Nero Knows Best

The Nero Award is one of two prizes given out annually by the New York City-based fan organization, the Wolfe Pack. It recognizes what members say is the best American mystery of the year written in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. For 2024, the winner is Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River, which unfolds a tale about rape and murder in a small Maine town during the late 18th century.

Meanwhile, says In Reference to Murder, “The Black Orchid Novella Award, presented jointly by The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine to celebrate the novella format popularized by Stout, went to T.M. Bradshaw for her novella titled ‘Double Take.’ It will be published in the July 2025 issue of AHMM. Honorable mentions for the Black Orchid Novella Award include Peter Hoppock's ‘Precipice’; Andrew Kass’s ‘Deadline’; Jenny Ramaley’s ‘Workplace Rules for a Fire-Breathing Dragon’; and Ella Rutledge’s ‘Murder at the Y.T.D.’”

Congratulation to all of these honorees!