Let’s Hear It for the Leftys

During a banquet last evening at the Left Coast Crime convention, being held this weekend in Bellevue, Washington (just east of Seattle), organizers presented the winners of the 2024 Lefty Awards.

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel: Cheap Trills, by Wendall Thomas (Beyond the Page)

Also nominated: Hot Pot Murder, by Jennifer J. Chow (Berkley Prime Crime); The Great Gimmelmans, by Lee Matthew Goldberg (Level Best); A Sense for Murder, by Leslie Karst (Severn House); Hop Scot, by Catriona McPherson (Severn House); and Dying for a Decoration, by Cindy Sample (Cindy Sample)

Bill Gottfried Memorial Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel (books set before 1970): Evergreen, by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)

Also nominated: Night Flight to Paris, by Cara Black (Soho Crime); The Bitter Past, by Bruce Borgos (Minotaur); Death Among the Ruins, by Susanna Calkins (Severn House); A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder, by Dianne Freeman (Kensington); and Time’s Undoing, by Cheryl A. Head (Dutton)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel: Mother-Daughter Murder Night, by Nina Simon (Morrow)

Also nominated: Play the Fool, by Lina Chern (Bantam); Scorched Grace, by Margot Douaihy (Gillian Flynn); Dutch Threat, by Josh Pachter (Genius); and The House in the Pines, by Ana Reyes (Dutton)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel (not in other categories): Hide, by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer)

Also nominated: All the Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron); Odyssey’s End, by Matt Coyle (Oceanview); Everybody Knows, by Jordan Harper (Mulholland); Face of Greed, by James L’Etoile (Oceanview); and The Raven Thief, by Gigi Pandian (Minotaur)

Congratulations to all of the contenders!