Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: cherie-oboyle

  • SPOTLIGHT on M&Ms – Mystery & Mayhem AWARDS CIBAs – Cozy Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths, and more!

    SPOTLIGHT on M&Ms – Mystery & Mayhem AWARDS CIBAs – Cozy Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths, and more!

    Welcome to our SPOTLIGHT on the CHANTICLEER INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS (the CIBAs): the MYSTERY & MAYHEM Awards Deadline is upon us!

    We are seeking the best novels featuring “mystery and mayhem,” amateur sleuthing, romantic suspense, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery. We will put them to the test and discover the best among them. (For thrillers, action suspense, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards)

    The APRIL 30th deadline for the Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem Awards (aka M&Ms) has been extended until May 31, 2020 due to many requests for an extension due to these unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    In just a few short days, we go to work to uncover the hidden secrets, the lost key, the answer to the question, Whodunit?

    The 2019 Mystery and Mayhem FINALISTS were posted on April 30, 2020.

    Congratulations to these authors whose works have advanced to this new achievement level of the  Chanticleer International Book Awards in the Mystery and Mayhem Book Awards division.

     

    Michelle Cox won the 2018 GRAND PRIZE for Murder and Mystery for A Promise Given (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series, Book 3)

     

    The First in Category, First Place Winners for 2018 are:


     

     

    Carl & Jane Bock are the M&M Grand Prize winners in 2017 for Coronado’s Trail: An Arizona Borderlands Mystery

    The First in Category, First Place Winners for 2017 are:

     

    Alice K. Boatwright is the MYSTERY & MAYHEM Grand Prize winner in 2016 for Under an English Heaven!

    The First in Category, First Place Winners for 2016 are:

     

     

    Wendy Delaney is the  2015’s M&M Grand Prize Winner for There’s Something About Marty

    The First in Category, First Place Winners for 2015 are:

     

     

     

     

    Bernadette Pajer of the Professor Bradshaw Series — Fatal Induction took home the 2013 M&M Grand Prize

     

     

    Pamela Beason won GRAND PRIZE in 2012 for The Only Witness 

     

     

     

    Is your amateur sleuth suspicious of the little old lady who lives next door? Is there something wrong in Mayberry and your hero is going to find out what it is – no matter the cost? Are the stakes so high for your heroine, she succumbs to the hot, sexy delivery man who happens to be the guy with forty bodies buried in his basement? Is your character’s cat helping him solve the latest crime?

    If so, have we got the contest for you!

    Mystery & Mayhem

    Your book could earn a place in our M&M hall of fame for 2020!

    All you have to do is enter.

    And due to these unprecedented times, we have extended the deadline from April 30, 2020 to May 31, 2020.

    Unpublished Manuscripts and recently Published (Indie, Traditional, Hybrid) Novels (after Jan. 1, 2018) are accepted.

    Our Mystery & Mayhem Awards are the Chanticleer International Book Awards search for today’s best cozy mystery fiction books!

    Cozy Mystery Fiction Award

    Do not hesitate – or stop to solve a crime –

    the M&M Awards extended deadline is MAY, 31, 2020!

    Click here to enter – and good luck!

     

     

     

  • ICED TEE by Cherie O’Boyle, second installment of the Estela Nogales Mystery Series

    ICED TEE by Cherie O’Boyle, second installment of the Estela Nogales Mystery Series

    A freezer with blood trickling down the side. An inquisitive border collie. Cherie O’ Boyle stirs these intriguing images to bring readers another engaging mystery with Iced Tee: An Estela Nogales Mystery, the second book in her popular series. Boyle doesn’t fail to bring another fantastic narrative for cozy mystery fans.

    Readers are introduced to the quirky little community of Arroyo Loco located in the coastal mountains of California. A diverse community complete with its own obligatory Home Owners Association, filled with people you probably recognize from your own neighborhood: you have busybodies, town gossips, the obligatory community grouch, and the person who leads the association but no one really cares for them leading. Definitely a slice of California pie in this book!

    Our ensemble of quirky characters is topped off by one Estela Nogales who with her border collies Shiner and Scout, “live here happily in our weathered house under a big blue oak.” Estela is an amateur sleuth and psychologist by trade. At times self-deprecating, yet charming with a wry sense of humor, Estela really drives the story forward. Cherie O’Boyle crafts a character that makes the reader want to do two things: never put the book down until it is finished and pick it back up once completed.

    Estela’s perspective of the community is priceless and epitomizes the author’s desire to create a community that appears like any other real-life counterpart. Her descriptions are intimate and cozy, making readers feel right at home in the community in a feel-good type of way.

    The mystery unfolds rather quickly and humorously. Community member Tee is found dead, but this is certainly not your run of the mill death. Tee is discovered in a chest freezer. What ensues is a frankly hilarious exchange of community members on what resulted in poor Tee’s demise.

    The wild running theory is that Tee was killed over stolen ice cream; perhaps she was the ice cream thief. Did she fall backwards into the freezer, bumping her head, during this act of thievery? Was she startled by a fellow community member who caught her in the middle of this horrendous crime? After all, a broken camera was found in pieces on the floor near the chest freezer!

    You will have to pick up Iced Tee to find out what happens next. The narrative abounds with smaller challenges popping up in the background of the freezer mystery. If you enjoy puzzles presented in the form of a laugh out loud whodunnit, than this is this book for you. Cherie O’Boyle crafts another good old cozy mystery that will certainly appeal to a wide variety of readers and keep them guessing until the final page.
    Reviewer’s Note: This mystery was awarded the 2015 Chanticleer Book Reviews “Small Town Cozy” for Mystery and Mayhem Awards.

  • FIRE at WILL’S by Cherie O’Boyle, a West Coast Cozy

    FIRE at WILL’S by Cherie O’Boyle, a West Coast Cozy

    When a psychologist calls on her powers of observation to solve a murder, she uncovers a secret that some in her small eclectic Californian community would rather keep buried. Fire at Will’s by Cherie O’Boyle  introduces Estela Nogales as an amateur sleuth with a wry sense of humor,  a keen sense of observation, and two border collies  as sidekicks in this engaging new cozy mystery series.

    Estela prides herself on doing a good job of navigating the petty grievances and animosities of her Arroyo Loco neighbors. And if it weren’t for a few rule ­enforcing cranks she and her beloved dogs could enjoy all of the open space and clean air that her picturesque, coastal mountain community has to offer.

    Will Rosenblum, the neighborhood’s biggest grouch, has made it a habit to stick his nose where it’s not wanted, going out of his way to ignite the ire of every one of his Arroyo Loco neighbors, so when his house goes up in flames suspicion lands in all directions, including at Estela’s feet.

    As the ashes settle, a body—thought to be Will’s—is found at the back of the house. Also, Will’s memory impaired wife is missing. A round of finger pointing brings everyone’s actions into question causing Estela to realize that the only way to clear her name is to launch her own investigation.

    With so many suspects Estela starts to wonder if Will’s demise could have been an orchestrated community effort. Armed with her knowledge of human behavior and sharp powers of observation Estela examines the motives and actions of each person in Arroyo Loco and discovers an ugly secret.

    In this first installment of the Estela Nogales series the author uses a small, isolated location with a captive, vocal population to skillfully address the question of how well we really know our neighbors or, for that matter, our friends. Although some are locked into mistrust and others prefer denial, Estela’s unwillingness to allow wrong to prevail compels her to reveal the inconvenient details buried beneath the public facade.

    With humor and keen insight into human nature, author Cherie O’Boyle offers up a clever cozy mystery filled with a varied and quirky cast of characters. From the strudel-­baking Freda von Liesing to Arroyo Loco’s resident metaphysical hippie Sunshine Rainbow, each character is a classic slice of the diverse California lifestyle. O’Boyle’s inventive homage to the HOA rules-­gone-­crazy communities springing up all over the country makes Fire at Will’s laugh-­out-­loud fun!