1988 – MD 1

Best Novel
The Widows Club, Dorothy Cannell
**Something Wicked, Carolyn G. Hart
Mischief in Maggody, Joan Hess
Paying the Piper, Sharyn McCrumb
Dead Crazy, Nancy Pickard
 
Best First Mystery Novel
**A Great Deliverance, Elizabeth George
The Killings at Badger's Drift, Caroline Graham
The J. Alfred Prufrock Murders, Corinne Holt Sawyer
Goodbye Nanny Gray, Susannah Stacey
Dead Men Don't Give Seminars, Dorothy Sucher
 
Best Short Story
**“More Final Than Divorce,” Robert Barnard
“Prodigal Grandson,” Elizabeth Byrd
“Father of the Bride,” P.M. Carlson
“Double Vision,” Mary Higgins Clark
“Dutiful Son,” Ralph McInerny
 
1989 – MD 2
Best Novel
The Sirens Sang of Murder, Sarah Caudwell
A Little Glass on Murder, Carolyn G. Hart
Corpus Christmas, Margaret Maron
**Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters
Philly Stakes, Gillian Roberts
 
Best First Novel
Working Murder, Eleanor Boylan
**Grime and Punishment, Jill Churchill
A Question of Guilt, Frances Fyfield
The Mother Shadow, Melanie Johnson Howe
The Mark Twain Murders, Edith Skom
 
Best Short Story
"Live It Up, Bert,” Patricia Derozier
“Amanda,” Ellie Grossman
“A Cozy for Christmas,” Charlotte Macleod
**“A Wee Doch and Doris,” Sharyn McCrumb
“Afraid All the Time,” Nancy Pickard
 
1990 – MD 3
Best Novel
Real Murders, Charlaine Harris
Deadly Valentine, Carolyn G. Hart
The Face of a Stranger, Anne Perry
The Potter's Field, Ellis Peters
**Bum Steer, Nancy Pickard
 
Best First Novel
Screaming Bones, Pat Burden
Catering to Nobody, Diane Mott Davidson
The Chartreuse Clue, William F. Love
**The Body in the Belfry, Katherine Hall Page
Sea of Troubles, Janet L. Smith
 
Best Short Story
“The High Cost of Living,” Dorothy Cannell
**“Too Much to Bare,” Joan Hess
“Proxime Accessit,” Reginald Hill
“A Family Affair,” Janet Neel
“The Wearing of Purple,” Anne Woodward
 
1991 – MD 4
Best Novel
Make No Bones, Aaron Elkins
The Christie Caper, Carolyn G. Hart
An Owl Too Many, Charlotte Macleod
The Last Camel Died at Noon, Elizabeth Peters
**I.0.U., Nancy Pickard
 
Best First Novel
Carpool, Mary Cahill
Just Desserts, Mary Daheim
The Bulrush Murders, Rebecca Rothenberg
**Zero at the Bone, Mary Willis Walker
Flowers for the Dead, Ann Williams
 
Best Short Story
“The Habit of Widowhood,” Robert Barnard
“The January Sales Stowaway,” Dorothy Cannell
“The Crime of Miss Oyster Brown,” Peter Lovesey
**“Deborah's Judgment,” Margaret Maron
“Long Live the Queen,” Ruth Rendell
 
1992 – MD 5
Best Novel
Southern Ghost, Carolyn G. Hart
**Bootlegger's Daughter, Margaret Maron
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, Sharyn McCrumb
Defend and Betray, Anne Perry
The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog, Elizabeth Peters
 
Best First Novel
All the Great Pretenders, Deborah Adams
Thyme of Death, Susan Wittig Albert
Decked, Carol Higgins Clark
The Seneca Falls Inheritance, Miriam Grace Monfredo
**Blanche on the Lam, Barbara Neely
 
Best Short Story
“The Jersey Lily,” P.M. Carlson
**“Nice Gorilla,” Aaron & Charlotte Elkins
“Country Hospitality,” Jean Hager
“The Last to Know,” Joan Hess
“Happiness is a Dead Poet,” Sharyn McCrumb
 
1993 – MD 6
Best Novel
Old Scores, Aaron Elkins
**Dead Man's Island, Carolyn Hart
O Little Town of Maggody, Joan Hess
Fair Game, Rochelle Majer Krich
Southern Discomfort, Margaret Maron
To Live and Die in Dixie, Kathy Hogan Trocheck
 
Best First Novel
**Track of the Cat, Nevada Barr
Goodnight, Irene, Jan Burke
A Share in Death, Deborah Crombie
Death Comes As Epiphany, Sharan Newman
Child of Silence, Abigail Padgett
 
Best Nonfiction
**The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery, Barbara D' Amato
Maker & Craftsman: Dorothy L. Sayers, Alzina Stone Dale
The Poisonous Pen of Agatha Christie, Michael C. Gerald
The Fine Art of Murder, Ed Gorman et al., ed.
A Reader’s Guide to the American Novel of Detection, Marvin Lachman
The Doubleday Crime Club Compendium 1928-91, Ellen Nehr
 
Best Short Story
“A Romance in the Rockies,” K.K. Beck
“Sax and the Single Cat,” Carole Nelson Douglas
“Checkout,” Susan Dunlap
**“Kim's Game,” M.D. Lake
“. . . That Married Dear Old Dad,” Margaret Maron
 
1994 – MD 7
Best Novel
Scandal in Fair Haven, Carolyn G. Hart
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, Laurie R. King
Angel of Death, Rochelle Majer Krich
**She Walks These Hills, Sharyn McCrumb
Night Train to Memphis, Elizabeth Peters
 
Best First Novel
**Do Unto Others, Jeff Abbott
One for the Money, Janet Evanovich
Fool's Puzzle, Earlene Fowler
Writers of the Purple Sage, Barbara Burnett Smith
Until Death, Polly Whitney
 
Best Nonfiction
Encyclopedia Mysteriosa, William L. DeAndrea
Crime Fiction II, Allen J. Hubin
Great Women Mystery Writers, Kathleen Gregory Klein, ed.
Had She But Known: Mary Roberts Rinehart, Charlotte Macleod
**By a Woman's Hand, Jean Swanson & Dean James
 
Best Short Story
“Cast Your Fate to the Wind,” Deborah Adams
“The Gentleman in the Lake,” Robert Barnard
**“The Family Jewels,” Dorothy Cannell
“Soon to Be a Minor Motion Picture,”
Barbara D' Amato
'The Dying Light,” Taylor McCafferty
 
1995 – MD 8
Best Novel
Miracles in Maggody, Joan Hess
**If I'd Killed Him When I Met Him, Sharyn McCrumb
The Wandering Arm, Sharan Newman
Twilight, Nancy Pickard
Escapade, Walter Satterthwalt
 
Best First Novel
**The Body in the Transept, Jeanne M. Dams
A Far and Deadly Cry, Teri Holbrook
Horse of a Different Killer, Jody Jaffe
Death in Bloodhound Red, Virginia Lanier
Murder in Scorpio, Martha C. Lawrence
 
Best Nonfiction
**Mystery Readers Walking Guide­Chicago, Alzina Stone Dale
John Dickson Carr: The Man Who Explained Miracles, Douglas Greene
Ngaio Marsh: The Woman and Her Work, B.J. Rahn, ed.
The Armchair Detective Book of Lists, 2nd edition, Kate Stine, ed.
The Cadfael Companion, 2nd edition, Robin Whiteman
 
Best Short Story
“Rule of Law,” K.K. Beck
“Cupid's Arrow,” Dorothy Cannell
“A Contest Fit for a Queen,” Susan Dunlap
“The Murder Garno,” Jean Hager
**“The Dog Who Remembered Too Much,” Elizabeth Daniels Squire
 
1996 – MD 9
Best Novel
Kansas Troubles, Earlene Fowler
Grass Widow, Teri Holbrook
Hearts and Bones, Margaret Lawrence
**Up Jumps the Devil, Margaret Maron
Strong as Death, Sharan Newman
 
Best First Novel
Biggie and the Poisoned Politician, Nancy Bell
**Murder on a Girl's Night Out, Anne George
Somebody Else's Child, Terris McMahan Grimes
Death in Little Tokyo, Dale Furutani
Riding for a Fall, Lillian Roberts
 
Best Nonfiction
Amateur Detectives: A Writer's Guide to How Private Citizens Solve Criminal Cases, Elaine Raco Chase & Anne Wingate
**Detecting Women 2, Willetta Heising
Mystery: A Celebration, Ron Miller
The Letters of Dorothy L. Sayers: The Making of a Detective Novelist, Barbara Reynolds, ed.
By a Woman's Hand, Second Edition, Jean Swanson & Dean James
 
Best Short Story
“The Bun Also Rises,” Jill Churchill
“The Death of Erik the Redneck,” Toni L. P. Kelner
“A Parrot is Forever,” Peter Lovesey
"Bugged," by Eve K. Sandstrom
**“Accidents Will Happen,” Carolyn Wheat
 
1997 – MD 10
Best Novel
Hocus, Jan Burke
Dreaming of the Bones, Deborah Crombie
Goose in the Pond, Earlene Fowler
Seeing a Large Cat, Elizabeth Peters
**The Devil in Music, Kate Ross
 
Best First Novel
Quieter than Sleep, Joanne Dobson
**The Salaryman's Wife, Sujata Massey
The Butter Did It, Phyllis Richman
Dead Body Language, Penny Warner
Death Brims Over, Barbara Jaye Wilson
 
Best Nonfiction
**Detecting Men (Pocket Guide), Willeta Heising
Crimes of the Scene, Nina King & Robin Winks
Guilty Parties, Ian Ousby
 
Best Short Story
"Heavenly Bodies," by Simon Brett
**“Tea for Two,” M.D. Lake
“Come to Tea,” Janet Laurence
“The Corbett Correspondence,” Edward Marston & Peter Lovesey
“The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage,” Peter Robinson
 
1998 – MD 11
Best Novel
Liar, Jan Burke
Dove in the Window, Earlene Fowler
Blind Bloodhound Justice, Virginia Lanier
**Butchers Hill, Laura Lippman
Home Fires, Margaret Maron
The Ape Who Guards the Balance, Elizabeth Peters
 
Best First Novel
Sympathy for the Devil, Jerrilyn Farmer
Tiger's Palette, Jacqueline Fiedler
Dying to Get Published, Judy Fitzwater
**The Doctor Digs a Grave, Robin Hathaway
Fax Me a Bagel, Sharon Kahn
 
Best Nonfiction
**Mystery Reader's Walking Guide to Washington D.C., Alzina Stone Dale
Speaking of Murder, Edward Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg
Deadly Women, Jan Grape, Dean James and Ellen Nehr
Silk Stalkings II, Victoria Nichols and Susan Thompson
Killer Books, Jean Swanson and Dean James
 
Best Short Story
**“Of Course You Know That Chocolate Is a Vegetable,” Barbara D'Amato
 
1999 – MD 12
Best Novel
**Mariner's Compass, Earlene Fowler
Immaculate Reception, Jerrilyn Farmer
Death on the River Walk, Carolyn Hart
In Big Trouble, Laura Lippman
The Flower Master, Sujata Massey
 
Best First Novel
**Murder with Peacocks, Donna Andrews
Circles of Confusion, April Henry
Revenge of the Gypsy Queen, Kris Neri
By Blood Possessed, Elena Santangelo
Sing It to Her Bones, Marcia Talley
 
Best Nonfiction
The Deadly Directory, Kate Derie
A Taste of Murder: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers, Jo Grossman and Robert Weibezahl
Detecting Women III, Willetta L. Heising
The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing, Rosemary Herbert
**Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle, Daniel Stashower
 
Best Short Story
**"Out of Africa," Nancy Pickard
 
 
 
 
 
2000 – MD 13

Best Novel
Guns and Roses, Taffy Cannon
Killer Wedding, Jerrilyn Farmer
**Storm Track, Margaret Maron
The Floating Girl, Sujata Massey
He Shall Thunder in the Sky, Elizabeth Peters
 
Best First Novel
Death Dances to a Reggae Beat, Kate Grilley
Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death, Julie Wray Herman
Death of an Amiable Child, Irene Marcuse
**Death on a Silver Tray, Rosemary Stevens
Murder of a Small Town Honey, Denise Swanson
 
Best Short Story
“Nothing to Lose,” Robert Barnard
“The Seal of the Confessional” Rhys Bowen
**“The Man in the Civil Suit,” Jan Burke
“Amish Butter,” Jacqueline Fiedler
“Miss Parker & the Cutter-Sanborn Tables,” Gay Toltl Kinman
“Widow's Peak,” Rochelle Krich
 
Best Nonfiction
The Complete Christie, Matthew Bunson
Women of Mystery, Martha Dubose
**100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century, Jim Huang, ed.
The American Regional Mystery, Marvin Lachman
They Wrote the Book, Helen Windrath

 
2001 – MD 14

Best Novel
**Murphy's Law, Rhys Bowen
Arkansas Traveler, Earlene Fowler
Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
Shadows of Sin, Rochelle Krich
The Bride's Kimono, Sujata Massey
 
Best First Novel
Innkeeping With Murder, Tim Myers
Mute Witness, Charles O'Brien
A Witness Above, Andy Straka
**Bubbles Unbound, Sarah Strohmeyer
An Affinity for Murder, Anne White
 
Best Short Story
“Bitter Waters,” Rochelle Krich
“Virgo in Sapphires,” Margaret Maron
“The Peculiar Events on Riverside Drive,” Maan Meyers
**“The Would-Be Widower,” Katherine Hall Page
“Juggernaut,” Nancy Springer
 
Best Nonfiction
The History of Mystery: Art Fiction Series, Max Allan Collins
Writing the Mystery: A Start to Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional, G. Miki Hayden
**Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir, Tony Hillerman
Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: The Queen of Screwball Mystery, Jeffrey Marks
Food, Drink, and the Female Sleuth, The Sisters Wells
 
Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
The Viking Claw, Michael Dahl
Death on Sacred Ground, Harriet K. Feder
The Mystery of the Octagon House, Gay Toltl Kinman
Ring Out Wild Bells: A Matty Trescott Novel, Carroll Thomas
**The Mystery of the Haunted Caves (Troop 13 Mystery), Penny Warner

 
2002 – MD 15

Best Novel
**You've Got Murder, Donna Andrews
Death of Riley, Rhys Bowen
Blues in the Night, Rochelle Krich
The Body in the Bonfire, Katherine Hall Page
The Golden One, Elizabeth Peters
 
Best First Novel
Not All Tarts Are Apple, Pip Granger
Six Strokes Under, Roberta Isleib
Beat Until Stiff, Claire M. Johnson
How to Murder a Millionaire, Nancy Martin
**In the Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming
Shadows at the Fair, Lea Wait
 
Best Short Story
“Dognapped,” Robert Barnard
“Devotion,” Jan Burke
“What He Needed,” Laura Lippman
**“The Dog That Didn't Bark,” Margaret Maron
“Too Many Cooks,” Marcia Talley
 
Best Nonfiction
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modem Crime Fiction, Mike Ashley, ed.
Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, Colleen Barnett
Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir, Mary Higgins Clark
Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America, Sue Grafton, ed.; Jan Burke and Barry Zeman, co-ed.
**They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Forgotten Mystery Novels, Jim Huang, ed.
 
Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
Whistler in the Dark, Kathleen Ernst
Red Card, Daniel J. Hale & Matthew LaBrot
Hoot, Carl Hiaasen
The Secret of the Red Flame, K. M. Kimball
The Maltese Kitten, Linda Stewart
 
 
2003 – MD 16

Best Novel
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon, Donna Andrews
Mumbo Gumbo, Jerrilyn Farmer
**Letter from Home, Carolyn Hart
Dream House, Rochelle Krich
Last Lessons of Summer, Margaret Maron
Shop till You Drop, Elaine Viets
 
Best First Novel
Dealing in Murder, Elaine Flinn
Haunted Ground, Erin Hart
Take the Bait, S. W. Hubbard
Alpine for You, Maddy Hunter
Murder Off Mike, Joyce Krieg
O' Artful Death, Sarah Stewart Taylor
**Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear
 
Beat Nonfiction
Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, vol. 3 (parts I & 2), Colleen A. Barnett
Second Helping of Murder: More Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers, Jo Grossman and Robert Weibezahl, ed.
Atomic Renaissance: Women Mystery Writers of the 1940s and 1950s, Jeffrey Marks
**Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium, Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread, ed.
Dick Francis Companion, Jean Swanson and Dean James
 
Best Short Story
“Doppleganger,” Rhys Bowen
**“No Man's Land,” Elizabeth Foxwell
“Safety First,” Marcia Talley
“Red Meat,” Elaine Viets
“Sex and Bingo,” Elaine Viets
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic, Sarah Masters Buckey
Danger, Dynamite!, Anne Capeci
Ghost Light on Graveyard Shoal, Elizabeth McDavid Jones
**The 7th Knot, Kathleen Karr
The Secret of the Equestrian Park, Gay Toltl Kinman
 

2004 – MD 17

Best Novel
We'll Always Have Parrots, Donna Andrews
By a Spider's Thread, Laura Lippman
High Country Fall, Margaret Maron
The Pearl Diver, Sujata Massey
**Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear
 
Best First Novel
Till the Cows Come Home, Judy Clemens
Arson and Old Lace, Patricia Harwin
I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason, Susan Kandel
**Dating Dead Men, Harley Jane Kozak
The Clovis Incident: A Mystery, Pari Noskin Taichert
 
Best Nonfiction
**Private Eye-Lashes: Radio's Lady Detectives, Jack French
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories, Leslie Klinger, edited with notes
 
Best Short Story
“The Butler Didn't Do It,” Maria Y. Lima
“The Two Marys,” Katherine Hall Page
**“Wedding Knife,” Elaine Viets, Coordinating Editor: Donna Andrews
 
Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
**Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliett
Betrayal at Cross Creek, Kathleen Ernst
Green Streak: A Zeke Armstrong Mystery, Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot
 

2005 – MD 18

Best Novel
Owls Well That Ends Well, Donna Andrews
Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear
Rituals of the Season, Margaret Maron
The Belen Hitch, Pari Noskin Taichert
**The Body in the Snowdrift, Katherine Hall Page
Trouble in Spades, Heather Webber
 
Best First Novel
**Better Off Wed, Laura Durham
Blood Relations, Lisa Tillman
Jury of One, Laura Bradford
Knit One, Kill Two, Maggie Sefton
Witch Way to Murder, Shirley Damsgaard
 
Best Nonfiction
Behind the Mystery—Top Mystery Writers, Stuart Kaminsky
**Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak
The Heirs of Anthony Boucher, Marvin Lachman
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels, Leslie S. Klinger, ed.
 
Best Short Story
**“Driven to Distraction,” Marcia Talley
“House Rules,” Libby Fischer Hellmann
“Mother Love,” Harriette Sackler
“Murder at Sleuthfest,” Barb Goffman
“Rear View Murder,” Carla Coupe
 
Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
Danger at the Zoo, Kathleen Ernst
**Down the Rabbit Hole, Peter Abrahams
Flush, Carl Hiaasen
The Coastwatcher, Elise Weston
The Curse of Ravenscourt, Sarah Masters Buckey
 

2006 Agatha – MD 19

Best First Novel
Consigned to Death, Jane Cleland
The Chef Who Died Sautéing, Honora Finkelstein and Susan Smily
Feint of Art, Hailey Lind
Murder on The Rocks, Karen Maclnerney
**The Heat of The Moon, Sandra Parshall
 
Best Novel
The Saddlemaker's Wife, Earlene Fowler
Why Casey Had to Die, L.C. Hayden
**The Virgin of Small Plains, Nancy Pickard
All Mortal Flesh, Julia Spencer-Fleming
Messenger of Truth, Jacqueline Winspear
 
Best Nonfiction
Mystery Muses, Jim Huang and Austin Lugar
**Don't Murder Your Mystery, Chris Roerden
The Beautiful Cigar Girl, Daniel Stashower
 
Best Short Story
“The Old Couple,” Robert Barnard
“Provenance,” Robert Barnard
“Yankee Swap,” Maurissa Guibord
“Disturbance in the Field,” Roberta Isleib
**“Sleeping with the Plush,” Toni L.P. Kelner
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Behind the Curtain: An Echo Falls Mystery, Peter Abrahams
Room One A Mystery or Two, Andrew Clements
Sherlock Holmes and The Baker Street Irregulars: The Fall of The Amazing Zalindas, Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin
**Pea Soup Poisonings, Nancy Means Wright
 

2007 – MD 20
Best Novel
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much, Donna Andrews
Her Royal Spyness, Rhys Bowen
Hard Row, Margaret Maron
**A Fatal Grace, Louise Penny
Murder with Reservations, Elaine Viets
 
Best First Novel
A Beautiful Blue Death, Charles Finch
A Real Basket Case, Beth Groundwater
Silent in the Grave, Deanna Raybourn
**Prime Time, Hank Phillippi Ryan
 
Best Nonfiction
**Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower, and Charles Foley
The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, Penny Warner
 
Best Short Story
**“A Rat’s Tale,” Donna Andrews
“Please Watch Your Step,” Rhys Bowen
“Casino Gamble,” Nan Higginson
“Death Will Clean Your Closet,” Elizabeth Zelvin
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
**A Light in the Cellar, Sarah Masters Buckey
Bravo Zulu, Samantha!, Kathleen Benner Duble
Cover-Up: Mystery at the Super Bowl, John Feinstein
The Falconer’s Knot, Mary Hoffman
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, R.L. LaFevers
 
2008 – MD 21

Best Novel
Six Geese A-Slaying, Donna Andrews
A Royal Pain, Rhys Bowen
**The Cruelest Month, Louise Penny
Buckingham Palace Gardens, Anne Perry
I Shall Not Want, Julia Spencer-Fleming
 
Best First Novel
Through a Glass, Deadly, Sarah Atwell
The Diva Runs Out of Thyme, Krista Davis
Pushing Up Daisies, Rosemary Harris
**Death of a Cozy Writer, G.M. Malliet
Paper, Scissors, Death, Joanna Campbell Slan
 
Best Nonfiction
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study, Frankie Y. Bailey
**How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, Kathy Lynn Emerson
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography, Jeff Marks
Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories, Harry Lee Poe
The Suspicions of Mr. Whitcher, or The Murder at Road Hill House, Kate Summerscale
 
Best Short Story
**“The Night Things Changed,” Dana Cameron
“Killing Time,” Jane Cleland
“Dangerous Crossing,” Carla Coupe
“Skull and Cross-Examinations,” Toni L.P. Kelner
“A Nice Old Guy,” Nancy Pickard
 
Best Children/Young Adult Novel
Into the Dark, Peter Abrahams
A Thief in the Theater (A Kit Mystery), Sarah Masters Buckey
**The Crossroads, Chris Grabenstein
The Great Circus Train Robbery, Nancy Means Wright
 

2009 – MD 22

Best Novel
Swan for the Money, Donna Andrews
Bookplate Special, Lorna Barrett
Royal Flush, Rhys Bowen
**The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny
Air Time, Hank Phillippi Ryan
 
Best First Novel
For Better for Murder, Lisa Bork
**The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley
Posed for Murder, Meredith Cole
The Cold Light of Mourning, Elizabeth Duncan
In the Shadow of Gotham, Stefanie Pintoff
 
Best Nonfiction
Duchess of Death, Richard Hack
Talking About Detective Fiction, P.D. James
Blood on the Stage, 1925 – 1950, Amnon Kabatchnik
**Dame Agatha’s Shorts, Elena Santangelo
The Talented Miss Highsmith, Joan Schenkar
 
Best Short Story
“Femme Sole,” Dana Cameron
“Handbaskets, Drawers, and a Killer Cold,” Kaye George
“The Worst Noel,” Barb Goffman
**“On the House,” Hank Phillippi Ryan
“Death Will Trim Your Tree,” Elizabeth Zelvin
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
The Morgue and Me, John C. Ford
**The Hanging Hill, Chris Grabenstein
The Case of the Poisoned Pig, Lewis B. Montgomery
The Other Side of Blue, Valerie O. Patterson
The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, Nancy Springer
2010 – MD 23

Best Novel
Stork Raving Mad, Donna Andrews
**Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny
The Scent of Rain & Lightning, Nancy Pickard
Drive Time, Hank Phillippi Ryan
Truly, Madly, Heather Webber
 
Best First Novel
**The Long Quiche Goodbye, Avery Aames
Murder at the PTA, Laura Alden
Maid of Murder, Amanda Flower
Full Mortality, Sasscer Hill
Diamonds for the Dead, Alan Orloff
 
Best Nonfiction
The Poisoner’s Handbook, Deborah Blum
**Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks, John Curran
Sherlock Holmes for Dummies, Steven Doyle & David A. Crowder
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History, Yunte Huang
Have Faith in Your Kitchen, Katherine Hall Page
 
Best Short Story
“Swing Shift,” Dana Cameron
“Size Matters,” Sheila Connolly
“Volunteer of the Year,” Barb Goffman
**“So Much in Common,” Mary Jane Maffini
“The Green Cross,” Elizabeth Zelvin
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer, John Grisham
Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, R.L. LaFevers
The Agency: Spy in the House, Y. S. Lee
Virals, Kathy Reichs
**The Other Side of Dark, Sarah Smith
 

2011 – MD 24

Best Novel
The Real Macaw, Donna Andrews
The Diva Haunts the House, Krista Davis
Wicked Autumn, G.M. Malliet
**Three Day Town, Margaret Maron
A Trick of the Light, Louise Penny
 
Best First Novel
Dire Threads, Janet Bolin
Choke, Kaye George
**Learning to Swim, Sara J. Henry
Who Do, Voodoo?, Rochelle Staab
Tempest in the Tea Leaves, Kari Lee Townsend
 
Best Nonfiction
**Books, Crooks and Counselors, Leslie Budewitz
Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making, John Curran
On Conan Doyle, Michael Dirda
Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary & the Evolution of the Casebook Novel, A. B. Emrys
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, Charlaine Harris
 
Best Short Story
**“Disarming,” Dana Cameron
“Dead Eye Gravy,” Krista Davis
“Palace by the Lake,” Daryl Wood Gerber
“Truth and Consequences,” Barb Goffman
“The Itinerary,” Roberta Isleib
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Shelter, Harlan Coben
**The Black Heart Crypt, Chris Grabenstein
Icefall, Matthew J. Kirby
The Wizard of Dark Street, Shawn Thomas Odyssey
The Code Busters Club 1, Penny Warner
 
Best Historical
**Naughty in Nice, Rhys Bowen
Murder Your Darlings, J.J. Murphy
Mercury’s Rise, Ann Parker
Troubled Bones, Jeri Westerson
A Lesson in Secrets, Jacqueline Winspear
 

2012 – MD 25

Best Novel
The Diva Digs Up the Dirt, Krista Davis
A Fatal Winter, G.M. Malliet
The Buzzard Table, Margaret Maron
**The Beautiful Mystery, Louise Penny
The Other Woman, Hank Phillippi Ryan
 
Best Historical Novel
The Twelve Clues of Christmas, Rhys Bowen
**Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for Murder, Catriona McPherson
Murder on Fifth Avenue, Victoria Thompson
An Unmarked Grave, Charles Todd
Elegy for Eddie, Jacqueline Winspear
 
Best First Novel
**Lowcountry Boil, Susan M. Boyer
Iced Chiffon, Duffy Brown
A Scrapbook of Secrets, Mollie Cox Bryan
A Killer Read, Erika Chase
Faithful Unto Death, Stephanie Jaye Evans
 
Best Nonfiction
**Books to Die For, John Connolly/Declan Burke
Blood Relations, Joseph Goodrich, ed.
More Forensics and Fiction, D.P. Lyle
Double Cross, Ben Macintyre
The Grand Tour, Mathew Prichard, ed.
 
Best Short Story
**“Mischief in Mesopotamia,” Dana Cameron
“Kept in the Dark,” Sheila Connolly
“The Lord is My Shamus,” Barb Goffman
“Thea’s First Husband,” B.K. Stevens
“When Duty Calls,” Art Taylor
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Seconds Away, Harlan Coben
The Edge of Nowhere, Elizabeth George
Liar & Spy, Rebecca Stead
**Code Busters 2: The Haunted Lighthouse, Penny Warner
Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
 

2013 – MD 26

Best Contemporary Novel
Pagan Spring, G.M. Malliet
How the Light Gets In, Louise Penny
Clammed Up, Barbara Ross
**The Wrong Girl, Hank Phillippi Ryan
Through the Evil Days, Julia Spencer-Fleming
 
Best Historical Novel
Heirs and Graces, Rhys Bowen
Death in the Time of Ice, Kaye George
A Friendly Game of Murder, J.J. Murphy
Murder in Chelsea, Victoria Thompson
**A Question of Honor, Charles Todd
 
Best First Novel
**Death Al Dente, Leslie Budewitz
You Cannoli Die Once, Shelley Costa
Board Stiff, Kendel Lynn
Kneading to Die, Liz Mugavero
Front Page Fatality, LynDee Walker
 
Best Nonfiction
Georgette Heyer, Jennifer Kloester
Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Maria Konnikova
Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea: An Interesting & Entertaining History of Malice Domestic’s First 25 Years, Verena Rose & Rita Owen, eds.
**The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War, Daniel Stashower
  
Best Short Story
“Evil Little Girl,” Barb Goffman
“Nightmare,” Barb Goffman
“The Hindi Houdini,” Gigi Pandian
“Bread Baby,” Barbara Ross
**“The Care and Feeding of House Plants,” Art Taylor
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
The Testing, Joelle Charbonneau
Traitor in the Shipyard: A Caroline Mystery, Kathleen Ernst
Andi Unexpected, Amanda Flower
**Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, Chris Grabenstein
Code Busters Club: Mystery of the Pirate’s Treasure, Penny Warner
 

2014 – MD 27

Best Contemporary Novel
The Good, The Bad and The Emus, Donna Andrews
A Demon Summer, G.M. Malliet
Designated Daughters, Margaret Maron
The Long Way Home, Louise Penny
**Truth Be Told, Hank Phillippi Ryan
 
Best Historical Novel
**Queen of Hearts, Rhys Bowen
Wouldn't It Be Deadly, D.E. Ireland
Murder in Murray Hill, Victoria Thompson
Hunting Shadows, Charles Todd
An Unwilling Accomplice, Charles Todd
 
Best First Novel 
Circle of Influence, Annette Dashofy
Tagged for Death, Sherry Harris
**Well Read, Then Dead, Terrie Farley Moran
Finding Sky, Susan O'Brien
Murder Strikes a Pose, Tracy Weber
 
Best Nonfiction
The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England's Most Notorious Doctor, Stephan Bates
Death Dealer: How Cops and Cadaver Dogs Brought a Killer to Justice, Kate Flora
400 Things Cops Know: Street Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman, Adam Plantinga
**Writes of Passage - Adventures on the Writer's Journey, Hank Phillippi Ryan, ed.
The Art of the English Murder, Lucy Worsley
 
Best Short Story
“The Blessing Witch,” Kathy Lynn Emerson
“The Shadow Knows,” Barb Goffman
“Just Desserts for Johnny,” Edith Maxwell
**“The Odds are Against Us,” Art Taylor
“Premonition,” Art Taylor
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Found, Harlan Coben
Andi Under Pressure, Amanda Flower
Greenglass House, Kate Milford
Uncertain Glory, Lea Wait
**The Code Busters Club: The Mummy's Curse, Penny Warner
 

2015 – MD 28

Best Contemporary Novel
Bridges Burned, Annette Dashofy
**Long Upon the Land, Margaret Maron
The Child Garden, Catriona McPherson
Nature of the Beast, Louise Penny
What You See, Hank Phillippi Ryan
 
Best Historical Novel
Malice at the Palace, Rhys Bowen
The Masque of a Murderer, Susanna Calkins
**Dreaming Spies, Laurie R. King
Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante, Susan Elia MacNeal
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue, Victoria Thompson
 
Best First Novel 
Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman, Tessa Arlen
Macdeath, Cindy Brown
Plantation Shudders, Ellen Byron
Just Killing Time, Julianne Holmes
**On the Road with Del and Louise, Art Taylor
 
Best Nonfiction
The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes, Zack Dundas
**The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story, Martin Edwards
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, Kathryn Harkup
Unsolved Murders and Disappearances in Northeast Ohio, Jane Ann Turzillo
The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For, Kate White, ed.
 
Best Short Story
**“A Year Without Santa Claus?,” Barb Goffman
“A Questionable Death,” Edith Maxwell
“A Killing at the Beausoleil,” Terrie Farley Moran
“Suffer the Poor,” Harriette Sackler
“A Joy Forever,” B.K. Stevens
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Pieces and Players, Blue Balliett
Need, Joelle Charbonneau
**Andi Unstoppable, Amanda Flower
Woof, Spencer Quinn
Fighting Chance: A Martial Arts Mystery, B.K. Stevens
 

2016 – MD 29

Best Contemporary Novel
Body on the Bayou, Ellen Byron
Quiet Neighbors, Catriona McPherson
**A Great Reckoning, Louise Penny
Fogged Inn, Barbara Ross
Say No More, Hank Phillippi Ryan
 
Best Historical Novel
Whispers Beyond the Veil, Jessica Estevao
Get Me to the Grave on Time, D.E. Ireland
Delivering the Truth, Edith Maxwell
**The Reek of Red Herrings, Catriona McPherson
Murder in Morningside Heights, Victoria Thompson
 
Best First Novel
Terror in Taffeta, Marla Cooper
Murder in G Major, Alexia Gordon
**The Semester of Our Discontent, Cynthia Kuhn
Decanting a Murder, Nadine Nettmann
Design for Dying, Renee Patrick
 
Best Nonfiction
**Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats, Jane K. Cleland
A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden’s 25 Years in the Maine Woods, Roger Guay with Kate Clark
Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction, Margaret Kinsman
 
Best Short Story
“Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Story,” Gretchen Archer
“The Best-Laid Plans,” Barb Goffman
“The Mayor and the Midwife,” Edith Maxwell
“The Last Blue Glass,” B.K. Stevens
**“Parallel Play,” Art Taylor
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure, P. A. DeVoe
Spy Ski School, Stuart Gibbs
Tag, You’re Dead, J C Lane
The Mystery of Hollow Places, Rebecca Podos
**The Secret of the Puzzle Box: The Code Busters Club, Penny Warner
 

2017 – MD 30

Best Contemporary Novel
Death Overdue, Allison Brook
A Cajun Christmas Killing, Ellen Byron
No Way Home, Annette Dashofy
Take Out, Margaret Maron
**Glass Houses, Louise Penny
 
Best Historical Novel
**In Farleigh Field, Rhys Bowen
Murder in an English Village, Jessica Ellicott
Called to Justice, Edith Maxwell
The Paris Spy, Susan Elia MacNeal
Dangerous to Know, Renee Patrick
 
Best First Novel
Adrift, Micki Browning
The Plot is Murder, V. M. Burns
**Hollywood Homicide, Kellye Garrett
Daughters of Bad Men, Laura Oles
Protocol, Kathleen Valenti
 
Best Nonfiction
**From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon, Mattias Boström
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, Martin Edwards
American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land, Monica Hesse
Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction, Jess Lourey
Manderley Forever: A Biography of Daphne du Maurier, Tatiana de Rosnay
 
Best Short Story
“Double Deck the Halls,” Gretchen Archer
“Whose Wine Is It Anyway,” Barb Goffman
“The Night They Burned Miss Dixie’s Place,” Debra Goldstein
**“The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn,” Gigi Pandian
“A Necessary Ingredient,” Art Taylor
 
Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
City of Angels, Kristi Belcamino
**Sydney Mackenzie Knocks ‘Em Dead, Cindy Callaghan
The World’s Greatest Detective, Caroline Carlson
Audacity Jones Steals the Show, Kirby Larson
The Harlem Charade, Natasha Tarpley

The History of the Agatha Awards

(** denotes winners)

1988 - 1999

2000 - 2009

2010 - 2018

2018 - MD 31


Best Contemporary Novel
**Mardi Gras Murder, Ellen Byron
Beyond the Truth, Bruce Robert Coffin
Cry Wolf, Annette Dashofy
Kingdom of the Blind, Louise Penny 
Trust Me, Hank Phillippi Ryan

Best Historical Novel  
Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding, Rhys Bowen
The Gold Pawn, LA Chandlar
**The Widows of Malabar Hill, Sujata Massey
Turning the Tide, Edith Maxwell
Murder on Union Square, Victoria Thompson

Best First Novel
**(tie) A Ladies Guide to Etiquette and Murder, Dianne Freeman
Little Comfort, Edwin Hill
What Doesn't Kill You, Aimee Hix 
Deadly Solution, Keenan Powell 
**(tie) Curses Boiled Again, Shari Randall 

Best Short Story
**(tie) "All God's Sparrows", Leslie Budewitz
"A Postcard for the Dead", Susanna Calkins
"Bug Appetit", Barb Goffman
**(tie) "The Case of the Vanishing Professor", Tara Laskowski
"English 398: Fiction Workshop", Art Taylor

Best Young Adult Mystery
**Potion Problems (Just Add Magic), Cindy Callaghan
Winterhouse, Ben Guterson
A Side of Sabotage, C.M. Surrisi

Best Nonfiction
**Mastering Plot Twists, Jane Cleland
Writing the Cozy Mystery, Nancy J Cohen
Conan Doyle for the Defense, Margalit Fox
Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life, Laura Thompson
Wicked Women of Ohio, Jane Ann Turzillo