death.
When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, of the Sûreté du Quebec, is called to investigate, he quickly realizes he's dealing with someone quite extraordinary. CC de Poitiers was electrocuted in the middle of a frozen lake, in front of the entire village, as she watched the annual curling tournament. And yet no one saw anything. Who could have been insane enough to try such a macabre method of murder—or brilliant enough to succeed?

With his trademark compassion and courage, Gamache digs beneath the idyllic surface of village life to find the dangerous secrets long buried there. For a Quebec winter is not only staggeringly beautiful but deadly, and the people of Three Pines know better than to reveal too much of themselves. But other dangers are becoming clear to Gamache. As a bitter wind blows into the village, something even more chilling is coming for Gamache himself.

Reviews
"Remarkably, Penny manages to top her outstanding debut. Gamache is a prodigiously complicated and engaging hero, destined to become one of the classic detectives."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

And acclaim for the first Three Pines Mystery, Still Life:

"Terrific. Like a virtuoso, Penny plays a complex variation on the theme of the clue hidden in plain sight. A winning traditional mystery."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Cerebral, wise, and compassionate, Gamache is destined for stardom. Don't miss this stellar debut."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A gem of a book....a beautifully told, lyrically written story of love, life, friendship, and tragedy."
—Booklist (starred review)

"The beauty of Louise Penny's auspicious debut novel, Still Life, is that it's composed entirely of grace notes, all related to the central mystery of who shot an arrow into the heart of Miss Jane Neal....The dear old thing had hidden depths, courtesy of an author whose deceptively simple style masks the complex patterns of a well-devised plot."
—The New York Times Book Review

"This cerebral mystery...is a rare treat."
—People

"A perfectly executed traditional mystery."
—The Denver Post

"Don't look for the hamlet of Three Pines anywhere on a map of the countryside outside of Montreal, although Louise Penny has made the town and its residents so real...that you might just try to find it."
—Chicago Tribune

2007 Winner Best First Novel: Prime Time (Harlequin Next) by Hank Phillippi Ryan (left)- Authors web site

Top-notch TV investigative reporter Charlotte McNally’s in the prime time of her career. She's smart, successful (and sexier than she realizes)--but she’s worried her news director is about to replace her with a younger model.

On the hunt for a story that will save her job, Charlie suspects some of that annoying Spam clogging her computer is more than cyber junk mail. She discovers it actually carries big-money secret messages to the big-shot insiders who know how to decode it. Problem is, the last outsider who deciphered the system now resides in the local morgue. So this could be the biggest story of Charlie's already successful television career--or the one that may end her life.
Charlie's also facing another dilemma: what happens when a workaholic, passionate-about-journalism TV reporter is married to her job--but the camera doesn't love her anymore

Reviews
"Prime Time is hilarious. An intriguing mystery and a fascinating insider's view of television journalism written by one of TV's most successful investigative reporters. Charlie McNally is one of a kind----smart, sassy, and a thoroughly endearing character. Hank Phillippi Ryan is a fresh new voice in crime fiction."
***Hallie Ephron (crime fiction reviewer for the Boston Globe and author of Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel)

"Hank Phillippi Ryan writes with the quick wit, crackling pace, and the been-there-done-that credentials that make Charlotte "Charlie" McNally a great heroine and PRIME TIME a great read."
***Harley Jane Kozak (Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Awardwinning author)

"Prime Time is current, clever and chock-full of cliff-hangers. Readers are in for a treat."
***Mary Jane Clark (New York Times Best-selling author)

2007 Winner Best Non-fiction: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Charles Foley, Jon Lellenberg, and Daniel Stashower

Description
This remarkable annotated collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's previously unpublished private correspondence offers unique insight into one of the world's most popular authors. For the first time, Conan Doyle emerges from the shadow of Sherlock Holmes, revealing a man whose character and exploits rival that of his famous creation. In particular, Conan Doyle's correspondence with his mother exposes his endless search for fulfillment and success outside the Holmes stories.

At age sixteen Conan Doyle began studying medicine at Edinburgh University. Just months shy of graduating, he made the adventurous decision to accept a position as a surgeon on a whaling ship heading to the Arctic. He returned to Edinburgh, graduated, and struggled to establish his own medical practice while simultaneously writing and promoting his stories. He suffered years of disappointment as both doctor and author; yet, to his amazement, just two months after the first Sherlock Holmes short stories, he had garnered such a following that he completely abandoned medicine for literature.

As the public clamoured endlessly for Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle explored other pursuits: He was a doctor during the Boer War, a World War I correspondent, and the foremost spokesman for Spiritualism. As his life changed, Doyle's correspondence with his mother remained constant. In his letters to "the Mam," Doyle shares the dismay he felt over the critical reception of his other writing, and as his irritation with the Holmes adventures mounts he announces his desire to kill off the character. She is his confidante and trusted counsel throughout her long life.

The editors are known for their expertise and scholarship on the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes. Daniel Stashower is an award-winning mystery novelist and author of Teller of Tales, a widely praised biography of Conan Doyle. Jon Lellenberg is the U.S. agent for the Conan Doyle estate and author of The Quest for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Charles Foley is the writer's great-nephew and executor of the estate. Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters will be a must-have collection for readers interested in the author, Sherlock Holmes, and the Victorian era.

2007 Best Children's/Young Adult: The Light in the Cellar: A Molly Mystery (American Girl Mysteries) by Sarah Master Buckey - recent article about Sarah Masters Buckey on NewHampshire.com

Book Description
Molly wishes that she and her English friend, Emily, had exciting volunteer jobs that really helped in the fight to win World War Two. Instead, they're magazine delivery girls at Oak Knoll Hospital. Soon, however, Molly and Emily start to suspect that something very un-patriotic is going on at Oak Knoll--and their snooping leads them into deep trouble! Girls will enjoy solving the mystery right along with Molly and Emily. This latest book from Sarah Masters Buckey, a two-time Agatha Award nominee, and now winner, also includes an illustrated "Looking Back" section to provide historical context.

2007 Best Short Story: "A Rat's Tale", by Donna Andrews (below left) (Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine Sept./Oct.2007)- Authors web site

Agatha Award Nominees for 2007 Awards (awarded in 2008)

A line-up of popular authors in the genre, with a few newcomers to spice it-up, have been shortlisted for this year Agatha Awards.

Early favourites include, Donna Andrews author of The Penguin Who Knew Too Much eighth book in her series featuring blacksmith Meg Langslow, is up for Best Novel.

Best Novel

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (A Meg Langslow Mystery) by Donna Andrews
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
Hard Row by Margaret Maron
A Fatal Grace: A Three Pines Mystery (Three Pines Mysteries) by Louise Penny
Murder with Reservations (Dead-End Job Mysteries) by Elaine Viets

Best First Novel

A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox Mysteries) by Charles Finch
A Real Basket Case (Five Star Mystery) (Five Star Mystery Series) by Beth Groundwater
Silent In The Grave by Deanna Raybourn
Prime Time (Harlequin Next) by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Best Nonfiction

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Charles Foley, Jon Lellenberg, and Daniel Stashower
The Official Nancy Drew Handbook: Skills, Tips, and Life Lessons from Everyone's Favorite Girl Detective by Penny Warner

Best Short Story

"A Rat's Tale", by Donna Andrews (Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine Sept./Oct.2007)
"Please Watch Your Step", by Rhys Bowen (The Strand, Spring, 2007)
"Casino Gamble", by Nan Higginson (Murder New York Style)
"Popping Round To The Post", by Peter Lovesey (Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2007)
"Death Will Clean Your Closet", by Elizabeth Zelvin (Murder New York Style)

Best Children's/Young Adult

The Light in the Cellar: A Molly Mystery (American Girl Mysteries) by Sarah Master Buckey
Bravo Zulu, Samantha!, Samantha! by Kathleen Benner
Cover-up: Mystery at the Super Bowl by John Feinstein
The Falconer's Knot: A Story of Friars, Flirtation and Foul Play by Mary Hoffman
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R.L. LaFevers

Agatha Awards Historic Winners 1988-2006

Best First Novel

* 2006 - The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall (Poisoned Pen Press)
* 2005 - Better Off Wed: An Annabelle Archer Mystery by Laura Durham (HarperCollins Publishers)
* 2004 - Dating Dead Men: A Wollie Shelley Mystery by Harley Jane Kozak (Doubleday)
* 2003 - Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel (Maisie Dobbs Novels) by Jacqueline Winspear
* 2002 - In the Bleak Midwinter (A Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mystery) by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin's Minotaur)
* 2001 - Bubbles Unbound, Sarah Strohmeyer (Dutton)
* 2000 - Death on a Silver Tray (Beau Brummell Mysteries) by Rosemary Stevens (Berkley Prime Crime)
* 1999 - Murder With Peacocks (A Meg Langslow Mystery) by Donna Andrews (Thomas Dunne Books)
* 1998 - The Doctor Digs a Grave (Dr. Fenimore Mysteries) by Robin Hathaway (St. Martin's Minotaur)
* 1997 - The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)
* 1996 - Murder on a Girls' Night Out: A Southern Sisters Mystery Out by Anne George (Avon Books)
* 1995 - The Body in the Transept (Dorothy Martin Mysteries) by Jeanne M. Dams (Walker)
* 1994 - Do Unto Others by Jeff Abbott (Ballantine)
* 1993 - Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr (Putnam)
* 1992 - Blanche on the Lam (Crime, Penguin) by Barbara Neely (St. Martin's Press)
* 1991 - Zero at the Bone by Mary Willis Walker (St. Martin's Press)
* 1990 - The Body in the Belfry: A Faith Fairchild Mystery by Katherine Hall Page (St. Martin's Press)
* 1989 - Grime and Punishment (Jane Jeffrey Mysteries, No. 1) by Jill Churchill (Avon Books)
* 1988 - A Great Deliverance (Inspector Lynley) by Elizabeth George (Bantam)

Best Novel

* 2006 - The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel by Nancy Pickard (Random House)
* 2005 - The Body in the Snowdrift: A Faith Fairchild Mystery (Faith Fairchild Mysteries) by Katherine Hall Page (William Morrow)
* 2004 - Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs Mysteries) by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)
* 2003 - Letter From Home by Carolyn Hart (Berkley Prime Crime)
* 2002 - You've Got Murder (A Turing Hopper Mystery) by Donna Andrews (Berkley Prime Crime)
* 2001 - Murphy's Law (Molly Murphy Mysteries), Rhys Bowen (St Martin's Minotaur Books)
* 2000 - Storm Track, Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
* 1999 - Mariner's Compass (Benni Harper Mystery) by Earlene Fowler (Berkley Publishing Group)
* 1998 -Butchers Hill (A Tess Monaghan Investigation) by Laura Lippman (Avon Books)
* 1997 - The Devil in Music (Julian Kestrel Mystery) by Kate Ross (Viking)
* 1996 - Up Jumps the Devil (Deborah Knott Mysteries)by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
* 1995 - If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him...: An Elizabeth Mac Pherson Novel by Sharyn McCrumb (Ballantine)
* 1994 - She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb (Scribner)
* 1993 - Dead Man's Island by Carolyn Hart (Bantam)
* 1992 - Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
* 1991 - I.O.U. by Nancy Pickard (Pocket )
* 1990 - Bum Steer (A Jenny Cain Mystery) by Nancy Pickard (Pocket )
* 1989 - Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters (Warner)
* 1988 - Something Wicked (A Bantam Crime Line Book) by Carolyn G. Hart (Bantam)

Best Non-Fiction

* 2006 - Don't Murder Your Mystery by Chris Roerden (left)(Bella Rosa Books)
* 2005 - Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak (Harcourt)
* 2004 - Private Eye-Lashes: Radio's Lady Detectives by Jack French (Bear Manor Media)
* 2003 - Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium, edited by Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread; designed by Dennis Forbes. (William Morrow & Company)
* 2002 - They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels, edited by Jim Huang (Crum Creek Press)
* 2001 - Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins)
* 2000 - 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century, edited by Jim Huang (Crum Creek Press)
* 1999 - Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle by Daniel Stashower (Henry Holt & Company)
* 1998 - Mystery Reader's Walking Guide: Washington, D.C. by Alzina Stone Dale (Passport Books)
* 1997 - Detecting Men Pocket Guide: Checklist by Willeta L. Heising (Purple Moon Press)
* 1996 - Detecting Women 2: Reader's Guide and Checklist for Mystery Series Written by Women by Willetta L. Heising (Purple Moon Press)
* 1995 - Mystery Reader's Walking Guide: Chicago by Alzina Stone Dale (Passport Books, NTC Publishing Group)
* 1994 - By a Woman's Hand by Jean Swanson and Dean James (Berkley Publishing Group)
* 1993 - The Doctor, the Murder, the Mystery by Barbara D'Amato (Noble Press)

Best Short Story

* 2006 - Sleeping with the Plush by Toni Kelner Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
* 2005 - Driven to Distraction by Marcia Talley-Chesapeake Crimes II, Quiet Storm Publishing
* 2004 - Wedding Knife by Elaine Viets (Chesapeake Crimes, Coordinating Editor: Donna Andrews, Quiet Storm Publishing)
* 2003 - No Man’s Land by Elizabeth Foxwell in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
* 2002 - The Dog That Didn't Bark by Margaret Maron, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 2002 and Too Many Cooks by Marcia Talley, Much Ado About Murder, edited by Anne Perry (Berkley Prime Crime)
* 2001 - The Would-Be-Widower by Katherine Hall Page, Malice Domestic X (Avon Books)
* 2000 - The Man in the Civil Suit by Jan Burke, Malice Domestic 9 (Avon Books)
* 1999 - Out of Africa by Nancy Pickard, Mom, Apple Pie, and Murder (Berkley Publishing Group)
* 1998 - Of Course You Know That Chocolate Is A Vegetable by Barbara D’Amato, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 1998
* 1997 - Tea for Two by M.D. Lake, Funnybones (Penguin)
* 1996 - Accidents Will Happen by Carolyn Wheat, Malice Domestic 5 (Pocket)
* 1995 - The Dog Who Remembered Too Much by Elizabeth Daniels Squire, Malice Domestic 4 (Pocket)
* 1994 - The Family Jewels by Dorothy Cannell, Malice Domestic 3 (Pocket)
* 1993 - Kim's Game by M.D. Lake, Malice Domestic 2 (Pocket)
* 1992 - Nice Gorilla by Aaron and Charlotte Elkins, Malice Domestic 1 (Pocket)
* 1991 - Deborah's Judgment by Margaret Maron, A Woman's Eye (Delacourte Press)
* 1990 - Too Much To Bare by Joan Hess, Sisters in Crime 2 (Berkley Publishing Group)
* 1989 - A Wee Doch And Doris by Sharyn McCrumb, Mistletoe Mysteries (Mysterious Press )
* 1988 - More Final Than Divorce by Robert Barnard, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

Best Children/Young Adult Fiction

* nancy_means_wright 2006 - The Pea Soup Poisonings by Nancy Means Wright (below) (Hilliard & Harris)
* 2005 - Down the Rabbit Hole (An Echo Falls Mystery) by Peter Abrahams, HarperCollins Publishers and Flush by Carl Hiaasen (Alfred A. Knopf)
* 2004 - Chasing Vermeer (After Words)) by Blue Balliett (Scholastic Press)
* 2003 - The 7th Knot by Kathleen Karr (Marshall Cavendish)
* 2002 -Red Card: A Zeke Armstrong Mystery (The Zeke Armstrong Mysteries, 1) (The Zeke Armstrong Mysteries, 1)(The Zeke Armstrong Mysteries, 1) by Daniel J. Hale & Matthew LaBrot (Top Publications)
* 2001 - Mystery of the Haunted Cave) by Penny Warner (Meadowbrook Press)

Special Awards

Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement

* 2005 - H.R.F. Keating
* 2004 - Marian Babson
* 2003 - Barbara Mertz, Elizabeth Peters, and Barbara Michaels
* 2002 - Tony Hillerman
* 2001 - Mildred Wirt Benson
* 2000 - Dick Francis
* 1999 - Patricia Moyes
* 1998 - Charlotte McLeod
* 1997 - Emma Lathen
* 1996 - Mary Stewart
* 1994 - Mignon G. Eberhart
* 1990 - Phyllis A. Whitney

Malice Domestic Poirot Award

* 2005 - Ruth Cavin Thomas Dunne
* 2004 - David Suchet

Complete List of Nominees 1988-2006

* denotes winner.

2006

Best First Novel
CONSIGNED TO DEATH, Jane Cleland, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur
THE CHEF WHO DIED SAUTEING, Honora Finkelstein and Susan Smily, Hilliard & Harris
FEINT OF ART, Hailey Lind, NAL
MURDER ON THE ROCKS, Karen MacInerney, Midnight Ink
*THE HEAT OF THE MOON, Sandra Parshall, Poisoned Pen Press

Best Novel
THE SADDLEMAKER’S WIFE, Earlene Fowler, Penguin
WHY CASEY HAD TO DIE, L.C. Hayden, Five Star
*THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS, Nancy Pickard, Random House
ALL MORTAL FLESH, Julia Spencer-Fleming, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur
MESSENGER OF TRUTH, Jacqueline Winspear, Henry Holt

Best Non-fiction
MYSTERY MUSES, Jim Huang and Austin Lugar, The Crum Creek Press
*DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY, Chris Roerden, Bella Rosa Books
THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL, Daniel Stashower, Dutton

Best Short Story
"The Old Couple", Robert Barnard, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - March/April 2006
"Provenance", Robert Barnard, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - July, 2006
"Yankee Swap", Maurissa Guibord\, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - March/April, 2006
"Disturbance in the Field", Roberta Isleib, From the Anthology SEASMOKE, Level Best Books
*"Sleeping with the Plush", Toni L.P. Kelner, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – May, 2006

Best Childrens’/Young Adult
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: AN ECHO FALLS MYSTERY, Peter Abrahams, Harper Collins
ROOM ONE A MYSTERY OR TWO, Andrew Clements, Simon & Schuster
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS - THE FALL OF THE AMAZING ZALINDAS, Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin, Scholastic, Inc
*PEA SOUP POISONINGS, Nancy Means Wright, Hilliard & Harris

2005

Best First Novel:
•Better Off Wed by Laura Durham, HarperCollins Publishers
Blood Relations by Lisa Tillman, Hilliard & Harris
Jury of One by Laura Bradford, Hilliard & Harris
Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton, Penguin Group
Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard, Avon/HarperCollins Publishers

Best Novel
Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews, St. Martin's Minotaur
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear, Henry Holt Books
Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron, Mysterious Press & Warner Books
The Belen Hitch by Pari Noskin Taichert, University of NM Press
•The Body in the Snowdrift by Katherine Hall Page, William Morrow
Trouble in Spades by Heather Webber, Avon/HarperCollins Publishers

Best Non-Fiction
Behind the Mystery—Top Mystery Writers by Stuart Kaminsky, Hothouse Press
•Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak, Harcourt
The Heirs of Anthony Boucher by Marvin Lachman, Poisoned Pen Press
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Leslie S. Klinger, W.W. Norton

Best Short Story
•Driven to Distraction by Marcia Talley—Chesapeake Crimes II, Quiet Storm Publishing,
House Rules by Libby Fischer Hellmann— Murder in Vegas, Tor
Mother Love by Harriette Sackler—Chesapeake Crimes II, Quiet Storm Publishing
Murder at Sleuthfest by Barb Goffman—Chesapeake Crimes II, Quiet Storm Publishing
Rear View Murder by Carla Coupe—Chesapeake Crimes II, Quiet Storm Publishing

Best Children/Young Adult Fiction
Danger at the Zoo by Kathleen Ernst, American Girl-Pleasant Company Publications
•Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams, HarperCollins Publishers TIE
•Flush by Carl Hiaasen, Alfred A. Knopf TIE
The Coastwatcher by Elise Weston, Peachtree Publications
The Curse of Ravenscourt by Sarah Masters Buckey, American Girl-Pleasant Company Publications

Please note, there was a tie for Best Children/Young Adult Fiction.

2004

Malice Domestic XVII Agatha Nominees: • Indicates Winner

Best Novel
We’ll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews (Thomas Dunne Books)
By a Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman (HarperCollins)
High Country Fall by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
The Pearl Diver by Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)
•Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press)

Best First Novel
Till the Cows Come Home by Judy Clemens (Poisoned Pen Press)
Arson and Old Lace by Patricia Harwin (Pocket Books)
I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason by Susan Kandel (HarperCollins)
•Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak (Doubleday)
The Clovis Incident: A Mystery by Pari Noskin Taichert (University of New Mexico Press)

Best Nonfiction
•Private Eye-Lashes: Radio’s Lady Detectives by Jack French (Bear Manor Media)
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories, edited with notes by Leslie Klinger (W.W. Norton & Co.)

Best Short Story
“The Butler Didn’t Do It” by Maria Y. Lima (Chesapeake Crimes, Coordinating Editor: Donna Andrews, Quiet Storm Publishing)
“The Two Marys” by Katherine Hall Page (Mistletoe and Mayhem, Avon Books)
•“Wedding Knife” by Elaine Viets (Chesapeake Crimes, Coordinating Editor: Donna Andrews, Quiet Storm Publishing)

Best Children's/Young Adult
• Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett (Scholastic Press)
Betrayal at Cross Creek by Kathleen Ernst (American Girl)
Green Streak: A Zeke Armstrong Mystery by Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot (Top Publications)

2003

Best Novel:
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer (William Morrow & Company)
•Letter From Home by Carolyn Hart (Berkley Prime Crime)
Dream House by Rochelle Krich (Ballantine Books)
Last Lessons of Summer by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
Shop till You Drop by Elaine Viets (Signet)

Best First Novel:
Dealing in Murder by Elaine Flinn (Avon Books)
Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (Scribner)
Take the Bait by S. W. Hubbard (Pocket)
Alpine for You by Maddy Hunter (Pocket)
Murder Off Mike by Joyce Krieg (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
O’ Artful Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor (St. Martin’s Minotaur)
•Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (Soho Press Inc.)

Best Short Story:
“Doppleganger” by Rhys Bowen in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
•“No Man’s Land” by Elizabeth Foxwell in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“Safety First” by Marcia Talley in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“Red Meat” by Elaine Viets in Blood On Their Hands (Berkley Prime Crime)
“Sex and Bingo” by Elaine Viets in High Stakes (Signet)

Best Nonfiction:
Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, vol. 3 (parts 1 & 2) by Colleen A. Barnett (Poisoned Pen Press)
A Second Helping of Murder: More Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers, edited by Jo Grossman and Robert Weibezahl (Poisoned Pen Press)
Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s and 1950s by Jeffrey Marks (Delphi Books)
•Amelia Peabody’s Egypt: A Compendium, edited by Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread; designed by Dennis Forbes. (William Morrow & Company)
Dick Francis Companion by Jean Swanson and Dean James (Berkley Prime Crime)

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel:
Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic by Sarah Masters Buckey (Pleasant Company)
Danger, Dynamite! by Anne Capeci (Peachtree Publishers)
Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (Pleasant Company)
•The 7th Knot by Kathleen Karr (Marshall Cavendish)
The Secret of the Equestrian Park by Gay Toltl Kinman (Amber Quill Press)

2002

Best Novel:
•You've Got Murder by Donna Andrews (Berkley Prime Crime)
Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Blues in the Night by Rochelle Krich (Ballantine Books)
The Body in the Bonfire by Katherine Hall Page (William Morrow & Company)
The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters (William Morrow & Company)

Best First Novel:
Not All Tarts Are Apple by Pip Granger (Poisoned Pen Press)
Six Strokes Under by Roberta Isleib (Berkley Prime Crime)
Beat Until Stiff by Claire M. Johnson (Poisoned Pen Press)
How to Murder a Millionaire by Nancy Martin (Signet)
•In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Shadows at the Fair by Lea Wait (Scribner)

Best Short Story:
Dognapped by Robert Barnard, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 2002
Devotion by Jan Burke, 18 (A.S.A.P. Publishing)
What He Needed by Laura Lippman, Tart Noir, edited by Stella Duffy & Lauren Henderson (Berkley Prime Crime)
•The Dog That Didn't Bark by Margaret Maron, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2002
•Too Many Cooks by Marcia Talley, Much Ado About Murder, edited by Anne Perry (Berkley Prime Crime)

Please note, there was a tie for Best Short Story.

Best Nonfiction:
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction, edited by Mike Ashley (Avalon Publishing Group)
Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, by Colleen Barnett (Poisoned Pen Press)
Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon and Schuster)
Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America, edited by Sue Grafton with Jan Burke and Barry Zeman (Writer's Digest Press)
•They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Forgotten Mystery Novels, edited by Jim Huang (Crum Creek Press)

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel:
Whistler in the Dark (American Girl History Mysteries, 16) by Kathleen Ernst (Pleasant Company Publications)
•Red Card: A Zeke Armstrong Mystery (The Zeke Armstrong Mysteries, 1) by Daniel J. Hale & Matthew LaBrot (Top Publications)
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf)
The Secret of the Red Flame by K. M. Kimball (Aladdin Library)
The Maltese Kitten: A Sam The Cat Mystery by Linda Stewart (Cheshire House Books)

2001

Best Novel:
•Murphy's Law, Rhys Bowen (St Martin's Minotaur Books)
Arkansas Traveler, Earlene Fowler (Berkley Prime Crime)
Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris (Ace Books)
Shadows of Sin, Rochelle Krich (William Morrow & Company)
The Bride's Kimono, Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)

Best First Novel:
Innkeeping With Murder, Tim Myers (Berkley Prime Crime)
Mute Witness, Charles O'Brien (Poisoned Pen Press)
A Witness Above, Andy Straka (Signet)
•Bubbles Unbound, Sarah Strohmeyer (Dutton)
An Affinity For Murder, Anne White (Oak Tree Press)

Best Short Story:
"Bitter Waters" by Rochelle Krich, Criminal Kabbalah: An Intriguing Anthology of Jewish Mystery and Detective Fiction (Jewish Lights Publishing)
"The Peculiar Events On Riverside Drive" by Maan Meyers, Mystery Street (Signet)
• “The Would-Be-Widower” by Katherine Hall Page, Malice Domestic X (Avon Books)
"Juggernaut" by Nancy Springer, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"Virgo In Sapphires" by Margaret Maron, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, December 2001

Best Nonfiction:
The History of the Mystery by Max Allan Collins (Collector's Press)
Writing The Mystery: A Start-To-Finish Guide For Both Novice And Professional by G. Miki Hayden (Intrigue Press)
• Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir by Tony Hillerman (HarperCollins)
Who Was That Lady? by Jeffrey Marks (Delphi Books)
Food, Drink, And The Female Sleuth by The Sisters Wells (Authors Choice Press, iUniverse.com)

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel:
The Viking Claw by Michael Dahl (Simon & Schuster)
Death On Sacred Ground by Harriet K. Feder (Lerner Publications Company)
The Mystery Of The Octagon House by Gay Toltl Kinman (RFI West)
Ring Out Wild Bells: A Matty Trescott Novel by Carroll Thomas (Smith & Kraus Books)
• Mystery Of The Haunted Caves: A Troop 13 Mystery by Penny Warner (Meadowbrook Press)

2000

Best Novel:
Guns and Roses, Taffy Cannon (Perseverance Press/John Daniel and Company)
Killer Wedding, Jerrilyn Farmer (Avon Books)
•Storm Track, Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
The Floating Girl, Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)
He Shall Thunder in the Sky, Elizabeth Peters (William Morrow & Company)

Best First Novel:
Death Dances to a Reggae Beat by Kate Grilley (Berkley Prime Crime)
Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death by Julie Wray Herman (Silver Dagger Mysteries)
Death of an Amiable Child by Irene Marcuse (Walker)
•Death on a Silver Tray by Rosemary Stevens (Berkley Prime Crime)
Murder of a Small Town Honey by Denise Swanson (Signet)

Best Short Story:
"Nothing to Lose" by Robert Barnard, Malice Domestic 9 (Avon Books)
"The Seal of the Confessional" by Rhys Bowen, Unholy Orders (Intrigue Press)
•"The Man in the Civil Suit" by Jan Burke, Malice Domestic 9 (Avon Books)
"Amish Butter" by Jacqueline Fiedler, Unholy Orders (Intrigue Press)
"Miss Parker & the Cutter-Sanborn Tables" by Gay Toltl Kinman, A Deadly Dozen (Ugly Town Productions)
"Widow's Peak" by Rochelle Krich, Unholy Orders (Intrigue Press)

Best Nonfiction:
The Complete Christie by Matthew Bunson (Pocket)
Women of Mystery, edited by Martha Dubose (St. Martin's Minotaur)
•100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century, edited by Jim Huang (Crum Creek Press)
The American Regional Mystery by Marvin Lachman (Crossover Press)
They Wrote the Book, edited by Helen Windrath (Spinsters Ink)

1999

Best Novel:
Immaculate Reception by Jerrilyn Farmer (Avon Books)
• Mariner's Compass by Earlene Fowler (Berkley Publishing Group)
Death on the River Walk by Carolyn Hart (William Morrow & Company)
In Big Trouble by Laura Lippman (Avon Books)
The Flower Master by Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)

Best First Novel:
• Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews (Thomas Dunne Books)
Circles of Confusion by April Henry (HarperTorch)
Revenge of the Gypsy Queen by Kris Neri (Rainbow Books)
By Blood Possessed by Elena Santangelo (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Sing It To Her Bones by Marcia Talley (Dell)

Best Short Story:
"Maubi and the Jumbies" by Kate Grilley, Murderous Intent Magazine, Fall 1999
"The Golden Rounds" by Susan Holtzer, Malice Domestic 8 (Avon Books)
"With Thanks to Agatha Christie" by Sarah J. Mason, Mom, Apple Pie, and Murder (Berkley Publishing Group)
•"Out of Africa" by Nancy Pickard, Mom, Apple Pie, and Murder (Berkley Publishing Group)
"With Love, Marjorie Ann" by Marcia Talley, Murderous Intent Magazine, Fall 1999

Best Nonfiction:
The Deadly Directory by Kate Derie (Deadly Serious Press)
A Taste of Murder: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery
Writers by Jo Grossman & Robert Weibezahl (Poisoned Pen Press)
Detecting Women III by Willetta L. Heising (Purple Moon Press)
The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing by Rosemary Herbert (Oxford University Press)
•Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle by Daniel Stashower (Henry Holt & Company)

1998

Best Novel:
Liar by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster)
Dove In The Window by Earlene Fowle (Berkley Publishing Group)
Blind Bloodhound Justice by Virginia Lanier (HarperCollins)
• Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman (Avon Books)
Home Fires by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
The Ape Who Guards The Balance by Elizabeth Peters (William Morrow & Company)

Best First Novel:
Sympathy For The Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer (Avon Books)
Tiger's Palette by Jacqueline Fiedler (Pocket)
Dying To Get Published by Judy Fitzwater (Fawcett)
• The Doctor Digs A Grave by Robin Hathaway (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Fax Me A Bagel by Sharon Kahn (Scribner)

Best Short Story:
"Sleeping Dogs Lie" by Laurien Berenson, Canine Crimes (Ballantine)
"A Simple Philosophy" by Harlan Coben, Malice Domestic 7 (Avon Books)
•"Of Course You Know That Chocolate Is A Vegetable" by Barbara D’Amato, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 1998
"The Village Vampire And The Oboe Of Death" by Dean James, Malice Domestic 7 (Avon Books)
"A Deliberate Form Of Frenzy" by Daniel Stashower, Malice Domestic 7 (Avon Books)

Best Nonfiction:
•Mystery Reader's Walking Guide To Washington D.C. by Alzina Stone Dale (Passport Books)
Speaking Of Murder by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg (Berkley Publishing Group)
Deadly Women by Jan Grape, Dean James, and Ellen Nehr (Carroll & Graf)
Silk Stalkings II by Victoria Nichols and Susan Thompson (Scarecrow)
Killer Books by Jean Swanson and Dean James (Berkley Publishing Group

1997

Best Novel:
Hocus by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster)
Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie (Scribner)
Goose In A Pond by Earlene Fowler (Berkley Publishing Group)
Seeing A Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters (Warner)
•The Devil In Music by Kate Ross (Viking)

Best First Novel:
Quieter Than Sleep by Joanne Dobson (Doubleday)
•The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey (HarperCollins)
The Butter Did It by Phyllis Richman (HarperCollins)
Dead Body Language by Penny Warner (Bantam)
Death Brims Over by Barbara Jaye Wilson (Avon Books)

Best Short Story
•"Tea for Two" by M.D. Lake, Funnybones (Penquin)
"Heavenly Bodies" by Simon Brett, Funnybones (Penquin)
"Come To Tea" by Janet Laurence, Murder They Wrote (Boulevard)
"Corbett Correspondence" by Edward Marston & Peter Lovesey, Malice Domestic 6 (Pocket)
"Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" by Peter Robinson, Malice Domestic 6 (Pocket)

Best Nonfiction:
•Detecting Men (Pocket Guide) by Willeta L. Heising (Purple Moon Press)
Crimes Of The Scene by Nina King & Robin Winks (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Guilty Parties by Ian Ousby (Thames & Hudson )

1996

Best Novel:
Kansas Troubles by Earlene Fowler (Berkley Publishing Group)
Grass Widow by Teri Holbrook (Bantam)
Hearts And Bones by Margaret Lawrence (Avon Books)
• Up Jumps The Devil by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
Strong As Death by Sharan Newman (Forge)

Best First Novel:
Biggie And The Poisoned Politician by Nancy Bell (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Death In Little Tokyo by Dale Furutani (St. Martin's Minotaur)
•Murder On A Girl's Night Out by Anne George (Avon Books)
Somebody Else's Child by Terris McMahan Grimes (Onyx)
Riding For A Fall by Lillian Roberts (Fawcett)

Best Short Story:
"The Bun Also Rises" by Jill Churchill, Malice Domestic 5 (Pocket)
"The Death Of Erik The Redneck" by Toni L.P. Kelner, Malice Domestic 5 (Pocket)
"A Parrot Is Forever" by Peter Lovesey, Malice Domestic 5 (Pocket)
"Bugged" by Eve K. Sandstrom, Malice Domestic 5 (Pocket)
•"Accidents Will Happen" by Carolyn Wheat, Malice Domestic 5 (Pocket)

Best Nonfiction:
Amateur Detectives: A Writer's Guide To How Private Citizens Solve Criminal Cases by Elaine Raco Chase and Anne Wingate (Writer's Digest)
• Detecting Women 2 by Willetta L. Heising (Purple Moon Press)
Mystery: A Celebration by Ron Miller (KQED Books)
The Letters Of Dorothy L. Sayers: The Making Of A Detective Novelist, edited by Barbara Reynolds (St. Martin's Minotaur)
By A Woman's Hand, Second Edition, by Jean Swanson & Dean James (Berkley Publishing Group)

1995

Best Novel
Miracles In Maggody by Joan Hess (Dutton)
•If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him by Sharyn McCrumb (Ballantine)
The Wandering Arm by Sharan Newman (Forge)
Twilight by Nancy Pickard (Pocket)
Escapade by Walter Satterthwait (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best First Novel:
• The Body in the Transept by Jeanne M. Dams (Walker)
A Far And Deadly Cry by Teri Holbrook (Bantam)
Horse Of A Different Killer by Jody Jaffe (Fawcett)
Death In Bloodhound Red by Virginia Lanier (Pineapple Press)
Murder In Scorpio by Martha C. Lawrence (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Short Story:
•"The Dog Who Remembered Too Much" by Elizabeth Daniels Squire, Malice Domestic 4 (Pocket)
"Rule Of Law" by K.K. Beck, Malice Domestic 4 (Pocket)
"Cupid's Arrow" by Dorothy Cannell, Crimes of the Heart (Berkley Publishing Group)
"A Contest Fit For A Queen" by Susan Dunlap, Crimes of the Heart (Berkley Publishing Group)
"The Murder Game" by Jean Hager, Malice Domestic 4 (Pocket)

Best Nonfiction:
• Mystery Readers Walking Guide-Chicago by Alzina Stone Dale (Passport Books, NTC Publishing Group)
John Dickson Carr: The Man Who Explained Miracles by Douglas Greene (Otto Penzler Books)
Ngaio Marsh: The Woman And Her Work, edited by B.J. Rahn (Scarecrow)
The Armchair Detective Book Of Lists, 2nd edition edited by Kate Stine (Simon & Schuster)
The Cadfael Companion, 2nd edition, by Robin Whiteman (Mysterious Press)

1994

Best Novel:
Scandal In Fair Haven by Carolyn G. Hart (Bantam)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Angel Of Death by Rochelle Majer Krich (Mysterious Press)
• She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb (Scribner)
Night Train To Memphis by Elizabeth Peters (Warner Books, Inc.)

Best First Novel:
•Do Unto Others by Jeff Abbott (Fawcett)
One For The Money by Janet Evanovich (Scribner)
Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler (Berkley Publishing Group)
Writers Of The Purple Sage by Barbara Burnett Smith (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Until Death by Polly Whitney (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Short Story:
•"The Family Jewels" by Dorothy Cannell, Malice Domestic 3 (Pocket)
"Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Deborah Adams, Malice Domestic 3 (Pocket)
"The Gentleman In The Lake" by Robert Barnard, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"Soon To Be A Minor Motion Picture" by Barbara D'Amato, Partners in Crime (Signet)
"The Dying Light" by Taylor McCafferty (Malice Domestic 3 (Pocket)

Best Nonfiction:
Encylopedia Mysteriosa by William L. DeAndrea (Mysterious Press)
Crime Fiction II by Allen J. Hubin (Garland)
Great Women Mystery Writers, edited by Kathleen Gregory Klein (Greenwood)
Had She But Known: Mary Roberts Rinehart by Charlotte MacLeod (Mysterious Press)
• By A Woman's Hand by Jean Swanson and Dean James (Berkley Publishing Group)

1993

Best Novel:
Old Scores by Aaron Elkins (Scriber)
• Dead Man's Island by Carolyn Hart (Bantam)
O Little Town of Maggody by Joan Hess (Dutton)
Fair Game by Rochelle Majer Krich (Mysterious Press)
Southern Discomfort by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
To Live And Die In Dixie by Kathy Hogan Trocheck (HarperCollins)

Best First Novel:
•Track Of The Cat by Nevada Barr (Putnam)
Goodnight, Irene by Jan Burke (Simon & Schuster)
A Share In Death by Deborah Crombie (Scribner)
Death Comes As Epiphany by Sharan Newman (Tor)
Child Of Silence by Abigail Padgett (Mysterious Press)

Best Short Story:
"A Romance in the Rockies" by K.K. Beck, Malice Domestic 2 (Pocket)
"Sax And The Single Cat" by Carole Nelson Douglas, Cat Crimes IV (Fawcett)
"Checkout" by Susan Dunlap,Malice Domestic 2 (Pocket)
• "Kim's Game" by M.D. Lake, Malice Domestic 2 (Pocket)
"...That Married Dear Old Dad" by Margaret Maron, Malice Domestic 2 (Pocket Books)

Best Nonfiction:
•The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery by Barbara D'Amato (Noble Press)
Maker & Craftsman: Dorothy L. Sayers by Alzina Stone Dale (Walker)
The Poisonous Pen Of Agatha Christie by Michael C. Gerald (University of Texas Press)
The Fine Art Of Murder, editor. Ed Gorman et al. (Carroll and Graf)
A Reader's Guide To The American Novel Of Detection by Marvin Lachman (GK Hall)
The Doubleday Crime Club Compendium 1928-91 by Ellen Nehr (Offspring Press)

1992

Best Novel:
Southern Ghost by Carolyn G. Hart (Bantam)
•Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron (Mysterious Press)
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb (Scribner)
Defend And Betray by Anne Perry (Fawcett)
The Snake, The Crocodile And The Dog by Elizabeth Peters (Warner)

Best First Novel:
• Blanche On The Lam by Barbara Neely (St. Martin's Press)
All The Great Pretenders by Deborah Adams (Ballantine Books)
Thyme Of Death by Susan Wittig Albert (Scribner)
Decked by Carol Higgins Clark (Warner)
The Seneca Falls Inheritance by Miriam Grace Monfredo (St. Martin's Press)

Best Short Story:
•"Nice Gorilla" by Aaron and Charlotte Elkins, Malice Domestic 1 (Pocket)
"The Jersey Lily" by P.M. Carlson, Malice Domestic 1 (Pocket)
"Country Hospitality" by Jean Hager, Sisters in Crime 5 (Berkley Publishing Group)
"The Last To Know" by Joan Hess, Malice Domestic 1 (Pocket)
"Happiness Is A Dead Poet" by Sharyn McCrumb, Malice Domestic 1 (Pocket)

1991

Best Novel:
Make No Bones by Aaron Elkins ((Mysterious Press)
The Christie Caper by Carolyn G. Hart (Bantam)
An Owl Too Many by Charlotte MacLeod (Mysterious Press)
The Last Camel Died At Noon by Elizabeth Peters (Warner)
• I.O.U. by Nancy Pickard (Pocket )

Best First Novel:
Carpool by Mary Cahill (Random House)
Just Desserts by Mary Daheim (Avon Books)
The Bulrush Murders by Rebecca Rothenberg (Carroll and Graf)
• Zero At The Bone by Mary Willis Walker (St. Martin's Press)
Flowers For The Dead by Ann Williams (St. Martin's Press)

Best Short Story:
"The Habit Of Widowhood" by Robert Barnard, The Habit of Widowhood and Other Murderous Proclivities (HarperCollins)
"The January Sales Stowaway" by Dorothy Cannell, Christmas Stalkings (Mysterious Press)
"The Crime Of Miss Oyster Brown" by Peter Lovesey, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
• "Deborah's Judgment" by Margaret Maron, A Woman's Eye (Delacourte Press)
"Long Live The Queen" by Ruth Rendell , Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

1990

Best Novel:
Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (Walker)
Deadly Valentine by Carolyn G. Hart (Doubleday)
The Face Of A Stranger by Anne Perry (Fawcett)
The Potter's Field by Ellis Peters (Mysterious Press)
•Bum Steer by Nancy Pickard (Pocket )

Best First Novel:
Screaming Bones by Pat Burden (Doubleday)
Catering To Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson (St. Martin's Press)
The Chartreuse Clue by William F. Love (Dutton)
•The Body In The Belfry by Katherine Hall Page (St. Martin's Press)
Sea Of Troubles by Janet L. Smith (Borgo Press)

Best Short Story:
"The High Cost Of Living" by Dorothy Cannell, Sisters in Crime 3 (Berkley Publishing Group)
•"Too Much To Bare" by Joan Hess, Sisters in Crime 2 (Berkley Publishing Group)
"Proxime Accessit" by Reginald Hill, Armchair Detective (Mysterious Press)
"A Family Affair" by Janet Neel, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"The Wearing Of Purple" by Anne Woodward, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine p

1989

Best Novel:
The Sirens Sang Of Murder by Sarah Caudwell (Delacourte Press)
A Little Class On Murder by Carolyn G. Hart (Bantam)
Corpus Christmas by Margaret Maron (Doubleday)
Philly Stakes by Gillian Roberts (Scribner)
•Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters (Warner)

Best First Novel:
• Grime And Punishment by Jill Churchill (Avon Books)
Working Murder by Eleanor Boylan (Henry Holt & Company)
A Question Of Guilt by Frances Fyfield (Pocket)
The Mother Shadow by Melanie Johnson Howe (Viking)
The Mark Twain Murders by Edith Skom (Council Oak Distribution)

Best Short Story:
"Live It Up, Bert" by Patricia Derozier, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"Amanda" by Ellie Grossman, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"A Cozy For Christmas" by Charlotte MacLeod, Mistletoe Mysteries (Mysterious Press)
•"A Wee Doch And Doris" by Sharyn McCrumb,Mistletoe Mysteries (Mysterious Press )
"Afraid All The Time" by Nancy Pickard, Sisters in Crime (Berkley Publishing Group)

1988

Best Novel:
• Something Wicked by Carolyn G. Hart (Bantam)
The Widow's Club by Dorothy Cannell (Bantam)
Mischief In Maggody by Joan Hess (St. Martin's Press)
Paying The Piper by Sharyn McCrumb (Ballantine)
Dead Crazy by Nancy Pickard (Scribner)

Best First Novel:
•A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George (Bantam)
The Killings At Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham (Adler and Adler)
The J. Alfred Prufrock Murders by Corinne Holt Sawyer (Dutton)
Goodbye, Nanny Grey by Susannah Stacey (Summit Books)
Dead Men Don't Give Seminars by Dorothy Sucher (St. Martin's Press)

Best Short Story:
• "More Final Than Divorce" by Robert Barnard, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"Prodigal Grandson" by Elizabeth Byrd, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
"Father Of The Bride" by P.M. Carlson, Mr. President, Private Eye (Ballantine)
"Double Vision" by Mary Higgins Clark, Woman's Day
"Dutiful Son" by Ralph McInerny, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine