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As we mentioned earlier this month, 2021 Edgar Award-winning author and borg contributor Elizabeth C. Bunce was nominated for her second Edgar Award, for the second year in a row.  This weekend she added another accolade for her novel Cold-Blooded Myrtle, as she was nominated for the Agatha Award, Elizabeth’s second year nominated for the award, which commemorates traditional mystery works typified by the novels of mystery author Agatha Christie (pictured above, left).  Past nominees have included John Grisham, Anne Perry, Max Allan Collins, Sue Grafton, Mary Higgins Clark, Charlaine Harris, Janet Evanovich, Ann Cleeves, Rhys Bowen, Charlotte MacLeod–and Elizabeth.  Nominees are announced early each year and winners awarded at the mystery convention Malice Domestic.

Congratulations to Elizabeth for her nomination for Cold-Blooded Myrtle! 

From Elizabeth’s publisher:

Cold-Blooded Myrtle opens moments before the grand reveal of the annual Christmas shop display at Leighton’s Mercantile.  As Myrtle and the townsfolk of Swinburne gather for the yearly tradition, it becomes clear something isn’t right.  The proprietor of Leighton’s Mercantile is found dead and the display tampered with.  But who would want to kill the local dry-goods merchant?  Perhaps someone who remembers the mysterious scandal that destroyed his career as a professor and archaeologist involving the disappearance of a local college student.  When the killer strikes again, each time manipulating the figures in the Christmas display to foretell the crime, Myrtle, Miss Judson, and Peony the cat set out to unravel a twisted tale of secret societies, cryptic messages, long-buried secrets, and a killer bent on revenge.  The case becomes even more personal when clues connect Myrtle’s own deceased mother to the sinister happenings.

“A holiday mystery is a crime fiction tradition, and many of our modern holiday customs have their origins in the Victorian era,” explains Elizabeth.  “I knew from the start one of the books would have to take place during an Exceptionally Victorian Christmas.”  Elizabeth goes on to say, “I hope that young readers see Myrtle’s determination and curiosity as an invitation to be bold and curious in their own lives.  Myrtle is a heroine who doggedly pursues her own path, despite outside pressures trying to define her.  I want kids to see that it’s ok to embrace their own passions and interests too, whatever they might be.”

The perfect holiday book for young readers and grown-up mystery fans alike, this fantastic third installment of the award-winning Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery Series promises scandal and drama, Victorian rule-breaking, early forensics, code cracking, and a packed cast of delightful and eccentric friends and foes.

In addition to the 2022 Edgar Award and Agatha Award nominations, Cold-Blooded Myrtle has been named a Kirkus 2021 Top 10 Best Book of the Year and a Wall Street Journal holiday guide recommendation.  It’s available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook here at Amazon.

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