With Agatha’s Endorsement

This last weekend brought the annual Malice Domestic conference back to Bethesda, Maryland, during which the winners of the 2026 Agatha Awards were announced. As you likely know already, the Agathas champion “traditional mysteries,” those containing no sex or gratuitous violence, and that are best exemplified by the stories of Agatha Christie. Prizes were given out in six categories.

Best Contemporary Mystery Novel:
At Death’s Dough, by Mindy Quigley (Minotaur)

Also nominated: A Grave Deception, by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane); Murder in the Fifth Position, by Lori Robbins (Level Best); The Devil Comes Calling, by Annette Dashofy (One More Chapter); and Waters of Destruction, by Leslie Karst (Severn House)

Best Historical Mystery Novel:
The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, by Kelly Oliver (Boldwood)

Also nominated: 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); and The Hindenburg Spy, by L.A. Chandlar (Oliver Heber)

Best First Mystery Novel:
Whiskey Business, by Adrian Andover (Chestnut Avenue Press)

Also nominated: 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); and Voices of the Elysian Fields, by Michael Rigg (Level Best)

Best Mystery Short Story:
“Six-Armed Robbery,” by Ashley Ruth-Bernier (from Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Humorous, edited by John Betancourt, Michael Bracken, and Carla Coupe; Wildside Press)

Also nominated: “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); “Lola’s Last Dance,” by Kerry Hammond (from Celluloid Crimes, edited by Deborah Well; Level Short); and “When the Iron Is Hot,” by Maddie Day (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March-April 2025)

Best Non-fiction:
Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to the Mid-Atlantic States, by Dawn M. Barclay (Level Best)

Also nominated: 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); and The Sinners All Bow: Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne, by Kate Winkler Dawson (Putnam)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Mystery Novel: Death in the Cards, by Mia P. Manansala (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Also nominated: 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); and Hurricane Heist, by James Ponti (Aladdin)

Lifetime Achievement Honoree: Jacqueline Winspear
Poirot Award Honoree: Jim Huang
William F. Deeck Malice Domestic Grant for Unpublished Writers: Tess C. Bernard