Vote Now! National Public Radio’s recent request that readers submit the names of what they believe are “the most pulse-quickening and suspenseful novels ever” apparently generated a list of more than 600 thrilling works. “A panel of experts then combined audience preference with their own judgment to narrow that list down to a manageable roster of some 200 favorites,” according to an NPR press release. You’re now invited to choose just 10 books from that list, with the goal being to narrow its count down to 100 titles.

Vote for your favorites. The poll will remain open until Monday, July 26, with the “100 last books standing” to be revealed on Monday, August 2. A printable list of the choices is available.

Dance at the slaughterhouse (Men in scarlet aprons) : a Matthew Scudder crime novel by Lawrence Block

The delicate storm by Giles Blunt

Cimarron rose by a novel by James Lee Burke

Bones : an Irene Kelly mystery by Jan Burke

Historical mysteries have become increasingly popular in the last decade. If you are a fan of historical fiction, and historical mystery stories in particular, you've read many of the well-known authors of this sub-genre: Steven Saylor, Anne Perry, Eliot Pattison, I. J. Parker, Lindsey Davis, John Maddox Robert, Margaret Frazer, and the list goes on, but have you read the works of:

Nefertiti: the book of the dead by Nick Drake

Critique of criminal reason by Michael Gregorio

The fifth servant by Kenneth Wishnia

Thirteenth night : a medieval mystery by Alan Gordon

A test of wills by Charles Todd

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

Dateline April 28, 1930: Nancy Drew, Girl Detective debuts. 80 years later Nancy is still fighting crime, still bringing in the bad guys. More importantly serving as a strong, feminine role-model for thousands of girls. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, and Oprah Winfrey are fans of Carolyn Keene's creation. Nancy Drew novels have been published in 25 languages and over 200 million copies worldwide have been sold.

Haley Randolph has an expensive habit: designer handbags. Her passion for purses has put a huge strain on her credit card balance. After she loses her accounting job in L.A. under a black cloud of suspicion, she takes a part-time job during the holiday season at a department store. And to her horror, not a designer label in sight. But soon after she’s hired, Haley finds a corpse in a closet. She turns to the handsome Ty Cameron to help her solve the case and clear her name. Join the Busy Moms Book Club discussion on Thursday, May 20 at 11:00AM in the Children's Library Purple Room.

Looking for something new to read? Check out these recently released Mysteries:

The Crossing Places: A Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths

Smasher by Keith Raffel

Devil's Trill by Gerald Elias

In the Blood by Fay Sampson

Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan

Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association has announced that Scottish novelist Val McDermid is “the recipient of this year’s prestigious CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger Award, which honours outstanding achievement in the field of crime writing." Ms. McDermid began writing in 1987 when Report for Murder was released and over the years has won numerous writing awards for her mystery stories.

Janet Rudolph of Mystery Fanfare announced her picks for Best Mysteries of 2009. Her number one choice: Dog On It by Stephen Quinn.

New York lawyer-turned-novelist Joseph Teller has won the 2009 Nero Award for his novel The Tenth Case (Mira). That announcement came during the annual Black Orchid Weekend, hosted in New York City by the Nero Wolfe fan organization, The Wolfe Pack. The other two crime novels in contention were The Dark Tide, by Andrew Gross (HarperCollins), and The Fault Tree, by Louise Ure (Minotaur Books).

Fans of Denise Mina or Minette Walters should try:

• Mallory's Oracle by Carol O'Connell
• A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava
• Judgment Calls by Alafair Burke
• Detective Inspector Huss by Helen Tursten
• Echoes of Lies by Jo Bannister
• Dead Wrong by Mariah Stewart
• Death's Autograph by Marianne MacDonald
• Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman

His victims are young, beautiful and viciously mutilated. He calls himself the Beijing Ripper. Award-winning, Peter May's terrifying new addition to his China Thrillers series, Chinese Whispers pits Beijing detective Li Yan and American pathologist Margaret Campbell against an unscrupulous foe who could prove to be their deadliest enemy yet.

Prague, 1592. A young girl has been brutally murdered and Christians and Jews will be pitted against each other in Edgar nominee, K. J. A. Wishnia's (aka Kenneth Wishnia) soon-to-be released, mystery The Fifth Servant.

This month, the Canton Seniors Book Group will discuss the Everyone's Reading 2010 selection, Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow.  Copies of the book will be distributed at the January 27, 2010 meeting or can be picked up at the Canton Public Library's Adult Reference Desk after January 27th.  Participants must register with the Senior Adult Department at the Summit by calling 734-394-5485. If you have questions, contact Joyce Simowski or Elaine Skrzynski at the Canton Public Library (734-397-0999).

Bouchercon 2010 will be held in San Francisco this year, October 14 - 17.  Bouchercon is the World Mystery Convention. Every year readers, writers, publishers, editors, agents, booksellers and other lovers of crime fiction gather for a long weekend of both education and entertainment. Panel discussions, author signings, awards, and more are available throughout this four day conference. This year's Guests of Honor are Lee Childs, Denise Mina, Laurie R. King, Eddie Muller, and Maddy van Hertbruggen. 

For more information visit Bouchercon by the Bay 2010.

Stuart Kaminsky, a former Grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America and author of many mystery series and stand-alone novels, died Friday, October 9, 2009 at the age of 75. His four series featuring Lew Fonesca, Abe Lieberman,Toby Peters,and Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov were extremely popular. Kaminsky's Inspector Rostnikov novel A Cold Red Sunrise received the 1989 Edgar Award for Best Novel. He earned six other Edgar nominations, most recently for the 2005 non-fiction book "Behind the Mystery: Top Mystery Writers Interviewed", which was also nominated for an Anthony Award, a Macavity Awards, and an Agatha Award.

The North American Branch of the Association of Crime Writers announced that The Turnaround by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown), has been named the winner of the organization's annual Hammett Prize for a work of literary excellence in the field of crime writing.

Lyn Hamilton, author of the Lara McClintoch series passed away last month on September 10.  Ms. Hamilton's Arthur Ellis Award nominated series featured Canadian antiques dealer and amateur detective,  Lara McClintoch. 

For several months now David Cole has been interviewing Canadian writers of crime, mystery, and/or suspense for Mystery Fanfare in his column Cool Canadian Crime. Cole recently interviewed Vicki Delany, a favorite of mine. Scare the Light Away Delany's debut novel was highly acclaimed when it was published in 2005.