Anthony Awards Eligible Titles for Bouchercon 2024

This page lists the Anthony Awards Eligible* Titles for Bouchercon 2024, which will be held August 28 to September 1, 2024 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

REGISTER here for Bouchercon 2024.

*Eligible means published in the United States by a living author during the calendar year 2023 (January 1-December 31).

Check this site for periodic updates. Contact me via this page for Additions/Corrections.

Candidates are alphabetized by First Name. The categories are:

• Best Novel
• Best First Novel
• Best Paperback Original. E-book. Audiobook
• Best Short Story
• Best Juvenile | Young Adult
• Best Critical Nonfiction
• Best Anthology

Best Hardcover Novel

• Adam Sternbergh. The Eden Test.
• Alex Finlay. What Have We Done.
• Alex Hay. The Housekeepers.
• Alex Michaelides. The Fury.
• Alex North. The Angel Maker.
• Alice Feeney/ Good Bad Girl.
• Allen Eskens. Saving Emma.
• Alma Katsu. Red Widow.
• Amanda Flower. I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.
• Amy Chua. The Golden Gate.
• Amy Engel. I Did It For You.
• Amy McCulloch. Midnight.
• Amy Patricia Meade. Cold Turkey.
• Amy Pease. Northwoods.
• Andrea Bartz. The Spare Room.
• Anna Pitoniak. The Helsinki Affair.
• Ashely Elston. First Lie Wins.
• Ashley Audrain. The Whispers.
• Ashley Winstead. Midnight is the Darkest Hour.
• Ava Glass. The Traitor.
• B.A. Paris. The Guest.
• Beatriz Williams. The Beach At Summerly.
• Benjamin Stevenson. Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone.
• Brendan Slocumb. Symphony of Secrets.
• Bret Easton Ellis. The Shards.
• Cara Hunter. Murder in the Family.
• Carol Goodman. The Bones of the Story.
• Carole Johnstone. The Blackhouse.
• Caroline Kepnes. For You and Only You.
• Catherine Ryan. Howard The Trap.
• Celeste Connally. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.
• Chandler Baker. Cutting Teeth.
• Chanel Cleeton. The Cuban Heiress.
• Charlie Donlea. Those Empty Eyes.
• Charlotte Vassell. The Other Half.
• Chelsea Sedoti. Tell Me What Really Happened.
• Cheryl Head. Time’s Undoing.
• Christina Henry. Good Girls Don’t Die.
• Christopher Swann. Never Back Down.
• Clea Simon. To Conjure A Killer.
• Clémence Michallon. The Quiet Tenant.
• Colleen Cambridge. Murder by Invitation.
• Colleen Cambridge. Mastering the Art of French Murder.
• Colson Whitehead. Crook Manifesto.
• Crystal Smith Paul. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?.
• Daniel Silva. The Collector.
• Daniel Sweren-Becker. Kill Show.
• Danielle Trussoni. The Puzzle Master.
• Danielle Valentine. Delicate Condition.
• Dann McDorman. West Heart Kill.
• Darby Kane. The Engagement Party.
• David Baldacci. The Edge.
• David Swinson. Sweet Thing.
• Dennis Lehane. Small Mercies.
• Diana Urban. Lying in the Deep.
• Dwyer Murphy. The Stolen Coast.
• Eli Cranor. Ozark Dogs.
• Eliza Clark. Penance.
• Ella Berman. Before We Were Innocent.
• Emma Rosenblum. Bad Summer People.
• Erin Kelly. The Skeleton Key.
• Finley Turner. The Engagement Party.
• Gillian McAllister. Just Another Missing Person.
• Gilly Macmillan. The Manor House.
• Grady Hendrix. How to Sell a Haunted House.
• Gwen Florio. Be Prepared.
• Halley Sutton. The Hurricane Blonde.
• Hank Phillippi Ryan. The House Guest.
• Hannah Mitchell. Excavations.
• Harlan Coben. I Will Find You.
• Heather Chavez. Before She Finds Me.
• Ivy Pochoda. Sing Her Down.
• J.M Adams. Second Term.
• J.T. Ellison. It’s One of Us.
• Jaclyn Goldis. The Chateau.
• James L’Etoile. Face of Greed.
• James Lee Burke. Flags on the Bayou.
• Jamie Day. The Block Party.
• Jane Shemill. The Vacation House.
• Janet Evanovich. Dirty Thirty.
• Jean Kwok. The Leftover Woman.
• Jeneva Rose. You Shouldn’t Have Come Here.
• Jennifer McMahon. My Darling Girl.
• Jessa Maxwell. The Golden Spoon.
• Jessica Knoll. Bright Young Women.
• Jessica Ward. The St. Ambrose School For Girls.
• Jillian Cantor. The Fiction Writer.
• Joe Clifford. Say My Name.
• John Grisham. The Exchange.
• John Marrs. The Vacation.
• Jordan Harper. Everybody Knows.
• Karen M. McManus. One of Us Is Back.
• Karin Slaughter. After That Night.
• Kat Rosenfield. You Must Remember This.
• Kate Alice Marshall. No One Can Know.
• Kate Alice Marshall. What Lies in the Woods.
• Katie Cotugno. Liar’s Beach.
• Kiersten White. Mister Magic.
• Laura Lippman. Prom Mom.
• Lauren Muñoz. Suddenly A Murder.
• Lauren Nossett. The Professor.
• Leanne Kale Sparks. Every Missing Girl.
• Leslie Karst. A Sense for Murder.
• Lindsay Hunter. Hot Springs Drive.
• Lisa Jewell. None of This Is True.
• Lisa M. Matlin. The Stranger Upstairs.
• Lisa Springer. There’s No Way I’d Die First.
• Lisa Unger. Christmas Presents.
• Live Constantine. The Senator’s Wife.
• Liz Nugent. Strange Sally Diamond.
• Loreth Anne White. The Maid’s Diary.
• Mackenzie Reed. The Rosewood Hunt.
• Margot Douaihy. Scorched Grace.
• Mariana Enriquez. Our Share of Night.
• Mary Kubica. Just the Nicest Couple.
• Matt Coyle. Odyssey’s End.
• Megan Abbott. Beware the Woman.
• Megan Collins. Thicker Than Water.
• Megan Goldin. Dark Corners.
• Megan Miranda. The Only Survivors.
• Melissa Adelman. What the Neighbors Saw.
• Michael Connelly. Resurrection Day.
• Michael Kortya. An Honest Man.
• Michele Campbell. The Intern.
• Michelle Min Sterling. Camp Zero.
• Mick Herron. The Secret Hours.
• Mindy Mejia. To Catch A Storm.
• Nishita Parekh. The Night of the Storm.
• Nita Prose. The Mystery Guest.
• Nora Murphy. The New Mother.
• Olivia Worley. People to Follow.
• R. J. Jacobs. This is How We End Things.
• Rachel Hawkins. The Villa.
• Rachel Kapelke-Dale. The Fortune Seller.
• Rachel Koller Croft. Stone Cold Fox.
• Rafael Frumkin. Confidence.
• Raquel V. Reyes. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal.
• Rebecca Makkai. I Have Some Questions For You.
• Richard Osman. The Last Devil to Die.
• Riley Sager. The Only One Left.
• Ripley Jones. Missing Clarissa.
• Ritu Mukerji. Murder by Degrees.
• Robyn Gigl. Remain Silent.
• Robyn Harding. The Drowning Woman.
• Ruth Ware. Zero Days.
• S.A. Cosby. All The Sinners Bleed.
• Sally Hepworth. The Soulmate.
• Sandra Brown. Out of Nowhere.
• Sarah James. Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen.
• Sarah Pekkanen. Gone Tonight.
• Shari Lapena. Everyone Here Is Lying.
• Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Untamed Shore.
• S.J. Rozan. The Mayors of New York.
• Stephen Amidon. Locust Lane.
• Stephen Graham Jones. Don’t Fear the Reaper.
• Stephen King. Holly.
• Susanna Calkins. Death Among the Ruins.
• T. Kingfisher. A House With Good Bones.
• Tananarive Due. The Reformatory.
• Taylor Adams. The Last Word.
• Terry Shames. Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store.
• Terry Shames. Perilous Waters.
• Tess Gerritsen. The Spy Coast.
• Tim Johnston. Distant Sons.
• Tom Mead. The Murder Wheel.
• Tori Eldridge. The Ninja’s Oath.
• Trish Esden. A Wealth of Deception.
• Vanessa Lille. Blood Sisters.
• Vanessa Walters. The Nigerwife.
• Walter Mosley. Every Man a King.
• Wendy Heard. You Can Trust Me.
• Will Dean. The Last One.
• William Kent Krueger. The River We Remember.
• Yasmin Angoe. It Ends with Knight.

Best First

• Amy Chua. The Golden Gate.
• Amy Young. The Water Tower.
• Ana Reyes. The House in the Pines.
• Anna St. John. Doomed by Blooms.
• Anne Burt. The Dig.
• Ben Crane. A Man of Lies.
• Brendon Vayo. Girl Among Crows.
• Bruce Borgos. The Bitter Past.
• C.J. Leede. Maeve Fly.
• Cayce Osborne. I Know What You Did.
• D.M.S. Fick. Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys.
• Daniel Weizmann. The Last Songbird.
• Danielle Arceneaux. Glory Be.
• Dann Mcdorman. West Heart Kill.
• Daphne Silver. Crime and Parchment.
• Elise Hart Kipness. Lights Out.
• Ellen Won Steil. Won Fortune.
• Emily Smith. You Always Come Back.
• Emma Fedor. At Sea.
• Emma Törzs. Ink Blood Sister Scribe.
• Finley Turner. The Engagement Party.
• Greg Jackson. The Dimensions of a Cave.
• Greg Stone. Dangerous Inspiration.
• Hugh Lessig. Fadeaway Joe.
• I.S. Berry. The Peacock and the Sparrow.
• Iris Yamashita. City Under One Roof.
• Ivanka Fear. The Dead Lie.
• J.D. O’Brien. Zig Zag.
• J.H. Markert. The Nightmare Man.
• James Comey. Central Park West.
• Jenna Podjasek, M.D. Particles in the Air.
• Jennifer Herrera. The Hunter.
• Jess Armstrong. The Curse of Penryth Hall.
• Jessa Maxwell. The Golden Spoon.
• Jimmy Juliano. Dead Eleven.
• Jinwoo Chong. Flux.
• Joanne Mcneil. Wrong Way.
• John Milas. The Militia House.
• Jonathan Fredrick. Cash City.
• Jonathan Payne. Citizen Orlov.
• Josh Pachter. Dutch Threat.
• Julia Bartz. The Writing Retreat.
• Julia Seales. A Most Agreeable Murder.
• Justine Sullivan. He Said He Would Be Late.
• K.L. Cerra. Such Pretty Flowers.
• Kate Robards. The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard.
• Katherine A. Olson. Close Enough to Hurt.
• Kathleen Fine. Girl on Trial.
• Katie Garner. The Night It Ended.
• Katie Siegel. Charlotte Iles is not a Detective.
• Ken Jaworowski. Small Town Sins.
• Kristen Loesch. The Last Russian Doll.
• Kristin Kisska. The Hint of Light.
• Kyle Decker. This Rancid Mill.
• Lina Chern. Play the Fool.
• Lisa Malice. Lest She Forget.
• Maggie Bailey. Seams Deadly.
• Margot Douaihy. Scorched Grace.
• Maria Dong. Liar, Dreamer, Thief.
• Marie Still. We’re All Lying.
• Marjorie Mccown. Final Cut.
• Mary Ann Miller. Bones under the Ice.
• Meagan Jennett. You Know Her.
• Melissa Adelman. What the Neighbors Saw.
• Melissa Coss Aquino. Carmen and Grace.
• Michelle Cruz. Even When You Lie.
• Nathan Oates. A Flaw In The Design.
• Nick Medina. Sisters of the Lost Nation.
• Nicole Hackett. The Perfect Ones.
• Nigar Alam. Under the Tamarind Tree.
• Nina Simon. Mother-Daughter Murder Night.
• Nolan Cubero. Shadow Drive.
• Orlando Davidson. Baseline Road.
• Rachel Cochran. The Gulf.
• Rachel Koller Croft. Stone Cold Fox.
• Rebecca A. Keller. You Should Have Known.
• Rebecca Saltzer. Murder Over Broken Bonds.
• Remi Adeleke. Chameleon.
• Ren DeStefano. How I’ll Kill You.
• Ritu Mukerji. Murder by Degrees.
• Rocky Hirajeta. What The River Buries.
• Russel W. Johnson. The Moonshine Messiah.
• Samsun Knight. The Diver.
• Sara Herchenroether. The Night Flowers.
• Sarah Bewley. Burning Eden.
• Steve Urszenyi. Perfect Shot.
• T.R. Hendricks. The Instructor.
• Terri Parlato. All the Dark Places.
• Vanessa Cuti. The Tip Line.
• Vibhuti Jain. Our Best Intentions.

Best Paperback Original. E-book. Audiobook

• A.F. Carter. Boomtown.
• A.J. Banner. Dreaming of Water.
• A.M. Potter. The Color Red.
• Amy Patricia Meade. Game Over At Guild Hall.
• A.R. Torre. A Fatal Affair.
• Adele Parks. Two Dead Wives.
• Adrianne Harun. On the Way to the End of the World.
• Aimee Ogden. Emergent Properties.
• Alan Orloff. Sanctuary Motel.
• Albert Waitt. The Ruins of Woodman’s Village.
• Alice Bell. Grave Expectations.
• Allen Wyler. Deadly Odds 6.0.
• Alma Katsu. Black Vault.
• Amber Brown & Danielle Brown. Perfect Little Lies.
• Amulya Malladi. A Death in Denmark.
• Amy Stuart. A Death at the Party.
• Anbara Salam. Hazardous Spirits.
• Andrew F. Sullivan & Nick Cutter. The Handyman Method.
• Andrew Mayne. Night Owl.
• Andrew Mayne. Sea Castle.
• Ann Aptaker. Crime of Secrets.
• Ann Claire. Last Word to the Wise.
• Ann-Helen Laestadius. Stolen.
• Anna Porter. Gull Island.
• Anne Frasier. The Night I Died.
• Annette Dashofy. Helpless.
• Ayan Rubin & Mike Rubin. A White Hot Plan.
• Barbara Fradkin. Wreck Bay.
• Barbara Nickless. Play of Shadows.
• Baxter Clare Trautman. Touch of the Bone.
• Beau Johnson. The Abrum Files: A Bishop Rider Book.
• Betty Webb. Lost in Paris.
• Big Boy Pete. The Ice Cream Man.
• Bob Mortimer. The Clementine Complex.
• Bobby Mathews. Magic City Blues.
• Bonnie Kistler. Her, Too.
• Brianna Labuskes. See It End.
• Brooke Robinson. The Interpreter.
• C.L. Tolbert. The Legacy.
• C.W. Blackwell. Hard Mountain Clay.
• Cara Hunter. Murder in the Family.
• Carol Goodman. The Bones of the Story.
• Carol Pouliot. RSVP to Murder.
• Caroline Fardig. Relative Harm.
• Carolyn Ridder Aspenson. Deadly Means.
• Carolyn Ridder Aspenson. Final Fix.
• Catherine Bruns. Syrup to No Good.
• Catherine Chidgez. Pet.
• Cathi Stoler. With a Twist.
• Chad Zunker. All He Has Left.
• Charles Salzberg. Man on the Run.
• Charlotte Stuart. Insured to the Hilt.
• Chris Brookmyre. The Cliff House.
• Christa Carmen. The Daughters of Block Island.
• Christin Brecher. Mugshots of Manhattan.
• Christina Mcdonald. These Still Black Waters.
• Claire Douglas. The Girls Who Disappeared.
• Claudia Gray. The Late Mrs. Willoughby.
• Cleo Coyle. The Ghost Goes to the Dogs.
• Craig Clevenger. Mother Howl.
• Curtis Leblanc. Sunsetter.
• Damyanti Biswas. The Blue Bar.
• Dan Frey. Dreambound.
• Daniel Kalla. Fit to Die.
• Danielle Brown & Amber Brown. Perfect Little Lies.
• David Gordon. The Pigeon.
• David Wagner. Best Served Cold.
• Dawn Farnham. Tokyo Time.
• Deborah J. Ledford. Redemption.
• Debra Webb. All the Little Truths.
• Debra Webb. The Nature of Secrets.
• Diane Kelly. Fiddling with Fate.
• Diane Kelly. Primer and Punishment.
• Diane Kelly. Snow Place for Murder.
• Dietrich Kalteis. The Get.
• Donald Catalano. Retribution.
• Doug Buress. A Legacy of Bones.
• E.A. Aymar. No Home for Killers.
• Elizabeth Penney. The Fatal Folio.
• Elle Grawl. What Still Burns.
• Elle Marr. The Family Bones.
• Elen Byron. Wined And Died in New Orleans.
• Ellie Alexander.  Catch Me If You Candy.
• Ellie Brannigan. Murder at an Irish Castle.
• Erica Miner. Prelude to Murder.
• Erik S. Meyers. Death in the Ozarks.
• Erin Flanagan. Come With Me.
• Eryk Pruitt. Something Bad Wrong.
• Evie Green. The New One.
• Frances Mcnamara. Molasses in a Nutshell.
• G.M. Malliet. The Washing Away of Wrongs.
• Gabriel Valjan. Liar’s Dice.
• Gail Bowen. The Legacy.
• Georgina Cross. One Night.
• Gerald Elias. Murder at the Royal Albert.
• Glenn Cooper. The Lost Pope.
• Gytha Lodge. A Killer in the Family.
• Halley Sutton. The Hurricane Blonde.
• Hope C. Clark. Craven County Line.
• Hope C. Clark. Edisto Bullet.
• Isabella Maldonado. A killer’s Game.
• Ivanka Fear. Where Is My Husband?
• J. Woollcott. Blood Relations.
• J.G. Faherty. Ragman.
• J.M. Donellan. Lenore’s Last Funeral.
• J.M. Redmann. Transitory.
• Jake Lamar. Viper’s Dream.
• Jake Needham. Who the Hell is Harry Black?
• James Barry. The Blow-up.
• James Chandler. The Truthful Witness.
• James D.F. Hannah. Because the Night.
• James L’Etoile. Devil Within.
• Jane Candas Dorsey. He Wasn’t There Again Today.
• Jane Kelly. Strangers in the Avalon Dunes.
• Jayne Cowie. One of the Boys.
• Jeff Rovin. Tom Clancy’s Op-Center: Fallout.
• Jenna Kernan. The Nurse.
• Jennifer Banash. The Rise and Fall of Ava Arcana.
• Jennifer Hopkins. The Lost Victim.
• Jennifer J. Chow. Hot Pot Murder.
• Jeremey P. Bushnell. Relentless Melt.
• Jess Battis. The Winter Knight.
• Jess Lourey. The Taken Ones.
• Jesse Q. Sutanto. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.
• Jessica Strawser. The Last Caretaker.
• Jilly Gagnon. Scenes of the Crime
• Jim Ruland. Make It Stop.
• Jodé Millman. The Empty Kayak.
• Joe Cargile. In Defense of Charlotte.
• Joe Cargile. The Wiregrass Witness.
• Joe Clifford. All Who Wander.
• Joe Golemo. Designs Flaws..
• John A. Vanek. Epiphany.
• John Anthony Moccia. Crapped Out.
• John Gilstrap. Harm’s Way.
• John Jantunen. Mason’s Jar.
• John Marrs. The Vacation.
• John Talton. The Nurse Murders.
• Jonathan Fredrick. Bad Men Will Come.
• Jonathan Fredrick. Hum Little Birdie.
• Jonathan Maberry. Cave 13.
• Jordan Farmer. Lighthouse Burning.
• Joseph Hart. Where They Lie.
• Josh Malerman. Spin a Black Yarn.
• Joy Castro. One Brilliant Flame.
• Judy L. Murray. Peril in the Pool House.
• Kaira Rouda. Beneath the Surface.
• Kallie E. Benjamin. Sniffing Out Murder.
• Kara Thomas. Out of the Ashes.
• Karin Fitz Sanford. The Last Thing Claire Wanted.
• Kathleen Donnelly. Hunting the Truth.
• Kathleen M. Willett. Anything for a Friend.
• Kelly Oliver. Covert to Cairo.
• Kelly J. Ford. The Hunt.
• Kerry Cox. Cold-blooded Trade.
• Kevin Kluesner. The Killer Speech.
• Kia Abdullah. Perfectly Nice Neighbors.
• Kim Hays. Sons and Brothers.
• Kimberly G. Giarratano. Death of a Dancing Queen.
• Kristen Bird. I Love It When You Lie.
• L.C. Tyler. Fire.
• L.R. Jones. You Look Beautiful Tonight.
• L.S. Stratton. Not So Perfect Strangers.
• Lane Stone. The Canvas.
• Laura Anne Gilman. Uncanny Vows.
• Laura Snider. Unconditional Revenge.
• Lawrence Allan. Big F@!king Deal.
• Leah Konen. You Should Have Told Me.
• Lee Matthew Goldberg. The Great Gimmelmans.
• Leo Banks. The Flying Z.
• Libi Siporin. If Two of Them are Dead.
• Linda Lovely. A Killer App.
• Linda Norlander. Death of a Fox.
• Lindsay Cameron. No One Needs to Know.
• Lisa Brideau. Adrift.
• Lisa Regan. Close Her Eyes.
• Lisa Regan. My Child is Missing.
• Liz Milliron. The Truth We Hide.
• Liz Milliron. Thicker Than Water
• Lorena Hughes. The Queen of the Valley.
• Lori Duffy Foster. No Time to Breathe.
• Lori Robbins. Murder in Fourth Position.
• Lori-Rader Day. The Death of Us.
• Lucinda Berry. Keep Your Friends Close.
• Lucinda Berry. Off the Deep End.
• Luke Dumas. The Paleontologist.
• Lyn Liao Butler. Someone Else’s Life.
• LynDee Walker. Tell No Lies.
• Lynn Cahoon. Songs of Wine and Murder.
• Lynn Cahoon. Death in the Romance Aisle.
• Lynn Cahoon. Four Charming Spells.
• Lynn Chandler Willis. What the Monkey Saw.
• Lynn-Steven Johanson. One of Ours.
• M.A. Monnin. Death on the Grand Canal.
• M.M. Lindvall. Earth to Earth.
• Mandy Mchugh. It Takes Monsters.
• Marcia Rosen. Murder at the Zoo.
• Margot Hunt. Lovely Girls.
• Maria Lewis. The Graveyard Shift.
• Mark de Castrique. Dangerous Women.
• Mark Troy. Splintered Loyalty.
• Marth Emily Reed. Up Jumped the Devil – A Crescent City NOLA Mystery.
• Martin Edwards. The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge.
• Marty Eberhardt. Bones in the Back Forty.
• Mary Anna Evans. The Traitor Beside Her.
• Mary Keliikoa. Deadly Tides.
• Mary Winters. Murder in Postscript.
• Matt Cost. Velma Gone Awry.
• Matt Cost. Mainely Wicked.
• Matthew Farrell. The Woman at Number 6.
• Matthew Spencer. Black River.
• Max Seeck. The Last Grudge.
• Megan Chance. A Dangerous Education.
• Melanie Golding. The Sight.
• Mia Manansala. Murder and Mamon.
• Michael Brandman. Death Threat.
• Michael Raleigh. Poe Street.
• Mike Omer. Pease Tell Me.
• Mike Rubin & Ayan Rubin, A White Hot Plan.
• Minka Kent. After Dark.
• Minka Kent. Gone Again.
• Nancy Allen. Payback.
• Nat Cassidy. Nestlings.
• Neil S. Plakcy. Dog of Thieves.
• Nick Cutter & Andrew F. Sullivan. The Handyman Method.
• Nicole Baart. The Long Way Back.
• Nolan Knight. Gallows Dome.
• Olivia Blacke. A Fatal Groove.
• Perry Chafe. Closer by Sea.
• Pete Zacharias. The Man Trapped by Shadows.
• Philipp Schott. Six Ostriches.
• Phillip Thompson. Not Dead Enough.
• R.S. Grant. The Buried Hours.
• Rachel Moulton. Eve, the Insatiable Volt Sisters.
• Reavis Wortham. Hard Country.
• Rebecca Mckanna. Don’t Forget the Girl.
• Reed Bunzel. Greenwich Mean Time.
• Renee James. Beatnikki’s Café.
• Richard Helms. Vicar Brekonridge.
• Rick Mofina. Everything She Feared.
• Robbie Morrison. Edge of the Grave.
• Robert Bailey. Rich Waters.
• Robert Dugoni. One Last Kill.
• Roberta Rich. The Jazz Club Spy.
• Sam Wiebe. Sunset and Jericho.
• Sara E. Johnson. The Bone Riddle.
• Sarah Bonner. Her Sweet Revenge.
• Sarah James. Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen.
• Scott Von Doviak. Lowdown Road.
• Seraphina Nova Glass. The Vanishing Hour.
• Shannon Baker. Double Back.
• Shanora Williams. The Other Mistress.
• Shelley Costa. No Mistaking Death.
• Sherry Lynn. Digging Up Daisy.
• Simon Gervais. The Last Guardian..
• Stephanie Bishop. The Anniversary.
• Stephen O’Shea. The Sorcerer and the Assassin.
• Steven Konkoly. Wide Awake
• Summer Prescott. A Swatch of Murder.
• Susan Furlong. The Killer’s Wife.
• Susan Hunter. Dangerous Choices.
• Tara Laskowski. The Weekend Retreat.
• Tim Maleeny. Hanging the Devil.
• Timothy J. Lockhart. Evil Intentions Come.
• Todd J. Scott. Call the Dark.
• Tom Coffey. Public Morals.
• Tony Wirt. Just Stay Away.
• Tracy Clark. Fall.
• Tracy Clark. Hide.
• V.M. Burns. Murder on Tour.
• Valerie Burns. Piece of Cake.
• Victor Methos. The Grave Singer.
• Victoria Hellen Stone. The Hook.
• Wendall Thomas. Cheap Trills.
• Wendy Corsi Staub. Windfall.

Best Short Story

• A.P. Jamison. “The Case of the Ice Cream Blonde” in Crime Under the Sun.
• A.W. Powers. “Restitution” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Ace Atkins. “Stunts” in Austin Noir.
• AD Schweiss. “Pretty Like Money Can’t Buy” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Adam Breckenridge. “The Worst Game of Baseball Ever Played” in Dark Yonder Issue 1. 
• Adam Meyer. “This is My Story” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Alan Orloff. “A Great Miracle Happened There” in Black Cat Weekly issue 119.
• Alan Orloff. “Come A-knockin’” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Alec Cizak. “Miscarriage” in Starlite Pulp Review #2.
• Alex Segura. “Diana Montalvan and El Tiburon of Tree Lawn” in Thrilling Adventure yarns.
• Alex Segura. “I Want You” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Alex Segura. “La Sombra Strikes” in Phenomenon’s Season of Darkness.
• Alex Spiegelman. “Permanent Lent” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Alexandra Burt. “Sapphire Blue” in Austin Noir.
• Alice Archer. “Tayden’s 2!” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Amanda Moore. “Reflections” in Austin Noir.
• Amy Gentry. “Stitches” in Austin Noir.
• Andrea Smith. “Guardian of the Land” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Andrew Hilbert. “Bangface vs. Cleaning Solutions” in Austin Noir.
• Andrew Rucker Jones. “A Life of Idle Pleasure” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Andrew Welsh-Huggins. “Our Abraham” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Andrew Welsh-Huggins. The Legend of Yag-Gryllhoth” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Anjili Babbar. “Hey Bulldog” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Ann Aptaker. “Home for Dinner” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Ann Cleeves. “Drowning” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Ann Michelle Harris. “Changeling” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Anna Kristiansen. “Dorothy” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Anna Scotti. “On Blackpoint Road” in The Saturday Evening Post, August 4, 2023.
• Anna Scotti. “It’s Not Even Past” in EQMM Sept/Oct 2023.
• Anne Louise Bannon. “Darby O’Malley and the Body in the Pinot Block” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Anne Louise Bannon. “The Untitled Location Project” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Anne-Marie Campbell “Palms-Up” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Anthony Neil Smith. “Crispy Skin” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Art Taylor. “Everyone Talks about the Weather” in The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions.
• Art Taylor. “Ordeals” in School of Hard Knox.
• Art Taylor. “The Adventure of the Castle Thief” in The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions.
• Arthur Vidro. “The Suspension of Mickey Hackerstein” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Avri Klemer. “A Crokinole Tale” in Playing Games.
• Avril Adams. “Transylvania On The Tallahassee” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Axel Milens.   “Fourteen Years” in Crime Under the Sun.
• B.J. Graf. “Overheated” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Barb Goffman. “Real Courage” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine issue 14.
• Bev Vincent.  “Crocodile Tears” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Bev Vincent. “Gemini” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Bobby Mathews. “That Picture” in Shotgun Honey.
• Bobby Mathews. “The Funeral Suit” in Frontier Stories.
• Bonnar Spring. “Good Deed for the Day” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Brenda Buchanan. “Assumptions Can Get You Killed” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Bruce Arthurs. “Meet Me at the Church and Bring All the Guns” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Bruce Robert Coffin. “One for the Road” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Bryon Quertermous. “Visiting Artist” in Black Cat Weekly issue 79.
• C. C. Guthrie. “The December Candle Caper Con” in Black Cat Weekly issue 118.
• C.A. Paddock. “The Secret of Bones” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• C.C. Guthrie. “Life on the Ranch. California Style” in Crime Under the Sun.
• C.J. Box. “Every Day is a Good Day on the River” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• C.N. Buchholz. “Truth Be Told” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• C.W. Blackwell. “Hard Rain on Beach Street” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• C.W. Blackwell. “The Block and Chain” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Carol Goodman. “A Woman in Minauture” in EQMM (Nov./Dec.).
• Carolyn Eichhorn. “The Ski Lesson” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Carolyn Marie Wilkins. “The Moon and the Stars” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Carrie Voorhis. “Freddie Farr, Behind The Bar” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Casey Stegman. “Sam Pays His Dues” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Cathi Stoler. “No Good Deed” in Mystery Magazine (April 2023).
• Cathy Wiley. “Cruise from Helheim” in Murder at Sea.
• Catriona McPherson. “Tramp the Dirt Down” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Chaitali Sen. “The Foundation” in Austin Noir.
• Charles Ardai. “Game Over” in Playing Games.
• Chris Chan. “The Butlers’ Anti-Defamation Society” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Christina Hoag. The Third Coincidence” in lack Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Christine Bagley. “The Woman in the Woods” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Christine H. Chen. “Lost and Found” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Christine Poulson. “I’ll Be Back” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Claire A. Murray. “Charlotte’s Mining Days” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Connie Johnson Hambley. “Wooden Spirits” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Craig Faustus Buck. “Home Game by   
• Curtis Ippolito. “Green and California Bound,” in EQMM, (Sept/Oct).
• Curtis Ippolito. “The Old Money Beat,” in Rock and a Hard Place’s One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved anthology.
• Cyndra Gernet. “Duet” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Cynthia Sabelhaus. “Mystery of the Midnight Fire” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• D.R. Ransdell. “Right Turn to Tuscon” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Dana King. “Verna Maxell” in Dark Yonder Issue 1. 
• Daniel Stashower. “The Forlorn Penguin” in School of Hard Knox.
• David Dean. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• David Dean. “Three Irishmen” in Prohibition Peepers.
• David H. Hendrickson. “Devil in Disguise” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• David Hagerty. “King of the Heavens” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• David Heska Wanbli Weiden. “Sundays” in Never Whistle At Night anthology.
• David Morrell. “The Puzzle Master” in Playing Games.
• Désirée Zamorano “President-Elect” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Diana Catt. “The Fall of the Quarry Curse” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Diana Gould. “Possessory Credit” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Donna Andrews. “Not Another Secret Passage Story” in School of Hard Knox.
• Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski. “Ticket to Ride” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Ed Lin. “Busy Bodies” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Eddie McNamara & Meirav Devash. “Sin Carne” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Edith Maxwell. “Labor’s Peril” in A Questionable Death and Other Historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries.
• Edith Maxwell. “In Pursuit of Justice” in A Questionable Death and Other Historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries.
• Elaine Kagan. “Two Norths, Two Souths, Two East, Two West, Two Reds, Two Whites, and Two Greens” in Playing Games.
• Eleanor Cawood Jones. “Bon Bon Voyage: Gone with the Tide” in Murder at Sea.
• Eleanor Ingbretson. “Seven Women” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Elizabeth A. San Miguel. “Would You Rather?” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Elizabeth Elwood. “All Decked Out for New Year’s Eve” in Black Cat Weekly issue 122.
• Elizabeth Elwood. “Through the Wall” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Elizabeth Perona. “American Rebel” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Emilya Naymark “Girl of Gold” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Esther Mubawa. “Doris the Sculptor” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Eve Elliot. “Hell Hath No Fury” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Eve Fisher. The Abandoned Bride” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Ezra Claytan Daniels. “Mama’s Dead” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Fabrice Sapolsky.  “Living in America” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Fleur Bradley. “How to Teach Yourself to Swim” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Fleur Bradley. “How to Teach Yourself to Swim” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Frances Stratford. “Major Deception” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Frances Stratford. “Wise Enough to Play the Fool” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Frankie Bow. “Destination Wedding” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Frankie Y Bailey. “A Matter of Trust” in School of Hard Knox.
• G.M. Malliet. “The Pact” in EQMM.
• Gabe Morran. “Standing on Plastic” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Gabino Iglesias. “The Pink Monkey” in Austin Noir.
• Gabriel Valjan. “The Other Quiet American” in Vautrin Magazine (Winter 2023).
• Gabriel Valjan. “Trash Raccoon” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Gabriela Stiteler. “A Simple, Hard Truth” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Gar Anthony Haywood. “Everyday I Write the Book” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Gar Anthony Haywood. “It’s a Man’s, Man’s World” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Gar Anthony Haywood. With the Right Bait” in Playing Games.
• Gary Phillips. “In a Cold Sweat” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Gary Phillips. “My Aim Is True” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Gay Toltl Kinman. “Poodles Are Out—Pants Are In” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• George Pelecanos. “Motel Matches” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.esey
• Gerald Elias. “Scarab for Normandy” in Coolest American Stories 2023.
• Gigi Pandian. “The Rose City Vampire: An Accidental Alchemist Short Story” in School of Hard Knox.
• Gigi Pandian. “The Rose City Vampire: An Accidental Alchemist.
• Graham Powell. “A Journey by Rail” in lack Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Graham Powell. “Plutonium Blonde” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Greg Herren. “The Ditch” in School of Hard Knox.
• Gregg Williard. “Beni” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Gregory Meece. “Birds of a Feather” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Gretchen Archer. “Double Deep” in Murder at Sea.
• Holly West. “Tell Me No Lies” in Thicker Than Water.
• Hugh Lessig. “Cloths of Heaven” in Prohibition Peepers
• Hugh Lessig. “Where the Grass is Greener” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Ilyn Welch. “In a Snap” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• J. Paul Burroughs. “When Ya Comin’ Home Reuben T?” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• J.R. Sanders. “Dead Even” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Jacob Grovey. “Time and Place” in Austin Noir.
• James A. Hearn. “You’re the One” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Ashes in Your Mouth” inShotgun Honey Presents #5.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Haggling Over Price” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Knock” in Playing Games.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Murder Ballad” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• James L’Etoile. “The Parlin Fork Letters” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• James T. Bartlett. “Death Under The Stars” in Entertainment To Die For.
• James Thorpe “Casualties of War” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• James Thorpe. “The Regular” in Crime Under the Sun.
• James. W. Ziskin. “Prisoner of Love” in Get Up Offa That Thing.
• Jane Hamilton. “Psychiatrist” in Playing Games.
• Jane Limprecht.  “Net Profit and Loss” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Janice Law. “Hyenas” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Jarrett Mazza.  “Disordered” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Jason Allison. “Lucky Cat” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Jay Butkowski. “Barroom Hero” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Jean Macaluso. “Home & Garden Gothic” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Jeff Abbott. “The Good Neighbor” in Austin Noir.
• Jeff Carroll. The Funky Zombie President” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Jeff Esterholm. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Jeff Esterholm. “Tollund Man” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Jeffery Deaver. “The Babysitter” in Playing Games.
• Jen Conley. “They’re Coming for You, Baby” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Jennifer Berg “A Bayside Murder” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Jennifer Chow. “The Fall of the Tech Titan” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Jennifer Slee. “Stranger in Writer” in Writer’s Digest.
• Jerry Bloomfield. “On A Bed of Crime He Sleeps” in Rock and A Hard Place, Issue 10.
• Jesse Lee. “The American Way” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Jessica Slee. “Woodpeckers” inShotgun Honey Presents: Thicker Than Water.
• Jim Doherty. “The Private Untouchable” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Jim Fusilli.  “Shootout at Mister Hip’s” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Jo Burrough. “Chicken” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Joe Labriola. “Beach House” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Joe R. Lansdale. “Red Billie” in Playing Games.
• John Bosworth. “A Great Team” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• John Copenhaver. “Eleanor Rigby” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• John Edward Mullen. “The Devil Liked Baseball” in Crime Under the Sun.
• John M. Floyd. “A Christmas Movie” by in Black Cat Weekly issue 121.
• John M. Floyd. “A Surprise for Digger Wade” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• John M. Floyd. “From the Hill to the Park” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• John M. Floyd. “Plymouth West” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• John M. Floyd. “Shadygrove” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• John M. Floyd. “Summer in the City” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• John M. Floyd. “We Can Work It Out” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• John McFetridge. “Revival” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Johnny Shaw. “Or Not to Be” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Joseph Hirsch. “Chicken Fly Christ” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Joseph S. Walker. “A Right Jolly Old Elf” in Black Cat Weekly issue 120.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Getting Away Clean” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Got Them Shoes on Your Feet” in Mystery Tribune #19.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Last Seen Heading West” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Making the Bad Guys Nervous” in Black Cat Weekly #102.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Moving Day” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, March/April 2023.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Off the Shelf” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Stacy, Under the Sky” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Joseph S. Walker. “We Are the Stonewall Girls” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Wrong Road to Nashville” in Weren’t Another Other Way to Be: Outlaw Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Waylon Jennings.
• Josh Pachter. “I Call Your Name” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Josh Pachter. “I Don’t Like Mondays” in Mystery Magazine (July 2023)
• Josh Pachter. “Lucifer Falls” in Mickey Finn 4.
• Josh Pachter. “Red Roses For a Blue Lady” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine (October, 2023)
• Josh Pachter. “The First Law of Plumbing” in Mystery Magazine (June, 2023).
• Judith Carlough. “Man Up In the Air” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Judith Green. “Don’t Think about It” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Kait Carson. “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Kal Smagh. “Don’t Bother Me” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Karen Cantwell. “Pie-Co” in Murder at Sea.
• Karen Dent. “The Big Payoff” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Kari Wainwright. “Who Poisoned Ivy?” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Kate Ellis. “Happiness is a Warm Gun” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Kate Fellowes. “The Buddy System” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Kathleen L. Asay. “Buy the Farm” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Kathleen Marple Kalb. “The Custodian of the Body” in Black Cat Weekly issue 91.
• Kathryn Prater Bomey. “The Competition” in Shotgun Honey.
• Kathryn Prater Bomey. “The Competition” in Shotgun Honey.
• Kathy A. Norris. “The Body in the Barrel” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Kathy A. Norris. “Wildfire” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Kathy Kingston. “Pest Control” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Kathy Krevat.  “Ghosts of Characters Past” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Kathy McIntosh. “Wrong Way Down” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Katy Munger. “Hit It and Quit It” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Kerry Hammond. “Dinner For Six” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Kevin A Brown. “I’m coming to get you” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Kevin Quigley. “Challenge Cube” in Playing Games.
• Kim Keeline “Business of Death” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Kim Keeline. “All The World’s A Stage” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Kim Keeline. “Occupied With Death” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Kim McCavan. “Soccer Mom” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• KM Rockwood. “Dear Lathea” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Kristopher Zgorski and Dru Ann Love. “Ticket to Ride” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• L.H. Dillman. “To Hell and Back” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Lane Stone. “How It Didn’t Happen – The Isabella Steart Gardner Robbery” in Creatures, Crimes and Creative Anthology.
• Laura MacKenzie. “Unforgiven” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Laurel Wetzork. “Unknown Sand Pits” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Lauren Buckingham. “The Anonymous Source” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Lauren Sheridan. “You Love Me to Madness” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Laurie Fagen. “Mystery in MB” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Lawrence Block. “Strangers on a Handball Court” in Playing Games.
• Lawrence Kelter. “Thirteen Seconds” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Leanne Edelen. “The Perfect Match” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Lee Thomas. “Charles Bronson” in Austin Noir.
• Leigh Lundin. “Dime Detective” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Leslie Budewitz. “Seafood Rub” in Murder at Sea.
• Leslie Wheeler. “Whoop!” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• LH Dillman. “The Writers’ Room” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Lida Bushloper. “Senior Discount” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Lin Morris. “Trust Me” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Linda Niehoff. “Heiress” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Lisa Anne Rothstein. “Catch and Release” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Lisa Morton. “Money to Burn” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Lisa Morton. “Murder in Xanadu” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Lise McClendon. “Hot Pants: No Way Back” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Lori Robbins. “Killing It in the Catskills” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Lynda Palmer. “Ordinary to Extraordinary” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Lynn Maples. “Piece of Trash” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Lynne Bronstein. “The One Who Was Good” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Lyz Mancini. “Sugarhigh” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• M.A. Monnin. “Just Another Shot in the Dark” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• M.R. Dimond. “Playing It Again” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Madeleine Harris-Callway. “Wisteria Cottage” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Marc Phillips. “Big Jim Booker” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Marcia Talley. “The Island Boy Detective Agency” in School of Hard Knox.
• Marilyn Todd. “The Long and Winding Road” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Mark Billingham. “Our Little Angel” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Mark Thielman. “Grimalkin” in Black Cat Weekly issue 110.
• Marla Bradeen. Malice, Matrimony, and Murder edited by (Anthology)
• Martha Reed. “A Killing Frost” in Kings River Life Magazine.
• Martha Reed. “Maddie Tate Built a Tabby Wall” in Paradise is Deadly.
• Martin Edwards. “She’s Leaving Home” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Martin Edwards. “The Intruder” in School of Hard Knox.
• Martyn Waites. Favourite Hour” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology
• Mary Anna Evans. “Watching the Detectives” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Mary Bischoff. “A Not-so-Quiet Resting Place” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Mary Dutta. “The Grift of the Magi” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Mary Keenan. “He’s No Gary Cooper” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Mary Keenan. “The Canadians” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Matt McHugh. “A Harvest of Malice” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Maurice Givens. “Foul Ball” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• M.E. Proctor. “An Arm and a Leg” in Black Cat Weekly issue 113.
• Meagan Lucas. “Big Bob’s Donuts at 3a.m.” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Meg E. Dobson. “It Was Never About the Horse” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Meg Gardiner. “Complicated Shadows” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Meirav Devash & Eddie McNamara. “Sin Carne” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Melinda Loomis. “As Seen on Television” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Meri Allen. “Last Chapter at Sea” in Murder at Sea.
• Merrilee Robson.  “The Ass-In” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Mia P. Manansala. “The Furies Detective Agency” in Fit for the Gods: Greek Mythology Reimagined.
• Michael A. Gonzales. “Brazil” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Michael A. Gonzales. “Escape-ism” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Michael Allan Mallory. “The Time Thief” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson. Dogs of War” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Michael Bracken with Sandra Murphy. “Smitty’s Roadside Diner” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (Sept/Oct 2023).
• Michael Bracken. “Beat the Clock” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (March/April 2023).
• Michael Bracken. “Bottom Girl: in TOUGH (June 19, 2023).
• Michael Bracken. “Cigarette Girl” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Michael Bracken. “City of the Dead” in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #31.
• Michael Bracken. “Denim Mining” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (May/June 2023).
• Michael Bracken. “Family Tree” in Starlite Pulp Review 2.
• Michael Bracken. “Homecoming” in Yellow Mama Issue 101.
• Michael Bracken. “Spilt Milk” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (Nov/Dec 2023).
• Michael Bracken. “When Sin Stops” in Weren’t Another Way to Be: Outlaw Fiction inspired by the Songs of Waylon Jennings.
• Michael Bracken. “Words on Wheels” in Mystery Magazine (June 2023).
• Michael Bracken. “You Like Me Too Much” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Michael Chandos. “Lady in the Polka Dot Dress.
• Michael Ditchfield. “Undercover in Alcatraz” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Michael Maiello. “Deb Needs Braces” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Michele Bazan Reed. “The Dead Donor” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Michelle Chouinard. “Here Comes Santa Claus” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Michelle Rodenborn. “Shooting for the Stars” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Mike McCrary. “An Evening with Arlo” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Mike McHone. “Perforation of a Moment” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Mindy Quigley. “Worth the Wait” in Black Cat Weekly issue 94.
• Miriam Kuznets. “Saving” in Austin Noir.
• Molly Odintz. “Michael’s Perfect Penis” in Austin Noir.
• Mysti Berry. “The Money Party” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• N.W. Campbell. “Feel the Heat” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Nancy Cole Silverman. “Careful What You Wish For” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Nancy Cole Silverman. “Poetic Justice” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Naomi Hirahara. “Dichondra” in School of Hard Knox.
• Naomi Rand.  “Accidents Will Happen” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Neil S. Plakcy. “Billie Jean” in Thriller.
• Neil S. Plakcy. “Dog Rising” in Black Cat Weekly Special Edition.
• Neil S. Plakcy. “Flaking Out in Witon Manors” in Black Cat Weekly 74.
• Neil S. Plakcy. “Lost Boy” in Black Cat Weekly 101.
• Neil S. Plakcy. “Restavek” in Black Cat Weekly #116.
• Nick Kolakowski. “Back to Hell House” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Nick Kolakowski. “Cost of Living” in Rock and a Hard Place (Winter 2023).
• Nick Kolakowski. “Scorpions” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Nick Mamatas. “The Twenty-One Foot Rule” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Nikki Dolson. “Heart-Shaped Bruise” in Southwest Review.
• Nikki Dolson. “Palko” in RHP’s Stones Throw.
• Nikki Dolson. “The Dinner Party” in School of Hard Knox.
• Nikki Knight. “The Annual Mud Season Homicide” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2023.
• Nikki Knight. “The New York Goodbye” in Black Cat Weekly, September 10, 2023.
• Nikki Knight. “The Telltale Request” in Mystery Magazine, September 2023.
• Nils Gilbertson. “A Good Friend” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Nils Gilbertson. “Lovely and Useless Things” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Nils Gilbertson. “Where Dreams Await” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Nina Mansfield. “Twelve Angry Actors” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine March/April 2023.
• P.K. Richard. “High Roller” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• P.M. Raymond. “The Entitled Life and Untimely Death of King Booker” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Patricia Abbott. “Seek and You Will Find” in Playing Games.
• Patricia Bonn. “Mademoiselle GPS” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Paul Charles. “Run For Your Life” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Paul J. Garth. “The Color of Bones” in Reckon Review.
• Paul J. Garth. “Tongues” in Tough.
• Paula Barr Skillicorn. “Stuck in a Maze” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Paula Messina. “Which Way New England?” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Penny Mickelbury. “The Devil You Know” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Peter Blauner. “Waiting for the End of the World” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Peter Lovesey. “Knox Vomica” in School of Hard Knox.
• Peter W.J. Hayes. El Paso Heat” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Preston Lang. “Grief” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Ramona G. Henderson. “The Sacred Barn” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Raquel V. Reyes. “Living in Paradise” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Ray Salemi. “Final Wishes” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Raymond Benson. “The Beat” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Recita L. Clemons. “Wheelies” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Reece Hirsch. “Opportunity” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Richard Helms. “West of the Ashley” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Richard Z. Santos. “Rush Hour” in Austin Noir.
• Richie Narvaez. “Domino Room” in Vautrin (Winter 2023).
• Richie Narvaez. “Shamu, World’s Greatest Detective” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Richie Narvaez. “The Stolen Tent” in School of Hard Knox.
• Rob McCartney. “The Missing Case of Beer” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Rob Osler. “(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Rob Osler. “Miss Direction” in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (Oct/Nov 2023).
• Rob Smith. “Our Most Sorrowful Mother of the Blessed Hardwood” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Rob D. Smith. “There Are Many Wolves” in Shotgun Honey Vol. 5: Blood is Thicker Than Water.
• Rob D. Smith. “One Hundred Percent of the Time” in Reckon Review
• Robert Lopresti, “Hypnogogia.” Mystery Magazine, May 2023.
• Robert Lopresti, “When You Put It That Way,” in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, November/December 2023.
• Robert Lopresti,“Harborville,” TOUGH. September 11, 2023. Read it for free.
• Robert Lopresti,“Law of the Jungle.” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, July/August 2023.
• Robert Lopresti,“Memorial.” Black Cat Weekly. #95. 2023.
• Robert Lopresti. “I Saw Her Standing There” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Robert Lopresti. “The Accessories Club” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (March/April).
• Robert Petyo. “Hammer” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Robert Silverberg. “A Tip on a Turtle” in Playing Games.
• Robert Ward. “The Day We Ate Pizza” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Roberta Barmore. “Hoosier Hotshot” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Roberta Gilson. “Hitman Walked into a Romance” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Robin Hazard Ray. “A Bitter Draft” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Ross Carley. “Purple Murder” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• S.A. Cosby. “A Song for the Shattered Hearts” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• S.A. Cosby. “Brokedown Prophets” [audiobook].
• S.A. Cosby. “King’s Row” in Playing Games.
• S.A. Cosby. “Sacred Clarion” in Canterbury Nightmares.
• Saira Viola. “Seven Red” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Sally Milliken. “Trailblazer” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Sam Wiebe. “Invasive Species” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Sam Wiebe. “Van Damme’s Condominium” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Sandra Benson. “Manual for Success” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Sandra Murphy with Michael Bracken. “Smitty’s Roadside Diner” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (Sept/Oct 2023).
• Sandra Murphy. “The Mixed Media Mess” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Sarah Bresniker. “The Family Plot” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Sarah Courteau. “Surety” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Scott Von Doviak. “Most Likely to Succeed” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Sean Logan. “The Last Kind Act” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Sean McCluskey. “The Waning Days” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Shannon Taft. “A Tail of Justice” in Black Cat Weekly issue 114.
• Shannon Taft. “End of the Road” in Black Cat Weekly issue 103.
• Shari Held. “The Perfect Martini” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Sharon Kae Reamer. “There was a Rift” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Sharon Love Cook. “A Pillar of the Community” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Shawn Reilly Simmons. “Killer Cupcakes” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Shawn Reilly Simmons. “Two if by Sea” in Murder at Sea.
• Shelly Burbank. “The Writing on the Wall: A Modern Retelling” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Sherri Leigh James. “Red Carpet” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Sherry Clitheroe. “Bagpipes, Haggis, and Burns” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• SJ Rozan. “Chin Yong Yun Goes to Church” in School of Hard Knox.
• Skye Alexander. “The Devils You Know” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine (December).
• Smita Harish Jain. “An Honorable Choice” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine (July).
• Stacy Woodson and Michael Bracken. “Dogs of War” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Stacy Woodson. “Moonshine Turn” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Stacy Woodson. “One Night in 1965” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Stephen D. Rogers. “Rain Always Falls” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Stephen D. Rogers. “Sugar and Spice” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Stephen Terrell. “Death Us Do Part” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Steve Liskow. “Speed Dating”in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Steve Shrott. “Crime and Convenience” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Steven-Elliot Altman. “Schicksal (The German Word for Destiny)” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Susan Budaviri. “The Best Birthday Gift Ever” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Susan Cummins Miller. “The Zigzag Solution” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Susan Daly. “Tamsin & the Church Ladies” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Susan Daly. “The Americanization of Jack MacKenzie” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Susan Oleksiw. “The House on Riverbend Road” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Susan Thibadeau. “Death in the Rose Garden” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Susanna Calkins. “Bearcat Blues” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Suzanne E. Flaig. “Night Blinders” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Swan Harding. “The Snitch” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Tara Laskowski. “The Tooth Fairy” in AHMM (Jan/Feb).
• Thomas Trang. “God’s Way of Hiding in the Shadows” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Tim P. Walker “Bidding War” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Tim P. Walker. “$600 Ski Mask” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Tina deBellegarde. “A Good Judge of Character” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Tina Kashian. “A Sail of Two Continents” in Murder at Sea.
• Tod Goldberg. “Paladin” in Playing Games.
• Todd Robinson. “Where the Bodies Are Buried” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Tom Andes, “La Isla Flotant” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Tom Larsen. “El Primo de Ana” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Tom Mead. “I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Tom Mead. “The Problem of the Pricked Balloon” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Toni LP Kelner. “Baby Trap” in School of Hard Knox.
• Tony Gentry. “Once Again in the Meeting” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Tori Eldridge. “Ninja Echo Charlie” in Joe Ledger: Unbreakable.
• Travis Richardson. “Texas-Sized Vanity” in EQMM (Nov/Dec).
• Trey R. Barker. “For What I Became” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Trey R. Barker. “The Weight of a Grudge” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Twist Phelan. “Judge Not” in EQMM (May/June).
• Twist Phelan. “Soon It’ll Be Over” in EQMM (Sept/Oct.).
• Vaseem Khan. “Can’t Buy Me Love” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Verena Rose. “Death at the Boston Vigilance Society” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Victor De Anda. “Two Day Rental” in Dark Waters Vol. 1.
• Victoria Weisfeld “Pearl of a Girl” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Vinnie Hansen. “Criminal Little Secrets,” Mystery Magazine, January 2023.
• Vinnie Hansen. “Killing Poe,” Playing Authors.
• Vinnie Hansen. “Perfect Partner” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Wallace Stroby. “Chance” in Playing Games.
• Warren Moore. “Bear Hunt” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Warren Moore. “Lightning Round” in Playing Games.
• Wendall Thomas. “Your 10th Bond is Free!” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Wendy Harrison. “By the Bay” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Wesley Browne. “29 Palms” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Wil A. Emerson. “Blue Suede Shoes” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• William D. Butler. “One Small Change” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Wrona Gail. “Capone’s Chair” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Wrona Gall. “Chili Cheese Dog” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Yolanda Reid. “Natural Causes” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Zakariah Johnson. “Not Too Sharp” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Zara Altair. “Any Time The Hunter” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional. Jeanne

Juvenile | Young Adult

• Alex Segura. Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow.
• Alysa Wishingrad. Between Monsters and Marvels.
• Brook Peterson. The Cameo’s Secret.
• Chris Chan. Ghosting My Friend.
• C.W. Blackwell. Hard Mountain Clay.
• Dam Sass. Your Lonely Nights Are Over.
• Elizabeth C. Bunce. Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity
• Jaime Lane Barber. Finney and the Secret Tunnel.
• Janet Sumner Johnson. Deception: The Final Word.
• Julie Lowman. Leaving Us.
• Kate Jackson. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary.
• Leigh Stratton. The Chalice of Power.
• Marilyn Levinson. Rufus and the Magic Run Amok.
• Melissa Rotert. Sue B & The Riddlers.
• Michael J Cooper. Wages of Empire.
• Michele C. Bare. The Blind Fairy.
• Nancy Springer. Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose.
• Sandra Rathbone. Skelee Boy.
• Taryn Souders. The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle.

Best Critical Nonfiction

• Amnon Kabatchnik. Horror on the Stage: Monsters, Murders, and Terrifying Moments in Theater.
• Anjili Babbar. Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction.
• Brenda Rossini. Oscar Slater– A Killer Exposed.
• David Bordwell. Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder.
• Gabrielle Paluch. The Opium Queen.
• Gary Lovisi. A Mystery, Crime & Noir Notebook.
• James L. Taylor and Max Allan Collins. Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction.
• Lisa Belkin. Genealogy of a Murder.
• Mark Dawidziak. A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe.
• Max Allan Collins and James L. Taylor. Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction.
• Nathan Ward. Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier.
• Nathaniel Booth. God and the Great Detective: Ellery Queen’s Struggle with the divine 1945-1965.
• Olga Roebuck and Šárka Bubiková. The Place It was Done: Location and Community in Contemporary American and British Crime Fiction.
• Robert Morgan. Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe.
• Šárka Bubiková and Olga Roebuck. The Place It was Done: Location and Community in Contemporary American and British Crime Fiction.
• Sharon Pajka. The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of his Family, Friends and Foes.
• Steven Powell. Love Me Fierce in Danger – The Life of James Ellroy.
• Teresa Peschel. Agatha Christie, She Watched: One Woman’s Plot to Watch 201 Agatha Christie Movies Without Murdering the Director, Screenwriter, Cast or Her Husband.
• Timothy Egan. Fever in the Heartland.

Best Anthology or Collection [by Author or Editor(s)]

• Alec Cizak. Nobody’s Coming Home.
• Art Taylor. The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions. Crippen & Landru Publishers.
• Barb Goffman. Reckless in Texas: Metroplex Mysteries Volume II. Sisters In Crime North Dallas.
• Christine Bagley, Susan Oleksiw, and Leslie Wheeler (editors). Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories. Hale Street Press.
• Donna Andrews, Greg Herren, Jeffrey Marks, and Art Taylor (editors). School of Hard Knox. Crippen & Landru Publishers.
• Duane Swierczynski. Lush and Other Tales of Boozy Mayhem.
• Emily P.W. Murphy (editor). Hook, Line, and Sinker: The Seventh Guppy AnthologyAustin Noir. Wolf’s Echo Press.
• Gary Phillips. Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology. Down & Out Books.
• Holly West (editor). Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023. Down & Out Books.
• Jim Fusilli (editor). Brutal and Strange: Stories Inspired by the Songs of Elvis Costello. Down & Out Books.
• Josh Pachter (editor). Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles. Down & Out Books.
• Kirstyn Petras & N.B. Turner. Dark Waters. Vol. 1.
• Lawrence Block. Playing Games.
• Lillie Evans, Tony Perona, & Stephen Terrell (editors). Amber Waves of Graves. Speed City Sisters in Crime.
• Matt Coyle. Naomi Hirahara, and Tammy Kaehler (editors). Crime Under the Sun. Down & Out Books.
• M.E. Proctor. Family and Other Ailments. Wordwooze Publishing.
• Meagan Lucas. Here in the Dark: Stories. Shotgun Honey.
• Michael Bracken (editor). Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4. Down & Out Books.
• Michael Bracken (editor). More Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties. Down & Out Books.
• Michael Ruhlman. Cleveland Noir. Akashic Books.
• Roger Nokes, Albert Tucher, Jay Butkowski, Paul Garth, R.D. Sullivan and Rob D. Smith (editors). The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved. Rock and a Hard Place Press.
• Ron Earl Phillips (editor). Shotgun Honey Presents: Thicker Than Water (Shotgun Honey).
• Shane Hawk. Never Whistle at Night. Vintage.
• Verena Rose, Rita Owe, and Shawn Reilly Simmons (editors). Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional. Wildside Press.

Agatha Awards Eligible Titles for Malice Domestic 36

Eligible means published in 2023, either in hardcover, as a paperback original, or as an e-book by an e-publishing firm.

The Agatha Awards celebrate the TRADITIONAL MYSTERY, best typified by the works of AGATHA CHRISTIE. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence, and would not be classified as “hard-boiled.”

Authors: Please verify that your title is eligible and in the appropriate category. The list is by First Name, Last Name, and Title. Contact me via this page for Additions and/or Corrections.

Malice Domestic 36 will be held 26-28 April 2024 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, Bethesda, MD

REGISTER HERE.

The categories are:

• Best Contemporary Novel
• Best Historical [pre-1960]
• Best First Novel
• Best Nonfiction
• Best Children | Young Adult
• Best Short Story

The Malice Domestic Board will send out ballots and announced the deadlines for nominations. Check your Inbox and Spam folder when they do.

CONTEMPORARY

• A.F. Carter. Boomtown.
• Abigail Keam. Murder Under A Western Moon.
• Adam Mansbach. The Golem of Brooklyn.
• Aden Polydoros. Wrath Becomes Her.
• Agatha Frost. Carrot Cake and Concern.
• Agatha Frost. Frosted Plum Fears.
• Agatha Frost. Mince Pies and Madness.
• Agatha Frost. Pumpkins and Peril.
• Alan Orloff. Sanctuary Motel.
• Albert Waitt. The Ruins of Woodsman Village.
• Alexander McCall Smith. The Discreet Charm of the Big Bad Wolf.
• Alice Duncan. Domesticated Spirits.
• Alice Duncan. Hollywood Angels.
• Alicia Elliott. And Then She Fell.
• Amanda Flower. Blueberry Blunder.
• Amanda Flower. Dating Can Be Deadly.
• Amanda Flower. I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.
• Amanda Flower. In Farm’s Way.
• Amber Camp. Trotting Into Trouble.
• Amy Patricia Meade. Of Mushrooms and Matrimony.
• Amy Patricia Meade. Cold Turkey.
• Amy Patricia Meade. Game Over at Guild Hall.
• Angie Kim. Happiness Falls.
• Anne Louise Bannon. Death of the Drunkard.
• Annette Dashofy. Helpless.
• Ariel Dorfman. The Suicide Museum.
• Arlene Kay. The Mascara Murders.
• Ashley Weaver. Playing It Safe.
• Barbara Allan. Antiques Foe.
• Barbara Barrett. Nuts and Bolts.
• Barbara Barrett. Snared by the Snake.
• Barbara Barrett. Wrenched at the Reindeer Run.
• Barbara Ross. Hidden Beneath.
• C. B. Wilson. Dachshund to Death.
• Carissa Orlando. The September House.
• Carl Filbrich. Thursday’s Child.
• Carlene O’Connor. Murder at an Irish Bakery.
• Carlene O’Connor. Some of Us Are Looking.
• Carol Goodman. The Bones of the Story.
• Carol J. Perry. Now You See It.
• Carolyn Haines. Tell-Tale Bones.
• Cate Conte. Nine Lives and Alibis.
• Cate Conte. Witch Way Out.
• Catherine Bruns. Syrup to No Good.
• Catherine Dilts. The Body In The Cornfield.
• Cathi Stoler. With a Twist.
• Cathy Ace. The Corpse With The Opal Fingers.
• Cathy Ace. The Case of the Cursed Cottage.
• Cathy Ace. The Case of the Uninvited Undertaker.
• Cathy Wiley. Mushroom Capped.
• Catriona McPherson. Hop Scot.
• Charlotte Stuart. Insured To The Hilt.
• Charlotte Vassell. The Other Half.
• Chris Chan.Nessie’s Nemesis.
• Christin Brecher. Mugshots of Manhattan.
• Christine Falcone. Borrowed Trouble.
• Christine Knapp. Murder on the Books.
• Cindy Sample. Dying For A Decoration.
• Clea Simon. To Conjure a Killer.
• Cleo Coyle. Bulletproof Barista.
• Cleo Coyle. The Ghost Goes to the Dogs.
• Connie Berry. Mistletoe and Murder.
• Connie Shelton. Haunted Sweets.
• Cynthia Tolbert. The Legacy.
• Dana Stabenow. Not the Ones Dead.
• Darci Hannah. Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant.
• Daryl Wood Gerber. Hope for the Holidays.
• David Baldacci. The Edge.
• David Putnam. Lonesome Blood-Red Sun.
• David Rosenfelt. ’Twas the Bite Before Christmas.
• David Rosenfelt. Flop Dead Gorgeous.
• David Rosenfelt. Good Dog, Bad Cop.
• David Slocum. The Brewers’ Murder Diaries.
• David Weller. Secret of Heathcote Manor.
• Deanna Raybourn. A Sinister Revenge.
• Debra Webb. All the Little Truths.
• Desmond Paul Ryan. Mary-Margaret and the Lapsed Parishioner.
• Devon Delaney. Serving Up Spite.
• Diana Orgain. Murder Comes Crawling.
• Diane Kelly. Fiddling with Fate.
• Diane Kelly. Primer and Punishment.
• Diane Vallere. Please Don’t Push Up the Daisies.
• Dietrich Kalteis. The Get.
• Donna Andrews. Birder, She Wrote.
• Donna Andrews. Let It Crow! Let It Crow!
• Donna Ball. Flash of Fire.
• Donna Leon. So Shall You Reap.
• DonnaRae Menard. Murder in the Village Proper.
• E.J. Copperman. My Cousin Skinny.
• Elise Hart Kipness. Lights Out.
• Eliza Clark. Penance.
• Elizabeth Spann. Doom and Bloom.
• Elle Cosimano. Veronica Ruiz Breaks The Bank.
• Elle Cosimano. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun.
• Ellen Butler. Spectral Revelations
• Ellen Byron. Wined and Died in New Orleans.
• Ellen Crosby. Blow Up.
• Ellery Adams. Paper Cuts.
• Ellie Alexander. Beer and Loathing.
• Ellie Alexander. Catch Me If You Candy.
• Emily Bain Murphy. Enchanted Hill.
• Emily Brightwell. Mrs. Jeffries Aims to Win.
• Erica Miner. Prelude to Murder.
• Erik Meyers. Death in the Ozarks.
• Eva Gates. Wedding Bells.
• Evelyn Cronk. Without Question.
• Finley Turner. The Engagement Party.
• Frances Brody. A Mansion for Murder.
• G. N. Kearney. I Know What You Did.
• Gabriel Valjan. Liar’s Dice.
• Gerald Elias. Murder at the Royal Albert.
• Gerald Hansen. Death in Small Measures.
• Gigi Pandian. The Raven Thief.
• Greg Herren. Mississippi River Mischief.
• Greg Stout. Woman in the Wind.
• Gwen Florio. Best Be Prepared.
• Hank Phillippi Ryan. The House Guest.
• Hannah Dennison. Dagger of Death at Honeychurch Hall.
• Hannah Morrissey. When I’m Dead.
• Heather Horrocks. A Match Made Inn Heaven.
• Heather Weidner. Christmas Lights and Cat Fights.
• Heather Weidner. Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones.
• Helena Dixon. Murder at the Highland Castle.
• Howard Lewis . An Unlikely Warrior.
• Ivanka Fear. Where Is My Husband?
• J. A. Crawford. King Me.
• J. A. Jance. Blessing of the Lost Girls.
• J. D. Robb. Payback in Death.
• J.C. Eaton. Caught in the Traminette.
• J.C. Eaton. Sliced, Diced and Dead.
• J.C. Kenney. Concert Hall Hit.
• J.C. Moore. Murder in the Trastavere.
• Jackie  Layton. Weeding Out Lies.
• Jackie Layton. Clutter Free.
• Jacqueline Frost. Stalking Around the Christmas Tree.
• Jacqueline Seawald. Heart of Wisdom.
• James  L’Etoile. Devil Within.
• James L’Etoile. Face of Greed.
• Janet Evanovich. Dirty Thirty.
• Jean Kwok. The Leftover Woman.
• Jean Redmann. Transitory.
• Jeffery Deaver. Swiping Hearts.
• Jeffery Deaver. The Watchmaker’s Hand.
• Jenn McKinlay. Sugar Plum Poisoned.
• Jenna Bennett.Death at the Dower House.
• Jennifer J. Chow. Hot Pot Murder.
• Joanna Campbell Slan: Paint Can Kill.
• Joanne Fluke. Pink Lemonade Cake Murder.
• Joanne McLaughlin. Chasing Ashes.
• Jodé Millman. The Empty Kayak.
• Joni Folger. Monkshood, Tea, & Murder.
• Joseph Golemo. Design Flaws.
• Joseph Souza. The Anchorman’s Wife.
• Josh Donellan. Lenore’s Last Funeral.
• Joyce Carol Oates. 48 Clues in the Disappearance of My Sister.
• Joyce Woollcott. Blood Relations.
• Juan Cárdenas. The Devil in the Provinces.
• Judy L. Murray. Peril in the Pool House.
• Justin Kiska. Fact and Fiction.
• K.J. Emrick. The Kringle Jingle Murders.
• Karen MacInerney. Fowl Play.
• Karen Rose Smith. Murder with Chocolate Tea.
• Karen Rose Smith. Murder with Earl Grey Tea.
• Kate Carlisle. Dressed to Drill.
• Kate Carlisle. The Twelve Books of Christmas.
• Kate Ellis. The Killing Place.
• Kate Jackson. Secrets Don’t Sink.
• Katherine Fast. Church Street Under.
• Katherine Hall Page. The Body in the Web.
• Katherine Ramsland. In the Damage Path.
• Kathleen Bailey. Under the Cocoon Moon.
• Kathleen Kalb. The Stuff of Murder.
• Kayt Miller. The Frozen Murder.
• Keenan Powell. Implied Consent.
• Kelly Garrett. Flat White Fatality.
• Kelly Oliver. Arsenic at Ascot.
• Kelly Oliver. Covert in Cairo.
• Kelly Oliver. Mayhem in the Mountains.
• Kerry Cox. Cold-Blooded Trade.
• Kerry Peresta. Back Before Dawn.
• Kerry Peresta. The Torching.
• Kevin Kluesner. The Killer Speech.
• Kim Hays. Sons and Brothers.
• Kim Shapiro. The Raven’s Cry.
• Korina Moss. Curds of Prey.
• Korina Moss. Case of the Bleus.
• Krista Davis. The Diva Delivers on a Promise.
• Lane Stone. The Canvas.
• Lark O. Jensen. Cry Wolf.
• Laura Childs. Honey Drop Dead.
• Laura Childs. Lemon Curd Killer.
• Laura Gail Black. Caught on the Book.
• Laura Picklesmier. Kill for Love.
• Lauren Elliott. Dedication to Murder.
• Lauren Elliott. Murder In A Cup.
• Laurie Cass. A Troubling Tail.
• Laurien Berenson. Peg and Rose Stir Up Trouble.
• Laury A. Egan. The Psychologist’s Shadow.
• Leah Dobrinksa. Mayhem in Circulation.
• Lee Goldberg. Calico.
• Lee Goldberg. Malibu Burning.
• Lee Hollis. Death of a Clam Digger.
• Lee Matthew Goldberg. The Great Gimmelmans.
• Leighann Dobbs. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like.
• Lena Gregory. No Small Murder.
• Leslie Budewitz. Between a Wok and a Dead Place.
• Leslie Karst. A Sense for Murder.
• Leslie Langtry. Match Box Murder.
• Leslie Langtry. Monster Mash Murder.
• Leslie Langtry. Mythic Melee Murder.
• Leslie Meier. Mother of the Bride Murder.
• Lew Vaught. Crime in Italy.
• Libi Siporin. If Two of Them are Dead.
• Lida Sideris. Murderous Means.
• Linda Fitzgerald. Death at the Doorstep.
• Linda Lovely. A Killer App.
• Linda Norlander. Death of a Fox.
• Lindsey Davis. Fatal Legacy.
• Liz Milliron. Thicker Than Water.
• Lori Duffy Foster. No Time to Breathe.
• Lori Rader-Day. The Death of Us.
• Lori Robbins. Lesson Plan For Murder.
• Lori Robbins. Murder in Fourth Position.
• Lorna Barrett. A Questionable Character.
• Lou Berney. Dark Ride.
• Lucy Burdette. A Clue in the Crumbs.
• LynDee Walker. Tell No Lies.
• Lynn Cahoon. Songs of Wine and Murder.
• Lynn Cahoon. Death in the Romance Aisle.
• Lynn Cahoon. Four Charming Spells.
• Lynn Chandler Willis. What the Monkey Saw.
• Lynn-Steven Johanson. One of Ours.
• M.A. Monnin Death on the Grand Canal.
• Maddie Day. Murder Uncorked.
• Maddie Day. Murder at a Cape Bookstore.
• Marla Bradeen. Malice, Matrimony, and Murder.
• Margaret Loudon. A Deadly Dedication.
• Margaret Reed. Up Jumped the Devil.
• Maria DiRico. Four Parties and a Funeral.
• Martha Reed. Up Jumped the Devil.
• Mary Anna Evans. The Traitor Beside Her.
• Mary Karnes.  Wedding Bride and Doom.
• Mary Keliikoa. Deadly Tides.
• Matt Cost. Mainely Wicked.
• Matt Coyle. Odyssey’s End.
• Mia P. Manansala. Murder and Mamom.
• Michael Connelly. Resurrection Walk.
• Michael Raleigh. Poe Street.
• Michelle Bennington. Mermaid Cove.
• Michelle Corbier. Hollow Voices.
• Mindy Quigley. Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust.
• Mindy Quigley. Public Anchovy #1.
• Miranda James. Hiss Me Deadly
• Mona Marple. Candy Cane Killer.
• Nancy Coco. Give Fudge a Chance.
• Nancy Cole Silverman. Passport to Spy.
• Nikki Knight. Wrong Poison.
• Nicola Upson. Shot With Crimson.
• Paige Shelton. Fateful Words.
• Paige Shelton. Lost Hours.
• Patricia Cornwell. Unnatural Death.
• Peggy Ehrhart. Irish Knit Murder.
• Peggy Ehrhart. Knitmare On Beech Street.
• Peggy Rothschild. Playing Dead.
• Peter Hayes. The Things That Stay True.
• R. Barri Flowers. Till She Was Done.
• Raquel V. Reyes. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal.
• Reagan Davis. Disturbing the Fleece.
• Reagan Davis. Last Bud Not Least.
• Richard Houston. A Taste to Die For.
• Richard Osman. The Last Devil to Die.
• Rita Mae Brown. Lost & Hound.
• Rosalie Spielman. Murder Comes Home.
• Rosemary Simpson. Murder Wears a Hidden Face.
• Ruth J. Hartman. Brushed up on Murder.
• Ruth J. Hartman. Butterfly Betrayal.
• Sally Goldenbaum. A Twisted Skein.
• Sarah Burr. #Tag Me for Murder.
• Sarah Fox. Baking Spirits Bright.
• Sarah Fox. Six Sweets Under.
• Sarah Osborne. Mrs. Claus Needs a Hand.
• Sharon Lynn. Death Takes a Fall.
• Sharon Michaels. The Women Sleuths Club Murder.
• Shelly Costa. No Mistaking Death.
• Sherry Lynn. Murder under the Mistletoe.
• SJ Bennett. Murder Most Royal.
• Sofie Kelly. Paws to Remember.
• Sofie Ryan. Scaredy Cat.
• Spencer Quinn. Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge.
• Spencer Quinn. Up on the Woof Top.
• Summer Prescott. A Swatch of Murder.
• Susan C. Shea. Murder Visits A French Village.
• Susan Van Kirk. Death in a Bygone Hue.
• Tara Laskowski. The Weekend Retreat.
• Tasha Alexander. A Cold Highland Wind.
• Teresa Trent. If I had a Hammer.
• Terry Shames. Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store.
• Tess Gerritsen. The Spy Coast.
• Tod Goldberg. Gangster’s Don’t Die.
• Tom Coffey. Public Morals.
• Tori Eldridge. The Ninja’s Oath.
• Tracy Clark. Hide.
• Trish Esden. A Wealth of Deception.
• Tyora Moody Double Mocha Blues.
• V.M. Burns. Murder is a Piece of Cake.
• V.M. Burns. Murder on Tour.
• Valerie Wilson Wesley. A Shimmer of Red.
• Vicki Delany. Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas.
• Vicki Delany. Steeped in Malice.
• Victoria Gilbert. A Cryptic Clue.
• Victoria Gilbert. Murder Checks Out.
• Victoria Laurie. Coaching Fire.
• Vivien Chien. Misfortune Cookie.
• Wendall Thomas. Cheap Trills.
• Wendy Church. Murder Beyond the Pale.
• Wendy Sand Eckel. Killer in a Winter Wonderland.
• William Ade. Big Scream in a Small Town.
• William Kent Krueger. The River We Remember.

HISTORICAL [pre-1960]

• Alex Hay. The Housekeepers.
• Alison Clare.  Midnight at Maidenstone Hall.
• Alyssa Maxwell: Murder at the Elms.
• Andrea Penrose. Murder at the Merton Library.
• Anna Lee Huber. A Fatal Illusion.
• Anne Perry. A Christmas Vanishing.
• Anne Perry. The Fourth Enemy.
• Brendan Slocumb. Symphony of Secrets.
• Carol Pouliot. RSVP To Murder.
• Celeste Connally. Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.
• Charles Todd. The Cliff’s Edge.
• Cheryl Head. Time’s Undoing.
• Chris Keefer. Tragedy’s Twin.
• Clara McKenna – Murder on Mistletoe Lane
• Colleen Cambridge. Murder by Invitation Only.
• Colleen Cambridge. Mastering the Art of French Murder.
• David Stuart Davies. The Murder Club Murders.
• Dawn Farnham. Tokyo Time.
• Deanna Raybourn. A Sinister Revenge.
• Dianne Freeman. A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder.
• Dietrich Kalteis. Crooked.
• Donald Durkee. The Tainted Jade.
• Frances McNamara. Molasses Murder in a Nutshell.
• Harini Nagendra. Murder Under A Red Moon.
• J.R. Sanders. Bring the Night.
• Jacqueline Winspear: The White Lady (Stand-Alone Novel)
• Jane Rubin. In the Hands of Women.
• Jason Monaghan Blackshirt Conspiracy.
• Jennifer Berg. The Hatbox Murders.
• Jennifer Burke. Sub Rosa.
• Josh Weiss. Sunset Empire.
• Julie Bates. Rise to Revolution.
• June Trop. The Deadliest Deceptions.
• Kate Khavari. A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality.
• Katharine Beutner. Killingly.
• Kathleen Ernst. The Solace of Stars.
• Keenan Powell. The Sorrowful Girl.
• Kelly Oliver. Covert in Cairo.
• Kevin Jared Hosein. Hungry Ghosts.
• Laraine Stephens. A Deadly Game.
• Laura Shepherd-Robinson. The Squares of Sevens.
• Liz Milliron. The Truth We Hide.
• Mariana Enriquez. Our Share of Night. (1970s)
• Marlie Wasserman. Inferno On Fifth.
• Marlie Wasserman. Path of Peril.
• Mary Winters. Murder in Postscript.
• Matthew Booth. The Danger This Night Brings.
• Matt Cost. Velma Gone Awry.
• Michael J. Cooper. Wages of Empire.
• Michelle Benningfield. Widow’s Blush.
• Naomi Hirahara. Evergreen.
• Niklas Natt och Dag. The City Between the Bridges.
• Nina Wachsman. The Courtesan’s Secret.
• Rhys Bowen: The Proof of the Pudding.
• Rhys Bowen. All That Is Hidden.
• Richard Helms. Vicar of Breckonridge
• Richard Koreto. The Turnball Murders.
• Rupert Holmes. Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide.
• Sarah Penner. The London Seance Society.
• Sherry Thomas. A Tempest at Sea.
• Skye Alexander. The Goddess of Shipwrecked Soldiers.
• Sujata Massey. The Mistress of Bhatia House.
• Susanna Calkins. Death Among the Ruins.
• Tara Ison. At the Hour Between Dog and Wolf.
• Thomas Mallon. Up With the Sun.
• Tom Mead. The Murder Wheel.
• Victor LaValle. Lone Women.
• Victoria Kielland. My Men.
• Victoria Thompson. Murder on Bedford Street.
• Victoria Thompson. City of Betrayal.

DEBUT

• Alison Clare. Midnight at Maidenstone Hall.
• Alison Schaffir. Your Dream for Me.
• Amy Young. The Water Tower.
• Ana Reyes. The House in the Pines.
• Anna St. John. Doomed by Blooms.
• Callum McSorley. Squeaky Clean.
• Danielle Arceneaux. Glory Be.
• Daphne Silver. Crime and Parchment.
• Iris Yamashita. City Under One Roof.
• IS Berry. The Peacock and the Sparrow.
• Ivanka Fear. The Dead Lie.
• Joanna Wallace. You’d Look Better as a Ghost.
• Josh Pachter. Dutch Threat.
• Kallie E. Benjamin. Sniffing Out Murder.
• Karin Fitz Sanford. The Last Thing Claire Wanted.
• KJ Dando. Lies After Death.
• Kristin Kisska. The Hint of Light.
• Lina Chern. Play the Fool.
• Lyn Squire. Immortalized to Death.
• Margot Douaihy. Scorched Grace.
• Mary Ann Miller. Bones Under the Ice.
• Nina Simon. Mother-Daughter Murder Night.
• Rebecca Saltzer. Murder Over Broken Bonds.
• Rob Rinder. The Trial.
• Rocky Hirajeta. What The River Buries.
• Samantha Larsen. A Novel Disguise.
• Sarah Bewley. Burning Eden.

NONFICTION

• Amnon Kabatchnik. Horror on the Stage: Monsters, Murders, and Terrifying Moments in Theater.
• Anjili Babbar. Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction.
• Brenda Rossini. Oscar Slater– A Killer Exposed.
• David Bordwell. Perplexing Plots: Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder.
• Gabrielle Paluch. The Opium Queen.
• Gary Lovisi. A Mystery, Crime & Noir Notebook.
• James L. Taylor and Max Allan Collins. Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction.
• Lisa Belkin. Genealogy of a Murder.
• Mark Dawidziak. A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe.
• Max Allan Collins and James L. Taylor. Spillane: King of Pulp Fiction.
• Nathan Ward. Son of the Old West: The Odyssey of Charlie Siringo: Cowboy, Detective, Writer of the Wild Frontier.
• Nathaniel Booth. God and the Great Detective: Ellery Queen’s Struggle with the divine 1945-1965.
• Olga Roebuck and Šárka Bubiková. The Place It was Done: Location and Community in Contemporary American and British Crime Fiction.
• Robert Morgan. Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe.
• Šárka Bubiková and Olga Roebuck. The Place It was Done: Location and Community in Contemporary American and British Crime Fiction.
• Sharon Pajka. The Souls Close to Edgar Allan Poe: Graves of his Family, Friends and Foes.
• Steven Powell. Love Me Fierce in Danger – The Life of James Ellroy.
• Teresa Peschel. Agatha Christie, She Watched: One Woman’s Plot to Watch 201 Agatha Christie Movies Without Murdering the Director, Screenwriter, Cast or Her Husband.
• Timothy Egan. Fever in the Heartland.

CHILDREN | YOUNG ADULT

• Alex Segura. Araña/Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow.
• Alysa Wishingrad. Between Monsters and Marvels.
• Brook Peterson. The Cameo’s Secret.
• Chris Chan. Ghosting My Friend.
• Dam Sass. Your Lonely Nights Are Over.
• Elizabeth C. Bunce. Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity
• Jaime Lane Barber. Finney and the Secret Tunnel.
• Janet Sumner Johnson. Deception: The Final Word.
• Julie Lowman. Leaving Us.
• Kate Jackson. The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary.
• Leigh Stratton. The Chalice of Power.
• Marilyn Levinson. Rufus and the Magic Run Amok.
• Melissa Rotert. Sue B & The Riddlers.
• Michael J Cooper. Wages of Empire.
• Michele C. Bare. The Blind Fairy.
• Nancy Springer. Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose
• Sandra Rathbone. Skelee Boy.
• Taryn Souders. The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle.

SHORT STORY

• A.P. Jamison. “The Case of the Ice Cream Blonde” in Crime Under the Sun.
• A.W. Powers. “Restitution” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Ace Atkins. “Stunts” in Austin Noir.
• AD Schweiss. “Pretty Like Money Can’t Buy” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Adam Breckenridge. “The Worst Game of Baseball Ever Played” in Dark Yonder Issue 1. 
• Adam Meyer. “This is My Story” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Alan Orloff. “A Great Miracle Happened There” in Black Cat Weekly issue 119.
• Alan Orloff. “Come A-knockin’” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Alex Segura. “Diana Montalvan and El Tiburon of Tree Lawn” in Thrilling Adventure yarns.
• Alex Segura. “I Want You” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Alex Segura. “La Sombra Strikes” in Phenomenon’s Season of Darkness.
• Alex Spiegelman. “Permanent Lent” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Alexandra Burt. “Sapphire Blue” in Austin Noir.
• Alice Archer. “Tayden’s 2!” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Amanda Moore. “Reflections” in Austin Noir.
• Amy Gentry. “Stitches” in Austin Noir.
• Andrea Smith. “Guardian of the Land” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Andrew Hilbert. “Bangface vs. Cleaning Solutions” in Austin Noir.
• Andrew Rucker Jones. “A Life of Idle Pleasure” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Andrew Welsh-Huggins. “Our Abraham” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Andrew Welsh-Huggins. The Legend of Yag-Gryllhoth” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Anjili Babbar. “Hey Bulldog” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Ann Aptaker. “Home for Dinner” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Ann Cleeves. “Drowning” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Ann Michelle Harris. “Changeling” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Anna Kristiansen. “Dorothy” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Anne Louise Bannon. “Darby O’Malley and the Body in the Pinot Block” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Anne Louise Bannon. “The Untitled Location Project” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Anne-Marie Campbell “Palms-Up” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Anthony Neil Smith. “Crispy Skin” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Art Taylor. “Everyone Talks about the Weather” in The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions.
• Art Taylor. “Ordeals” in School of Hard Knox.
• Art Taylor. “The Adventure of the Castle Thief” in The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions.
• Arthur Vidro. “The Suspension of Mickey Hackerstein” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Avri Klemer. “A Crokinole Tale” in Playing Games.
• Avril Adams. “Transylvania On The Tallahassee” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Axel Milens.   “Fourteen Years” in Crime Under the Sun.
• B.J. Graf. “Overheated” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Barb Goffman. “Real Courage” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine issue 14.
• Bev Vincent.  “Crocodile Tears” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Bev Vincent. “Gemini” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Bobby Mathews. “That Picture” in Shotgun Honey.
• Bobby Mathews. “The Funeral Suit” in Frontier Stories.
• Bonnar Spring. “Good Deed for the Day” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Brenda Buchanan. “Assumptions Can Get You Killed” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Bruce Arthurs. “Meet Me at the Church and Bring All the Guns” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Bruce Robert Coffin. “One for the Road” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Bryon Quertermous. “Visiting Artist” in Black Cat Weekly issue 79.
• C. C. Guthrie. “The December Candle Caper Con” in Black Cat Weekly issue 118.
• C.A. Paddock. “The Secret of Bones” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• C.C. Guthrie. “Life on the Ranch. California Style” in Crime Under the Sun.
• C.J. Box. “Every Day is a Good Day on the River” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• C.N. Buchholz. “Truth Be Told” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• C.W. Blackwell. “Hard Rain on Beach Street” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• C.W. Blackwell. “The Block and Chain” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Carol Goodman. “A Woman in Minauture” in EQMM (Nov./Dec.).
• Carolyn Eichhorn. “The Ski Lesson” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Carolyn Marie Wilkins. “The Moon and the Stars” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Carrie Voorhis. “Freddie Farr, Behind The Bar” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Casey Stegman. “Sam Pays His Dues” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Cathi Stoler. “No Good Deed” in Mystery Magazine (April 2023).
• Cathy Wiley. “Cruise from Helheim” in Murder at Sea.
• Catriona McPherson. “Tramp the Dirt Down” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Chaitali Sen. “The Foundation” in Austin Noir.
• Charles Ardai. “Game Over” in Playing Games.
• Chris Chan. “The Butlers’ Anti-Defamation Society” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Christina Hoag. The Third Coincidence” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Christine Bagley. “The Woman in the Woods” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Christine H. Chen. “Lost and Found” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Christine Poulson. “I’ll Be Back” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Claire A. Murray. “Charlotte’s Mining Days” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Connie Johnson Hambley. “Wooden Spirits” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Craig Faustus Buck. “Home Game by   
• Curtis Ippolito. “Green and California Bound,” in EQMM, (Sept/Oct).
• Curtis Ippolito. “The Old Money Beat,” in Rock and a Hard Place’s One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved anthology.
• Cyndra Gernet. “Duet” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Cynthia Sabelhaus. “Mystery of the Midnight Fire” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• D.R. Ransdell. “Right Turn to Tuscon” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Dana King. “Verna Maxell” in Dark Yonder Issue 1. 
• Daniel Stashower. “The Forlorn Penguin” in School of Hard Knox.
• David Dean. “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• David Dean. “Three Irishmen” in Prohibition Peepers.
• David H. Hendrickson. “Devil in Disguise” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• David Hagerty. “King of the Heavens” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• David Heska Wanbli Weiden. “Sundays” in Never Whistle At Night anthology.
• David Morrell. “The Puzzle Master” in Playing Games.
• Désirée Zamorano “President-Elect” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Diana Catt. “The Fall of the Quarry Curse” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Diana Gould. “Possessory Credit” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Donna Andrews. “Not Another Secret Passage Story” in School of Hard Knox.
• Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski. “Ticket to Ride” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Ed Lin. “Busy Bodies” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Eddie McNamara & Meirav Devash. “Sin Carne” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Edith Maxwell. “Labor’s Peril” in A Questionable Death and Other Historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries.
• Edith Maxwell. “In Pursuit of Justice” in A Questionable Death and Other Historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries.
• Elaine Kagan. “Two Norths, Two Souths, Two East, Two West, Two Reds, Two Whites, and Two Greens” in Playing Games.
• Eleanor Cawood Jones. “Bon Bon Voyage: Gone with the Tide” in Murder at Sea.
• Eleanor Ingbretson. “Seven Women” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Elizabeth A. San Miguel. “Would You Rather?” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Elizabeth Elwood. “All Decked Out for New Year’s Eve” in Black Cat Weekly issue 122.
• Elizabeth Elwood. “Through the Wall” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Elizabeth Perona. “American Rebel” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Emilya Naymark “Girl of Gold” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Esther Mubawa. “Doris the Sculptor” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Eve Elliot. “Hell Hath No Fury” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Eve Fisher. The Abandoned Bride” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Ezra Claytan Daniels. “Mama’s Dead” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Fabrice Sapolsky.  “Living in America” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Fleur Bradley. “How to Teach Yourself to Swim” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Fleur Bradley. “How to Teach Yourself to Swim” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Frances Stratford. “Major Deception” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Frances Stratford. “Wise Enough to Play the Fool” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Frankie Bow. “Destination Wedding” in Entertainment To Die For.
• Frankie Y Bailey. “A Matter of Trust” in School of Hard Knox.
• G.M. Malliet. “The Pact” in EQMM.
• Gabe Morran. “Standing on Plastic” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Gabino Iglesias. “The Pink Monkey” in Austin Noir.
• Gabriel Valjan. “The Other Quiet American” in Vautrin Magazine (Winter 2023).
• Gabriel Valjan. “Trash Raccoon” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Gabriela Stiteler. “A Simple, Hard Truth” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Gar Anthony Haywood. “Everyday I Write the Book” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Gar Anthony Haywood. “It’s a Man’s, Man’s World” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Gar Anthony Haywood. With the Right Bait” in Playing Games.
• Gary Phillips. “In a Cold Sweat” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Gary Phillips. “My Aim Is True” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.
• Gay Toltl Kinman. “Poodles Are Out—Pants Are In” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• George Pelecanos. “Motel Matches” in Brutal and Strange: Elvis Costello Anthology.esey
• Gerald Elias. “Scarab for Normandy” in Coolest American Stories 2023.
• Gigi Pandian. “The Rose City Vampire: An Accidental Alchemist Short Story” in School of Hard Knox.
• Gigi Pandian. “The Rose City Vampire: An Accidental Alchemist.
• Graham Powell. “A Journey by Rail” in lack Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• Graham Powell. “Plutonium Blonde” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Greg Herren. “The Ditch” in School of Hard Knox.
• Gregg Williard. “Beni” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Gregory Meece. “Birds of a Feather” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Gretchen Archer. “Double Deep” in Murder at Sea.
• Hugh Lessig. “Cloths of Heaven” in Prohibition Peepers
• Hugh Lessig. “Where the Grass is Greener” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Ilyn Welch. “In a Snap” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• J. Paul Burroughs. “When Ya Comin’ Home Reuben T?” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• J.R. Sanders. “Dead Even” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Jacob Grovey. “Time and Place” in Austin Noir.
• James A. Hearn. “You’re the One” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Ashes in Your Mouth” inShotgun Honey Presents #5.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Haggling Over Price” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Knock” in Playing Games.
• James D.F. Hannah. “Murder Ballad” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• James L’Etoile. “The Parlin Fork Letters” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• James T. Bartlett. “Death Under The Stars” in Entertainment To Die For.
• James Thorpe “Casualties of War” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• James Thorpe. “The Regular” in Crime Under the Sun.
• James. W. Ziskin. “Prisoner of Love” in Get Up Offa That Thing.
• Jane Hamilton. “Psychiatrist” in Playing Games.
• Jane Limprecht.  “Net Profit and Loss” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Janice Law. “Hyenas” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• Jarrett Mazza.  “Disordered” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Jason Allison. “Lucky Cat” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Jay Butkowski. “Barroom Hero” in Dark Yonder Issue 3.
• Jean Macaluso. “Home & Garden Gothic” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Jeff Abbott. “The Good Neighbor” in Austin Noir.
• Jeff Carroll. The Funky Zombie President” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Jeff Esterholm. “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Jeff Esterholm. “Tollund Man” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Jeffery Deaver. “The Babysitter” in Playing Games.
• Jen Conley. “They’re Coming for You, Baby” in Vautrin Magazine (Fall 2023).
• Jennifer Berg “A Bayside Murder” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Jennifer Chow. “The Fall of the Tech Titan” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Jerry Bloomfield. “On A Bed of Crime He Sleeps” in Rock and A Hard Place, Issue 10.
• Jesse Lee. “The American Way” in The One Percent: Tales of the Super Wealthy and Depraved.
• Jim Doherty. “The Private Untouchable” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Jim Fusilli.  “Shootout at Mister Hip’s” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Jo Burrough. “Chicken” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Joe Labriola. “Beach House” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Joe R. Lansdale. “Red Billie” in Playing Games.
• John Bosworth. “A Great Team” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.
• John Copenhaver. “Eleanor Rigby” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• John Edward Mullen. “The Devil Liked Baseball” in Crime Under the Sun.
• John M. Floyd. “A Christmas Movie” by in Black Cat Weekly issue 121.
• John M. Floyd. “A Surprise for Digger Wade” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• John M. Floyd. “From the Hill to the Park” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #13.
• John M. Floyd. “Plymouth West” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• John M. Floyd. “Shadygrove” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• John M. Floyd. “Summer in the City” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• John M. Floyd. “We Can Work It Out” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• John McFetridge. “Revival” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Johnny Shaw. “Or Not to Be” in Dark Yonder Issue 1.
• Joseph Hirsch. “Chicken Fly Christ” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Joseph S. Walker. “A Right Jolly Old Elf” in Black Cat Weekly issue 120.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Baby, You’re a Rich Man” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Getting Away Clean” in Prohibition Peepers.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Got Them Shoes on Your Feet” in Mystery Tribune #19.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Last Seen Heading West” in Amber Waves of Graves.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Making the Bad Guys Nervous” in Black Cat Weekly #102.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Moving Day” in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, March/April 2023.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Off the Shelf” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, vol. 4.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Stacy, Under the Sky” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Joseph S. Walker. “We Are the Stonewall Girls” in More Groovy Gumshoes.
• Joseph S. Walker. “Wrong Road to Nashville” in Weren’t Another Other Way to Be: Outlaw Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Waylon Jennings.
• Josh Pachter. “I Call Your Name” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Josh Pachter. “I Don’t Like Mondays” in Mystery Magazine (July 2023)
• Josh Pachter. “Lucifer Falls” in Mickey Finn 4.
• Josh Pachter. “Red Roses For a Blue Lady” in Black Cat Mystery Magazine (October, 2023)
• Josh Pachter. “The First Law of Plumbing” in Mystery Magazine (June, 2023).
• Judith Carlough. “Man Up In the Air” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Judith Green. “Don’t Think about It” in Wolfsbane: Best New England Stories.
• Kait Carson. “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Kal Smagh. “Don’t Bother Me” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Karen Cantwell. “Pie-Co” in Murder at Sea.
• Karen Dent. “The Big Payoff” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Kari Wainwright. “Who Poisoned Ivy?” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Kate Ellis. “Happiness is a Warm Gun” in Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles.
• Kate Fellowes. “The Buddy System” in Hook, Line, and Sinker.
• Kathleen L. Asay. “Buy the Farm” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Kathleen Marple Kalb. “The Custodian of the Body” in Black Cat Weekly issue 91.
• Kathryn Prater Bomey. “The Competition” in Shotgun Honey.
• Kathryn Prater Bomey. “The Competition” in Shotgun Honey.
• Kathy A. Norris. “The Body in the Barrel” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Kathy A. Norris. “Wildfire” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Kathy Kingston. “Pest Control” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Kathy Krevat.  “Ghosts of Characters Past” in Crime Under the Sun.
• Kathy McIntosh. “Wrong Way Down” in Go West: Wrong Turn.
• Katy Munger. “Hit It and Quit It” in Get Up Offa That Thing: James Brown Anthology.
• Kerry Hammond. “Dinner For Six” in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional.
• Kevin A Brown. “I’m coming to get you” in Dark Yonder Issue 2.
• Kevin Quigley. “Challenge Cube” in Playing Games.
• Kim Keeline “Business of Death” in Killin’ Time in San Diego: Bouchercon 2023.
• Kim Keeline. “All The World’s A Stage” in Entertainment To Die For.
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Excerpt: THE BIG LIE, A Shane Cleary Mystery

CHAPTER ONE: BROTHER RAT

“A dog? You want me to find a dog?”

“That’s right.”

The head lifted, and eyes the color of Windex evaluated me. The slice of light from the streetlamp through the curtains behind him revealed a revolver on the armrest and a pair of pliers in one hand, which he squeezed to strengthen his grip. He used them to extract teeth from his victims. Whether he did it when they were alive or dead added to the legend and menace of Southie’s most infamous son. Another man stood near him.

I’m told life serves you the same lesson over and over until you learn what you need to learn before the next thing comes along. I’ve also been told that karma never forgets an address. Jimmy was proof of both. He almost killed me but didn’t. I should’ve killed him, but I couldn’t because he was protected, and not by the mob. A stained badge shielded the man sitting in my chair, in my apartment in Union Park.

My landlady had called me at Bonnie’s place. She told me I had visitors, and they wanted a word with me. She said Jimmy made a point to pet her two Corgis and offered her some advice. The thug recommended a brand of dog food so her dogs wouldn’t gain more weight. He emphasized canine physical fitness, which was pure Jimmy since he was a fitness nut.

Jimmy had muscles because like most of the young lions in Southie, he lifted weights. He sported a veined neck, muscular arms, and a thick chest trapped inside a tight polo shirt. I knew if I couldn’t take him, I was confident he’d feel me for days. We both weighed about 165 pounds, but I had a smidge more height to his five-eight. I had one more advantage over Jimmy, I could stand my ground and take a hit. Jimmy, like most jockeys of the weight room, walked around with toothpicks for legs because he neglected to train them. His pant leg rode high enough for me to eyeball pasty shins, black socks, and sneakers. No ankle piece there.

I read the room as I came in. The situation would play out in one of two ways. One is someone pulled a trigger, and my last thought was either part of the hardwood floor or, my brains were spaghetti against the wall and ceiling. The second option was I lived, forced to listen and learn how to avoid the same situation again. Like I said, a lesson in life and karma.

Jimmy murmured something to his bodyguard. It was low and slow, the kind of soft and secretive Irish whisper you’d expect in a bar’s last hour. I assumed he’d told his man to wait outside because the guy moved past me. The door to my apartment opened and closed. I didn’t see his face but caught a glimpse of the feet. Construction boots.

 The pair of pliers indicated the chair near me. “Sit.”

“I prefer to stand.”

“Suit yourself.”

I peeled my jacket off, so he’d know I was armed. His eyes admired the holster. I knew what he was going to say, so I said it before he did. “Same rig as Steve McQueen in Bullitt.”

“Cross-draw don’t seem bright or effective.”

 “Want to test me?”

His right hand pulsed with the pliers. A blued steel .357 slept on the left armrest of my favorite chair. His choice of firearm was an older model, not the kind Dirty Harry would carry, but it got the job done. Jimmy was right-handed, but that wasn’t the point. His eyes flashed, as a way to taunt me, and then focused. “Nah, I don’t feel lucky today, and all I want is for you to find my dog.”

“On second thought,” I said, “I think I’ll take that seat.”

“Excellent, we can have a civilized conversation then.”

I get all kinds of crazy for clients because my retainer and daily rates are reasonable. Paranoid businessmen hire me because they suspect a partner or a favorite employee is a thief. Neurotic spouses hire me because they see a frequent-flyer for a phone number on the bill from Ma Bell, or odd charges on their dearly beloved’s statement from American Express. Bonnie told me family law was the worst, and I agreed, but it pays the bills.

I’ve listened to more sob stories and provided more free advice than Ann Landers. In short, I’ve handled embezzlement, fraud, infidelity, and on occasion, missing persons, in addition to arson, murder, and narcotics. But this pitch to find a canine—a variation on a missing person or property—was new.

Jimmy, who didn’t like to be called Jimmy, was an extortionist, a murderer, and South Boston’s premier gangster, so it was hard for me to picture him heartsick over the absence of man’s best friend.

He said, “Don’t you have a cat?”

“Delilah.”

“Delilah, that’s right. You would be upset if she went missing, wouldn’t you?” His hand waved, pliers and all. “There’s a name…Delilah, as in Samson and Delilah. A female dog is called a bitch, but I never did learn what they called a female cat.”

“A molly.”

“You know, I’ve never cared for cats. Loyalty issues, moody and temperamental.”

“Rather ironic coming from you. Cats are excellent judges of character.”

“And what do you think your Delilah would say about me, if she could talk?”

“You wouldn’t want to know. Can we wrap this up?”

Delilah, he didn’t know, could talk. Sort of. She blinked once for Yes, twice for No, and meows were extra for emphasis. If she’d seen Jimmy now, she’d turn banshee and caterwaul profanities.

“You want me to find a dog?”

“A dog.”

“Your dog?”

“My dog.”

Jimmy had never been talky, or loud, but he commanded every room he was in with an unnerving silence. He neither drank nor smoked or used drugs. His mother was alive, and he looked after her like a doting son. His brother was successful on the other side of the tracks, in politics, and Jimmy went out of his way not to cast a shadow on frater eius.

“I’m aware that Shane Cleary doesn’t need my money. I know he does all right as a landlord for his Greek friend, with steady income from tenants, and this PI thing is something he does for kicks, to try to make life interesting.”

Those blue eyes sparkled in that truant light while he talked about me.

“Are you suggesting all that could vanish if I don’t take the case?”

“Not at all,” he said. “All I’m saying is I know things about you; things you might not know about yourself, things like personal history, and I don’t mean your falling out with the Boston Police Department.”

“Good to know, but I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“You were too good for them, like you’re too good to work for that dago in the North End.”

“And there it is. I earn my money, and you know it, Jimmy.”

“Yeah, you do. I had to say it before you tell me my money is no good.”

“Money makes the world go round,” I added.

“That’s right. Money does, and it’s all-American as apple pie.”

“I know your story, and you say you know mine. What if I don’t care what you know?”

“I do, and you will care about what I know. Speaking of I do, how come you haven’t asked that lawyer broad you’ve been seeing to marry you?”

“She doesn’t believe in marriage, and none of your business.”

Jimmy was a career criminal, and not someone I would associate with domesticity. Women close to him have disappeared, and yet there was little to nothing in his jacket for other misdeeds, thanks to his agent friend. Any priors going back to his teen years—like larceny, a spatter of robberies with a dash of assault and battery—was smoke on the water.

 “Work this one case for me, Shane. It’s all I ask. I’ll pay you your rate and throw in the personal history as a bonus, if you’ll find my dog.”

“Personal history?”

“You haven’t read or seen it. Trust me, this is something you don’t know.”

“You said it yourself. I don’t need the money. As for your teaser about history …what if I don’t care?”

He stared at me. He was Windex and I was dirty glass.

“You will, I promise. That’s your problem in life, Shane Cleary. You care, and this one time, Jimmy is gonna set you straight.”

Jimmy was volatile as a bucket of gasoline, he liked to test boundaries. All he needed was fumes and a lit match. Like the time someone called him Old Blue Eyes in one of the taverns on Broadway. The poor souse probably meant it as a compliment after one too many beers. Jimmy didn’t see it that way. He especially hated Sinatra, the way he detested all Italians, so he stomped the guy’s face in.

His eyes glanced down at the weapon under my arm. The holster was such that the gun pointed up at the armpit. His eyes met mine. “Did you know my old man lost an arm? Crushed between two rail cars. You would’ve liked him, Shane. He was a quiet, proud man, what we would call socially conscientious today He’d clerk here and there at the Naval Yard, but he never worked a full-time job after he lost that arm.”

“Tough break.”

“Our fathers had something in common.”

Being Irish was my first thought, but I waited for it through tight teeth. I wanted to punch him in the face for making any comparison between us. I thought, I should’ve killed him when I had the chance. I wouldn’t lose sleep over it, either.

“We’re alike, you and I,” he said.

“First the teaser and now, flattery. I’ll bite. How do you figure we’re similar?”

 “We’re both damaged. You came home from the war changed, like your old man.”

  I couldn’t resist. “I went to Vietnam. What’s your excuse?”

That made him smile and say, “Know how we’re alike?”

“Don’t know, Jimmy. Maybe, some people would call us rats: me for my time with the BPD and you, well, you know.”

His face didn’t flinch or register emotion.

“We’re alike because we both believe we’re doing the right thing.”

I waited for the rationalization, how what he was doing with the FBI helped South Boston, his people, the maligned Irish. Jimmy was a psychopath, and his line of thinking was a special aisle at Toys “R” Us.

“I’m doing my part to clear this town of those wop bastards. No different from you cleaning the stables at the Station House, like when you testified against that crooked cop.”

“People within the department were crooked, Jimmy. He killed a black kid and staged the scene. There’s a difference.”

“‘Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto.’ Say what you will. Call me an informant. A snitch. Call me a rodent with whiskers and sharp teeth, but go look in the mirror, and tell me what you see, Brother Rat. Tell me how we’re not alike.”

“For starts, I was an only child. You weren’t.”

“You’re right. My brother, the smart one, helped me as best he could, like that teacher, that professor helped you.” He snapped his fingers. “What was his name?”

“Lindsey. Delano Lindsey.”

“Did you know I taught myself the classics? I did it, with a library card. See, we’re both strong on initiative and self-education. You look to me like you’re a man hot for Shakespeare. I bet you can quote something from the Bard. How ’bout it?”

“‘The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman.’ Lear.”

Jim wagged a finger. “That’s good, but let’s talk shop now.”

“Talk about your dog?”

“No, personal history. Your old man went the way of Hemingway, didn’t he?”

My blood rose. Several long seconds died between us, about the amount of time it took for one of Ray Guy’s punts to land downfield.

“I’ll let you in on something you didn’t know about the day he did a Hemingway.”

Through clenched teeth, I told him, “I know all I need to know about my father, thanks.”

“Do you? ‘To you your father should be as a god.’ Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Jimmy rose and took his jacket. He dropped the pliers into a pocket and hung the jacket over his left arm. He inserted the gun into his waistband behind him. I sat there numb, confused, and intrigued. He said his man was outside, waiting in the car. Jimmy drove a black Mercury Grand Marquis.

He reached the door when, against my better judgment, I asked the question that betrayed my interest in the bait, his lure about personal history, “Where was the last place you saw the dog?”

“Roxbury. Dog groomer.”

Jim rattled off the address while my mind tried to picture him dropping off his pet in the black section of town. I had to ask him. “This dog have a name?”

“Boo.”

“As in To Kill a Mockingbird.”

“Righto.”

“One last thing,” I said. “Breed?”

“Poodle. Standard. Black. Studded collar. No tags.”