The Clue Awards features the best suspense and thriller books, including both fiction and true crime! We are delighted to feature these amazing authors from the last five years of Clue Grand Prize Awards!
Here is the official Hall of Fame for the Grand Prize Winners of the Clue Awards!
Enemies Domestic
By John DeDakis
The review for the 2024 Grand Prize Winner is forthcoming, in the meantime here is what some Goodreads readers have been saying-
“A fantastic thriller which will keep you locked in. The story picks up exactly where Fake left off and is another super satisfying ride on the Lark Chadwick roller coaster. And it was scarily realistic. We live in a time of societal dilemmas, a few of which are explored in Lark’s personal life. The book both entertains and shares multiple angles of some tough discussions.” -Matthew
“If you haven’t read the other books in the series, don’t sweat it. ENEMIES DOMESTIC reads like a standalone thriller. The plot is frighteningly realistic, loaded with suspense and intrigue, and cleverly crafted. I was on edge until the very end.” -Lori
“Suspend your disbelief and you’ll race through John Dedakis’ sixth novel featuring Lark Chadwick, a reporter who’s tapped to be the president’s press secretary. Trouble begins when a rightwing journalist falsely reports she is planning an abortion. When she fails to arrive at the White House two days later, the search for her begins followed by a hunt for her captors. And that’s only in the opening chapters of this gripping thriller.” -Barry
In The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman, two ambitious journalists find themselves at the knife’s edge as they seek to uncover the entire truth of a gruesome double homicide.
“An error does not become truth because of multiplied propaganda, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” –Mahatma Gandhi
Hannah, a journalist with the American Cable News network, is pulled away from a date by her editor to cover the breaking news of a shooting in Washington Square Park. The victim is Angelica Monroe, a White girl from Westchester County and a sophomore at NYU. She was shot at a close range, as shown by the dark hole above her left eye.
The murder becomes much more mysterious and complicated when Paulo, a reporter for a small community newspaper, makes a connection between Angelica’s murder and the shooting of a Latino teen, Javier Estrada, on the other side of the park on the same night.
Shelley Nolden’s debut novel, The Vines, embraces multiple genres as it chills, fascinates, and horrifies, from historical and magical realism to fantasy and horror.
Nolden has melded fanaticism, medical anomalies, and the frailties of human behavior together with a historic setting, creating a narrative Kudzu vine that grows rapidly and spares nothing in its path. This particular vine consists of two main branches that intertwine, bridging time and linking parallel realities, one past, one present.
The Gettler men of Long Island, New York have shepherded a secret medical research project for generations, with the exception of Finn, the youngest man in the family.
Detective Rudyard Bloodstone is facing the most bizarre crime spree of his career as a copper on the Victorian streets of London. Someone is using a poisonous Cape cobra as a weapon.
What begins as a simple robbery scheme turns deadly when a wealthy businessman is killed via cobra attack, the crimes go from strange to deadly. Rudyard (Ruddy) and his partner, Archie Holcomb, have few clues and no idea what would cause such a change in the criminal’s behavior.
When the criminal returns to the estate and attacks the victim’s daughter, Ruddy’s suspicions are confirmed.
Famed marine biologist and researcher Claudia Rawlings is presumed dead. When Claudia’s research vessel goes down, her daughter Riley goes on a desperate search to discover what happened, eventually turning to Dagger Eastin, co-owner of Hunters and Seekers a marine salvage business. Dagger soon realize this isn’t a simple search and reclaim mission when someone takes a shot at him during an exploratory dive with Riley.
Former Navy SEALs, Dagger, and his partners Kaleb LaSalle and Stone Garrison are the definitions of relentless, and they quickly become embroiled in the investigation that has caught the attention of some very influential people, all seeking Claudia’s important research. And while Riley learns that her mother has left behind clues to her missing research, the Hunters and Seekers pull out all the stops to help and protect her. The wild scavenger hunt sends Dagger and Riley on a trip to discover the truth, but Russian spies, big oil cronies, and psychopathic hitmen lurk around every corner.
From political conspiracies to medical mysteries, these Hall of Fame winners prove that exceptional crime fiction comes from authors who understand that the best thrillers don’t just entertain—they reveal uncomfortable truths about power, justice, and human nature.
Each of these celebrated authors shares one crucial element: they didn’t let their stories remain unsolved mysteries buried in obscurity. They submitted to the Clue Awards and transformed their manuscripts from hidden evidence into compelling cases that readers can’t put down.
The Case for Your Crime Fiction
Your thriller deserves more than digital silence.
In today’s saturated market, even the most gripping crime stories can disappear without a trace. These Hall of Fame winners broke through the noise because they understood that exceptional writing needs strategic promotion and credible recognition.
This could be your story next year.
The Clue Awards don’t just crown winners—we build careers through comprehensive promotion at every advancement tier. From Long List to Grand Prize Winner, we’re actively working to connect your crime fiction with readers who are hungry for exactly the kind of story you’ve crafted.
Happy birthday tot he master of spy craft, John le Carré
As the clock ticks past October 19th, we find ourselves in the shadows of a world cloaked in espionage and intrigue. It’s a world readers first came to recognize through the masterful writing of John le Carré. As the architect of the spy novel, his words have pierced through the veils of secrecy and deception to illuminate the complex tapestry of the human motives that lie beneath the surface of geopolitics.
Raised in the Underworld, Educated with the Elites
John le Carré, born David John Moore Cornwell on October 19, 1931, lived a dangerous, and secretive life. It provided him with a wealth of inspiration for his writing, and was a reflection of his own interesting and unique life.
He grew up in Poole, Dorset, England, where his con-artist father became the primary parent when le Carré’s mother left the family when he was still a boy. But his natural talents and intellect led him to study at the University of Bern in Switzerland and later at the University of Oxford, where he excelled in modern languages.
A Double-Life
After finishing his education, le Carré worked as a spy for Britain’s foreign and domestic intelligence services, MI6 and MI5, throughout the 1950s and 60s. His experiences in Cold War espionage later heavily influenced his writing, providing him with a behind-the-scenes look into spycraft that thrilled readers from the start. His ability to take the scenarios that were whispered between spies in the shadowy corners of Europe were provocative and mysterious, earning him a reputation as the “Literary Spy Master.”
The Literary Spy Master
Le Carré breakthrough novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, was published in 1963 to critical acclaim and quickly becoming a bestseller. Today, it is often considered one of the best spy novels of all time. With plots that cleverly incorporate the thrills of cloak-and-dagger espionage tropes, his readers are kept on the edge of their seats until the very last page.
A New Kind of Spy
Le Carré is famous for his complex characters, particularly the spy George Smiley, who appears in several of his novels, including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. With the intention of creating a character to rival the popular James Bond character of his contemporary Ian Fleming, he created a bookish looking, polite, and self-effacing spy whose inner cunning, excellent memory, mastery of spycraft, and occasional ruthlessness provides ample room for the unexpected when other characters underestimate him. Smily is held in high-esteem around the world, and, as Britain’s top newspaper, The Guardian, once called him, is “the sort of spy [Britain] believes it ought to have: a bit shabby, academic, basically loyal, and skeptical of the enthusiasms of his political masters.”
Le Carré’s World of Espionage
Le Carré continued to write well into his later years, publishing notable works like The Constant Gardener and A Looking Glass War. He received numerous literary awards throughout his career, including the British Book Award and the Somerset Maugham Award, and many of his novels have been adapted into successful films and television series, further cementing his influence in popular culture.
A New High-Stakes Genre
John le Carré passed away on December 12, 2020, at the age of 89, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest spy fiction writers of his time.
Le Carré’s works continue to resonate with readers even today. His novels reflect the complexities of international politics and human relationships through cerebral and intellectual characters and his themes of morality, betrayal, and the complexities of the Cold War and post-Cold War espionage applicable to today’s genre. His body of work presents a more nuanced view of intelligence work compared to traditional spy novels, and they continue inspired more authors of geopolitical thrillers to come out of the shadows and into the light.
Happy 93rd birthday, John Le Carré!
Interested in the world of espionage? Check out these high-stakes thrillers by Chanticleer’s authors who shines a light on the global underworld with riveting plots and unstoppable characters.
Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
Winner of the CIBA Global Thriller Grand Prize
Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller inJake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy!
In this multinational geopolitical thriller by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke, a power-crazed Russian oligarch wants to usurp the current Russian dictator to take his place as the head of the government. He forms his own paramilitary force to steal priceless paintings from a Vatican church with plans to resell them for billions to fund his campaign. But why stop there? He also explodes illicit small-scale atomic weapons to further destabilize the Russian leader and cast himself as the country’s new czar.
Meanwhile, a crazed U.S. right wing military adjutant buys loads of AK-47s from the Italian mafia to arm U.S. paramilitary groups intent on enforcing their own far-right views in America.
In Double Takedown, book six in the Mike Stoneman series by Kevin G. Chapman, we follow two NY homicide detectives as they unravel a murder at a theater in an intricate dance of high-stakes suspense.
Two years after the pandemic shut down the world, NY homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and his partner Jason Dickson are at a charity ballet for an evening out with their wives. When an audience member suddenly dies during the performance, they soon realize they are spectators to a murder.
At first nothing looks suspicious about the death of Alex Bishop, lead actor in a moribund Broadway show, Godfather: The Musical. But with the cause of death uncertain, questions begin to swirl. Mike and Jason pick up the case to find out exactly what caused this mysterious death. The show’s director/producer had a motive and opportunity, and when the detectives find incriminating evidence on his personal laptop, the case is quickly closed. Or is it?
Revelations By Dave Lager
First Place Winner of CIBA Series Award
Ro Delahanty bears heavy weights on her shoulders—a decades old conspiracy, the complexities of polyamorous love, and troubling family secrets—all of which she will begin to face inRevelations,book 6 of Dave Lager’sRo Delahantyseries.
The wealthy, powerful Pribyl family is up to something sinister in their new scrap shipment business, Ro is sure of it. But she has to prove it to herself before she can even start to convince anyone else. And as much as she’d like to dive head-first into that mystery, she has many more problems to solve as a Fort Armstrong County Sergeant Deputy.An unsanctioned party threatens to become a dangerous mob, setting fire to a half-constructed house. Ro’s bold, decisive nature comes under fire from a rival at the Sheriff’s office. Worse, a major change in that office could upend the foundation of Ro’s life and even rob her of the comradery she and her colleagues rely on.
West, a young man, spent 15 years in prison for hacking government systems. His mother, a highly visible activist against his imprisonment, is also trying unsuccessfully to get her health insurance to pay for her fight against a deadly medical condition. InIdentifiedWest believes the government is responsible for illegally blocking her insurance and vows to find out who’s behind the effort and put his mom back on the insurance rolls.
This is no easy task. Cybersecurity is now a fully linked global enterprise called the G20S,an expansion of today’s G20 nations. Virtually every form of human activity across the world can be logged by the system. It will take a small crew of talented hackers who call themselves the Survivors to develop unique hacker tools for West to break into the system, find the guilty, and get his mother insured. At every point, success could slip out of their grasp.
Veterans Keyopens in 1935 as hundreds of derelict vets of the Great War are working in ramshackle government relief camps bridging a gap in the Overseas Highway connecting Key West with the mainland.
One hot August morning, two striking co-eds, Cindy and Ella, step off a train in Islamorada to be greeted with the crude cat-calls of beery veterans. What happens next is unexpected. Cindy singles out Fred, a soft-spoken, muscular vet drinking a Coke. He offers her a sip. She accepts, flirts, and invites him to her hotel in Key West for an amorous rendezvous.
Dealing love and betrayal in equal measure, the protagonists ofVeterans Keyembark on a course of events that will keep readers guessing.
Thank you for joining us in celebrating the master of literary espionage, John le Carré!
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Thank you again to the authors who wrote these wonderful books, and to John le Carré, who inspired so many to explore the darker side of thrilling literature!
In Double Takedown, book six in the Mike Stoneman series by Kevin G. Chapman, we follow two NY homicide detectives as they unravel a murder at a theater in an intricate dance of high-stakes suspense.
Two years after the pandemic shut down the world, NY homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and his partner Jason Dickson are at a charity ballet for an evening out with their wives. When an audience member suddenly dies during the performance, they soon realize they are spectators to a murder.
At first nothing looks suspicious about the death of Alex Bishop, lead actor in a moribund Broadway show, Godfather: The Musical. But with the cause of death uncertain, questions begin to swirl. Mike and Jason pick up the case to find out exactly what caused this mysterious death. The show’s director/producer had a motive and opportunity, and when the detectives find incriminating evidence on his personal laptop, the case is quickly closed. Or is it?
From the first page, readers are pulled into this police procedural that doesn’t let up until the very last page.
What seems to be a cut and dried medical case is scheduled for trial a year later, but when Mike and Jason are approached by a private investigator named Sterling Wright, they find the third act is just beginning. The case hits major snags, and Mike and Jason investigate Sterling’s accusations with private surveillance. The two partners begin with a list of people close to Alex, unraveling a complicated choreography of deceit and lies in which the dead man’s supposed friends tell a different story behind the scenes. As they dig deeper into Alex’s life, the detectives uncover connections that stretch throughout the boroughs of New York, turning this local case into a mystery that at first looks like an open and shut case, but takes a drastic turn to something more sinister.
Double Takedown is a fascinating and involved police procedural that guides readers expertly through the investigative process.
This stand-alone mystery will keep readers on their toes! Lovers of thrillers, suspense, and mysteries won’t miss a step if they dive into Double Takedown before reading the earlier books in the series. Chapman intricately weaves all the necessary details of his characters into the plot and subplot to present a complex tale of a police investigation his readers will relish. The pacing flows gracefully, keeping readers’ attention focused page after page. Other suspects emerge from the wings, presenting a stage full of interesting characters that provide nuance and balance to the story, and you’ll find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat whenever Mike and Jason drill down on a possible suspect.
Chapman masterfully blends meticulous police work with high stakes suspense, delivering a richly layered narrative that will keep crime thriller fans guessing at every turn. With an intricate plot and memorable characters, Double Takedown stands out as a must-read for those who crave the perfect mix of action and intrigue.
The Clue Awards features the best suspense and thriller books, including both fiction and true crime! We are delighted to feature these amazing authors from the last five years of Clue Grand Prize Awards!
Here is the official Hall of Fame for the Grand Prize Winners of the Clue Awards!
The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman
In The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman, two ambitious journalists find themselves at the knife’s edge as they seek to uncover the entire truth of a gruesome double homicide.
“An error does not become truth because of multiplied propaganda, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” –Mahatma Gandhi
Hannah, a journalist with the American Cable News network, is pulled away from a date by her editor to cover the breaking news of a shooting in Washington Square Park. The victim is Angelica Monroe, a White girl from Westchester County and a sophomore at NYU. She was shot at a close range, as shown by the dark hole above her left eye.
The murder becomes much more mysterious and complicated when Paulo, a reporter for a small community newspaper, makes a connection between Angelica’s murder and the shooting of a Latino teen, Javier Estrada, on the other side of the park on the same night.
Shelley Nolden’s debut novel, The Vines, embraces multiple genres as it chills, fascinates, and horrifies, from historical and magical realism to fantasy and horror.
Nolden has melded fanaticism, medical anomalies, and the frailties of human behavior together with a historic setting, creating a narrative Kudzu vine that grows rapidly and spares nothing in its path. This particular vine consists of two main branches that intertwine, bridging time and linking parallel realities, one past, one present.
The Gettler men of Long Island, New York have shepherded a secret medical research project for generations, with the exception of Finn, the youngest man in the family.
Detective Rudyard Bloodstone is facing the most bizarre crime spree of his career as a copper on the Victorian streets of London. Someone is using a poisonous Cape cobra as a weapon.
What begins as a simple robbery scheme turns deadly when a wealthy businessman is killed via cobra attack, the crimes go from strange to deadly. Rudyard (Ruddy) and his partner, Archie Holcomb, have few clues and no idea what would cause such a change in the criminal’s behavior.
When the criminal returns to the estate and attacks the victim’s daughter, Ruddy’s suspicions are confirmed.
Famed marine biologist and researcher Claudia Rawlings is presumed dead. When Claudia’s research vessel goes down, her daughter Riley goes on a desperate search to discover what happened, eventually turning to Dagger Eastin, co-owner of Hunters and Seekers a marine salvage business. Dagger soon realize this isn’t a simple search and reclaim mission when someone takes a shot at him during an exploratory dive with Riley.
Former Navy SEALs, Dagger, and his partners Kaleb LaSalle and Stone Garrison are the definitions of relentless, and they quickly become embroiled in the investigation that has caught the attention of some very influential people, all seeking Claudia’s important research. And while Riley learns that her mother has left behind clues to her missing research, the Hunters and Seekers pull out all the stops to help and protect her. The wild scavenger hunt sends Dagger and Riley on a trip to discover the truth, but Russian spies, big oil cronies, and psychopathic hitmen lurk around every corner.
California Son, the second installment in the Liam Sol Mystery series by Timothy Burgess, presents another action-packed mystery for protagonist Liam Sol to solve. Honorably discharged after his tour of duty in Vietnam, Liam returns to his primarily Hispanic neighborhood of Baja La Bolsa, a coastal town near LA, California, where trouble finds him.
In his role as a journalist, Liam takes interest in the daily pleas of a Hispanic mother to find her son’s murderer, pleas that the mostly white La Bolsa Police seem to ignore. After an article he writes in hopes of renewing interest in the case appears in La Bolsa Tribune, the mother is found dead in her apartment. No stranger to death or violence, Liam soon finds himself on the personal side of a hunt for the killer of not only the son but also the mother.
Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Clue Winners is to Enter Today!
Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!
Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com
Only 6 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 M&M Awards for Cozy and Not-so-cozy Mystery!
Liese Sherwood-Fabre – The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait
Gail Grant Park – We Are Shadows: An Irish Ghost Story
Rebecca Olmstead – Dreams and Illusions
Elizabeth Crowens – Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
Patrick E. Craig – The Quilt That Knew
E. W. Finke – Coyote’s Wail
Lyn Squire – Immortalised to Death
And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Awards Grand Prize Winner:
A Haunting at Linley
A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel
by Michelle Cox
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Clue Awards for Thriller and Suspense!
Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Guidance to Death
Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Saint Bloodbath
Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley
Jode Millman – The Empty Kayak
Raymond Paul Johnson – The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited
Margaret Mizushima – Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Clue Awards Grand Prize Winner:
The Other Murder
By Kevin G. Chapman
The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.
We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.
That’s a lot of ground and a lot of books! The Other Murder was the first place category winner in the suspense/thriller category, and was awarded the Grand Prize as the Best Book among all the CLUE entries.
Kevin sat down with the Chanticleer Book Review to talk about his writing and his new novel, Double Takedown, coming out this fall!
Chanti: Thank you so much for joining us Kevin! Tell us a little about yourself and how you started writing?
Chapman: Normally I’m explaining to my lawyer colleagues that the unusual thing about me is that I’m a mystery writer on the side. For mystery readers, you might be interested to know that I’ve been an in-house attorney for a major media company for the past 29 years. I’m a labor lawyer and former chairperson of the Labor & Employment Law section of the Association of Corporate Counsel. The L&E section consists of over 7000 in-house lawyers. I led the ACC section and oversaw our educational programs and publications. I even wrote an article for the ACC magazine on a radical plan for improving how companies run their employee evaluation programs! Yeah, I’m a law nerd (and proud of it).
Chanti: We all are nerds about something! How did you develop the idea for your current novel, The Other Murder, (Winner of the CLUE Award Grand Prize this year) and what inspired you to explore the intersection of media and law enforcement?
Chapman: Because I’m a lawyer who works for a media company and writes crime thrillers, the most significant elements of my professional life all come together in The Other Murder. The story sprang from my non-original observation that pretty, affluent white girls who are missing or killed tend to dominate the news cycles. We often hear statistics about the number of murders and violent crimes in a particular city. We seldom (if ever) see significant media coverage given to a minority victim who isn’t rich and famous.
This phenomenon could be called “unconscious bias,” but is likely more a conscious choice by producers and media executives focused on getting the biggest ratings. Particularly in broadcast news, including 24-hour cable news networks, getting eyes on your story is the most important thing. The story that can be made sensationalistic and involves a victim that will garner sympathy and is relatable is the story you feature. That’s good economics, but leads to a slanted presentation of the world. I wanted to make this murder mystery a story that gets inside that culture and lets readers see all sides of the story as it unfolds.
Kevin and Sharon Chapman
Chanti: The story of The Other Murder involves two journalists and two homicide detectives. How did you approach developing these characters, and what challenges did you face in creating complex relationships between them while navigating the intricacies of the murder mystery?
Chapman: The real “leads” of this story are the two journalists. Each of them has positive and negative attributes and each makes choices that are both selfish and noble – the two being not mutually exclusive. I wanted my cable news producer to be understood in the context of her job, her bosses, and her ambitions. I wanted the print journalist to be understood as someone who could have a “better” job, but who has a calling both to journalism and to his community. Their interactions disclose their similarities and differences as well as the nature of the business in which they work. And, of course, it’s a murder story so there must be cops. Here, the cops don’t have all the information and need the help of the journalists.
The two partners have their own problems, including a recent incident that set them at odds. Through their eyes, the reader learns things the journalists don’t know and sees the way the media coverage affects the police investigation. Making the characters the focus of the story lets me tell the mystery story through interesting eyes.
I have always loved the mysteries of Sara Paretsky, whose characters are the heart and soul of her books. In the Mike Stoneman Thriller series, I had a fixed set of main characters be my narrators. They, and their minor-character companions, gave me a universe of backstories to weave into the mysteries. This stand-alone story has brand new characters for my readers to relate to and care about.
My goal, like Ms. Paretsky, is to make my readers as interested in the stories of the players as they are about the underlying “main” plot. The plot needs to hold them together, but the characters need to behave in a way that is both realistic and interesting.
Chanti: Many of your stories feature important social issues, woven into your murder mystery plots. Why do you do that, and what message do you hope readers will take away from this aspect of the story in The Other Murder?
Chapman: I always want my books to be entertaining, but I also want to make my readers think about issues that exist in the world and which often influence the stories I’m telling. Jason Dickson, Mike Stoneman’s partner, is a Black detective. He (and Mike) encounter racism inside and outside the NYPD and those issues play naturally into my plots. I try to let my readers make up their own minds about things, but also confront them with situations they need to think about.
In Fatal Infraction, for example (Mike Stoneman #4), the Black quarterback of a New York pro football team is murdered. The racially charged environment of pro football and the reaction of the community to a murder that may have been racially motivated is a big part of the plot.
In The Other Murder, the main plot involves subtle racism that permeates the media and, to some extent, the police and the city officials, who are driven by publicity (positive or negative) and public perception. When the media tells the public that a situation is a horrible tragedy and an example of a huge problem that needs to be fixed, crowds gather, memorials are created, politicians and activists make speeches. This causes the media feed on itself as it amplifies the story.
Government officials like the mayor and the police commissioner react by prioritizing that crime and devoting resources to solving it. Catching that killer matters because everyone is watching. In this story, the second murder involves a Latino boy with a history of gang membership. It garners no media attention and generates minimal police interest until cops discover that Javier Estrada’s murder may be connected to the white girl, Angelica Monroe. The immediately reported story is that Angelica was an innocent victim of urban gun violence. She becomes a saint. Javier Estrada is ignored.
Meanwhile, the two detectives on the cases are a white man and a Hispanic woman. Mariana is the only character involved in the police investigation who cares about Javier’s story. Similarly, only Paulo Richardson, the local newspaper reporter, cares about Javier’s portrayal in the press. Paulo wants to make people see the truth about Javier. Mariana wants her colleagues to see that the white girl isn’t always the victim and the Latino boy is not always the criminal. The investigation also lays bare the recent rift between Mariana and her partner, Dru Cook, arising from an incident of police brutality. Was that incident racially motivated? Dru didn’t think so. Mariana saw it differently.
In the end, once the reader has all the facts (or, at least all the different versions of the facts), the question of who is a little bit racist and where motives and biases get mixed together makes things a lot less clear cut. My hope is that the reader not only enjoys the story and cares about the characters, but that the tale makes them think a little bit about their own perceptions.
Chanti: The Other Murder challenges readers to guess what happened. How do you craft the tension in a narrative, and what techniques did you employ to keep readers engaged in solving your mystery?
Chapman: Each book has its own requirements. In Dead Winner, my stand-alone romantic mystery from 2022, the protagonist was entranced by a woman who induced him to both protect her and help her recover her lost lottery ticket. The suspense was what would happen and who was really pulling the strings. In the Mike Stoneman books, typically the mystery is who the killer is and whether/how Mike and Jason will catch them.
In The Other Murder, the mystery is what really happened. In the first draft of the story, chapter one gave the reader a view into all the events that happened leading up to and including the murders of Angelica and Javier. I realized after the first draft was done that letting the reader know what happened and then following the investigations by the police and the journalists with that knowledge was not fully satisfying as a mystery. The story was: “how are they going to figure it out?” rather than “what happened?”
So, I went back and deleted most of that first chapter and re-wrote the story so that the journalists and the police (along with the reader) are piecing together the facts, without knowing for sure who is giving them good information, which of their assumptions are correct, and what information they are missing. This allows the reader to guess where the characters have it right, and what might be wrong. Even at the end, nobody (including the reader) can be 100% sure they know the whole truth.
Chanti: The novel highlights the danger of the truth. Can you elaborate on the significance of this theme and how it plays into the challenges faced by the characters, particularly Hannah and Paulo, as they uncover disturbing facts?
Chapman: The tag line of the book was one of the first things I wrote after outlining the basic story. “Sometimes, the most dangerous thing…is the truth.” It is a common observation that humans are significantly influenced by what is called in psychology “recency bias.” Your strongest memories and emotions are attached to the things that happened most recently. It is also true in media that the first story is the one that gets imprinted in people’s memories, particularly if it sparks strong emotions. When asked whether one of two things is true, the one you heard first is the one you are more likely to believe.
One of the core messages of The Other Murder is that people need to be careful about believing the first narrative they hear. But the reality is that, once a set of facts is in your head, it is hard to push it out. This is especially true when the original narrative reinforces your personal views and political objectives. Telling people who are emotionally, financially, and politically invested in one version of a story that the story they heard and want to believe is really a false narrative – is a dangerous thing to do.
In the media world, once you have established your narrative and “hooked” your audience, it’s hard to switch gears and retain your viewers if you suddenly try to tell them that what you had been telling them is false and that there’s a new truth they should switch to. They are likely to switch – to a different news source that will reinforce their belief in the original story. That is part of the challenge facing Paulo and Hannah.
Chanti: That is so interesting! Do you find you often learn things from writing your books?
Chapman: I’m always doing research to make sure that I’m getting the facts right in my stories, which can lead me to strange places. Like into the on-board morgue on a cruise ship (of course they have one!) or into the intricacies of how the NFL players’ association collective bargaining agreement treats the bonus money paid to a player who later dies. It’s fun to figure it out, but I almost always need volunteer consultants to help me and keep me honest.
For The Other Murder, I researched the operation of a cable news network and consulted with a few experts in order to get the details and the terminology correct. I knew the print journalist world already, but merging them together with the police procedural story was a challenge and was fun for me.
In my next book, I’ve been consulting with a pharmacist friend about drug interactions and how a murderer might use easily available drugs to induce a fatal reaction if you know what other drugs your victim is already taking. Cool stuff!
Chanti: Are there any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Chapman: Oh, yes! Leaving Easter Eggs that will amuse a few readers who get the joke or the reference is great fun. Even if it’s only my wife and I who laugh. Sometimes it’s a name, a location, or a line of dialogue.
In The Other Murder, there are several references to things from my last book (Dead Winner). There is a location where key events happened in the last book, and an object that found its way from that book into this one. There are also references to characters from the Mike Stoneman books.
In the next book, there will be references to the two detectives from The Other Murder, who work in the same homicide division as Mike and Jason. I was even able to put a reference in Mike Stoneman #3 to a character who would be the murder victim in book #4. That’s so much fun.
Chanti: With that in mind, who is the perfect reader for your book?
Chapman: Lovers of murder mysteries, police procedurals, and romantic suspense will like my books. But what’s more important to me is that my readers be thinkers. If you don’t want anything in your books that raises difficult social/political issues and doesn’t make you examine your own biases and attitudes, then my books may not be for you. I don’t mind if you don’t agree with my characters, and I won’t be offended if you decide you didn’t like my subplots, but I want readers who accept a challenge. I also love readers who like to be surprised and who think they can figure out any mystery. Think you can figure out what happened? I dare you!
Kevin G. Chapman recording his audiobook
Chanti: It’s always a joy to try and figure out the next step as a reader. And speaking of which, what are you working on now? What can we look forward to seeing next from you?
Chapman: I’m currently in the final editing stage of the next book in my Mike Stoneman thriller series, titled Double Takedown. I left off with Mike, Jason, and the other characters from the series in Las Vegas in January of 2020. I decided that I did not want to write those characters living through the COVID-19 pandemic (interviewing witnesses while wearing masks, etc.). So I wrote two stand-alone books that are not set in any particular year, including The Other Murder. Now, I’m picking up Mike and Jason in the fall of 2023 as they are preparing for a trial stemming from a murder from May of 2022 and investigating a new murder from September of 2023. This story includes a character who is a social media “influencer” and explores what happens when the police develop “tunnel vision” during an investigation. Look for Double Takedown this fall.
Kevin Chapman writes award-winning suspense/thriller/crime fiction. His books, including The Other Murder,are now available on Amazon in both hardcover and print, and as an ebook on Kindle via Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJN6W5NJ.
Paperbacks and hardcovers of all his books are also available through select independent bookstores and via Bookshop.org, which supports local bookstores. The audiobook version is available via CHIRP, iTunes, Googleplay, Roku, Nook (Barnes & Noble), LIBRO.FM (which also supports independent bookstores) and on Audible.
Readers can contact Kevin Chapman, see all his content, and download two free short stories and a free novella at www.KevinGChapman.com.
This post has links to each of the 16 individual CIBA FICTION Divisions’ Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners. We will have a separate post for Non-Fiction Award Winners which will include the Shorts Awards, and the Series Awards’ winners.
All First Place and Grand Prize winners were announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th at the Chanticleer Banquet. It is a huge honor for us to have the opportunity to recognize all Finalists, First Place Winners, and Grand Prize Winners with you live and in-person!
One of the most memorable moments was Awarding Burl Harmon, a 100-year-old veteran, his First Place Ribbon for Military & Front Lines Non-Fiction
Let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.
Now, presenting the links to the 2023 CIBA Fiction Division Awards Grand Prize Winners!
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction is:
The Shadow of War
By Timothy S. Johnston
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 OZMAAwards is:
A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance, Book 1
By Tim Facciola
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 PARANORMALAwards is:
Becoming Crone
By Lydia M. Hawke
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:
Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CLUE Awards is:
The Other Murder
By Kevin G. Chapman
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Awards is:
A Haunting at Linley
by Michelle Cox
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:
Sour Flower
by Maryanne Melloan Woods
Manuscript
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:
EXOSTAR
The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1
by Rae Knightly
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:
The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans
by Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover, and Jessica Alexanderson with Scrap University
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LARAMIEAwards is:
The Last Man
by Thomas Goodman
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHAUCER Awards is:
The Merchant from Sepharad
by James Hutson-Wiley
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GOETHE Awards is:
If Someday Comes
by David Calloway
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Hemingway Book Awards is:
The Silver Waterfall:
A Novel of the battle of Midway
by Kevin Miller
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHATELAINE Book Awards is:
A Sea of Glass
by Gail Avery Halverson
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MARK TWAIN Awards is:
Quantum Consequence:
Physics, Lust and Greed, Book 5
by Mike Murphey
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SOMERSET Awards is:
You Can’t Fool a Mermaid
by Judy Keesler Santamaria
We have badges available starting with the Short List. If you need a digital badge reflecting your tier level, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with your division and rank, and we will send you one as soon as possible.
The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!
Make sure your Award gets the attention it deserves on Goodreads.com
In the Librarian Manual on Goodreads, you can go to your Book Edit Page — Literary Awards.
You want to list the Award for Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Winners, and be sure to include the year and what place you received. For example:
The year Long List, Short List, Semi-Finalist, Finalist, First Place, Division Grand Prize, or Overall Grand Prize Winner
Note from Goodreads: “To add a new award or edit an existing award, you’ll need help from one of our volunteer librarians or a staff member.” For assistance, post in the Goodreads Librarians Group.
Always double check that you’ve written everything correctly before posting it. The search function for Awards on Goodreads is both case and punctuation sensitive.
The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 CIBAs was Tim Facciola’s Book A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1
The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.
A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting inJune. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.
Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.
This post has links to each of the 16 individual CIBA FICTION Divisions’ Grand Prize and First Place Category Winners. We will have a separate post for Non-Fiction Award Winners which will include the Shorts Awards, and the Series Awards’ winners.
All First Place and Grand Prize winners were announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference at the CIBAs Ceremonies on Saturday, April 20th at the Chanticleer Banquet. It is a huge honor for us to have the opportunity to recognize all Finalists, First Place Winners, and Grand Prize Winners with you live and in-person!
One of the most memorable moments was Awarding Burl Harmon, a 100-year-old veteran, his First Place Ribbon for Military & Front Lines Non-Fiction
Let’s take a step back and look at where we came from to make this happen.
Now, presenting the links to the 2023 CIBA Fiction Division Awards Grand Prize Winners!
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CYGNUS Awards for Science Fiction is:
The Shadow of War
By Timothy S. Johnston
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 OZMAAwards is:
A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance, Book 1
By Tim Facciola
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 PARANORMALAwards is:
Becoming Crone
By Lydia M. Hawke
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards is:
Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CLUE Awards is:
The Other Murder
By Kevin G. Chapman
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Awards is:
A Haunting at Linley
by Michelle Cox
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 DANTE ROSSETTI Awards is:
Sour Flower
by Maryanne Melloan Woods
Manuscript
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GERTRUDE WARNER Awards is:
EXOSTAR
The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1
by Rae Knightly
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LITTLE PEEPS Awards is:
The Girl Who Recycled 1 Million Cans
by Shaziya M. Jaffer, Brad W. Rudover, and Jessica Alexanderson with Scrap University
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 LARAMIEAwards is:
The Last Man
by Thomas Goodman
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHAUCER Awards is:
The Merchant from Sepharad
by James Hutson-Wiley
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 GOETHE Awards is:
If Someday Comes
by David Calloway
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 Hemingway Book Awards is:
The Silver Waterfall:
A Novel of the battle of Midway
by Kevin Miller
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CHATELAINE Book Awards is:
A Sea of Glass
by Gail Avery Halverson
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 MARK TWAIN Awards is:
Quantum Consequence:
Physics, Lust and Greed, Book 5
by Mike Murphey
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 SOMERSET Awards is:
You Can’t Fool a Mermaid
by Judy Keesler Santamaria
We have badges available starting with the Short List. If you need a digital badge reflecting your tier level, please email info@ChantiReviews.com with your division and rank, and we will send you one as soon as possible.
The 2023 CIBA Grand Prize Winners!
Make sure your Award gets the attention it deserves on Goodreads.com
In the Librarian Manual on Goodreads, you can go to your Book Edit Page — Literary Awards.
You want to list the Award for Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) Winners, and be sure to include the year and what place you received. For example:
The year Long List, Short List, Semi-Finalist, Finalist, First Place, Division Grand Prize, or Overall Grand Prize Winner
Note from Goodreads: “To add a new award or edit an existing award, you’ll need help from one of our volunteer librarians or a staff member.” For assistance, post in the Goodreads Librarians Group.
Always double check that you’ve written everything correctly before posting it. The search function for Awards on Goodreads is both case and punctuation sensitive.
The Overall Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 CIBAs was Tim Facciola’s Book A Vengeful Realm: The Scales of Balance Book 1
The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.
A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting inJune. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.
Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.
The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Suspense and Thriller Mysteries. The Clue Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).
Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards).
1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners were announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony by D.D. Black on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.
This is the OFFICIAL 2023 LIST of the CLUE BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the CLUE Grand Prize Winner.
Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
Kevin G. Chapman – The Other Murder
Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Guidance to Death
Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Saint Bloodbath
Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley
Jode Millman – The Empty Kayak
Raymond Paul Johnson – The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited
Margaret Mizushima – Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CLUE Awards is:
Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!
This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.
Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Facebook and Twitter handle is @ChantiReviews
Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.
A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting inJune. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.
NOTE: We will post at least two 2023 CIBA Divisions’ OFFICIAL Winners per business day starting April 24, 2024. We do a final sweep and reconciliation prior to making the Official CIBA Posts for the 2023 First Place and Grand Prize Winners. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. There are many moving parts involved with the Chanticleer International Book Awards Program.
Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.
In The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman, two ambitious journalists find themselves at the knife’s edge as they seek to uncover the entire truth of a gruesome double homicide.
“An error does not become truth because of multiplied propaganda, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” –Mahatma Gandhi
Hannah, a journalist with the American Cable News network, is pulled away from a date by her editor to cover the breaking news of a shooting in Washington Square Park. The victim is Angelica Monroe, a White girl from Westchester County and a sophomore at NYU. She was shot at a close range, as shown by the dark hole above her left eye.
The murder becomes much more mysterious and complicated when Paulo, a reporter for a small community newspaper, makes a connection between Angelica’s murder and the shooting of a Latino teen, Javier Estrada, on the other side of the park on the same night.
Two detectives, Mariana and Dru, investigate the crimes and also connect Javier to the Monroe crime scene. A bag containing his Air Jordans was found near Angelica’s body. The investigators believe that Monroe may have had a dangerous item in her possession and that she may have involved herself in a highly unlikely vice, which brought her into the park and put her in harm’s way. By this time, Hannah and her network had built up Angelica as the tragic innocent victim of urban crime. When Paulo and Hannah team up, the true facts deviate farther and farther from the original narrative.
In this thrilling novel, the hunt for truth is challenged at every turn by confusion, desperation, and near-death experiences. The ‘system’ becomes increasingly complex and unpredictable, as stern directives are issued from the top, to which the investigators and the journalists are expected to adhere – even if it restricts their search. This obfuscation frustrates the investigators and prompts deep reflection in readers, as it mirrors the growing real-world indifference to truth, the cynical espousing of lies, and the fake news that popular newsrooms today have boldly proclaimed.
These themes of truth in the face of powerful deception become immense and haunting through the story of The Other Murder.
Readers will be struck by the inhumane and high-tension crime scene in the first chapter, as well as the accelerated pace at which Paulo and Hannah swing into action. The plot is chilling but heroic and boils down to one simple conclusion: Facts cannot be hidden forever, regardless of the backlash or denial against them.
Chapman has crafted a must-read novel through a proficient mixture of police procedural, thriller, and mystery. The Other Murder is undoubtedly a tale that will draw a reader in from the first page to the last. Chapman’s characters are a beautiful blend of various personalities, with their natural reactions to distress and pressure giving life and a satisfying richness to this tale.
In The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman, two ambitious journalists find themselves at the knife’s edge as they seek to uncover the entire truth of a gruesome double homicide.