Best Mystery/Suspense Fiction 2014

Votes are now being taken for 2015 Fiction by LDS authors
See rules HERE
Enter your votes HERE
------------------------------------------------------------

BEST MYSTERY/SUSPENSE 2014 WENT TO

Wedding Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

"Didn't I tell you you'd never be free of me?"

When Sadie Hoffmiller receives a threatening, anonymous text message just days before her wedding, she's determined not to let it interfere with the celebration she has carefully planned for months. But when the threat changes from a distant fear to a frightening reality, Sadie realizes just how much she's underestimated the situation. Desperate to put an end to the game she's been forced to play, Sadie, her fiancé, Pete, and her children pull out all the stops—resolved to stop running and see justice done. What they don't know, however, is just how far Sadie's nemesis is willing to go and just how many people may be hurt in the process. There's no turning back for anyone in this riveting conclusion to the twelve-volume series, and the question becomes whether or not Sadie will have a future left when the game finally comes to an end.

--- The other finalists were ---

Blood on the Water by Anne Perry

As her New York Times bestselling novels always remind us, Anne Perry is a matchless guide to both the splendor and the shame of the British Empire at the height of its influence. In her twentieth William Monk mystery, she brings us to London’s grand Mayfair mansions, where the arrogant masters of the Western world hold sway—and to the teeming Thames waterfront, where one summer afternoon, Monk witnesses the horrifying explosion of the pleasure boat Princess Mary, which sends to their deaths nearly two hundred merrymakers.

The tragedy is no accident. As commander of the River Police, Monk should handle the case, but the investigation is turned over to the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. An Egyptian man is swiftly caught, tried, and sentenced to die. But almost as quickly, Monk presents evidence that Habib Beshara, though a nasty piece of work, was elsewhere at the time of the blast. The investigation, now in complete disarray, is hastily turned over to Monk.

Is the crime connected with the soon-to-be-opened Suez Canal, which will enormously benefit wealthy British shipping companies? Or did all of those innocent people drown to ensure the death of just one? How did the bomber board the ship, and how did he manage to escape? Is he an anarchist or a madman?

Backed up by his astute wife, Hester, and his old reliable friend Oliver Rathbone, Monk vows to find answers—but instead finds himself treading the dangerous waters of international intrigue, his questions politely turned aside by a formidable array of the powerful and privileged. Events twist and turn like the Thames itself, leading to the shattering moment when Monk realizes, perhaps too late, that he is the next target.

Death on Blackheath by Ann Perry

Anne Perry’s superb New York Times bestselling novels set in the glorious reign of Victoria are loved by readers far and wide. Now, with this new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery, Perry returns us to that charmed era, when wealth and power rule—but where, alas, poisonous corruption lies coiled in the heart of the empire.

As commander of the powerful Special Branch, Thomas Pitt has the job of keeping Britain safe from spies and traitors. So there’s no obvious reason why he is suddenly ordered to investigate two minor incidents: the blood, hair, and shards of glass discovered outside the home of naval weapons expert Dudley Kynaston, and the simultaneous disappearance of Mrs. Kynaston’s beautiful lady’s maid.

But weeks later, when the mutilated body of an unidentified young woman is found near Kynaston’s home, Pitt realizes that this is no ordinary police investigation. Far from it. Is Kynaston—one of Britain’s most valuable scientists—leading a double life? Is Pitt saddled with a conspiracy so devilishly clever that it will ruin him?

A baffled Pitt has never needed his friends more desperately, including his indomitable wife, Charlotte; his canny old colleague Victor Narraway; and his personal drawing-room spy, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould. But even these allies may not be able to save Pitt—or Britain.

Only Anne Perry could have created the tense unfolding of plot and counterplot, love and betrayal, scandal and murder that follows. Death on Blackheath is rich with fascinating characters, authentic period flavor, knife’s-edge suspense, and a haunting, unforgettable denouement.

Drop Zone by Traci Hunter Abramson

Paige Vickers needs a new life, so she’s relieved when she’s given an assignment that takes her away from her stressful position as a psychiatric nurse with the CIA and puts her in a job as administrative assistant for Vanessa Johnson, an instructor for undercover operatives at the CIA’s training facility. At the same time, Damian Schmitt has been transferred to become a part of the Saint Squad—an elite group of Navy SEALs. However, on his first training mission with the team, he is almost killed, and the team suspects that the nearly fatal exercise was no accident. Then tensions accelerate when the rest of the squad is deployed on a secret mission—only to come up missing. When the Saint Squad’s disappearance endangers Paige’s boss, it is up to Paige and Damian to discover what has happened by going undercover to Maracaibo, Venezuela, the city of Damian’s childhood. The shocking twists and turns keep all the members of the team guessing as they push to find out who is responsible for the attacks on the tightly knit Saint Squad.

Tomorrow We Spy by Jordan McCollum

CIA operative Talia Reynolds (Fluker) is off the clock, off the continent and off on her Paris honeymoon. But the happy couple’s trip to the City of Love is cut short when the CIA tracks them down for a top secret mission. Only this time, the Agency’s assignment isn’t for Talia — it’s for her husband Danny.

As an aerospace engineer, Danny’s the one with the connections they need to get to their target, an aerospace executive and a dangerous Russian FSB officer. After all she’s done to protect Danny from her spy life, Talia won’t okay the op until she’s allowed to accompany her husband. And the only safe way for her to do that? Deep undercover.

Balancing her personal and professional personas requires more precision than a Russian ballet. But all the covers in the world can’t protect Danny and Talia when the FSB officer turns the tables on them. Now Talia must use her every skill to save her marriage, her husband and herself — or their first mission together will be their last.

      

I, along with Stephanie Black, had the great honor of presenting this award- What a special treat for me! I LOVE attending the gala and seeing all the winners receive their awards-

This year I was the one to hand the award to Josi- 

a memory to be treasured forever!