Out of Lefty Field

With the 2016 Left Coast Crime convention—aka “The Great Cactus Caper”—fast approaching (it is scheduled to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, from February 25 to 28), the nominees were announced today in five categories of Lefty Awards. They are:

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel:
• Lord of the Wings, by Donna Andrews (Minotaur)
• Plantation Shudders, by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane)
• February Fever, by Jess Lourey (Midnight Ink)
• Dying for a Donut, by Cindy Sample (Cindy Sample)
• Crushed Velvet, by Diane Vallere (Berkley Prime Crime)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (formerly the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award, given to the best mystery novel covering events before 1960):
• Malice at the Palace, by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime)
• The Masque of a Murderer, by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
• The Chocolate Kiss-Off, by Heather Haven (Wives of Bath Press)
• The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, by Jennifer Kincheloe (Seventh Street)
• Dreaming Spies, by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
• Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante, by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam)

Lefty for Best LCC Regional Mystery Novel (set in this year’s LCC geographic region, meaning the Mountain Time Zone and all time zones westward to Hawaii):
• The Crossing, by Michael Connelly, (Little, Brown)
• Night Tremors, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview)
• The Promise, by Robert Crais, (Putnam)
• The Accidental Alchemist, by Gigi Pandian (Midnight Ink)
• Young Americans, by Josh Stallings (Heist)

Lefty for Best World Mystery Novel (set outside the LCC
geographic region):
• The Long and Faraway Gone, by Lou Berney (Morrow)
• Dragon Day, by Lisa Brackmann (Soho Crime)
• The Killing Kind, by Chris Holm (Mulholland)
• The Nature of the Beast, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• Stone Cold Dead, by James W. Ziskin, (Seventh Street)

A press release from LCC organizers explains that the Leftys “will be voted on at the convention and presented at a banquet on Saturday, February 27, at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix.”