Mystery Readers International has announced this year's nominations for an Macavity Award. The winners will be announced at Boucheron 2011, the World Mystery Convention which will be held in St. Louis this September. Janet Rudolph's blog, Mystery Fanfare has the complete list of the nominations for Best Mystery, Best First Mystery, etc.

Thirteenth night: a medieval mystery by Alan Gordon

The Cater Street hangman by Anne Perry

Sweet poison by David Roberts

In the shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

The New York based organization, The Wolfe Pack, announced the nominees for this year's Nero Wolfe Award.   The winner will be announced at the Thirty-Fourth Annual Black Orchid Banquet held the weekend of December 2 -4 in New York City.  The finalists are:

Ice cold : a Rizzoli & Isles novel by Tess Gerritsen

The book of spies by Gayle Lynds

Bury your dead : a Chief Inspector Gamache novel by Louise Penny

The midnight show murders : a novel by Al Roker and Dick Lochte

Think of a number by John Verdon

Lilian Jackson Braun, author of the "Cat Who…" mysteries featuring Koo and Yum-Yum, crime-solving cats died the age of 97. Ms. Braun grew up in Massachusetts but became a long-time Michigan resident. For several years, she wrote a column for the Detroit Free Press. Ms. Braun's light, humorous mysteries have been translated into 16 languages, distributed worldwide, and sold in the millions. Beginning in 1990, Braun’s books reached the prestigious New York Times best-seller list for 20 consecutive years.

The Crime Writers of Canada announced the winners of this year's Arthur Ellis Awards. Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead won for Best Crime Novel and The Debba by Avner Mandelman was chosen Best First Crime Novel.

Has your book group tried our Book Club in a Bag kits? Each kit has 8 books and a resource guide with book discussion questions, author information, and articles relating to the book. To reserve a Book Club in a Bag kit for your group, contact Adult Reference Desk at (734) 397-0999.

Prodigal summer: a novel [kit] by Barbara Kingsolver

The red tent [kit] by Anita Diamant

The road [kit] by Cormac McCarthy

The rule of four [Large print kit] by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

All the colors of darkness by Peter Robinson

Red hot lies by Laura Caldwell

The red door by Charles Todd

Red jade by Henry Chang

Red bones : a thriller by Ann Cleeves

A complete list of the Agatha Christie Awards 2011 winners and nominees is available at Malice Domestic.

Best Novel: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Best First Novel: The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames
Best Non-fiction: Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks: 50 Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran
Best Short Story: “So Much in Common,” by Mary Jane Maffini, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine — Sept./Oct. 2010
Best Children’s/Young Adult: The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith

Some books don't fit neatly into genre descriptions. They're creepy, suspenseful and often include complex plots with lots of twists. Despite their lack of definite category, they're always riveting. Give these creepysuspensefulemysteries a try.

Await your reply: a novel by Dan Chaon

Darling Jim: a novel by Christian Moerk

The diviner's tale [sound recording] by Bradford Morrow

Lost echoes: a novel by Joe R. Lansdale

The talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Charlaine Harris, author of the popular Sookie Stackhouse series AKA True Blood on HBO, will speak at the Michigan Theater on Monday, May 16 at 7:30PM. Ms. Harris will sign copies of her latest Sookie Stackhouse book Dead Reckoning. Tickets can be purchased at TicketWeb.com or by calling (866) 468-3401.

Ms. Harris is brought to you courtesy of Michigan Theater and Nicola's Books.