Macavity Awards (1987-2006)

The Macavity Award is named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in four categories: Best Mystery Novel, Best First Mystery Novel, Best Biography/Critical Mystery Work, and Best Mystery Short Story.

Click on the title to read a short summary of the book, and to place a hold.

The number in parentheses after each book is the year in which it was awarded the Macavity Award.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (2006)

Immoral by Brian Freeman (2006)

Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak (2006)

The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen (2005)

Dating Dead Men by Harley Jane Kozak (2005)

Forensics for Dummies by D.P. Lyle (2005)

The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey (2004)

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (2004)

Make Mine a Mystery: A Reader's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr (2004)

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (2003)

They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Forgotten Mystery Novels edited by Jim Huang (2003)

Winter and Night by S. J. Rozan (2003)

Folly by Laurie R. King (2002)

Open Season by C.J. Box (2002)

Writing the Mystery: A Start to Finish Guide for Both Novice and Professional by G. Miki Hayden (2002)

Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir by Tony Hillerman (2002)

A Place of Execution by Val McDermid (2001)

A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss (2001)

The American Regional Mystery by Marvin Lachman (2001)

The Flower Master by Sujata Massey (2000)

Inner City Blues by Paula L. Woods (2000)

Ross Macdonald: A Biography by Tom Nolan (2000)

Blood Work by Michael Connelly (1999)

Sympathy for the Devil by Jerrilyn Farmer (1999)

Killer Books by Jean Swanson and Dean James (1999)

Suspense by Jean Swanson, Dean James (1999)

Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie (1998)

Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey (1997)

Death in Little Tokyo by Dale Furutani (1997)

Detecting Women 2 (1997)

Written by Women by Willetta L. Heising (1997)

Under the Beetle's Cellar by Mary Willis Walker (1996)

The Strange Files of Fremont Jones by Dianne Day (1996)

Detecting Women by Willetta L. Heising (1996)

Written by Women by Willetta L. Heising (1996)

Morse's Greatest Mystery and Other Stories by Colin Dexter (1996)

She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb (1995)

Do Unto Others by Jeff Abbott (1995)

By a Woman's Hand by Dean James and Jean Swanson (1995)

The Sculptress by Minette Walters (1994)

Death Comes as Ephiphany by Sharan Newman (1994)

The Fine Art of Murder edited by Ed Gorman (1994)

Blanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely (1993)

Doubleday Crime Club Compendium by Ellen Nehr (1993)

I.O.U. by Nancy Pickard (1992)

Murder on the Iditarod Trail by Sue Henry (1992)

Zero at the Bone by Mary Willis Walker (1992)

Talking Mysteries: A Conversation with Tony Hillerman by Tony Hillerman and Ernie Bulow (1992)

If Ever I Return Pretty Peggy-O by Sharyn McCrumb (1991)

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell (1991)

Agatha Christie: The Woman and Her Mysteries by Gillian Gill (1991)

A Little Class on Murder by Carolyn Hart (1990)

Grime and Punishment by Jill Churchill (1990)

The Bedside Companion to Crime by H.R.F. Keating (1990)

A Thief of Time by Tony Hillerman (1989)

The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham (1989)

Silk Stalkings by Victoria Nichols and Susan Thompson (1989)

Marriage is Murder by Nancy Pickard (1988)

The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais (1988)

A Taste for Death by P.D. James (1987)

The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman

A Case of Loyalties by Marilyn Wallace (1987)

1001 Midnights by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini (1987)