Mystery writers nominated for Poe Award

The Mystery Writers of America have announced nominees for the Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2013, which honors the best mystery fiction, non-fiction, television, film and theater published or produced in 2012. There are awards for both juvenile and young adult mysteries.

Juvenile Award Nominees

“Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie O'Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (And Some Nerdy Kid) Saved the U.S. Presidential Election from a Mad Genuis Criminial Mastermind” (Abrams - Amulet Books) by Tom Angleberger. A farcical adventure about a regular kid named Lenny who is the only thing standing between his evil-genius best friend and world domination.

“13 Hangmen” (Abrams - Amulet Books) by Art Corriveau. A story about Tony and his four friends, all 13-year-old boys, who are living in the same house, the same attic bedroom, but at different times in history. They are visible only to one another and each one is somehow linked to a murder, a mystery and some treasure.

“The Quick Fix” (Abrams - Amulet Books) by Jack D. Ferraiolo. The second novel about wisecracking detective Matt Stevens. In this middle school noir, Matt has been hired by cheerleader Melissa Scott to figure out why her basketball star boyfriend is behaving so strangely.

“Spy School” (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers) by Stuart Gibbs. About an awkward middle schoolboy named Ben who dreams of getting into the C.I.A., but he's just not C.I.A. material. When he's recruited into a science magnet school, he discovers the school is really a front for a junior C.I.A. Academy. Unfortunately, there's been a case of mistaken identity and the school didn't actually mean to recruit Ben. But that doesn't stop him from trying to become a great agent. This is book one in a new series.

“Three Times Lucky” (Dial Books for Young Readers) by Sheila Turnage. Also a Newbery Honor Award winner for its contribution to American literature for children. It's about a precocious 11-year-old girl who, with her best friend, sets out to solve the murder of a regular customer in her adoptive family's cafe.

Young adult Award Nominees

“Emily's Dress and Other Missing Things” (Roaring Brook Press) by Kathryn Burak. About a teenage girl who is grieving the death of her mother and the loss of her best friend, who has disappeared without a trace. It's a story that blends the poetry of Emily Dickinson with friendship, mystery and suicide.

“The Edge of Nowhere” (Viking) by Elizabeth George. A paranormal romance about a girl named Becca who can hear the thoughts of others and is on the run from her stepfather, who has used her ability for criminal activity.

“Crusher” (Delacorte Books for Young Readers) by Niall Leonard. A fast-paced thriller/whodunit set in London about a teenage boy who finds his father bludgeoned to death at the dining room table. As he races to find his father's murderer, he ultimately becomes the prime suspect in the murder himself.

“Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone” (Dutton Children's Books) by Kat Rosenfield. The story of two girls: Becca, a girl whose boyfriend has broken up with her on graduation night, right after they've had sex, and Amelia, a girl who was found dead on the side of the road near where Becca and her boyfriend were the night before.

“Code Name Verity” (Hyperion) by Elizabeth Wein. Also a Printz Honor Award winner for excellence in young adult literature and one of only five young adult novels published in 2012 to receive starred reviews in all six major review journals. Set in Nazi-occupied France in 1943, it's an intricately plotted, meticulously researched story of friendship between two young British women, a pilot named Maddie and a spy named Verity, and what happens when their plane goes down and Verity is captured by the Nazis and forced to cough up everything she can about the British war effort.

The winners will be announced May 2.

--- Dori Hillestad Butler is the author of many books for children, including the Edgar award winning series, “The Buddy Files.”