What's trending in mysteries?

An interesting challenge.

Library Journal announces that they will be previewing 2014 spring, summer, and fall mysteries/thrillers in the April 15, 2014 issue. The focus, they say, will be on notable series debuts, standalones, and first novels being published between April and November 2014. The article will also explore the current state of the genre. 

Among the topics they are interested in exploring:

International crime fiction:  Are there are new authors and countries generating buzz or has the trend peaked? Is there an uptick in British mysteries thanks to the popularity of such television series as Sherlock and Broadchurch?

Women sleuths:  Are series still strong for female protagonists?

Animal mysteries:  The amount of dog or cat partners, even beyond what would be considered cozies, seems to be growing. Why?

Historical mysteries:  What periods are popular now? Is the upcoming centennial of the start of World War I driving trends?

Business and technothrillers:  Are they making a comeback?

And, they ask,

What’s new in the cozy world?

What’s happening with digital mysteries?

Are any new crime fiction imprints launching in 2014?

Fascinating questions, that promise to lead to a very interesting article. 

I'd rather like your ideas, myself.  But if you belong to a publishing house (or even if you are an Indie mystery writer), you might want to send your answers to Library Journal

If so ...

Please email the following information: author, title, ISBN, page count, price, marketing plans, formats available (print, audio, ebook), and a brief description—catalog copy will suffice—to Kristi Chadwick at kristi.chadwick@gmail.com. Be sure to cc Wilda Willams at wwilliams@mediasourceinc.com. (Make sure you paste these into the address bar, as these don't link to your mail program.)

The deadline is February 8, 2014.