Only Winners Left

I just returned home from San Francisco and the 2026 Left Coast Crime convention. I’ll have more to say about that event soon, but for now, let me just post the winners of this year’s Lefty Awards.

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel:
Scot’s Eggs, by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)

Also nominated: Solid Gold Murder, by Ellen Byron (Kensington); Star-Crossed Egg Tarts, by Jennifer J. Chow (St. Martin’s Paperbacks); Bye Bye Blackbird, by Elizabeth Crowens (Level Best); and All’s Faire in Love and Murder, by Cindy Sample (Cindy Sample)

Bill Gottfried Memorial Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel:
The Case of the Missing Maid, by Rob Osler (Kensington)

Also nominated: Huguette, by Cara Black (Soho Crime); The Girl in the Green Dress, by Mariah Fredericks (Minotaur); A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder, by Dianne Freeman (Kensington); City Lights, by Claire M. Johnson (Level Best); and Knave of Diamonds, by
Laurie R. King (Bantam)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel:
Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Also nominated: We Don’t Talk About Carol, by Kristen L. Berry (Bantam); Mask of the Deer Woman, by Laurie L. Dove (Berkley); The Retirement Plan, by Sue Hincenbergs (Morrow); Best Offer Wins, by Marisa Kashino (Celadon); and Mortal Zin, by Diane Schaffer
(Sibylline Press)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories):
River of Lies, by James L’Etoile (Oceanview)

Also nominated: Crooks, by Lou Berney (Morrow); Throwing Shadows, by Claire Booth (Severn House); Edge, by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer); Waters of Destruction, by Leslie Karst (Severn House); and The Library Game, by Gigi Pandian (Minotaur)

These results were announced last night, Saturday, February 28, during a banquet at the Hyatt Regency-Embarcadero.