2024 Agatha Award Nominees

On February 5, 2024, Malice Domestic announced the Agatha Awards nominees. The Agatha Awards honor the ‘traditional mystery’ books that harken back to the works of Agatha Christie. The genre is defined as mysteries that do not contain explicit sex, excessive gore, and/or gratuitous violence. Winners will be voted on by the members of Malice Domestic 36. Malice domestic is an annual fan convention that takes place in Bethesda, Maryland on April 26-28. The 2024 Agatha Award nominees are for works published in 2023.

 

Best Contemporary Novel       

Wine and Died in New Orleans by Ellen Byron (Berkley)

Helpless by Annette Dashofy (Level Best Books)

The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House Books)

A Case of the Bleus by Korina Moss (St Martins Press)

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian (Minotaur)

 

Best Historical Novel [pre-1960]

Death Among the Ruins by Susanna Calkins (Severn House)

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally (Minotaur Books)

I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower (Berkley)

Time’s Undoing by Cheryl Head (Dutton)

The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)

 

Best First Novel

Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux (Pegasus Crime)

The Hint of Light by Kristin Kisska (Lake Union Publishing)

Dutch Treat by Josh Pachter (Genius Book Publishing)

Crime and Parchment by Daphne Silver (Level Best Books)

Mother and Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon (William Morrow)

 

Best Nonfiction

Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction by Anjili Babbar (Syracuse University Press)

Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder by David Bordwell (Columbia University Press)

A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Dawidziak (St. Martins Press)

Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Robert Morgan (LSU Press)

 

Best Children / Young Adult

Myrtle, Means and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)

The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson (Reycraft Books)

Arana and Spider-Man by Alex Segura (Marvel Press)

The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle by Taryn Souders (Sourcebooks Young Readers)

Enola Holmes and The Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

 

Best Short Story

“The Knife Sharpener” by Shelley Costa (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jul/Aug 2023)

“A Good Judge of Character” by Tina de Bellegarde, Malice Domestic17: Murder Most Traditional, ed. by Verena Rose, Rita Owens, and Shawn Reilly Simmons (Wildside Press)

“Real Courage” by Barb Goffman (Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14)

“Ticket to Ride” by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, Happiness Is a Warm Gun ed. by Josh Pachter (Down & Out Books)

“Shamu, World’s Greatest Detective by Richie Narvaez, Killin’ Time in San Diego, Bouchercon Anthology 2023 ed. by Holly West (Down & Out Books)

The 2024 Agatha Awards nominees @TimSuddeth @OpeningaMystery #AgathaAward #mystery Click To Tweet, 2024 Malice Domestic