The Edgar Awards

[Never Ending]

Each spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars. This award is widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious award in the mystery fiction and mystery nonfiction genres. On January 21, 2021, they announced their list of nominees for the 2021 Edgar Awards. The 75th Annual Edgar Awards will be celebrated on April 29, 2021.

This is a challenge to read the nominees. Rank your favorites against the judges. Choose one category or choose them all! There is no time limit on this challenge.

BEST NOVEL:
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
The Missing American by Kwei Quartey
The Distant Dead by Heather Young

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR:
Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March
Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

BEST FACT(NONFICTION) CRIME:
Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic by Eric Eyre
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar

BEST YOUNG ADULT:
The Companion by Katie Alender
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

THE MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD:
Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day
The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Cold Wind by Paige Shelton

THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD:
The Burn by Kathleen Kent
Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King
Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery by Rosalie Knecht
Dead Land by Sara Paretsky
The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti
Turn to Stone by James W. Ziskin

Or try Last Year's Winners:
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (Best Novel)
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (Best First Novel)
The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton (Nonfiction Crime)
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer (Young Adult)
The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman (Mary Higgins Clark Award)
Borrowed Time by Tracy Clark (Sue Grafton Award)

[Kathy]

So far, I have only read 3:

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line (Best Novel). 4 stars. Per author, as many as 180 children disappear every day in India.
Catherine House (New Author). 2 stars. Greatly disappointed. It looked really interesting.
The Stranger Diaries (Last Year's Winners). 3 stars. Very gothic.

Ratings will follow once I read more!

[Ghost in the Stacks]

BEST NOVEL:
COMPLETED
These Women4
Before She Was Helen 3
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line 3
The Missing American 3
The Thursday Murder Club 3
The Distant Dead 3


BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR:
Darling Rose Gold 4.5
Murder in Old Bombay 3
Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen
Catherine House 3.5
Winter Counts 3


BEST FACT(NONFICTION) CRIME:
Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic by Eric Eyre
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar

BEST YOUNG ADULT:
The Companion by Katie Alender
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

THE MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD:
Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day
The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Cold Wind by Paige Shelton

THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD:
The Burn by Kathleen Kent
Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King
Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery by Rosalie Knecht
Dead Land by Sara Paretsky
The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti
Turn to Stone by James W. Ziskin

Or try Last Year's Winners:
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (Best Novel)
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (Best First Novel)
The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton (Nonfiction Crime)
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer (Young Adult)
The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman (Mary Higgins Clark Award)
Borrowed Time by Tracy Clark (Sue Grafton Award)

[Louise]

Louise's Awards

BEST NOVEL:
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara 4/25

Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
These Women by Ivy Pochoda
The Missing American by Kwei Quartey
The Distant Dead by Heather Young

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR:
Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March
Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
The Recovery of Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel 6/7 5*

BEST FACT(NONFICTION) CRIME:
Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America by Mark A. Bradley
The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic by Eric Eyre
Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife by Ariel Sabar

BEST YOUNG ADULT:
The Companion by Katie Alender
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
They Went Left by Monica Hesse
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

THE MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD:
Death of an American Beauty by Mariah Fredericks
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day
The First to Lie by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Cold Wind by Paige Shelton

THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD:
The Burn by Kathleen Kent
Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King
Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery by Rosalie Knecht
Dead Land by Sara Paretsky
The Sleeping Nymph by Ilaria Tuti
Turn to Stone by James W. Ziskin

Or try Last Year's Winners:
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (Best Novel)
Miracle Creek by Angie Kim (Best First Novel)
The Less People Know About Us: A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton (Nonfiction Crime)
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer (Young Adult)
The Night Visitors by Carol Goodman (Mary Higgins Clark Award) 7/9/19 4*
Borrowed Time by Tracy Clark (Sue Grafton Award)

[Ghost in the Stacks]

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

2/19/21

3 stars

[Kathy]

Kathy's Ratings:

Best Novel:
1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. 4 stars. Cozy mystery set in a retirement village. Humorous while dealing with murder.
2. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara. 4 stars. Three school friends venture into the most dangerous corners of a sprawling Indian city to find their missing classmate. Starts light but ends dark.

BEST FIRST NOVEL:
1. Murder in Old Bombay by Nev March. 4 stars. Based on an actual unsolved case of two young Parsi women falling to their deaths off a clock tower in late 1800s Bombay.
2. Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. 1.5 stars. Dark academia. Sooo boring. No plot, apathetic characters. Potential unrealized. Pretty cover, though.

[Ghost in the Stacks]

Before She Was Helen

3/17
3 stars

[Ghost in the Stacks]

These Women

3/22
4 stars

[Kathy]

Just finished Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer which was last year's YA winner. It was really cute. A story about AI, friends and stalking. It is the first in a new series. SciFi, YA. 4.25 stars.

[Ghost in the Stacks]

The Missing American

3 stars

[Kathy]

2021 Edgar Winners:

Best Novel: Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Best First Novel: Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen
Best Nonfiction Crime: Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic by Eric Eyre
Best Young Adult: The Companion by Katie Alender
Mary Higgins Award: The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
Sue Grafton Award: Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery by Rosalie Knecht

[Never Ending]

A new season of awards is here! Join us in predicting the winners of these awards!!

Each spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars. This award is widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious award in the mystery fiction and mystery nonfiction genres. On January 19, 2022, they announced their list of nominees for the 2021 Edgar Awards. The 76th Annual Edgar Awards will be celebrated on April 28, 2022.

This is a challenge to read the nominees. Rank your favorites against the judges. Choose one category or choose them all! There is no time limit on this challenge.

BEST NOVEL:
The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
Five Decembers by James Kestrel
How Lucky by Will Leitch
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR:
Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
Suburban Dicks by Fabian Nicieza
What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins
The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

BEST FACT(NONFICTION) CRIME:
The Confidence Men by Margalit Fox
Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green
Sleeper Agent: The Atomic Spy in America Who Got Away by Ann Hagedorn
Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice by Ellen McGarrahan
The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade by Benjamin T. Smith
When Evil Lived in Laurel: The "White Knights" and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer by Curtis Wilkie

BEST YOUNG ADULT:
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur
The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

THE MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD:
The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet by Katherine Cowley
Ruby Red Herring by Tracy Gardner
Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara
The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton
Chapter and Curse by Elizabeth Penney

THE SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD:
Double Take: A Madison Kelly Mystery by Elizabeth Breck
Runner by Tracy Clark
Shadow Hill by Thomas Kies
Sleep Well, My Lady by Kwei Quartey
Family Business Lib/E by S J Rozan

[Kathy]

2022 Edgar Winners:

Best Novel: Five Decembers by James Kestrel
Best First Novel: Deer Season by Erin Flanagan
Best Nonfiction Crime: Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green
Best Young Adult: Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Mary Higgins Award: Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara
Sue Grafton Award: Runner by Tracy Clark

[Kathy]

Each spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars. This award is widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious award in the mystery fiction and mystery nonfiction genres. This year's Edgar Awards will be celebrated on April 27, 2023.

This is a challenge to read the nominees. Rank your favorites against the judges. Choose one category or choose them all! There is no time limit on this challenge.

BEST NOVEL:

Devil House by John Darnielle
Like a Sister by Kellye Garrett
Gangland by Chuck Hogan
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
The Maid by Nita Prose

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR:

Jackal by Erin E. Adams
Don't Know Tough by Eli Cranor
Shutter by Ramona Emerson
More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

BEST FACT(NONFICTION) CRIME:

Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale
Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse
Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles
American Caliph: The True Story of a Muslim Mystic, a Hollywood Epic, and the 1977 Siege of Washington, DC by Shahan Mufti
American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower

BEST YOUNG ADULT:

Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
Frightmares by Eva V. Gibson
The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman
The Red Palace by June Hur
Lock the Doors by Vincent Ralph

THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD:

Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill
The Disinvited Guest: A Novel by Carol Goodman
A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
Never Name the Dead by D.M. Rowell

THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD:

The Shadow of Memory by Connie Berry
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
Smile Beach Murder by Alicia Bessette
Desert Getaway by Michael Craft
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood