While this might not be so useful for your students, here's a site that will let you track the release dates of mystery books that are part of a series. It also lists Award winners and nominees. You can even subscribe to the newsletter.
"Stop, You’re Killing Me! is a resource for lovers of mystery, crime, thriller, spy, and suspense books. We list over 3,300 authors, with chronological lists of their books (over 37,000 titles), both series (3,700+) and non-series. Use the alphabetical author and character links above or the special indexes in the left column."
=======================