Macavity Awards


The Macavity Awards, established in 1987, are a group of literary awards presented annually to mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The award is given in four categories—best novel, best first novel, best nonfiction, and best short story. The Sue Feder Historical Mystery has been given in conjunction with the Macavity Awards.

Best Mystery Novel

The Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel was first awarded in 1987. To be eligible for the award, the mystery novel must have been published in the previous calendar year.
YearAuthorTitlePublisherResult
1987'Winner
1987When the Sacred Ginmill ClosesFinalist
1987The Million-Dollar WoundFinalist
1987Come MorningFinalist
1987Beyond BlameFinalist
1987SkinwalkersFinalist
1987The Perfect SpyFinalist
1987DeadfallFinalist
1987Lady KillerFinalist
1987Night GamesFinalist
1988Marriage Is MurderWinner
1988Primary TargetFinalist
1988Finalist
1988Venetian MaskFinalist
1988Finalist
1988Bitter MedicineFinalist
1988Finalist
1988Finalist
1989'Winner
1989Murder UnrenovatedFinalist
1989Finalist
1989E Is for EvidenceFinalist
1989Finalist
1989Blood ShotFinalist
1990'Winner
1990Black Cherry BluesFinalist
1990BoneFinalist
1990Finalist
1991If Ever I Return Pretty Peggy-OWinner
1991Well-Schooled in MurderFinalist
1991Deadly ValentineFinalist
1991Burn MarksFinalist
1991Finalist
1992I.O.U.Winner
1992Finalist
1992Finalist
1993Bootlegger's DaughterWinner
1993Booked To DieFinalist
1993Finalist
1993White ButterflyFinalist
1994'Winner
1994Missing JosephFinalist
1994Dead Man’s IslandFinalist
1994Old EnemiesFinalist
1994To Live and Die in DixieFinalist
1995She Walks These HillsWinner
1995Finalist
1995Playing for the AshesFinalist
1995Scandal in Fair HavenFinalist
1995Finalist
1996Under the Beetle's CellarDoubledayWinner
1996Hard ChristmasFinalist
1996Finalist
1996Bookman’s WakeFinalist
1996Finalist
1997BloodhoundsMysterious PressWinner
1997Finalist
1997Two for the DoughFinalist
1997Finalist
1997Hearts and BonesFinalist
1998Dreaming of the BonesScribnerWinner
1998HocusSimon & SchusterFinalist
1998Trunk MusicLittle Brown & Co.Finalist
1998'Harcourt BraceFinalist
1998'Mysterious PressFinalist
1999Blood WorkLittle Brown & Co.Winner
1999Blind DescentG. P. Putnam's SonsFinalist
1999Butchers HillAvonFinalist
1999Home FiresMysterious PressFinalist
1999BlueMysterious PressFinalist
2000'KnopfWinner
2000River of DarknessViking PressFinalist
2000L.A. RequiemDoubledayFinalist
2000In a Dry SeasonAvonFinalist
2001'Berkley BooksWinner
2001Guns and RosesPerseverance Press/John Daniel & Co.Finalist
2001'Mysterious PressFinalist
2001Half Moon StreetBallantine BooksFinalist
2001'Pocket BooksFinalist
2002FollyWileyWinner
2002Tell No OneDelacorte PressFinalist
2002'ScribnerFinalist
2002Mystic RiverWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2002Silent JoeHyperionFinalist
2003Winter and NightIntrigueWinner
2003Savannah BluesHarperCollinsFinalist
2003Jolie Blon's BounceSimon & SchusterFinalist
2003NineSimon & SchusterFinalist
2003City of BonesLittle, Brown & Co.Finalist
2004'St. Martin's/Minotaur BooksWinner
2004'G. P. Putnam's SonsFinalist
2004For the Love of MikeSt. Martin'sFinalist
2004'St. Martin's/Minotaur BooksFinalist
2004Done for a DimeBallantine BooksFinalist
2005'Little, Brown & Co.Winner
2005Cold CaseAvonFinalist
2005Darkly Dreaming DexterDoubledayFinalist
2005High Country FallMysterious PressFinalist
2005California GirlHarperCollinsFinalist
2005Playing with FireWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2006'Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus and GirouxWinner
2006One ShotDelacorte PressFinalist
2006'PlumeFinalist
2006VanishBallantine BooksFinalist
2006Solomon vs. LordBantam BooksFinalist
2006Strange AffairWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2006'KnopfFinalist
2007'Thorndike/ Random House UKWinner
2007Christine FallsHenry Holt/PicadorFinalist
2007'Farrar, Straus and GirouxFinalist
2007'Bantam BooksFinalist
2007Piece of My HeartMcClelland & StewartFinalist
2007All Mortal FleshMinotaur BooksFinalist
2008What the Dead KnowWilliam Morrow & Co.Winner
2008Soul PatchMidnight InkFinalist
2008'Ballantine BooksFinalist
2008Blood of ParadiseSimon & SchusterFinalist
2008Water Like a StoneWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2009Where Memories LieSt. Martin's/Minotaur BooksWinner
2009Trigger CityMinotaur BooksFinalist
2009' /
The Price of Blood 		John Murray/ William Morrow & Co.Finalist
2009'UK: The Price of BloodFinalist
2009Curse of the SpellmansDoubledayFinalist
2009'Minotaur BooksFinalist
2009'HarperCollinsFinalist
2010 and Reed Farrel ColemanTowerBusted Flush PressWinner
2010Bury Me DeepSimon & SchusterFinalist
2010Necessary as BloodWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2010 with Don Bartlett NemesisHarperCollinsFinalist
2010'Minotaur BooksFinalist
2010'Minotaur BooksFinalist
2011Bury Your DeadMinotaur BooksWinner
2011'Simon & SchusterFinalist
2011Faithful PlaceViking PressFinalist
2011'HarperCollins/William Morrow & Co.Finalist
2011Thirteen HoursGrove AtlanticFinalist
2011'Ballantine BooksFinalist
2012Claire DeWitt and the City of the DeadHoughton Mifflin HarcourtWinner
2012 with Marlaine Delargy 1222ScribnerFinalist
2012'Mulholland BooksFinalist
2012'Little, Brown, & Co.Finalist
2012'Minotaur BooksFinalist
2012'DuttonFinalist
2012Hell & GoneMulholland BooksFinalist
2013'MinotaurWinner
2013Gone GirlCrownFinalist
2013'Silver OakFinalist
2013'Forge BooksFinalist
2013'Algonquin BooksFinalist
2013'Hard Case CrimeFinalist
2013'Quirk BooksFinalist
2014Ordinary GraceAtria BooksWinner
2014Sandrine's CaseMysterious PressFinalist
2014Dead LionsSoho CrimeFinalist
2014'Penguin BooksFinalist
2014How the Light Gets InMinotaur BooksFinalist
2014Standing in Another Man's GraveReagan Arthur BooksFinalist
2015'Penguin BooksWinner
2015'GalleryFinalist
2015'QuercusFinalist
2015'Midnight InkFinalist
2015'Minotaur BooksFinalist
2015'Seventh Street BooksFinalist
2016'William Morrow & Co.Winner
2016Little Black LiesMinotaur BooksFinalist
2016'Soho PressFinalist
2016'Midnight InkFinalist
2016Life or DeathMulholland BooksFinalist
2016'Alfred A. KnopfFinalist
2017'Minotaur BooksWinner
2017You Will Know MeLittle, Brown, & Co.Finalist
2017Dark FissuresOceanviewFinalist
2017Before the FallUK: Hodder & Stoughton
US: Grand Central Publishing		Finalist
2017Real TigersUK: John Murray
US: Soho Press		Finalist
2017Wilde LakeWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2018Magpie MurdersHarperWinner
2018'Finalist
2018Bluebird, BluebirdMulholland BooksFinalist
2018Glass HousesMinotaurFinalist
2018'Mysterious PressFinalist
2018'William Morrow & Co.Finalist
2019November RoadWilliam Morrow & Co.Winner
2019If I Die TonightWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2019'Flat Iron BooksFinalist
2019Jar of HeartsMinotaur BooksFinalist
2019Hiroshima BoyProspect Park BooksFinalist
2019Under My SkinHarlequin – Park Row BooksFinalist
2020'Mulholland BooksWinner
2020Your House Will PayEcco PressFinalist
2020This Tender LandAtriaFinalist
2020Lady in the LakeWilliam Morrow & Co.Finalist
2020'Forge BooksFinalist
2020Sarah JaneSoho CrimeFinalist
2021Blacktop WastelandFlatiron BooksWinner
2021Before She Was HelenEcco PressFinalist
2021Blind VigilOceanview PublishingFinalist
2021All the Devils Are HereMinotaur BooksFinalist
2021These WomenPoisoned Pen PressFinalist
2021When She Was GoodScribnerFinalist
2022Razorblade TearsFlatiron BooksWinner
2022'Little, Brown, & Co.Finalist
20221979Atlantic MonthlyFinalist
2022Bobby March Will Live ForeverWorld NoirFinalist
2022We Begin at the EndHenry Holt & Co.Finalist
2022Harlem ShuffleDoubledayFinalist
2023'MinotaurWinner
2023Back to the GardenBantamFinalist
2023Two Nights in LisbonMCDFinalist
2023'Little, BrownFinalist
2023Killers of a Certain AgeBerkleyFinalist
2023Secret IdentityFlatiron BooksFinalist
2024All the Sinners BleedFlatiron BooksWinner
2024Dark RideWm. MorrowFinalist
2024HideThomas & MercerFinalist
2024Happiness FallsHogarthFinalist
2024Murder BookMysteriousFinalist
2024Crook ManifestoPenguin Random House - DoubledayFinalist