The 2013 Agatha Award finalists have been announced. The Agathas recognize mysteries that best exemplify the work of Agatha Christie. Amongst the nominees you will find mysteries of the "cozy" variety, which steer clear of explicit sex, language or violence.
Best Contemporary Novel
The Wrong Girl (M)
by Hank Phillippi Ryan
"A spine-chilling, heart-wrenching suspense novel that explores a
terrifying scenario striking at the heart of every family. Does a
respected adoption agency have a frightening secret? Tipped off by a
determined ex-colleague on a desperate quest to find her birth mother,
Boston newspaper reporter Jane Ryland begins to suspect that the agency
is engaging in the ultimate betrayal..." -publisher Through the Evil Days (M)
by Julia Spencer Fleming
"On a frigid January night, Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Reverend
Clare Fergusson are called to the scene of a raging fire that quickly
becomes a double homicide and kidnapping. Which is the very last thing
Russ needs. Currently he's struggling with the prospect of impending
fatherhood. And his new wife is not at all happy with his proposal for
their long-delayed honeymoon: a week in an ice-fishing cabin. The vestry
of St. Alban's Church has called for the bishop to investigate Clare's
"unpriestly" pregnancy. She has one week to find out if she will be
scolded, censured, or suspended from her duties. Officer Hadley Knox is
having a miserable January as well. Her on-again-off-again lover, Kevin
Flynn, has seven days to weigh an offer from the Syracuse Police
Department that might take him half a state away. As the days and hours
tick by, Russ and Clare fight personal and professional battles they've
never encountered." - publisher Pagan Spring (M)
by G.M. Malliet
How the Light Gets In (M)
by Louise Penny" In Three Pines Chief Inspector Armand Gamache investigates the disappearance of a woman who was once one of the most famous people in the world and now goes unrecognized by virtually everyone except the mad, brilliant poet Ruth Zardo." - publisher
Clammed Up (M)
by Barbara Ross
"Summer has come to Busmans Harbor Maine and tourists are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood courtesy of the Snowden Family Clambake Company. But there's something sinister on the boil this season. A killer has crashed a wedding party adding mystery to the menu at the worst possible moment. Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family's struggling clambake business--not to solve crimes. But that was before a catered wedding on picturesque Morrow Island turned into a reception for murder." - publisher And the other categories...
Best First Novel
Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz
You Cannoli Die Once by Shelley Costa
Board Stiff by Kendel Lynn
Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero
Front Page Fatality by LynDee Walker
Best Historical Novel
Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen
Death in the Time of Ice by Kaye George (presently unavailable)
A Friendly Game of Murder by J.J. Murphy
Murder in Chelsea by Victoria Thompson
A Question of Honor by Charles Todd
Best Nonfiction
Georgette Heyer by Jennifer Kloester
Mastermind: how to think like Sherlock Holmes
by Maria Konnikova
Not Everyone's Cup of Tea: an interesting and entertaining history of Malice Domestic's first 25 years
by Verena Rose and Rita Owen (presently unavailable)
The Hour of Peril: the secret plot to murder Lincoln before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower

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