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2021
Winner
H.R.F. Keating: A Life of Crime by Sheila Mitchell
​
Shortlist
Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy by Leslie Brody
Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club by Martin Edwards
Ian Rankin: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Erin E MacDonald
Southern Cross Crime: The Pocket Essential Guide to the Crime Fiction, Film & TV of Australia and New Zealand by Craig Sisterson
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​