Mystery Writers of America recently announced the nominations for the 2025 Edgar Allan Poe Award.The nominees honor the “best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2024. The winners will be announced May 1, so you have time to read the books nominated. Check the Webstore for copies of the books. https://store.poisonedpen.com/
Congratulations to all of the nominees. But, here’s a special congratulatory note to local author Isabella Maldonado, who appears regularly as an author and moderator at The Poisoned Pen.
BEST NOVEL
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco
Things Don’t Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins
My Favorite Scar by Nicolás Ferraro
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell
BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Twice the Trouble by Ash Clifton
Cold to the Touch by Kerri Hakoda
The Mechanics of Memory by Audrey Lee
A Jewel in the Crown by David Lewis
The President’s Lawyer by Lawrence Robbins
Holy City by Henry Wise
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle
The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass
Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler
A Forgotten Kill by Isabella Maldonado
The Road to Heaven by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson
BEST FACT CRIME
Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers by Frank Figluizzi
The Infernal Machine: A True Story of Dynamite, Terror, and the Rise of the Modern Detective by Steven Johnson
A Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton by Deb Miller Landau
The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy that Let a Killer Go Free by Gregg Olsen
Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery by Earl Swift
The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age by Michael Wolraich
BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL
James Sallis: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Nathan Ashman
American Noir Film: From The Maltese Falcon to Gone Girl by M. Keith Booker
Organized Crime on Page and Screen: Portrayals in Hit Novels, Films, and Television Shows by David Geherin
On Edge: Gender and Genre in the Work of Shirley Jackson, Patricia Highsmith, and Leigh Brackett by Ashley Lawson
Ian Fleming; The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare
BEST SHORT STORY
“Cut and Thirst,” Amazon Original Stories by Margaret Atwood
“Everywhere You Look,” Amazon Original Stories by Liv Constantine
“Eat My Moose,” Conjunctions: 82, Works & Days by Erika Krouse
“Barriers to Entry,” Amazon Original Stories by Ariel Lawhon
“The Art of Cruel Embroidery,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine – July-August 2024
BEST JUVENILE
The Beanstalk Murder by P.G. Bell
Mystery of Mystic Mountain by Janet Fox
Mysteries of Trash and Treasure: The Stolen Key by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim
Find Her by Ginger Reno
BEST YOUNG ADULT
Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell
The Bitter End by Alexa Donne
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson
49 Miles Alone by Natalie D. Richards
OTHER AWARDS
ROBERT L. FISH MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the family of Robert L. Fish.
“The Legend of Penny and the Luck of the Draw Casino,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May-June 2024 by Pat Gaudet
“Head Start,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2024 by Kai Lovelace
“Murder Under Sedation,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March-April 2024 by Lawrence Ong
“The Jews on Elm Street,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2024 by Anna Stolley Persky
“Sparrow Maker,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November-December 2024 by Jake Stein
THE SIMON & SCHUSTER MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD – Presented on behalf of Simon & Schuster.
The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen
The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard
The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill
Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman
Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen
THE G.P. PUTNAM’S SONS SUE GRAFTON MEMORIAL AWARD – Presented on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Sons.
Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong
A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh
Proof by Beverly McLachlin
A World of Hurt by Mindy Mejia
All the Way Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen
The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear
THE LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN MEMORIAL AWARD – Endowed by the estate of Lilian Jackson Braun.
The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald
Death and Fromage by Ian Moore
Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson
Murder on Devil’s Pond by Ayla Rose
The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan