I want to be sure all of you know about these nominations for prestigious mystery awards for which some of the authors on the Cozy Mystery site have been nominated. Congratulations to ALL of the nominees!
The Lefties are awarded at Left Coast Crime, an annual event taking place right now! This year, Left Coast Crime is March 12-15, in Portland, Oregon, and attendees will be voting on which of the fantastic nominees they want to see go home with the Lefty. The Lefty itself is intended for the finest in humorous mystery fiction, and this year’s nominees include many very funny and skilled writers, including some Cozy Mystery authors who are currently listed on the site.
Lefty Award nominees:
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus by Donna Andrews
January Thaw by Jess Lourey
Dying for a Dude by Cindy Sample
Suede to Rest by Diane Vallere
Herbie’s Game by Timothy Hallinan (Winner)
Also awarded at Left Coast Crime is the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award, considering all novels primarily taking place in or before the 1950s. The nominees for this award also include a number of site authors.
Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award nominees:
Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen
From the Charred Remains by Susanna Calkins
A Deadly Measure of Brimstone by Catriona McPherson(Winner)
City of Ghosts by Kelli Stanley
Cup of Blood by Jeri Westerson
Another award recently named their winners… the LOVEY awards were recently released for this year. The LOVEYS are selected at the Love is Murder Writers & Readers Conference, this year hosted February 6-8 in Chicago. (yes… I know I am a bit late on reporting this… I like to “consolidate” these sort of awards posts so I can post on other topics as necessary.)
The LOVEYS are organized into nine different categories, many of which have many entries, so I’m not going to post a full list here… for a full list check the Love is Murder website. However I will list some of our own favorite authors who were recognized, either by winning or the honor of a nomination…
LOVEY Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth:
Tradition of Deceit by Kathleen Ernst
Dead Between the Lines by Denise Swanson (Winner)
LOVEY Best Historical:
The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander
From the Charred Remains by Susanna Calkins
LOVEY Best Paranormal/SiFi:
Plagued by Quilt by Molly MacRae (Winner)
LOVEY Best Series:
The Leigh Girard Series by Gail Lukasik
Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries by Molly MacRae
The Scumble River Mysteries by Denise Swanson
Congratulations to all the nominees! Wow, that sure is a lot of great books just for 2014! Here’s hoping that 2015 provides another great crop!
Do you have any personal favorites mentioned above? Please leave a comment below, as I always love to hear from you!
Rita McD says
Denise Swanson is one of my favorites. I am glad her Scumble River Series was recognized.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Rita McD, it’s great, isn’t it?
Marie says
I’ve read Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen, From the Charred Remains by Susanna Calkins, A Deadly Measure of Brimstone by Catriona McPherson, and The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander. I enjoyed them all.
I love seeing the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award–his books are so well written and interesting. Several years ago I was going to email him and tell him so but while searching for the address I found he’d died in the previous year (2003).
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marie, hmmm, it looks like you enjoy a good historical Cozy!
Marie says
That I do!
I forget to mention I’d also read The Good, the Bad, and the Emus by Donna Andrews and enjoyed it too.
Christi says
Denise Swanson (both series), Rhys Bowen, and Donna Andrews are among my favorites. I also like Tasha Alexander and Diane Vallere.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Christi, now I’m going to go have to take a look at Kelli Stanley, Jeri Westerson, & Timothy Hallinan!
Lynn T. says
Danna-You mentioned Timothy Hallinan in your reply to Christi. He writes two series-one is based in Los Angeles and one in Bangkok. They are not cozies. I recently read A Nail Through the Heart which was the first book in the Poke Rafferty Bangkok series. It was very good and I am going to continue with the series.
When I finish that series, want to start the Junior Bender Los Angeles series. Timothy Hallinan is a very good writer.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lynn T, thank you for the Timonthy Hallinan information. I just assumed he was Cozy since he is in the same category with all of those Cozy Mystery authors!
Stash Empress says
I read A Deadly Measure of Brimstone by Catriona McPherson last month & LOVED it!!! Also read Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen — its one of my most loved series — soooo much fun! And while I have not yet read The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander (because I’m doing the series in order!)– I have read the first few in that series & totally love it too. The Good, the Bad, and the Emus by Donna Andrews was yet another fun installment in that lovably zany series. So much yummy goodness — no idea how you can narrow down the prize winners — must be like choosing which child you like best! (Ok, that might be easier some days LOL)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash, if you lived on the west coast, after seeing all of the Cozies you have read, I’d think you had been on the voting committee!
Stash Empress says
Well I am originally *from* the west coast — I guess the good taste just stayed with me LOL! 😉
Lynn T. says
The Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries by Molly MacRae is a favorite series of mine. Waiting for the new release in September called Knot the Usual Suspects.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lynn T, I guess you’ll have to agree that the LOVEYs got it right!
Lisa says
Queen of Hearts rocked. I just finished Counterfeit Heiress. Wow. Just wow. Found out it was loosely based on a real lady. Just wow.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lisa, that’s crazy! I had no idea Counterfeit Heiress was based on a real person…