In Honor of Agatha

Although not everyone seems thrilled at hearing this news, organizers of the annual Malice Domestic conference have announced their nominations for the 2012 Agatha Awards. These prizes celebrate the traditional mystery, in the style of Agatha Christie.

Best Novel:

• The Diva Digs Up the Dirt, by Krista Davis (Berkley)

• A Fatal Winter, by G. M. Malliet (Minotaur)

• The Buzzard Table, by Margaret Maron (Grand Central)

• The Beautiful Mystery, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

• The Other Woman, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)

Best Historical Novel:

• The Twelve Clues of Christmas, by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime)

• Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder, by Catronia McPherson (Minotaur)

• Murder on Fifth Avenue, by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)

• An Unmarked Grave, by Charles Todd (Morrow)

• Elegy for Eddie, by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins)

Best First Novel:

• Lowcountry Boil, by Susan M. Boyer (Henery Press)

• Iced Chiffon, by Duffy Brown (Berkley)

• A Scrapbook of Secrets, by Mollie Cox Bryan (Kensington)

• A Killer Read, by Erika Chase (Berkley)

• Faithful Unto Death, by Stephanie Jaye Evans (Berkley)

Best Non-fiction:

Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the World’s Greatest Mystery Novels, edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke (Atria/Emily Bestler)

• Blood Relations: The Selected Letters of Ellery Queen, 1947-1950, edited by Joseph Goodrich (Perfect Crime)

• More Forensics and Fiction: Crime Writers Morbidly Curious Questions Expertly Answered, by D.P. Lyle (Medallion Press)

• Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies,
by Ben Macintyre (Crown)

• The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie, edited by Mathew Prichard (Harper)

Best Short Story:

• “Mischief in Mesopotamia,” by Dana Cameron (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine [EQMM], November 2012)

• “Kept in the Dark,” by Shelia Connolly (in Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon, edited by Mark Ammons, Katherine Fast, Barbara Ross, and Leslie Wheeler; Level Best)

• “The Lord Is My Shamus,” by Barb Goffman (in Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder (edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley; Wildside Press)

• “Thea’s First Husband,” by B.K. Stevens (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2012)

• “When Duty Calls,” by Art Taylor (in Chesapeake Crimes:
This Job Is Murder)

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel:

• Seconds Away, by Harlen Coben (Putnam)

• The Edge of Nowhere, by Elizabeth George (Viking)

• Liar & Spy, by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb)

The Code Busters Club, Case #2: The Haunted Lighthouse, by Penny Warner (EgmontUSA)

• Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion)

Winners will be chosen by the people attending the 25th annual Malice Domestic conference, which will be held this coming May 3-5 in Bethesda, Maryland. The Agathas are to be handed round at a banquet scheduled during that convention.