Treats Delivered in Terminal City

Despite it taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is not so very far north of my home in Seattle, I wasn’t able to attend this weekend’s Left Coast Crime convention. Fortunately, Classic Mysteries blogger Les Blatt was on hand there to report the winners of this year’s Lefty Awards, in four categories.

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel: Scot Free, by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)

Also nominated: Mardi Gras Murder, by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane); Hollywood Ending, by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink); Nighttown, by Timothy Hallinan (Soho Crime); Death al Fresco, by Leslie Karst (Crooked Lane); and The Spirit in Question, by Cynthia Kuhn (Henery Press)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (Bruce Alexander Memorial), for books covering events before 1960: The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

Also nominated: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding, by Rhys Bowen (Berkeley Prime Crime); The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday, by David Corbett (Black Opal); Island of the Mad, by Laurie R. King (Bantam); A Dying Note, by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press); and It Begins in Betrayal, by Iona Whishaw (Touchwood Editions)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, by Dianne Freeman (Kensington)

Also nominated: Broken Places, by Tracy Clark (Kensington); Cobra Clutch, by A.J. Devlin (NeWest Press); The Woman in the Window, by A.J. Finn (Morrow); What Doesn’t Kill You, by Aimee Hix (Midnight Ink); Deadly Solution, by Keenan Powell (Level Best); and Give Out Creek, by J.G. Toews (Mosaic Press)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories): November Road, by Lou Berney (Morrow)

Also nominated: Wrong Light, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview); Kingdom of the Blind, by Louise Penny (Minotaur); Under a Dark Sky, by Lori Rader-Day (Morrow); A Reckoning in the Back Country, by Terry Shames (Seventh Street); and A Stone’s Throw, by James W. Ziskin (Seventh Street)

Lifetime Achievement Honoree: Sue Grafton (1940-2017). Grafton’s daughter, Jamie Clark, was on hand to accept this award for her.

This year’s Guests of Honor were authors C.J. Box and Maureen Jennings, with William Deverell being honored as the Local Legend.

These prizes were handed out last evening at Vancouver’s Hyatt Regency hotel. Congratulations to all of the nominees!