Annal:2006 Edgar Allan Poe Award® for Best Critical/Biographical Work

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

Melanie Rehak

• 2006 Edgar-Critical/Biography winner
• 2006 Macavity-Nonfiction winner
• 2005 Agatha–Nonfiction winner
• 2006 Anthony-Critical nominee
• Score: 36.56

A plucky “titian-haired” sleuth solved her first mystery in 1930. Eighty million books later, Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties (when she was taken up with a vengeance by women’s libbers) to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. As beloved by girls today as she was by their grandmothers, Nancy Drew has both inspired and reflected the changes in her readers’ lives. Now, in a narrative with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy’s adventures, Melanie Rehak solves an enduring literary mystery:

Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon?

The brainchild of children’s book mogul Edward Stratemeyer, Nancy was brought to life by two women: Mildred Wirt Benson, a pioneering journalist from Iowa, and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, a well-bred wife and mother who took over as CEO after her father died. In a century-spanning story Rehak traces their roles—and Nancy’s—in forging the modern American woman. With ebullience, wit, and a wealth of little-known source material, Rehak celebrates our unstoppable girl detective.

Writing & Selling Your Mystery Novel: How To Knock 'Em Dead With Style

Hallie Ephron

• 2006 Anthony-Critical nominee
• 2006 Edgar-Critical/Biography nominee
• Score: 12.56

How to write a page-turner is no mystery with this thorough and authoritative guide. Successful mystery writer Hallie Ephron’s Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel:

• Features comprehensive instruction, exercises, and worksheets for mystery writers of all levels
• Addresses all subgenres of mystery from hardboiled crimes and cozies to romantic thrillers and medical mysteries
• Covers how to grab readers from the first chapter, how to construct effective plots, and how to revise and submit mysteries to publishers

Ephron takes the mystery out of the writing process, making it less daunting for beginners and more efficient for experienced writers.

Behind the Mystery: Top Mystery Writers Interviewed

Stuart M. Kaminsky, Laurie Roberts

• 2006 Anthony-Critical nominee
• 2006 Edgar-Critical/Biography nominee
• 2006 Macavity-Nonfiction nominee
• 2005 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 24.56

Edgar award winner and past President of the Mystery Writers of America Stuart Kaminsky brings mystery fans into the living rooms, offices, and gardens of his talented friends and fellow writers in this tribute to the mystery genre. Professional photographer Laurie Roberts captures the writers, their families, homes, and pets while Kaminsky probes into their personal lives and writing to go “behind the mystery” to meet the writer. Many of the best are included: Sue Grafton, Elmore Leonard, Donald Westlake, Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Martin Cruz Smith, Robert B. Parker, Lisa Scottoline, James Lee Burke, Tony Hillerman, Ann Rule, Mickey Spillane, Michael Connelly, Evan Hunter, Sara Paretsky, Joseph Wambaugh, Lawrence Block, and John Jakes.

The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: Vol 3. The Novels

Leslie S. Klinger, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

• 2006 Anthony-Critical nominee
• 2006 Edgar-Critical/Biography nominee
• 2006 Macavity-Nonfiction nominee
• 2005 Agatha–Nonfiction nominee
• Score: 24.56

The publication of Leslie S. Klinger’s brilliant new annotations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 56 short stories in 2004 created a Holmes sensation. Here, in this eagerly awaited third volume, Klinger reassembles Doyle’s four seminal novels in their original order, with over 1,000 new notes, 350 illustrations and period photographs, and tantalizing new Sherlockian theories. Inside, readers will find:

• A Study in Scarlet (1887)—a tale of murder and revenge that tells of Holmes and Dr. Watson’s first meeting;
• The Sign of Four (1889)—a cinematic tale of lost treasure;
• The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901)—hailed as the greatest mystery novel of all time; and
• The Valley of Fear (1914)—a fresh murder scene that leads Holmes to solve a long-forgotten mystery.

Whether as a stand-alone volume or as a companion to the boxed short stories, this classic work illuminates the timeless genius of Conan Doyle for an entirely new generation. Slipcased hardcover; two-color text; 300 illustrations.

Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade: The Evolution of Dashiell Hammett's Masterpiece

Richard Layman

• 2006 Edgar-Critical/Biography nominee
• Score: 6.56

The Maltese Falcon has been widely lauded since its original publication in 1930. In its movie adaptation, it not only birthed American film noir but also ranks as one of the 100 greatest movies of all time, as selected by the American Film Institute. Now this treasury of memorabilia on Sam Spade and his creator, Dashiell Hammett, uncovers a wealth of documents and photos about the book and movie from institutional and private archives, many of which are previously unpublished and are available nowhere else. Providing far more information than any resource before it, the book delves deeply into the tale of the jeweled avian statue, including a full account of Hammett’s detective career, a chronology of his life and publications, sources and notes the author used in constructing the book, and never-before-seen documents from the book’s film, stage, and radio adaptations. This version has been updated to include additional contents, color photos, and an index. Available now for any audience, it will be a joy for fans of Sam Spade, Hammett, film noir, and the history of cinema and literature.