Hey, we were just discussing borg contributor Elizabeth C. Bunce and her release of the boxed set of her Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series only just earlier this week! Regular borg readers know about novelist Elizabeth C. Bunce′s reviews here at borg. In 2021 her novel Premeditated Myrtle won the Edgar Award at the 75th annual honors (awarded by the Mystery Writers of America and named for mystery writing pioneer Edgar Allan Poe). That year she was also a finalist for both the Agatha Award (honoring mystery author Agatha Christie), and Anthony Award (honoring mystery author Anthony Boucher)–these form the trifecta of top awards for the mystery and crime genres. Elizabeth became a finalist again for all three awards in 2022 and was a finalist for two of the three awards–the Agatha and Anthony–in 2023. This year she has been selected by mystery and crime writers and fans as a finalist for the three awards yet again–first she was a finalist for this year’s Edgar Award and Agatha Award, and yesterday Bouchercon announced its finalists for this year’s Anthony Award, and Elizabeth’s Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity made it again.
The Anthony Award is an annual recognition for mystery authors, named to honor mystery writer and Mystery Writers of America co-founder Anthony Boucher (shown above, with cat friend). Past novelists recognized by the Anthony Awards include Daphne Du Maurier, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Lilian Jackson Braun, Robert B. Parker, Max Allan Collins, Jill Thompson, Lawrence Block, Sue Grafton, Jonathan Kellerman, Patricia Cornwell, Donald E. Westlake, Rick Riordan, Lee Child–and Elizabeth (shown above with Sophie, the inspiration for Peony the Cat in her series of mystery novels).
- Other than Elizabeth, only Laura Lippman has been nominated for the three awards three times.
- Elizabeth is a finalist for the Anthony Award for the fourth consecutive year, a feat achieved before by only Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, Nancy Pickard, Hank Philippi Ryan, and Louise Penny.
- The Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries series joins the Harry Bosch, Jenny Cain, Inspector Gamache, and Tess Monaghan series, as the fifth series to be honored with four consecutive nominations.
Publishers Weekly referred to the Myrtle Hardcastle mystery series as “the best thing to happen to youth mysteries since Trixie Belden.” The Wall Street Journal said, “Younger Holmes fans (and older ones too) should be charmed by Elizabeth C. Bunce’s Cold-Blooded Myrtle.” Check out Elizabeth’s reviews of books, TV, and movies at borg here. The Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery Series is published by Algonquin Young Readers, a division of Workman Publishing Company and Hachette Publishing. Premeditated Myrtle, How to Get Away with Myrtle, Cold-Blooded Myrtle, In Myrtle Peril, and Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity are all available in hardcover, Audiobook, eBook, and paperback and now this week as the Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries: The Complete Gift Set. Don’t miss the audiobooks of each book performed brilliantly by actor Bethan Rose Young (Knightfall, High Seas).
This year the Anthony Award again will be announced at the annual World Mystery Convention (also called Bouchercon) in late summer. The convention has been held annually since 1970.
Congratulations to Elizabeth and all of this year’s nominees!
