Lusting After Loveys

Nominees for the 2013 Lovey Awards were announced today by Love Is Murder, the mystery-fiction conference set to take place from February 1 to 3 at the InterContinental Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. These commendations will be presented during the Saturday evening awards dinner/banquet.

Best First Novel:

• Courting Murder, by Bill Hopkins (Southeast Missouri State
University Press)

• Souljourner, by D. L. Marriott (CreateSpace)

• Perfidy, by Michele May (True Grit)

• In Her Shadow, by August McLaughlin (Dystel & Goderich)

Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth:

• Where Did You Die, by Patricia K. Batta (Lillimar)

• The Trashy Gourmet, by David Ciambrone (L & L Dreamspell)

• A Small Hill to Die On, by Elizabeth Duncan (Minotaur)

• The Light Keeper’s Legacy, by Kathleen Ernst (Midnight Ink)

• Dabblers, by Kathryn Flatt (Write Words)*

• The Lost Artist, by Gail Lukasik (Five Star)

• Emma Winberry and the Evil Eye, by Helen Osterman
(Weaving Dreams)

• Murder in the Round, by Patricia Rockwell (Cozy Cat Press)

• Crosscurrents, by Powell Smily, with Susan Smily and Honora Finkelstein (El Amarna)

Best Thriller:

• Hitman: Damnation, by Raymond Benson (Del Rey)

• The Black Stiletto: Black & White, by Raymond Benson (Oceanview)

• The Ninth Day, by Jamie Freveletti (Harper)

• Company Orders, by David J. Walker (Allium Press)

Best Police Procedural:

• Portrait of Murder, by Rob Riley (Orange Hat)

• The Sons of Jude, by Brandt Dobson (Monarch)

Best Paranormal/Sci-fi:

• Last Wool and Testament, by Molly MacRae (Signet)†

• Walk-In, by Honora Finkelstein and Susan Smily (Dark Oak)

• When the Moon Is Gibbous and Waxing, by Angela Myers
(Etopia Press)

Best Historical:

• Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, by Robert Goldsborough
(Mysterious Press/Open Road)

• Death at Woods Hole, by Frances McNamara (Allium Press)

• The Bootlegger’s Nephew, by Sara Wisseman (Hilliard & Harris)

Best Suspense:

• A Bitter Veil, by Libby Fischer Hellman (Allium Press)

• Moonlight for Maggie, by Karen L. Syed (Echelon Press)

Best Series:

• Get Fluffy, by Sparkle Abbey (Bell Bridge)

• Thy Will Be Done, by Richard M. Davidson (RADMAR)

• The Janus Reprisal, by Jamie Freveletti (Grand Central)

• Killerfind, by Sharon Woods Hopkins (Deadly Writes)

• Trickster’s Point, by William Kent Krueger (Atria)

• The Watch, by Jerry Peterson (CreateSpace)

Best Short Story:

• “Harry’s Fall from Grace,” by Luisa Buehler (Amazon Digital)*

• “The Love Nest,” by Sharon I. Cook (from The Legend of Judgment Rock and Other Mystery Stories; Amazon Digital)*

• “Capital Partners,” by Libby Fischer Hellman (from Writes of Spring, edited by Gary Shulze and Pat Frovarp; Nodin Press)

• “Early’s Christmas,” by Jerry Peterson (from A James Early Christmas and Other Stories of the Season; CreateSpace)

• “The Case of the Extra Ingredient,” by Mary Welk (from Hot Crime, Cool Chicks: An Anthology; Amazon Digital)

The Lovey Awards, originally called the Reader’s Choice Awards, have been part of Love Is Murder since 2000. Winners are selected by conference attendees.

* From what I can tell, these are only available as e-books.

† Molly MacRae’s Last Wool and Testament was originally listed as a contender in the Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth category. But, according to Love Is Murder organizer Juli Schatz, it was moved into the Paranormal/Sci-Fi category after the original notice of nominees was sent to the media.