Just last month, mystery book lovers found out who wrote books during 2017 that other mystery lovers thought deserved special recognition. I have just updated all of the Agatha Award pages as well as the Edgar Allan Poe Award pages on the Cozy Mystery site.

It’s such an honor for those mystery authors who were nominated by other mystery readers, and of course, a great honor for those who won in their categories. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL NOMINEES AND WINNERS!

I’m going to start off by writing about the Agatha Awards, since those are specifically given for the Cozy Mystery genre. I will be posting the Edgar Awards in a later blog entry, but if you absolutely cannot wait to see them, feel free to visit my site and click on their corresponding pages! (Here’s the Mystery Book Awards page on my site.)

Although these Agatha Awards were given this year, they are for mystery books that were published in 2017. They were awarded on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at the Malice Domestic Convention, which took place in Bethesda, Maryland.

Again, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

2017 Agatha Awards

Best Contemporary Novel
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

Best First Novel
2017:  Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett (Winner)
Adrift by Micki Browning
The Plot Is Murder by V.M. Burns
Daughters of Bad Men by Laura Oles
Protocol by Kathleen Valenti

Best Historical Novel
2017:  In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen (Winner)
Murder in an English Village by Jessica Ellicott
Called to Justice by Edith Maxwell
The Paris Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
Dangerous to Know by Renee Patrick

Best Short Story
2017:  “The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn” by Gigi Pandian(Winner)
“Double Deck the Halls” by Gretchen Archer
“Whose Wine Is it Anyway” by Barb Goffman
“The Night They Burned Miss Dixie’s Place” by Debra Goldstein
“A Necessary Ingredient” by Art Taylor

Best Children’s/Young Adult
2017:  Sydney Mackenzie Knocks ‘Em Dead by Cindy Callaghan (Winner)
City of Angels by Kristi Belcamino
The World’s Greatest Detective by Caroline Carlson
Audacity Jones Steals the Show by Kirby Larson
The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley

Best Nonfiction
2017:  From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Boström (Winner)
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards
American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse
Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction by Jess Lourey
Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier by Tatiana de Rosnay

2017:  Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Parnell Hall

P.S. If you want to take a look at the winners from past years, be sure to click on the links on my Mystery Book Awards page. I bet you will recognize a lot of the past winners!

As always, I want to congratulate ALL of the nominees and winners of the Agatha Awards and Edgar Awards!

So, CONGRATULATIONS!

Late last month, both the Malice Domestic convention and the Edgars Symposium were held, the events where the Agatha Awards and the Edgars Awards are declared. The Edgars Awards are a general mystery fiction award, while the Agatha Awards are given to “traditional mystery” works in the vein of Agatha Christie >>> little to no graphic violence, sex, or profanity… in other words, the Agatha Awards are pretty much what I would define as “Cozies”. Of course, both awards are very prestigious!

THE AGATHA AWARDS

Best Contemporary Novel:
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

Best Historical Novel:
The Reek of Red Herrings by Catriona McPherson (winner)
Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao
Get Me to the Grave on Time by D.E. Ireland
Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell
Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson

Best First Novel:
The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn (winner)
Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon
Decanting a Murder by Nadine Nettmann
Design for Dying by Renee Patrick

Best Nonfiction:
Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K. Cleland (winner)
A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden’s 25 Years in the Maine Woods by Roger Guay with Kate Clark Flora
Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Margaret Kinsman

Best Short Story:
“Parallel Play” by Art Taylor in Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (winner)
“Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Short Story” by Gretchen Archer
“The Best-Laid Plans” by Barb Goffman in Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional
“The Mayor and the Midwife” by Edith Maxwell in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016
“The Last Blue Glass” by B.K. Stevens in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine

Best Children/Young Adult:
The Secret of the Puzzle Box: The Code Busters Club by Penny Warner (winner)
Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure by P.A. DeVoe
Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs
Tag, You’re Dead by J C Lane
The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

THE EDGAR AWARDS

Since the Edgar Awards are a bit less Cozy related than the Agathas, I’m just going to list the winners of each category, with the exception of the Mary Higgins Clark category, which is basically for Cozies. If you’re interested in the full lineup for a category, it can be found in the page that I have linked for each category title.

Best Novel
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Best First Novel
Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry

Best Paperback Original
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty

Best Fact Crime
The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer by Kate Summerscale

Best Critical/Biographical
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Best Short Story
“Autumn at the Automat” – In Sunlight or in Shadow by Lawrence Block

Best Juvenile
OCDaniel by Wesley King

Young Adult
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

TV Episode Teleplay
“A Blade of Grass” – Penny Dreadful, Teleplay by John Logan

Robert L. Fish Memorial
“The Truth of the Moment” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
by E. Gabriel Flores

Mary Higgins Clark

The Shattered Tree by Charles Todd (winner)
The Other Sister by Dianne Dixon
Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson
Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Blue Moon by Wendy Corsi Staub

Grand Master
Max Allan Collins
Ellen Hart

Raven Award
Dru Ann Love

Ellery Queen Award
Neil Nyren

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Again, Congratulations to all winners and nominees!