Announcing 2017’s Agatha Award Nominees

Malice Domestic, an annual convention held in Washington, D.C., honoring the best of the traditional/cozy mystery genre, has announced the nominees for 2017's Agatha Awards. Loosely defined as “mysteries which contain no explicit sex or excessive gore or violence,” the Agatha Award salutes the books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.

This year, the annual banquet will be held on Saturday, April 29th, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. As always, it's a fantastic list of great work that deserves to be checked out! What have you read already?

*Follow the linked titles for excerpts and reviews!

Best Contemporary Novel

Body on the Bayou by Ellen Byron
Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny
Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross
Say No More by Hank Phillippi Ryan
 

Best Historical Novel

Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao
Get Me to the Grave on Time by D.E. Ireland
Delivering the Truth by Edith Maxwell
The Reek of Red Herrings by Catriona McPherson
Murder in Morningside Heights by Victoria Thompson
 

Best First Novel

Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper
Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon
The Semester of Our Discontent by Cynthia Kuhn
Decanting a Murder by Nadine Nettmann
Design for Dying by Renee Patrick
 

Best Nonfiction

Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K. Cleland
A Good Man with a Dog: A Game Warden's 25 Years in the Maine Woods by Roger Guay with Kate Clark Flora
Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Margaret Kinsman
 

Best Short Story

“Double Jinx: A Bellissimo Casino Crime Caper Short Story” by Gretchen Archer
“The Best-Laid Plans” by Barb GoffmanMalice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional
“The Mayor and the Midwife” by Edith MaxwellBlood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016
“The Last Blue Glass” by B.K. StevensAlfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
“Parallel Play” by Art TaylorChesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning

*Follow the links to read each short story in full for free (excluding “Double Jinx,” which is available for 99 cents)!
 

Best Children/Young Adult

Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure by P.A. DeVoe
Spy Ski School by Stuart Gibbs
Tag, You're Dead by J C Lane
The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos
The Secret of the Puzzle Box: The Code Busters Club by Penny Warner

Congratulations to all the nominees, and good luck!