Annal:2002 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction

They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated and Forgotten Mystery Novels

Jim Huang

• 2003 Anthony-Critical winner
• 2003 Macavity-Nonfiction winner
• 2002 Agatha–Nonfiction winner
• Score: 30.53

 

The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction

Mike Ashley

• 2003 Edgar-Critical/Biography winner
• 2003 Anthony-Critical nominee
• 2003 Macavity-Nonfiction nominee
• 2002 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 28.53

Never before has there been a comprehensive, inexpensive reference guide and overview to the genre of crime fiction like The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Crime Fiction. Veteran editor Mike Ashley’s historical introduction gives an overview of the crime genre, showing the background and development of crime fiction from the earliest days with Agatha Christie and Raymond Chandler through to the modern exponents of the craft such as Elmore Leonard and Ian Rankin. His A to Z covers five hundred entries on the major writers in the crime fiction field, from Edward S. Aarons to Mark Zubro, from the cult favorites to the best known, including Marjorie Allingham, Patricia Cornwell, Colin Dexter, Jim Thompson, and Minette Walters. The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Crime Fiction packs more information into its author entries than more expensive hardcover reference works. Each entry gives a brief biographical background with highlights for the cross-referenced key works, provides a full bibliography, and notes significant films/series adapted from their works. There are also added bonuses of a crime…

Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, Volume 1 (1860-1979)

Colleen Barnett

• 2002 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 6.52

Many bibliographers focus on women who write. Lawyer Barnett looks at women who detect, at women as sleuths and at the evolving roles of women in professions and in society. Excellent for all women’s studies programs as well as for the mystery hound.

Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir

Mary Higgins Clark

• 2002 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 6.52

In her long-awaited memoir, Mary Higgins Clark, America’s beloved and bestselling Queen of Suspense, recounts the early experiences that shaped her as a person and influenced her as a writer.

Even as a young girl, growing up in the Bronx, Mary Higgins Clark knew she wanted to be a writer. The gift of storytelling was a part of her Irish ancestry, so it followed naturally that she would later use her sharp eye, keen intelligence, and inquisitive nature to create stories about the people and things she observed.

Along with all Americans, those who lived in New York City’s borough of the Bronx suffered during the Depression. So it followed that when Mary’s father died, her mother, deciding to open the family home to boarders, placed a discreet sign next to the front door that read, FURNISHED ROOMS. KITCHEN PRIVILEGES. Very shortly the first in a succession of tenants arrived: a couple dodging bankruptcy who moved in with their wild-eyed boxer; a teacher who wept endlessly over her lost love; a deadbeat who tripped over a lamp while trying to sneak out in the middle of the night…

The…

Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America

Sue Grafton, Jan Burke, Barry Zeman, Mystery Writers of America

• 2002 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 6.52

Writing mystery fiction can be a special kind of puzzle. In this new, revised edition of the Mystery Writers of America classic, Sue Grafton weaves the experience of today’s top mystery authors into a comprehensive mystery writing “how-to.” Writers will learn how to piece a perfect mystery together and create realistic stories that are taut, immediate and fraught with tension.

The book’s contributors include a “who’s who” of the mystery writing elite: Faye and Jonathan Kellerman on conducting accurate research; Michael Connelly on mastering characterization; Tony Hillerman on writing without an outline; Lawrence Block on overcoming writer’s block; Sara Paretsky on creating successful series characters; Tess Gerritson on writing the medical thriller; Ann Rule on the art of writing true crime. And many more!