WWAR for March 2023
Show Notes
Part 1
The Agatha Awards are coming up at end end of April and our next few episodes will be interviews with
several of the nominees for this year's awards. Therfore, we decided to devote our March WWAR episodes to
books that have been nominated for awards this year.
Joan Long is nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel for “The Finalist” (Level Best Books)
Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist's unfinished
manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million
dollars and a contract to continue the famous novelist's bestselling thriller series.
Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and given seven days
to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead, theories and accusations abound.
Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the
island alive?
Dr. Lucy Worsley is nominated for an Agatha for Best Non-Fiction for her book “Agatha Christie: An
Elusive Woman” (Pegasus Crime)
"Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was."
Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was "just" an ordinary housewife, when clearly
she wasn't? Her life is fascinating for its mysteries and its passions and, as Lucy Worsley says, "She was
thrillingly, scintillatingly modern." She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the
new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.
So why—despite all the evidence to the contrary—did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of
leisure?
She was born in 1890 into a world that had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy
Worsley's biography is not just of a massively, internationally successful writer. It's also the story of a person
who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.
With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both
authoritative and entertaining and makes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was—truly
a woman who wrote the twentieth century.
Part 2
Rob Osler is nominated for a Best First Novel for his book “The Devil's Chew Toy” (Crooked Lane Books)
Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes sporting one hell of a shiner, with the police
knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has gone missing and they
suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is Camilo?
Determined to find answers, pint-sized, good-hearted Hayden seeks out two of Camilo’s friends—Hollister
and Burley—both lesbians and both fiercely devoted to their friend. From them, Hayden learns that Camilo is
a “Dreamer” whose parents had been deported years earlier, and whose sister, Daniela, is presumed to have
returned to Venezuela with them. Convinced that the cops won’t take a brown boy’s disappearance seriously,
the girls join Hayden’s hunt for Camilo.
The first clues turn up at Barkingham Palace, a pet store where Camilo had taken a part-time job. The store’s
owner, Della Rupert, claims ignorance, but Hayden knows something is up. And then there’s Camilo’s ex-
boyfriend, Ryan, who’s suddenly grown inexplicably wealthy. When Hayden and Hollister follow Ryan to a
secure airport warehouse, they make a shocking connection between him and Della—and uncover the twisted
scheme that’s made both of them rich.
The trail of clues leads them to the grounds of a magnificent estate on an island in Puget Sound, where they’ll
finally learn the truth about Camilo’s disappearance—and the fate of his family.
Karen Odden is nominated for Best Historical Novel for “Under A Veiled Moon” (Crooked Lane Books)
September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat The Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she
collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600
passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early
clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish
Home Rule.
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case
presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and
berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the
Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.
Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish
gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way.
But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns
his help.
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With
the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the
harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.
TRIVIA
C.J. Box won what award for his first novel “Open Season?”
a. Anthony
b. Macavity
c. Gumshoe
d. Barry
The answer is All of them For Open Season, Box won the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe
Award, and the Barry Award, all in the Best First Novel category.
This week's question is:
Which author worked at a job and had to dress up as a tuxedo wearing yogurt?
a. Elly Griffiths
b. Sue Grafton
c. Louise Penny
d. Gillian Flynn
Tune in next week for the answer