Bloomington, Minn. (August 9, 2022)—Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is pleased to announce that the Kiss of Death chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA) has selected The Barrister and the Letter of Marque by Todd M. Johnson as the winner of the 2022 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense in both the Published Mainstream Mystery/Suspense category and as an overall winner of the Published category. The award presentation took place on July 28 at the RWA National Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
RWA, a nonprofit trade association whose mission is to advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers, is comprised of many chapters. The Kiss of Death chapter of RWA, founded in 1992 for mystery and thriller fans, underwrites and presents this award for excellence in mystery and suspense on an annual basis. The Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is named for Daphne du Maurier, the author of Rebecca, a suspense novel that is a precursor to today’s romantic-suspense novels. The writing contest is for published and unpublished authors of mystery, suspense, and thrillers.
The Barrister and the Letter of Marque by Todd M. Johnson (Bethany House; ISBN 9780764212369; Ebook 9781493431502; $15.99) As a barrister in 1818 London, William Snopes defends the poor against the powerful—but that changes when a struggling heiress arrives at his door with a mystery surrounding a missing letter from the king’s regent and a merchant’s brig. As he digs deeper, he learns that the forces arrayed against them are even more perilous than he’d imagined.
Todd M. Johnson has practiced as an attorney for over thirty years, specializing as a trial lawyer. A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Minnesota Law School, he also taught for two years as an adjunct professor of international law and served as a U.S. diplomat in Hong Kong. He is the author of The Deposit Slip and lives outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife and daughter. He can be found online at authortoddmjohnson.com.
Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is part of the largest independent Christian book publisher and seeks to uplift readers’ families, faith, and free time with our library of industry-leading fiction and bestselling, Christ-centered nonfiction.
Contact: Anne Van Solkema, (616) 676-9185 x152, avansolkema@bakerpublishinggroup.com
