AGATHA AWARDS BEST NOVEL

2021:  Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron  (Winner)
Watch Her by Edwin Hill
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Symphony Road by Gabriel Valjan

2020:  All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny (Winner)
The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews
Murder in the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron
From Beer to Eternity by Sherry Harris
The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day

2019:  The Long Call by Ann Cleeves  (Winner)
Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron
Fair Game by Annette Dashofy
The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill
A Better Man by Louise Penny
The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan

2018:  Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron  (winner)
Beyond the Truth by Bruce Robert Coffin
Cry Wolf by Annette Dashofy
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
Trust Me by Hank Phillippi Ryan

2017:  Glass Houses by Louise Penny (Winner)
Death Overdue by Allison Brook
A Cajun Christmas Killing by Ellen Byron
No Way Home by Annette Dashofy
Take Out by Margaret Maron

2016:  A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny (winner)
Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron
Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson
Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross
Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan

2015:  Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron (Winner)
Bridges Burned by Annette Dashofy
The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson
Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
What You See by Hank Phillipi Ryan

2014:  Truth Be Told by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Winner)
The Good, The Bad and The Emus by Donna Andrews
A Demon Summer by G.M. Malliet
Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny

2013:  The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Winner)
Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Pagan Spring by G.M. Malliet
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
Clammed Up by Barbara Ross

2012:  The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny (Winner)
The Diva Digs Up the Dirt by Krista Davis
A Fatal Winter by G.M. Malliet
The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron
The Other Woman by Hank Phillippi Ryan

2011: Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron  (Winner)
The Real Macaw by Donna Andrews
The Diva Haunts the House by Krista Davis
Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet
A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

2010: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (Winner)
Stork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard
Drive Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Truly, Madly by Heather Webber

2009: A Brutal Telling by Louise Penny  (Winner)
Swan for the Money by Donna Andrews
Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett
Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen
Air Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan

2008: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Winner)
Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews
A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen
Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry
I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

2007: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny  (Winner)
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
Hard Row by Margaret Maron
Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets

2006: The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard (Winner)
The Saddlemaker’s Wife by Earlene Fowler
Why Casey Had to Die by L. C. Hayden
All Mortal Flesh by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

2005: The Body in the Snowdrift by Katherine Hall Page (Winner)
Owls Well That Ends Well by Donna Andrews
Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron
The Belen Hitch by Pari Noskin Taichert
Trouble in Spades by Heather Webber

2004:  Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear (Winner)
We’ll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews
By a Spider’s Thread by Laura Lippman
High Country Fall by Margaret Maron
The Pearl Diver by Sujata Massey

2003: Letter from Home by Carolyn Hart (Winner)
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon by Donna Andrews
Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer
Dream House by Rochelle Krich
Last Lessons of Summer by Margaret Maron
Shop till You Drop by Elaine Viets

2002: You’ve Got Murder by Donna Andrews (Winner)
Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen
Blues in the Night by Rochelle Krich
The Body in the Bonfire by Katherine Hall Page
The Golden One by Elizabeth Peters

2001: Murphy’s Law by Rhys Bowen (Winner)
Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Shadows of Sin by Rochelle Krich
The Bride’s Kimono by Sujata Massey

2000: Storm Track by Margaret Maron  (Winner)
Guns and Roses by Taffy Cannon
Killer Wedding by Jerrilyn Farmer
The Floating Girl by Sujata Massey
He Shall Thunder in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters  

1999: Mariner’s Compass by Earlene Fowler (Winner)
Immaculate Reception by Jerrilyn Farmer
Death on the River Walk by Carolyn Hart
In Big Trouble by Laura Lippman
The Flower Master by Sujata Massey

1998: Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman (Winner)
Liar by Jan Burke
Dove In the Window by Earlene Fowler
Blind Bloodhound Justice by Virginia Lanier
Home Fires by Margaret Maron
The Ape Who Guards The Balance by Elizabeth Peters

1997: The Devil in Music by Kate Ross  (Winner)
Hocus by Jan Burke
Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie
Goose in a Pond by Earlene Fowler
Seeing a Large Cat by Elizabeth Peters

1996: Up Jumps the Devil by Margaret Maron  (Winner)
Kansas Troubles by Earlene Fowler
Grass Widow by Teri Holbrook
Hearts and Bones by Margaret Lawrence
Strong as Death by Sharan Newman

1995: If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him by Sharyn McCrumb (Winner)
Miracles in Maggody by Joan Hess
The Wandering Arm by Sharan Newman
Twilight by Nancy Pickard
Escapade by Walter Satterthwait

1994: She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb (Winner)
Scandal in Fair Haven by Carolyn G. Hart
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Angel of Death by Rochelle Majer Krich
Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters

1993: Dead Man’s Island by Carolyn Hart (Winner)
Old Scores by Aaron Elkins
O Little Town of Maggody by Joan Hess
Fair Game by Rochelle Majer Krich
Southern Discomfort by Margaret Maron
To Live and Die in Dixie by Kathy Hogan Trocheck

1992: Bootlegger’s Daughter by Margaret Maron (Winner)
Southern Ghost by Carolyn G. Hart
The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter by Sharyn McCrumb
Defend and Betray by Anne Perry
The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters

1991: I.O.U. by Nancy Pickard  (Winner)
Make No Bones by Aaron Elkins
The Christie Caper by Carolyn G. Hart
An Owl Too Many by Charlotte MacLeod
The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters

1990: Bum Steer by Nancy Pickard  (Winner)
Real Murders by Charlaine Harris
Deadly Valentine by Carolyn G. Hart
The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry
The Potter’s Field by Ellis Peters 

1989: Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters  (Winner)
The Sirens Sang of Murder by Sarah Caudwell
A Little Class on Murder by Carolyn G. Hart
Corpus Christmas by Margaret Maron
Philly Stakes by Gillian Roberts

1988: Something Wicked by Carolyn G. Hart  (Winner)
The Widow’s Club by Dorothy Cannell
Mischief in Maggody by Joan Hess
Paying the Piper by Sharyn McCrumb
Dead Crazy by Nancy Pickard