Carmel Shute 
Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem gives the Murder Monday treatment to American cosy crime writer Raquel V. Reyes, author of the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery Series featuring Latina sleuth, Miriam Quiñones-Smith. Her Cuban-American heritage, Miami, and ‘Spanglish’ feature prominently in her work.
For the July Crime Stack, Penguin Random House Australia has kindly offered 20 copies of Broken Bay, the third in her award-winning police procedural series featuring Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti. Cutters End, the first in the series, was the winner of the BAD Danger Prize 2022 and was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction 2022. To be in the running you need to be a member of Sisters in Crime. Why not join now?
Thirty-three books have made it to the longlist for the 23rd Davitt Awards for the best crime and mystery books published by women in 2022. It’s a long longlist but the overall number of books competing is 144, including a formidable 101 adult novels. And what’s even more remarkable is the standard of the writing.
Over her years working as a humanitarian aid worker, Chris Stuart would return home between assignments, but couldn’t really talk about what she had seen or done and some her stories made for uncomfortable listening. She learned it was easier to remain silent, but the stories, the inequity, the tragedies were ingrained in her head and cemented in her heart.
Part of the reason Rae Cairns writes, alongside an absolute love of storytelling, is to try to understand why people do what they do. She is particularly intrigued by the complexity of relationships, especially within family units, and the power of the need to belong. She is driven by the idea of exploring the female ‘hero’.
The Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short crime and mystery stories turn 30 this year and are offering a record $12,720 in prizes. The first prize winner takes home $2000, donated by Swinburne University of Technology, plus the coveted trophy. Closes 31 August 2023 – so start writing now, if you haven’t already.
Voting for Sisters in Crime’s 23nd Davitt Awards Readers’ Choice Award is now open to financial members.
An impressive 144 books are competing. Voting for the Readers’ Award Choice closes Friday 28 July, 11.59 pm. If you’re not a member, join now if you want to vote.
Our guest author for the June Murder Monday is the US best-selling author, T J Newman. T J, a former book seller and flight attendant based in Arizona, has been flying high since her debut novel, Falling, became a publishing sensation and debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list. She spoke about her crime craft to Jacq Ellem, bibliophile, copywriter, occasional broadcaster, award-winning podcaster, and a member of the new Tasmanian chapter.
For the June Crime Stack, Harper Collins Publishing has kindly offered 20 copies of The Benevolent Society of Ill-mannered Ladies, by Melbourne-based Alison Goodman, the New York Times bestselling author of Eon and Eona and The Dark Days Club trilogy. Alison mostly writes YA fiction but her very adult thriller, A New Kind of Death, was a Davitt Award finalist under its original title, Killing the Rabbit. To be in the running you need to be a member of Sisters in Crime. Why not join now?
Joan Sauers drew on her experience as a screenwiter for her debut crime novel, Echo Lake. She initially imagined the characters, setting and story in visuals, and while she was writing she looked around what might be on screen in her mind’s eye and described what she saw. She was also aware of rhythm and pace.