In a completely unexpected twist, my story “Two for One” from Murder, Neat: A SleuthSayers Anthology was named a finalist for the Macavity Awards.
Thanks to Janet Rudolph, Mystery Readers International, and the readers of Mystery Readers Journal for the support, to my co-editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman for all their help with the story, and to our publisher, Level Best Books!
Congratulations as well to Barb on her own nomination in the same category—and to all the other writers whose stories were named finalists: Craig Faustus Buck, Leslie Karst, Gabriel Valjan, and Kristopher Zgorski. I’m especially thrilled for Leslie, have to admit, because she won an auction to get feedback from me on a short story of hers, and the story I helped her with is the one getting honored now. Can’t ask for better!
Here’s the full list of finalists—so many friends up and down the slate. Congratulations to all!
Best Mystery Novel
Hall of Mirrors by John Copenhaver (Pegasus Crime)
Served Cold by James L’Etoile (Level Best Books)
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Riverhead)
California Bear by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland)
The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell (Doubleday)
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (Crown)
Best First Mystery
Outraged by Brian Copeland (Dutton)
A Reluctant Spy by David Goodman (Headline)
Ghosts of Waikiki by Jennifer K. Morita (Crooked Lane)
You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen (Dutton)
The Expat by Hansen Shi (Pegasus Crime)
Holy City by Henry Wise (Atlantic Monthly Press)
Best Mystery Short Story
“Home Game” by Craig Faustus Buck (in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, July/August 2024)
“The Postman Always Flirts Twice” by Barb Goffman (in Agatha and Derringer Get Cozy)
“Curse of the Super Taster” by Leslie Karst (in Black Cat Weekly, Feb 23, 2024)
“Two for One” by Art Taylor (in Murder, Neat)
“Satan’s Spit” by Gabriel Valjan (in Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem)
“Reynisfjara” by Kristopher Zgorski (in Mystery Most International)
Best Historical Mystery
The Wharton Plot by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)
Fog City by Claire Johnson (Level Best Books)
The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan (Soho Crime)
The Bootlegger’s Daughter by Nadine Nettmann (Lake Union)
A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)
Best Nonfiction/Critical
Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft edited by Phyllis M. Betz (McFarland)
Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing the Columbo Killers by Chris Chan (Level Best Books)
Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice by Alex Hortis (Pegasus Crime)
The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steven Johnson (Crown)
On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett by Ashley Lawson (Ohio State University Press)
Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder by Greg Lilly (History Press)