Annal:1999 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction

Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle

Daniel Stashower

• 2000 Edgar-Critical/Biography winner
• 1999 Agatha–Nonfiction winner
• 2000 Anthony-Critical nominee
• 2000 Macavity-Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 32.5

This fresh, compelling biography examines the extraordinary life and strange contrasts of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the struggling provincial doctor who became the most popular storyteller of his age. From his youthful exploits aboard a whaling ship to his often stormy friendships with such figures as Harry Houdini and George Bernard Shaw, Conan Doyle lived a life as gripping as one of his adventures. Exhaustively researched and elegantly written, Teller of Tales sets aside many myths and misconceptions to present a vivid portrait of the man behind the leg of Baker Street, with a particular emphasis on the Psychic Crusade that dominated his final years-the work that Conan Doyle himself felt to be “the most important thing in the world.

The Deadly Directory

Kate Derie

• 1999 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 6.49

The Deadly Directory answers all of your mystifying questions:

• Where is the nearest mystery bookstore?
• Which mystery magazines include short fiction?
• When is the next mystery convention?
• What special gift can I get for my favorite mystery fan?
• Who are the important mystery reviewers?

You’ll find names, addresses, phones, email, websites, & descriptions of over 750 mystery-related businesses and organizations: booksellers, groups, events, periodicals, and more.

A comprehensive index will point you in the right direction—even if all you remember is someone’s first name! We also have a special RIP section to exorcise the ghosts of departed businesses, groups, and publications.

Our customers are mystery writers, readers, editors, publicists, collectors, and book dealers—the most deadly serious people in the world. This is a must-have item for fans and professionals alike and the absolutely perfect gift for any mystery lover.

A Taste of Murder: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers

Jo Grossman, Robert Weibezahl

• 2000 Macavity-Nonfiction nominee
• 1999 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 12.5

Recipes from a talented corps of writers who know how to cook, with delicious anecdotes, some sound advice on where and when to eat what you’ve just learned how to cook, and even recipes for foods you’ve never heard of. Some contributors are Lilian Jackson Braun, Donald E. Westlake, Anne Perry, Tony Hillerman, Carol O’Connell, Parnell Hall and, of course, Anthony Bourdain.

Detecting Women 3: A Readers Guide and Checklist for Mystery Series Written by Women

Willetta L. Heising

• 2000 Anthony-Critical winner
• 1999 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 16.5

The new big book is better than ever. The most comprehensive guide available for detective fiction by contemporary women, including 690 authors with 225 new since the last edition. Expanded author profiles and easy-to-use indexes. Characters, settings, mystery types, book titles, publication dates, awards, author pseudonyms and more.

The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing

Rosemary Herbert, Catherine Aird, John M. Reilly, Susan Oleksiw

• 2000 Edgar-Critical/Biography nominee
• 1999 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 12.5

From the penny dreadful, which challenges seekers of sensation to discover the truth in a pattern of gory details; to the twentieth-century detective novel, which offers an intricate puzzle solved through the application of the intellect; to the crime novel, which probes the psyches of the characters, the crime and mystery genre offers readers an intellectual excitement unsurpassed by other forms of fiction. Now The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing provides scholars and fans of this genre with an authoritative yet playful compendium of knowledge about a literature known for its highly entertaining treatment of deadly serious puzzles.

Editor Rosemary Herbert has brought together 666 articles—written by such authorities as Edward D. Hoch, Sara Paretsky, and the late Julian Symons—that will accompany readers in their armchair investigations. Here can be found informative biographies of great mystery writers from Edgar Allan Poe to Rex Stout to Ruth Rendell. Here, too, favorite sleuths—including Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Nero Wolfe, Adam Dalgliesh, and…