2020 Winner Hitchcock and the Censors by John Billheimer
Shortlist Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story by Laird R Blackwell Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan by Ursula Buchan Norco ’80: The True Story of the Most Spectacular Bank Robbery in American History by Peter Houlahan The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and Her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall by James Polchin
2019 Winner The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman
Shortlist The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton: A Critical Study of the Father Brown Stories and Other Detective Fiction by Laird R Blackwell Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer by Margalit Fox Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s by Leslie S Klinger I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson
2018 Winner The Story Of Classic Crime In 100 Books by Martin Edwards
Shortlist From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon by Mattias Bostrom Chester B. Himes: A Biography by Lawrence P Jackson The Man From the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James & Rachel McCarthy James Arthur and Sherlock: Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes by Michael Sims Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer
2017 Winner Sara Paretsky: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Margaret Kinsman
Shortlist Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot: How to Write Gripping Stories that Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats by Jane K Cleland Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker by David J Skal The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer by Kate Summerscale
2016 Winner The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards
Shortlist A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup Meanwhile There Are Letters: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Ross Macdonald by Suzanne Marrs & Tom Nolan Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell Us About Crime by Val McDermid The Lost Detective: Becoming Dashiell Hammett by Nathan Ward
2015 Winner Writes of Passage - Adventures on the Writer's Journey by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Shortlist The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis by Charles Brownson Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe by JW Ocker 400 Things Cops Know: Street Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman by Adam Plantinga
2014 Winner The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower
Shortlist The Lady and Her Monsters: A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley’s Masterpiece by Roseanne Montillo Being Cool: The Work of Elmore Leonard by Charles J Rzepka
2013 Winner Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the World’s Greatest Mystery Novels by Declan Burke & John Connolly
Shortlist Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero by Otto Penzler
2012 Winner The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris
Shortlist Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure by Leslie Budewitz Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks by John Curran Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary & the Evolution of the Casebook Novel by AB Emrys The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge by TJ English
2011 Winner Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran
Shortlist The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang Following the Detectives: Real Locations in Crime Fiction by Maxim Jakubowski Thrillers: 100 Must Reads by David Morrell & Hank W Wagner
2010 Winner Talking about Detective Fiction by PD James
Shortlist L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City by John Buntin Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations About the Writing Life by Craig McDonald The Line Up: The World’s Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives by Otto Penzler Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo Dame Agatha’s Shorts: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion by Elena Santangelo
2009 Winner African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y Bailey
Shortlist Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories by Leonard Cassuto How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction by David Geherin Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Harry Lee Poe The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale
2008 Winner The Essential Mystery Lists by Roger Sobin
Shortlist Rough Guide to Crime Fiction by Barry Forshaw Chester Gould: A Daughter’s Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy by Jean Gould O'Connell Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower & Charles Foley Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers by Lee Lofland
2007 Winner Mystery Muses by Jim Huang & Austin Lugar
Shortlist Don't Murder Your Mystery: 24 Fiction Writing Techniques To Save Your Manuscript From Ending Up D.O.A. by Chris Roerden The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder by Daniel Stashower
2006 Winner Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak
Shortlist The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels by Arthur Conan Doyle & Leslie Klinger Tracks to Murder by Jonathan Goodman Behind the Mystery—Top Mystery Writers by Stuart M Kaminsky Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
2005 Winner Forensics for Dummies by DP Lyle
Shortlist Famous American Crimes & Trials by Frankie Y Bailey & Steven Chermak The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle & Leslie Klinger Just the Facts: True Tales of Cops & Criminals by Jim Doherty Latin American Mystery Writers: An A-to-Z Guide by Darrell B Lockhart
2004 Winner Make Mine A Mystery: A Reader’s Guide To Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr
Shortlist Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, vol. 3 (parts I & 2) by Colleen Barnett Second Helping of Murder: More Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers by Jo Grossman & Robert Weibezahl Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith by Andrew Wilson
2003 Winner They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Forgotten Mystery Novels by Jim Huang
Shortlist The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction by Mike Ashley Intent To Sell: Marketing the Genre Novel by Jeffrey Marks The Art of Noir: The Posters and Graphics from the Classic Era of Film Noir by Eddie Muller
2002 Winner Writing the Mystery: A Start to Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional by G Miki Hayden
Shortlist The History of Mystery: Art Fiction Series by Max Allan Collins My Name’s Friday: The Unauthorized but True Story of Dragnet and the Films of Jack Webb by Michael J Hayde Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir by Tony Hillerman Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: The Queen of Screwball Mystery by Jeffrey Marks
2001 Winner The American Regional Mystery by Marvin Lachman
Shortlist The Doctor and the Detective: A Biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle by Martin Booth Women of Mystery: The Lives and Works of Notable Women Crime Novelists by Martha Dubose & Margaret Caldwell Thomas 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by Jim Huang
2000 Winner Ross MacDonald by Tom Nolan
Shortlist A Taste of Murder: Diabolically Delicious Recipes from Contemporary Mystery Writers by Jo Grossman & Robert Weibezahl Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle by Daniel Stashower
1999 Winner Killer Books by Jean Swanson & Dean James
Shortlist Mystery Reader's Walking Guide to Washington D.C. by Alzina Stone Dale Speaking of Murder by Edward Gorman & Martin H Greenberg Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir by Eddie Muller Silk Stalkings II by Victoria Nichols & Susan Thompson
1998 Winner Deadly Women by Jan Grape, Dean James & Ellen Nehr
Shortlist “G” is for Grafton by Natalie Kaufman & Carol Kay The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief by Ben Macintyre Guilty Parties: A Mystery Lover’s Companion by Ian Ousby
Winners 1997 Detecting Women 2 by Willetta Heising
1996 Detecting Women by Willetta Heising
1995 By a Woman's Hand by Jean Swanson & Dean James
1994 The Fine Art of Murder: The Mystery Reader’s Indispensable Companion by Ed Gorman, Martin H Greenberg & Larry Segriff
1993 The Doubleday Crime Club Compendium 1928-91 by Ellen Nehr
1992 Talking Mysteries: A Conversation with Tony Hillerman by Tony Hillerman & Ernie Bulow
1991 Agatha Christie: The Woman and Her Mysteries by Gillian Gill
1990 The Bedside Companion to Crime by HRF Keating
1989 Silk Stalkings by Victoria Nichols & Susan Thompson
1988 Son of Gun in Cheek by Bill Pronzini
1987 1001 Midnights by Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini