| 1989
|
Gay M/SF
|
Michael Nava
|
Goldenboy
|
Winner
|
[1]
|
| Donald Ward
|
Death Takes the Stage
|
Finalist
|
[1]
|
| Joseph Hansen
|
Obedience
|
| Michael Bishop
|
Unicorn Mountain
|
| George Baxt
|
Who’s Next
|
| Lesb. M/SF
|
Antoinette Azolakov
|
Skiptrace
|
Winner
|
[1]
|
|
|
The Crystal Curtain
|
Finalist
|
[1]
|
| Dolores Klaich
|
Heavy Gilt
|
| Claire McNab
|
Lessons In Murder
|
| Judy Grahn
|
Mundane's World
|
| 1990
|
Gay Mys.
|
Mark Richard Zubro
|
Simple Suburban Murder
|
Winner
|
[2]
|
|
|
Caravaggio Shawl
|
Finalist
|
[2]
|
| Stan Leventhal
|
Faultlines: Stories of Suspense
|
| Michael Nava
|
Finale edited
|
|
|
Somewhere in the Night
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Katherine V. Forrest
|
The Beverly Malibu
|
Winner
|
[2]
|
| Antoinette Azolakov
|
The Contactees Die Young
|
Finalist
|
[2]
|
| Barbara Wilson
|
Dog Collar Murders
|
| Claire McNab
|
Fatal Reunion
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Hallowed Murder
|
| 1991
|
Gay Mys.
|
Michael Nava
|
Howtown
|
Winner
|
[3]
|
| Stan Leventhal
|
Black Marble Pool
|
Finalist
|
[3]
|
| Grant Michaels
|
Body To Dye For
|
| Joseph Hansen
|
Boy Who Was Buried This Morning
|
| Mark Richard Zubro
|
Why Isn’t Becky Twitchell Dead?
|
| 1991
|
Lesbian Mys.
|
Barbara Wilson
|
Gaudi Afternoon
|
Winner (tie)
|
[3]
|
|
|
Ninth Life
|
| Sarah Dreher
|
A Captive In Time
|
Finalist
|
[3]
|
| Claire McNab
|
Death Down Under
|
| Camarin Grae
|
Slick
|
| 1992
|
Gay Mys.
|
Joseph Hansen
|
A Country of Old Men
|
Winner
|
[4]
|
| Stan Cutler
|
Best Performance by a Patsy
|
Finalist
|
[4]
|
| Larry Townsend
|
Master’s Counterpoints
|
| Mark Richard Zubro
|
Sorry Now?
|
| Stan Cutler
|
The Face on the Cutting Room Floor
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Katherine V. Forrest
|
Murder by Tradition
|
Winner
|
[4]
|
| Claire McNab
|
Cop Out
|
Finalist
|
[4]
|
| Amanda Kyle Williams
|
The Providence File
|
| Sandra Scoppetone
|
Everything You Have is Mine
|
|
|
Final Session
|
| 1993
|
Gay Mys.
|
Michael Nava
|
The Hidden Law
|
Winner
|
[4]
|
| Steve Johnson
|
Final Atonement
|
Finalist
|
[4]
|
| Grant Michaels
|
Love You to Death
|
| Larry Townsend
|
One for the Master, Two for the Fool
|
| Richard Stevenson
|
Third Man Out
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Crazy for Loving
|
Winner (tie)
|
[4]
|
|
|
Two-Bit Tango
|
| J.M. Redmann
|
Deaths of Jocasta
|
Finalist
|
[4]
|
| Nikki Baker
|
Lavender House Murder
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Stage Fright
|
| 1994
|
Gay Mys.
|
Steven Saylor
|
Catilina’s Riddle
|
Winner
|
[5]
|
| Joseph Hansen
|
Bohannon’s Country
|
Finalist
|
[5]
|
| Grant Michaels
|
Dead On Your Feet
|
| George Baxt
|
Mae West Murder Case
|
| John Cooke
|
Torsos
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Mary Wings
|
Divine Victim
|
Winner
|
[5]
|
| Mabel Maney
|
Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse
|
Finalist
|
[5]
|
| Sandra Scoppetone
|
I'll Be Leaving You Always
|
| Nikki Baker
|
Long Goodbyes
|
| 1995
|
Gay Mys.
|
John Berendt
|
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
|
Winner
|
[6]
|
| Samuel Delaney
|
Mad Man
|
Finalist
|
[6]
|
| Grant Michaels
|
Mask for a Diva
|
| George Baxt
|
Queer Kind of Love
|
| Caleb Carr
|
The Alienist
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Ellen Hart
|
Small Sacrifice
|
Winner
|
[6]
|
| Claire McNab
|
Body Guard
|
Finalist
|
[6]
|
| Mabel Maney
|
Case of the Good-For-Nothing Girlfriend
|
| Sandra Scoppetone
|
My Sweet Untraceable You
|
|
|
Sister's Keeper
|
| 1996
|
Gay Mys.
|
R.D. Zimmerman
|
Closet
|
Winner
|
[7]
|
| Mark Richard Zubro
|
Another Dead Teenager
|
Finalist
|
[7]
|
| George Baxt
|
Queer Kind of Umbrella
|
| Richard Stevenson
|
Shock to the System
|
| Steven Saylor
|
The Venus Throw
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
J.M. Redmann
|
The Intersection of Law and Desire
|
Winner
|
[7]
|
|
|
Baby, It's Cold
|
Finalist
|
[7]
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Faint Praise
|
|
|
Hangdog Hustle
|
| Penny Mickelbury
|
Night Songs
|
|
|
Someone to Watch
|
| 1997
|
Gay Mys.
|
Michael Nava
|
Death of Friends
|
Winner
|
[8]
|
| Steven Saylor
|
Murder on the Appian Way
|
Finalist
|
[8]
|
| John Morgan Wilson
|
Simple Justice
|
| Grant Michaels
|
Time to Check Out
|
| R.D. Zimmerman
|
Tribe
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Ellen Hart
|
Robber's Wine
|
Winner
|
[8]
|
|
|
Final Take
|
Finalist
|
[8]
|
| Claire McNab
|
Inner Circle
|
| Katherine V. Forrest
|
Liberty Square
|
| 1998
|
Gay Mys.
|
|
The Magician’s Tale
|
Winner
|
[9]
|
| Christopher Bram
|
Gossip
|
Finalist
|
[9]
|
| R.D. Zimmerman
|
Hostage
|
| John Morgan Wilson
|
Revision of Justice
|
| Michael Nava
|
The Burning Plain
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Father Forgive Me
|
Winner
|
[9]
|
| Katherine V. Forrest
|
Apparition Alley
|
Finalist
|
[9]
|
|
|
Evil Dead Center
|
|
|
No Daughter of the South
|
|
|
Old Black Magic
|
| 1999
|
Gay Mys.
|
R.D. Zimmerman
|
Outburst
|
Winner
|
[10]
|
| Grant Michaels
|
Dead as a Doornail
|
Finalist
|
[10]
|
| Fred Hunter
|
Federal Fag
|
| Richard Stevenson
|
Strachey’s Folly
|
| Randy Boyd
|
Uprising
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Nicola Griffith
|
The Blue Place
|
Winner
|
[10]
|
|
|
Mother May I
|
Finalist
|
[10]
|
| Claire McNab
|
Past Due
|
| Sarah Dreher
|
Shaman's Moon
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Wicked Games
|
| 2000
|
Gay Mys.
|
John Morgan Wilson
|
Justice at Risk
|
Winner
|
[11]
|
| Mark Zubro
|
Drop Dead
|
Finalist
|
[11]
|
| R.D. Zimmerman
|
Innuendo
|
| Lev Raphael
|
The Death of a Constant Lover
|
| Keith Hartman
|
The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Ellen Hart
|
Hunting the Witch
|
Winner
|
[11]
|
| J.M. Redmann
|
Lost Daughters
|
Finalist
|
[11]
|
|
|
Murder Undercover
|
| Mary Wings
|
She Came in Drag
|
| Katherine V. Forrest
|
Sleeping Bones
|
| 2001
|
Gay Mys.
|
John Morgan Wilson
|
The Limits of Justice
|
Winner
|
[12]
|
| Christopher Rice
|
A Density of Souls
|
Finalist
|
[12]
|
|
|
Love’s Last Chance
|
| Michael Craft
|
Name Games
|
| Casey Nelson
|
Nothing Gold Can Stay
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Mommy Deadest
|
Winner
|
[12]
|
| Val McDermid
|
Booked for Murder
|
Finalist
|
[12]
|
| Barbara Wilson
|
The Case of the Orphanned Bassoonists
|
| Claire McNab
|
Death Understood
|
|
|
When Evil Changes Face
|
| 2002
|
Gay Mys.
|
Michael Nava
|
Rag and Bone
|
Winner
|
[13]
|
| Michael Craft
|
Boy Toy
|
Finalist
|
[13]
|
| Warren Dunford
|
Making a Killing
|
| Mark Richard Zubro
|
Sex and Murder.Com
|
| Dorien Grey
|
The Butcher’s Son
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Ellen Hart
|
Merchant of Venus
|
Winner
|
[13]
|
|
|
Back to Salem
|
Finalist
|
[13]
|
| Mabel Maney
|
Kiss the Girls and Make Them Spy
|
|
|
Moving Targets
|
|
|
Witchfire
|
| 2003
|
Gay Mys.
|
Christopher Rice
|
The Snow Garden
|
Winner
|
[14][15]
|
| Michael Craft
|
Hot Spot
|
Finalist
|
[15]
|
| Greg Herren
|
Murder in the Rue Dauphine
|
| Dorien Grey
|
The Hired Man
|
|
|
The Lodger
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Good Bad Woman
|
Winner (tie)
|
[14][15]
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Immaculate Midnight
|
| Claire McNab
|
Accidental Murder
|
Finalist
|
[15]
|
|
|
The Weeping Buddha
|
|
|
Death by Prophecy
|
| 2004
|
Gay Mys.
|
John Morgan Wilson
|
Blind Eye
|
Winner
|
[16]
|
| Greg Herren
|
Bourbon Street Blues
|
Finalist
|
[16]
|
| Mark Richard Zubro
|
Dead Egotistical Morons
|
|
|
It Takes Two
|
|
|
Wearing Black to the White Party
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Elizabeth Sims
|
Damn Straight
|
Winner
|
[16]
|
|
|
Cry Havoc
|
Finalist
|
[16]
|
|
|
The Woman Who Found Grace
|
|
|
Epitaph for an Angel
|
|
|
Owl of the Desert
|
| 2005
|
Gay Mys.
|
Anthony Bidulka
|
Flight of Aquavit
|
Winner
|
[17]
|
| Greg Herren
|
Jackson Square Jazz
|
Finalist
|
[17]
|
| John Morgan Wilson
|
Moth and Flame
|
|
|
Someone You Know
|
| Dorien Grey
|
The Role Players
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Katherine V. Forrest
|
Hancock Park
|
Winner
|
[17]
|
| Ellen Hart
|
An Intimate Ghost
|
Finalist
|
[17]
|
|
|
Commitment to Die
|
| Claire McNab
|
The Wombat Strategy
|
|
|
Death by Discount
|
| 2006
|
Gay Mys.
|
|
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
|
Winner
|
[18]
|
|
|
Cajun Snuff
|
Finalist
|
[18]
|
| Rick Copp
|
The Actor’s Guide to Greed
|
| Dorien Grey
|
The Paper Mirror
|
|
|
White Tiger
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders
|
Winner
|
[18]
|
| Penny Mickelbury
|
Darkness Descending
|
Finalist
|
[18]
|
| Ellen Hart
|
The Iron Girl
|
| Radclyffe
|
Justice Served
|
| Katherine V. Forrest
|
Women of Mystery
|
| 2007
|
Gay Mys.
|
Garry Ryan
|
The Lucky Elephant Restaurant
|
Winner
|
[19]
|
| Greg Herren
|
Mardi Gras Mambo
|
Finalist
|
[19]
|
|
|
Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues
|
| James Lear
|
The Back Passage
|
|
|
The Hell You Say
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Laurie R. King
|
The Art of Detection
|
Winner
|
[19]
|
| Jessica Thomas
|
The Weekend Visitor
|
Finalist
|
[19]
|
|
|
Idaho Code
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Night Vision
|
|
|
Sleep of Reason
|
| 2008
|
Gay Mys.
|
Greg Herren
|
Murder in the Rue Chartres
|
Winner
|
[20][21]
|
|
|
Double Abduction
|
Finalist
|
[21]
|
| Caro Soles
|
Drag Queen in the Court of Death
|
| Neil Plakcy
|
Mahu Surfer
|
| Roberto Ferrari
|
Pierce
|
| Anthony Bidulka
|
Stain of the Berry
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Wall of Silence
|
Winner
|
[22][21]
|
|
|
In the Name of the Father
|
Finalist
|
[21]
|
|
|
Laura's War
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Mortal Groove
|
|
|
Selective Memory
|
| 2009
|
Gay Mys.
|
Scott Sherman
|
First You Fall
|
Winner
|
[23]
|
| Neil Plakcy
|
Mahu Fire
|
Finalist
|
[23]
|
| John Morgan Wilson
|
Spider Season
|
| Anthony Bidulka
|
Sundowner Ubuntu
|
|
|
The Fisher Boy
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Whacked
|
Winner
|
[23]
|
| Diane Anderson-Minshall
|
Blind Faith
|
Finalist
|
[23]
|
| Ali Vali
|
Calling the Dead
|
| Jessica Thomas
|
Losers Weepers
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Sweet Poison
|
| 2010
|
Gay Mys.
|
Michael Thomas Ford
|
What We Remember
|
Winner
|
[24]
|
|
|
All Lost Things
|
Finalist
|
[24]
|
|
|
Killer of Orchids
|
| Greg Herren
|
Murder in the Garden District
|
| Rob Byrnes
|
Straight Lies
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
J.M. Redmann
|
Death of a Dying Man
|
Winner
|
[24]
|
|
|
Command of Silence
|
Finalist
|
[24]
|
| Ellen Hart
|
The Mirror and the Mask
|
|
|
From Hell to Breakfast
|
|
|
Toasted
|
| 2011
|
Gay Mys.
|
David Lennon
|
Echoes
|
Winner
|
[25]
|
| Richard Stevenson
|
Cockeyed
|
Finalist
|
|
|
|
Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers
|
|
| Garry Ryan
|
Smoked
|
|
| Greg Herren
|
Vieux Carre Voodoo
|
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Val McDermid
|
Fever of the Bone
|
Winner
|
[25]
|
| Ellen Hart
|
The Cruel Ever After
|
Finalist
|
|
| Kim Baldwin
|
Missing Lynx
|
|
| Stella Duffy
|
Parallel Lies
|
|
| J.M. Redmann
|
Water Mark
|
|
| 2012
|
Gay Mys.
|
Richard Stevenson
|
Red White Black and Blue
|
Winner
|
[26]
|
| David Lennon
|
Blue’s Bayou
|
Finalist
|
[27]
|
| Marshall Thornton
|
Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries
|
| Garry Ryan
|
Malabarista
|
|
|
The Affair of the Porcelain Dog
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Kim Baldwin
|
Dying to Live
|
Winner
|
[26]
|
|
|
Hostage Moon
|
Finalist
|
[27]
|
|
|
Rainey Nights: A Rainey Bell Thriller
|
| Martha Miller
|
Retirement Plan
|
| Val McDermid
|
Trick of the Dark
|
| 2013
|
Gay Mys.
|
Jeffrey Round
|
Lake on the Mountain: A Dan Sharp Mystery
|
Winner
|
[28][29]
|
|
|
Bokassa’s Last Apostle
|
Finalist
|
[29]
|
| Anthony Bidulka
|
Dos Equis
|
| Janice Law
|
Fires of London
|
|
|
The Yellow Canary
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
J.M. Redmann
|
Ill Will
|
Winner
|
[28][29]
|
|
|
Jacob's War
|
Finalist
|
[29]
|
|
|
Lemon Reef
|
|
|
Molly: House on Fire
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Rest for the Wicked
|
| 2014
|
Gay Mys.
|
Janice Law
|
The Prisoner of the Riviera: A Francis Bacon Mystery
|
Winner
|
[30][31]
|
| Greg Herren
|
Baton Rouge Bingo
|
Finalist
|
[31]
|
| Marshall Thornton
|
Boystown 5: Murder Book
|
| David Lennon
|
Fierce
|
| Garry Ryan
|
Foxed
|
| Jonathan Gregory
|
In Real Life, The 3rd Gemini & Flowers Mystery
|
| Mark Zubro
|
Pawn of Satan
|
|
|
Pretty Boy Dead
|
|
|
The General and the Elephant Clock of Al-Jazari
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Katherine V. Forrest
|
High Desert
|
Winner
|
[30][31]
|
| Val McDermid
|
Cross and Burn
|
Finalist
|
[31]
|
| Anne Holt
|
Death of the Demon
|
| Laura Antoniou
|
The Killer Wore Leather: A Mystery
|
|
|
Point of Betrayal
|
|
|
The Rainey Season
|
|
|
She Overheard Murder
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Taken by the Wind
|
|
|
Turning on the Tide
|
|
|
Web of Obsessions
|
| Ian Hamilton
|
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan: An Ava Lee Novel
|
| 2015
|
Gay Mys.
|
|
Blackmail, My Love: A Murder Mystery
|
Winner
|
[32][33]
|
| Jameson Currier
|
A Gathering Storm
|
Finalist
|
[34]
|
| Marshall Thornton
|
Boystown 6: From the Ashes
|
|
|
Calvin’s Head
|
| David Lennon
|
DeadFall
|
|
|
Fair Game
|
| Janice Law
|
Moon Over Tangier
|
|
|
The Next
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Ellen Hart
|
The Old Deep and Dark
|
Winner
|
[32][33]
|
| Anne Laughlin
|
The Acquittal
|
Finalist
|
[34]
|
|
|
Done to Death
|
|
|
Slash and Burn
|
| Stevie Mikayne
|
UnCatholic Conduct
|
| 2016
|
Gay Mys.
|
Marshall Thornton
|
Boystown 7: Bloodlines
|
Winner
|
[35][36]
|
| Jeffrey Round
|
After the Horses
|
Finalist
|
[37]
|
|
|
Cheap as Beasts
|
|
|
Introducing Sunfish & Starfish: Tropical Drag Queen Detectives
|
| Rhys Ford
|
Murder and Mayhem
|
| Christopher Bollen
|
Orient
|
|
|
The Boys from Eighth and Carpenter
|
| Robert Karjel
|
The Swede
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Victoria Brownworth
|
Ordinary Mayhem
|
Winner (tie)
|
[35][36]
|
|
|
Tarnished Gold
|
| Ellen Hart
|
The Grave Soul
|
Finalist
|
[37]
|
|
|
The Red Files
|
|
|
The Tattered Heiress: Volume Two of the Charlotte Olmes Mystery Series
|
| Stevie Mikayne
|
Illicit Artifacts
|
|
|
No Good Reason
|
|
|
Relatively Rainey
|
| 2017
|
Gay Mys.
|
|
Speakers of the Dead: A Walt Whitman Mystery
|
Winner
|
[38]
|
|
|
Bitter Legacy
|
Finalist
|
[39]
|
|
|
Homo Superiors
|
| Michael Nava
|
Lay Your Sleeping Head
|
| Janice Law
|
Nights in Berlin
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Jessica L. Webb
|
Pathogen
|
Winner
|
[38]
|
| Jessie Chandler
|
Blood Money Murder
|
Finalist
|
[39]
|
|
|
Bury Me When I'm Dead
|
| Andrea Bramhall
|
Collide-O-Scope
|
|
|
Final Cut
|
|
|
Requiem for Immortals
|
|
|
Under Contract
|
|
|
Walk-in
|
| 2018
|
Gay Mys.
|
Marshall Thornton
|
Night Drop
|
Winner
|
[40][41]
|
| Marshall Thornton
|
Boystown 10: Gifts Given
|
Finalist
|
[42]
|
|
|
Love is Heartless
|
| Mark Zubro
|
Ring of Silence
|
| Michael Nava
|
Street People
|
|
|
The Mystery of the Curiosities
|
| Rhys Ford
|
Tramps and Thieves
|
| Kate Sherwood
|
Long Shadows
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Huntress
|
Winner
|
[40][41]
|
| J.M. Redmann
|
The Girl on the Edge of Summer
|
Finalist
|
[42]
|
| Andrea Bramhall
|
The Last First Time
|
|
|
A Quiet Death
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Fever in the Dark
|
|
|
Murder Under the Fig Tree: A Palestine Mystery
|
| Anne Holt
|
Odd Numbers
|
| Jessica L. Webb
|
Repercussions
|
| 2019
|
Gay Mys.
|
Marshall Thornton
|
Late Fees: A Pinx Video Mystery
|
Winner
|
[43]
|
| Joseph Olshan
|
Black Diamond Fall
|
Finalist
|
[44]
|
| Marshall Thornton
|
Boystown 11: Heart’s Desire
|
|
|
Death Checks In
|
| John Copenhaver
|
Dodging and Burning: A Mystery
|
|
|
Somewhere Over Lorain Road
|
| Neil S. Plakcy
|
Survival Is a Dying Art: An Angus Green Novel
|
| Jeffrey Round
|
The God Game: A Dan Sharp Mystery
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
Claire O'Dell
|
A Study in Honor: A Novel
|
Winner
|
[43]
|
|
|
Alice Isn't Dead: A Novel
|
Finalist
|
[44]
|
|
|
The Locket
|
|
|
A Matter of Blood
|
| Ellen Hart
|
A Whisper of Bones
|
|
|
Secrets of the Last Castle
|
|
|
Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery
|
| 2020
|
Gay Mys.
|
Michael Nava
|
Carved in Bone: A Henry Rios Novel
|
Winner
|
[45][46][47]
|
| Michael Craft
|
ChoirMaster: A Mister Puss Mystery
|
Finalist
|
[48][49]
|
|
|
Death Takes a Bow
|
| Marshall Thornton
|
Rewind
|
| Greg Herren
|
Royal Street Reveillon
|
|
|
The Fourth Courier
|
| Chris Gill
|
The Nowhere
|
| Liam McIlvanney
|
The Quaker
|
| Lesbian Mys.
|
|
Galileo
|
Winner
|
[45][46][47]
|
|
|
The Blood Runs Cold
|
Finalist
|
[48][49]
|
| Claire O'Dell
|
The Hound of Justice
|
| Amelia Ellis
|
The Mirror of Muraro
|
|
|
Gnarled Hollow
|
| Ellen Hart
|
Twisted at the Root: A Jane Lawless Mystery
|
| 2021
|
LGBTQ
|
Tom Ryan
|
I Hope You're Listening
|
Winner
|
[50][51][52]
|
|
|
Death Before Dessert
|
Finalist
|
[53]
|
|
|
Find Me When I'm Lost
|
|
|
Fortune Favors the Dead
|
|
|
Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery
|
| 2022
|
LGBTQ
|
|
The Savage Kind
|
Winner
|
[54]
|
|
|
Bath Haus
|
Finalist
|
[55]
|
|
|
Finding the Vein
|
| Michael Nava
|
Lies With Man
|
|
|
Murder Under Her Skin
|