2023 Agatha Award Nominees Announced

Malice Domestic has announced the nominees for the 2023 Agatha Awards.

The Agatha Awards were created to celebrate the best in the mystery genre. There are six categories – Best Contemporary, Best First Mystery, Best Historical, Best Short Story, Best Non-Fiction, and Best Children’s/YA. The first awards were given out in 1989 (for the year 1988), and have been given out every year since.

The winners will be announced as part of the Malice Domestic 35 convention in Bethesda, Maryland on April 27, 2024.

Below is the list of nominations for the 2023 Agatha Awards:

Best Contemporary Novel

• Wined and Died in New Orleans by Ellen Byron
• Helpless by Annette Dashofy
• The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski
• Case of the Bleus by Korina Moss
• The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian

Best First Novel

• Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux
• The Hint of Light by Kristin Kisska
• Dutch Threat by Josh Pachter
• Crime and Parchment by Daphne Silver
• Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

Best Historical Novel

• Death Among the Ruins by Susanna Calkins
• Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally
• I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died by Amanda Flower
• Time’s Undoing by Cheryl Head
• The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey

Best Short Story

• The Knife Sharpener by Shelley Costa
• A Good Judge of Character by Tina deBellegarde
• Real Courage by Barb Goffman
• Ticket to Ride by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski
• Shamu, World’s Greatest Detective by Richie Narvaez

Best Children’s/Young Adult Book

• Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth Bunce
• The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B. Jackson
• Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow by Alex Segura
• The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle by Taryn Souders
• Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose by Nancy Springer

Best Non-Fiction Books

• Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity in Irish Crime Fiction by Anjili Babbar
• Perplexing Plots by David Bordwell
• A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak
• Fallen Angel: The Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Robert Morgan