Anthony Accolades

 The organizers of this year's Bouchercon Crime Fiction Conference, "Blood on the Bayou: Case Closed," announced the finalists for the annual Anthony Awards, with winners to be revealed during the convention in New Orleans, September 3-7. Congrats to all the finalists! (With a special hat tip and thanks to Jeff Pierce at The Rap Sheet.)

Best Hardcover Novel:

• Missing White Woman, by Kellye Garrett (Mulholland)
• The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore (Riverhead)
• The Grey Wolf, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
• Alter Ego, by Alex Segura (Flatiron)
• California Bear, by Duane Swiercynski (Mulholland)

Best First Novel:

• The Mechanics of Memory, by Audrey Lee (CamCat)
• Ghosts of Waikiki, by Jennifer K. Morita (Crooked Lane)
• You Know What You Did, by K.T. Nguyen (Dutton)
• Good-Looking Ugly, by Rob D. Smith (Shotgun Honey)
• Holy City, by Henry Wise (Atlantic Monthly Press)

Best Paperback/E-book/Audiobook:

• The Last Few Miles of Road, by Eric Beetner (Level Best)
• Echo, by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer)
• Served Cold, by James L’Etoile (Level Best)
• Late Checkout, by Alan Orloff (Level Best)
• The Big Lie, by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best/Historia)

Best Historical:

• The Lantern’s Dance, by Laurie R. King (Bantam)
• The Witching Hour, by Catriona McPherson (Mobius)
• The Bootlegger’s Daughter, by Nadine Nettmann (Lake Union)
• The Murder of Mr. Ma, by John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan (Soho Crime)
• The Courtesan’s Pirate, by Nina Wachsman (Level Best/Historia)

Best Paranormal:

• A New Lease on Death, by Olivia Blacke (Minotaur)
• Five Furry Familiars, by Lynn Cahoon (Kensington Cozies)
• Exposure, by Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
• Lights, Cameras, Bones, by Carolyn Haines (Minotaur)
• Death in Ghostly Hue, by Susan Van Kirk (Level Best)

Best Cozy/Humorous:

• A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death, by Valerie Burns (Kensington Cozies)
• A Very Woodsy Murder, by Ellen Byron (Kensington Cozies)
• Ill-Fated Fortune, by Jennifer J. Chow (Minotaur)
• Scotzilla, by Catriona McPherson (Severn House)
• Cirque du Slay, by Rob Osler (Crooked Lane)
• Dominoes, Danzón, and Death, by Raquel V. Reyes (Crooked Lane)

Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel:

• The Big Grey Men of Ben MacDhui, by K.B. Jackson (Reycraft)
• The Sasquatch of Harriman Lake, by K.B. Jackson (Reycraft)
• First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet, by Josh Proctor (Level Elevate)
• The Sherlock Society, by James Ponti (Aladdin Paperbacks)
• When Mimi Went Missing, by Suja Sukumar (Soho Teen)

Best Critical/Non-fiction:

• Writing the Cozy Mystery: Authors’ Perspectives on Their Craft, edited by Phyllis M. Betz (McFarland)
• Some of My Best Friends Are Murderers: Critiquing the Columbo Killers, by Chris Chan (Level Best)
• On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett, by Ashley Lawson (Ohio State University Press)
• Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder, by Greg Lilly (History Press)
• The Serial Killer’s Apprentice, by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman (Crime Ink)

Best Anthology/Collection:

• Murder, Neat: A Sleuthslayer’s Anthology, edited by Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman (Level Short)
• Scattered, Smothered, Covered & Chunked: Crime Fiction Inspired by Waffle House, edited by Michael Bracken and Stacy Woodson (Down & Out)
• Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir, edited by Tod Goldberg (Soho Crime)
• Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024, edited by Heather Graham (Down & Out)
• Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead, edited by Josh Pachter (Down & Out)

Best Short Story:

• “A Matter of Trust,” by Barb Goffman (from Three Strikes—You’re Dead, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley (Wildside Press)
• “Twenty Centuries,” by James D.F. Hannah (from Eight Very Bad Nights: A Collection of Hanukkah Noir, edited by Tod Goldberg; Soho Crime)
• “Something to Hold Onto,” by Curtis Ippolito (from Dark Yonder, Issue 6, edited by Katy Munger and Eryk Pruitt; Thalia Press)
• “Satan’s Spit,” by Gabriel Valjan (from Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024, edited by Heather Graham; Down & Out)
• “Reynisfjara,” by Kristopher Zgorski (from Mystery Most International, edited by Rita Owen, Verena Rose, and Shawn Reilly Simmons; Level Short)