Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reasonable opportunity for committing the crime. The central character is often a detective, who eventually solves the mystery by logical deduction from facts presented to the reader. Some mystery books are non-fiction. Mystery fiction can be detective stories in which the emphasis is on the puzzle or suspense element and its logical solution such as a whodunit. Mystery fiction can be contrasted with hardboiled detective stories, which focus on action and gritty realism.
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film, and theater published or produced in the previous year.
Michael Joseph Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestselling author of 38 novels and one work of non-fiction, with over 74 million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into 40 languages. His first novel, The Black Echo, won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly's 1997 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of Connelly's novel The Lincoln Lawyer starred Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004.
The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie. .. loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence, and are not classified as 'hard-boiled.'" At an annual convention in Washington, D.C., the Agatha Awards are handed out by Malice Domestic Ltd, in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery. Additionally, in some years the Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the mystery genre, but it is not an annual award.
Charlaine Harris Schulz is an American author who specializes in mysteries. She is best known for her book series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, which was adapted as the TV series True Blood. The television show was a critical and financial success for HBO, running seven seasons, from 2008 through 2014.
Jeanne C. Stein is an American urban fantasy author. She now lives in Colorado, but was raised and educated in San Diego, which is the setting for her contemporary vampire fantasy.
The Southern Vampire Mysteries, also known as The True Blood Novels and The Sookie Stackhouse Novels, is a series of books written by bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The first installment, Dead Until Dark (2001), won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001 and later served as the source material for the HBO drama series True Blood (2008–2014). The book series has been retronymed the True Blood Series upon reprinting, to capitalize on the television adaptation.
Dead Until Dark, published in 2001, is the first novel in Charlaine Harris' series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. It was adapted into True Blood's first season.
Pamela "Pam" Ravenscroft, also known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort, is a fictional character from the television series True Blood. Pam is portrayed by actress Kristin Bauer van Straten. The series was created by Alan Ball and is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by author Charlaine Harris.
Alcide Herveaux is a fictional character in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by author Charlaine Harris. He is introduced in the third novel, Club Dead. In the television series, he was portrayed by the actor Joe Manganiello.
Niall Brigant is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries by author Charlaine Harris. He first appears in From Dead to Worse. He is Sookie and Jason Stackhouse's great-grandfather and Claude and Claudine's grandfather. He is tall and slim, extremely handsome with long pale gold hair. Sookie describes Niall as being a lovely creature and having some age to him.
The Harper Connelly Mysteries is a series of fantasy mystery novels written by Charlaine Harris, and first published in 2005. Harris is known best for penning The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series rich in supernatural characters such as vampires, telepaths, werewolves, shapeshifters and fairies; she has also written more traditional (non-paranormal) mysteries. The Harper Connelly Mysteries is also centered on a character with supernatural abilities, however these abilities are more subtle than in The Southern Vampire Mysteries.
Jeaniene Frost is an American fantasy author, known for her Night Huntress series and the Night Huntress World novels. Foreign rights for her novels have sold to twenty different countries.
Aurora Teagarden is a fictional character created by author Charlaine Harris. She is the protagonist of a series of eleven crime novels written from 1990 to 2017. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries began adapting the novels in 2014 for their original film series The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries with Candace Cameron Bure in the title role, part of the network’s "Mystery Wheel" umbrella series.
Mystery Scene is an American magazine, first published in 1985, that covers the crime and mystery genre with a mix of articles, profiles, criticism, and extensive reviews of books, films, TV, short stories, audiobooks, and reference works.
Dead Reckoning is a 2011 New York Times Bestselling gothic romance novel by Charlaine Harris and is the eleventh book in her Southern Vampire Mysteries series. The book was released on May 3, 2011 by Ace Books and deals with Sookie discovering more about her heritage and dealing with more supernatural difficulties.
Deadlocked is a 2012 urban fantasy novel by American author Charlaine Harris and is the twelfth and penultimate book in her The Southern Vampire Mysteries. The book was released on May 1, 2012 by Ace Books.
Sharan Newman is an American historian and writer of historical novels. She won the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery in 1994.
Dead Ever After is a fantasy novel by Charlaine Harris. It is the thirteenth novel in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series. On May 14, 2012, Charlaine Harris' Facebook administrator announced that Dead Ever After would be the final book of the series and it was released on May 7, 2013.
Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the convention since 1986. This page details Bouchercon XLIII and the 27th Anthony Awards ceremony.
