Left Coast Crime Awards - 2013

I enjoyed attending Left Coast Crime for the first time.  It is a fantastic writer's conference with something for everyone.  I am already excited about next years.

I have listed all the award nominees and the first listed is the winner for that category.  I have included links to any reviews of those books that I had critiqued.  Enjoy the list, for you may discover a new book.  If your TBR pile is anything like mine, this probably only increases the pile.  I am right there with you, for I bought several books at LCC.

The Lefty has been awarded for the best humorous mystery novel since 1996. This year’s nominees are:

• Brad Parks, The Girl Next Door (Minotaur) *** Winner
• Mike Befeler, Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder (Five Star)
• Laura DiSilverio, Swift Run (Minotaur)
• Jess Lourey, December Dread (Midnight Ink)
• Lisa Lutz, Trail of the Spellmans (Simon & Schuster)
• Nancy Glass West, Fit To Be Dead (Southwest Publications)
             
The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award (first awarded in 2004) is given to mystery novels covering events before 1960. This year’s nominees are:

• Catriona McPherson, Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder (Minotaur) *** Winner
• Rhys Bowen, The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Berkley Prime Crime) Click here for my review
• Rebecca Cantrell, A City of Broken Glass (Forge)
• Dennis Lehane, Live by Night (William Morrow)
• Jacqueline Winspear, Elegy for Eddie (HarperCollins)
             
The Rocky, for the best mystery novel set in the Left Coast Crime Geographical Region (first awarded in 2004). The nominees are:

• Craig Johnson, As the Crow Flies (Viking) *** Winner 
Click here for my review
• Margaret Coel, Buffalo Bill’s Dead Now (Berkley Prime Crime) Click here for my review 
• Chuck Greaves, Hush Money (Minotaur)
• Beth Groundwater, Wicked Eddies (Midnight Ink)
• Darrell James, Sonora Crossing (Midnight Ink)


The Watson, for the mystery novel with the best sidekick (first awarded in 2011). The nominees are:

• Rochelle Staab, Bruja Brouhaha (Berkley Prime Crime) *** Winner
• Juliet Blackwell, In a Witch’s Wardrobe (Obsidian) *** Won my vote
Click here for my review
• Robert Crais, Taken (Putnam)
• Chris Grabenstein, Fun House (Pegasus)
• L.C. Hayden, When the Past Haunts You (CreateSpace)


There was plenty of fun and humor amidst the workshops, such as the Truth or Dare panel of authors, and this short clip from the Concealed Weapons Fashion Show featuring Parnell Hall as his fictional character Cora Felton. 

 

And now for Parnell Hall signing the theme song 
for the conference "Murder is the Last Resort"