Domestic Differences

Malice Domestic has released its lists of contenders for the 2026 Agatha Awards. The winners are to be revealed during this year’s Malice Domestic conference, held from April 24 to 26 in Bethesda, Maryland.

Best Contemporary Mystery Novel:
• A Grave Deception, by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane)
• At Death’s Dough, by Mindy Quigley (Minotaur)
• Murder in the Fifth Position, by Lori Robbins (Level Best)
• The Devil Comes Calling, by Annette Dashofy (One More Chapter)
• Waters of Destruction, by Leslie Karst (Severn House)

Best Historical Mystery Novel:
• Bye Bye Blackbird, by Elizabeth Crowens (Level Best)
• The Girl in the Green Dress, by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur)
• Murder at the Moulin Rouge, by Carol Pouliot (Level Best)
• The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, by Kelly Oliver (Boldwood)
• The Hindenburg Spy, by L.A. Chandlar (Oliver Heber)

Best Non-fiction:
• Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and Redemption in the Heart of Florida, by Gilbert King (Flatiron)
• Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen, by Hallie Rubenhold (Dutton)
• The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne, by Kate Winkler Dawson (Putnam)
• Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, by Dawn M. Barclay (Level Best)

Best First Mystery Novel:
• Murder in the Crazy Mountains, by K.L. Borges (Epicenter Press)
• Player Elimination, by Shelly Jones (Tule Press)
• Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes, by Sandra Jackson-Opoku (Minotaur)
• Voices of the Elysian Fields, by Michael Rigg (Level Best)
• Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery Novel:
• Death in the Cards, by Mia P. Manansala (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
• Missing Mom, by Lynn Slaughter (Fire & Ice Young Adult Books)
• Risky Pursuit, by Nancy G. West (Fire & Ice Young Adult Books)
• Rufus and the Dark Side of Magic, by Marilyn Levinson (Level Best)
• Hurricane Heist, by James Ponti (Aladdin)

Best Mystery Short Story:
• “Baby Love,” by Barb Goffman (from Double Crossing Van Dine, edited by Donna Andrews, Greg Herren, and Art Taylor;
Crippen and Landru)
• “Boss Cat Rules,” by Nikki Knight (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, edited by John Betancourt, Michael Bracken, and Carla Coupe; Wildside Press)
• “Lola’s Last Dance,” by Kerry Hammond (from Celluloid Crimes, edited by Deborah Well; Level Short)
• “Six-Armed Robbery,” by Ashley Ruth-Bernier (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous)
• “When the Iron Is Hot,” by Maddie Day (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March-April 2025)

Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees!