Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Best Books

The 2025 Ozma Long List For Fantasy Fiction
The Ozma Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Magic, Steampunk and Fantasy Fiction. The Ozma Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards discovers the best books in the Ozma Awards featuring magic, the supernatural, imaginary worlds, fantastical creatures, legendary beasts, mythical beings, or inventions of fancy that author imaginations dream up without a basis in science as we know it. Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery, Dragons, Unicorns, Steampunk, Dieselpunk, Gaslight Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, or other out-of-this-world fiction. Our judges from across North America and the U.K. will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 OZMA Fantasy Fiction entries to the 2025 Ozma Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Ozma Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Ozma Book Awards novel competition for Fantasy Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A. Keith Carreiro – The Penitent Part II
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- Abigail O’bryan – Iron Rose
- Andrew D.H. Moore – Children of Solo
- Andy Brooks – Love and Fire
- Anton Anderson – The Seekers Perrin Peters
- Anya Rousselle – The King’s Blade
- B.L. Mostyn – Heroes of Another Age
- David Nos – The Final War of Wizards and Dragons
- C.R. Ware – All We Have to Remember: Volume One of the Seventh Layer Saga
- C.V. Vobh – Somnus Palace
- Catharina Steel – Vanishings
- Clifton Wilcox – The Immortal Witness
- Crystal D. Grant – Lightshed
- D. Dalton – Heartstealer
- David Waugh – The Will of the Wayfarer the Forgotten Legacy Part One
- Evette Davis – The Campaign
- Evette Davis – The Gift
- Gracie Dix – Vork Chronicles Welcome To Superhero School
- Helen Garraway – Sentinals Origins Part One
- J Prakash – Sedna of Hanaway
- J.A. Nielsen – The Winter Heir (Fractured Kingdoms, Book 2)
- J.C. Wade – Summer’s Reaping
- Jason Farrell & Michael De Weever – Secret of the Emerald Star
- Jason P. Crawford – The Trials of Poseidon
- Jeffrey L. Kohanek – The First Wizard
- John Nassari – The Dream Traveller Dark Rising
- Kristin Wahlne – When the Tree Calls
- Michael a Wexler – Jatora
- Michele L. Sayre – Darke Realms: One Tough Temporary She Alpha (Arcana 2)
- Misty J Thurmond – Saku Binder of Voids
- Molly M. Hammond – Daughter of Starlight
- Nicholas Varner – Warriors of the Red Wolf
- Nikhil Prabala – The Duchess of Kokora
- Nikki Mccormack – Child of Vanris (The Warden’s Son Book 1)
- Oleg Veretskiy – Tales of the Wandering Mists a Ukrainian Fairy Tale
- Palmer Pickering – Dark Town
- Philip Carlisle – Surviving Eros
- R. M. Krogman – Sundering
- Richard M Wagner – The Chronicles of Amerista: Griefold
- S.E. Reed – The Darkness of Dying in the Light
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Samantha Schinder – The Drowners
- Sean M. Tirman – Dreamweavers LLC
- Simran Sadana – Itehas
- T.A. Styles – Shift: An Urban Supernatural Fantasy (The Shift Series Book 1)
- Tamar Anolic – The Keepers
- Ted Neill – Lost Elawn
- T. V Holiday – T.V. Holiday’s Cataclysm: Legend of The Iron Warrior Vol. 2
- William H. Johnston – Shards of Unbroken Will
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook and LinkedIn. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on these platforms!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Ozma Grand Prize Winner

A Circle of Stars

By Erin Lark Maples

Click here to see the full list of 2024 Ozma Book Award Winners for Fantasy Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Ozma Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. 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.

Join us for our 14th annual conference and discover why!
July 20, 2025
The CYGNUS 2025 CIBAs Long List for Science Fiction
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Cygnus Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Science fiction is having a moment, and these incredible books prove it. From climate catastrophes to galactic adventures, from AI consciousness to time-bending mysteries, this year’s Cygnus Long List showcases the full spectrum of speculative imagination that authors are bringing to life.

Each of these authors is already winning with their books are now featured on our high-traffic website, shared across our social media, and promoted to our newsletter subscribers. But this is just the beginning of their CIBA journey.

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2025 CYGNUS Science Fiction entries to the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards Long List. These entries are now in competition for the 2025 Cygnus Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalists positions. Finalists will be chosen from the Semi-Finalists and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference, CAC26.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday April 18th, 2026 in beautiful Bellingham, WA.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2025 Cygnus Book Awards novel competition for Science Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- A.T. Balsara – The Great and the Small
- AA Dasilva – The Bleed-Through Effect
- Ansel Kohn – Betaterrestrial
- Aspry Jones – Protectors of the Light Crown
- Augustus Cileone – Galloper’s Quests
- B. Lynn Carter – The Eyes Have It
- Brett Lawrence – Shadow Seers
- Carrie Kwiatkowski – The Bindery Guild
- Celia Seupel – Girl with the Silver Hair
- Charles Weindorf – Comets of Omen the Presser Arc
- Chris Coward – Perpendicular Women: Adventures in the Multiverse
- Claudia Leboeuf – Fields of Prosperis
- Corey Frazier – Orion Heavenfall
- D.J. Darcey – Kingdoms and Empires Dark Rage
- David M. Pearce – The Holovid Hero
- David Tenenbaum – Survival Andromeda
- Deborah Mistina – Imber
- Dheepa R. Maturi – 108 an Eco-Thriller
- Georg Koszulinski – Future X
- Noah Kaplan – The Last Book. the Diary of the Last Earthling
- James Azinheira – Alphamind the Collective Consciousness
- James R Wells – The Eternal Moment
- Jeremy Clift – Space Vault the Seed Eclipse
- Joanne Hatfield – Ghost of Nostalgia
- Joshua A.H. Harris – Eyes of Iris
- Joshua Dyer – Avitron Ephemeris
- Kevin D. Miller – Taquoma
- L. Galuppo – Eco Reign Warning the Barriers Burn
- L.R. O’Brien – Tomorrow Is the Day
- Lawrence Brown – Black Phantom Dogs Book 1 Unrestricted Climb
- Lloyd Jeffries – Embers of Shadow Ages of Malice Book III
- Lou Dischler – In the Time of False Gods
- Lynn Yvonne Moon – Journey’s Travels – Mirrors
- M. E. Schuman – The Catalyst
- Matthew Marullo – Welcome To Opine
- Maxime Trencavel – The Matriarch Messiah
- Michael C Bland – The Price of Freedom
- Michael Gorton – Tachyon Tunnel 2: The Daklin Empire
- Michael Grigsby – Rescue in Time
- Michael W Hickman – Richard War Erupts
- Mickey Dubrow – Always Agnes
- Pa Vasey – Homo Machina
- Philip Carlisle – Mellisya
- Philroy A. Hinds – Humanity at Fault
- Q Turner – Blood Sacrifice
- Robert C Littlewood – Equilibrium (The Balance Wars Book 3)
- Russ Colson – A People Joined Asunder
- Russ Colson – Future’s Soul
- Russ Colson – The Vast Empty
- S. W. Lawrence Md – Cloud Dragon
- S.G. Blaise – Eldryan Elders
- Sarena Straus – DeInception
- Sean Kennedy – The Fire Within
- Spaulding Taylor – Last Star Standing
- Stephen A Salaka – Elysium Rising
- Stephen Eric Johnson – The Man From Rock Bottom
- Steve Sterling – Black Cliff Chronicles
- Tak Salmastyan – The Accelerates Forty Days To Dust
- Thomas Lapham – Beyond the Signal
- Thomas Sundberg – Bending Light
- Tim Rees – Tim Rees Original Earth
- Tom Mayer – Ithaca! The Warrior Queen of Aslon!
- William X. Adams – Attic Polters
- Wilson Kincaid – The Murder Algorithm
- Y S Pascal – The Zygan Emprise
- πnag Ual – How the World Gets Done
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky pages. We try to tag all authors listed here on Facebook. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed @ChantiReviews on these platforms.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE! We are @ChantiReviews everywhere!

We will also be promoting this list in our Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!

Congratulations once more to the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner

Ares

By Jayson Adams

Click here to see the full list of 2024 CYGNUS Book Award Winners for Science Fiction.

Ready to Submit?

Submissions for the 2026 Cygnus Awards and other Speculative Fiction Divisions are open now! For other genres, we still have 25 divisions open for the 2025 CIBAs! Whether you write mystery, romance, historical fiction, or something entirely different, there’s likely a perfect fit for your work.

Winners will be announced at the 2025 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2026 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 17-19, 2026! Save the Date for Registration!

Seating is Limited. 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.

Join us for our 14th annual conference and discover why!
July 15, 2025
Chanticleer 10 Question Author Interview Series with Steven Mayfield – Grand Prize Award-winning Author of Delphic Oracle

CHANTICLEER 10 QUESTION AUTHOR INTERVIEW SERIES
with Award-Winning Author, Steven Mayfield

Happy Summer Chanticleerians! We’re thrilled to bring you another fantastic interview with Humor & Satire Grand Prize Winner Steven Mayfield!

From writing “bad poetry” at age nine to authoring award-winning novels, Steven Mayfield has taken quite the journey—including a two-decade detour through medical school and scientific writing. Here, he shares how that medical training actually made his fiction stronger, where he finds his story ideas (hint: be careful what you say around him!), and why he believes readers should give stories more than just one page to capture their attention.

While Mayfield won the Humor & Satire Grand Prize for his book Delphic Oracle, he also received Chanticleer recognition for his book The Penny Mansions, and his new book Sixty Seconds is available now!

Chanti: Steven, let’s start at the very beginning. Can you tell us a little about yourself and how your writing journey first began?

Mayfield: I began writing bad poetry when I was nine years old and started a novel at twelve. I drew from that history to create the protagonist of my next book. He also starts a novel at a tender age, which he describes it as “plagiarism by paraphrase.” That pretty much nails my early efforts, as well. In college and for a couple of years afterward, I wrote more poetry and short stories, began another novel, and wrote sketch comedy. I then gave up creative writing and went to medical school. Over the next two decades I authored or co-authored a number of medical and scientific pieces, and as a result, when I resumed writing fiction in the early ’90s, my work was tighter and more disciplined. I’ve been solely a writer for the last twenty years.

Chanti: That’s such an interesting path from medicine back to creative writing! There’s often a moment when writers truly believe they can do this professionally. When did that realization hit for you—when did you truly believe you were an author?

Mayfield: For me, the question is “When did I believe I could write?” After completing a sophomore college assignment to write a book review, the professor asked me if I’d ever thought about writing as a profession. I had but didn’t think it realistic until that moment. A year later, one of my short stories won the Mari Sandoz competition. After that, I always thought of myself as a writer, regardless of what I did to make a living.

Chanti: The support from our educators can truly be all it takes to have that pivotal moment. Your background in medical writing is fascinating. Do you find that scientific training makes you more of a rule-follower, or do you like to break the conventional writing rules?

Mayfield: Writing for the scientific and medical literature forced me to strictly adhere to rules of grammar and syntax. As a result I think it’s important to know those rules so that when you break them, it’s for a reason; e.g. using sentence fragments for emphasis or rhythm.

Chanti: That’s such a smart approach—knowing the rules so you can break them intentionally. I’m curious about your creative process. Where do your story ideas come from? How do you find those sparks of inspiration?

Mayfield: I shamelessly exploit things people say or do. I’m being flippant but not entirely inaccurate. I wrote Treasure of the Blue Whale (Regal House 2020) after some friends told me an apochryphal story over dinner about the alleged discovery of whale ambergris on a beach in Northern California back in the 1920s; The Penny Mansions (Regal House 2023) was inspired by the Italian towns that are trying to stabilize their populations by offering one Euro houses for renovation; and Sixty Seconds (Regal House, July 2025) was prompted after I saw the movie, A Royal Night Out. My current work-in-progress, “The Bank House, was born from a conversation with a neighbor in my old Portland neighborhood who grew up in an Irish village where the bank was part of a residence provided to the bank manager. So…people should be careful about what they say when I’m within earshot. They might end up in a book.

Chanti: I love that you’re constantly mining conversations and experiences for material! When it comes to the actual writing process, how structured are you? Do you have a daily routine or specific approach?

Mayfield: I think I’m fairly structured. When I begin a book, I set up a log to track my daily word counts. I aim for a minimum of 250 words/day, a modest goal, but one that keeps me going on days when I don’t feel inspired. I then try to write every day, beginning by revising what I wrote the previous day and then adding new material. As the story builds, the daily word count builds with it, and once the first draft is done, I have typically averaged about 750 useable words/day.

Chanti: That’s a strong and sustainable approach. Every writer has their literary heroes. Can you share five authors who have really shaped your work and tell us how they’ve influenced your writing?

Mayfield: Muriel Spark: Does more with the simple declarative sentence than anyone I’ve read.

Sinclair Lewis: Unmasks puffery, hypocrisy, and injustice.

Kurt Vonnegut: Gives other writers permission to stray off-point as long as the reader is kept beside you and you don’t waste their time.

Jean Shepherd: Like me, a yarn-spinner.

From left to right we have Muriel Spark, Sinclair Lewis, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jean Shepherd

A cumulative fifth choice comprised of several writers who share my publisher, Regal House: 1. Barbara Quick, whose elegant prose blends history and fiction, 2. Michael Strelow, whose command of language awes me, 3. Richard Martin, whose prose is inimitable, wise, and hilarious, 4. Michael Bourne, who has the ability to make unlikeable protagonists likeable, 5. Mimi Herman who is funny and understands how to mine small towns for literary gold.

Chanti: What a diverse and thoughtful group of influences! I love the shoutout to your follow authors! Writing is definitely a craft that requires constant development. Beyond reading great authors, what do you do to keep growing and sharpening your skills?

Mayfield: I listen when someone gives me feedback. If a reader is lost or bored, it’s my job to fix my work, not their job to guess what I was thinking when I wrote it. It’s also important to read work by other people and to workshop material in progress. I’ve been in the same workshop group for thirty-one years and their input is invaluable.

Chanti: Thirty-one years with the same workshop group is incredible dedication! What exciting projects are you working on now? What can your readers look forward to seeing from you next?

Mayfield: I’ve been engaged in final editing and pre-release marketing for Sixty Seconds (Regal House, July 2025) and I’ve just finished a sixth draft of a new novel, The Bank House. It follows a few months in the life of a thirteen-year-old boy who moves to a new town where his family will live in a former mansion that now has a bank in its living room. It’s a coming-of-age novel with my usual brand: heart, humor, and a dash of crime. I’m hoping for a spring/summer 2027 release.

Chanti: The Bank House sounds absolutely intriguing, and I’m looking forward to reading Sixty Seconds now that it’s come out. You mentioned earlier that it’s the writer’s job to make things clear to the reader, but what is the most important thing a reader can do to support a writer they enjoy?

Mayfield: Give us a chance. Agents would have us believe that a reader must be captured in the first page, but that’s marketing advice and doesn’t necessarily relate to good story-telling. It took me 100 pages to get into A Soldier in the Great War by Mark Helprin, one of my favorite books.

Chanti: That’s such wise advice about patience with storytelling! Finally, on a more personal note—what excites you most about the actual process of writing?

Mayfield: I can create a world where everyone does exactly what I want. Such power has always been restorative, but in our present climate of political chaos and heartlessness, it’s better and far cheaper than psychotherapy.

Steven Mayfield is a past recipient of the Mari Sandoz Prize for Fiction and the author of over fifty scientific and literary publications. After a short stint as a sketch writer in Los Angeles, he attended medical school at the University of Nebraska followed by post-doctoral training and teaching/research appointments at the University of Iowa, Brown University Program in Medicine, and the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. After a hiatus away from creative writing that lasted almost twenty years—during which he published forty-two scientific articles, abstracts, chapters, and reviews—Steven began to again write fiction in 1993 with short stories appearing in literary journals and anthologies since 1994. He retired from medicine in 2004 and spent several years working as a free-lance editor before publishing Howling at the Moon in 2010 (Mount Parnassus Press). Regal House has been his publishing home since 2020 for three novels: Treasure of the Blue Whale (2020), Delphic Oracle, U.S.A. (2022), and The Penny Mansions (2023). A fourth novel, Sixty Seconds, is out now from Regal House!.

Steven’s books have been honored with numerous awards, including an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Medal, a CIBA Mark Twain Book Awards Grand Prize ribbon, and an Independent Publishers Group Gold Medal. His last three novels were all Foreword Indies Finalists.

Steven currently resides in Oregon with his wife, Pam. He can order beer in four languages. His wife can say, “Pay no attention to this man” in five.

July 8, 2025
The 2025 Global Thriller Hall of Fame for High Stakes Suspense!

When Everything is at Stake, These Authors Deliver

***You have until July 31st to enter the Global Thriller Awards!***

The Global Thriller Awards celebrate stories where individual actions determine the fate of nations—or species. Our Hall of Fame showcases authors who’ve mastered the art of maximum-stakes storytelling, proving that the best thrillers don’t just entertain; they remind us that heroes can emerge when humanity needs them most.

From underwater civilizations fighting for survival to international conspiracies threatening global stability, these Grand Prize Winners understand that when the world hangs in the balance, readers demand heroes worthy of the challenge. Each of these celebrated works demonstrates what happens when exceptional writing meets planetary-scale peril.

We’re here to celebrate the past Grand Prize Winners that showed us just how high stakes the suspense can be!

A Blanket of Steel: The Rise of Oceania Book 6
By Timothy S Johnston

The review for this year’s Grand Prize Winner is forthcoming. In the meantime, here is our review for the previous book in the series and 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner, The Shadow of War:

In Timothy S. Johnston’s The Shadow of War, gripping personal, ecological, and political battles rage undersea for autonomy and power against the powerful surface nations. But even the ocean depths churn with betrayal, conflicting loyalties, and the ruthless ambitions of humanity.

This thriller opens on the dystopia of the year 2131, when rising sea levels have forced humanity to establish and inhabit underwater colonies. The fear of environmental collapse is heightened by the prospect of war as the colonies struggle to maintain their independence.

A simple scientific exploration of the Chagos trench by two geologist brothers takes a horrific turn, snapping the science fiction tension with the impact of gore horror. A slight touch by one brother on the hull of their Seacar causes his hand to suddenly dissolve into a strange mass, melting flesh away from bone. This opening foreshadows the enigmas and anomalies to be unravelled in a vast undersea mystery.

Read More Here

Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy
By Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke

Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller in Jake 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.

Read More Here

Hybrid Hysteria
By Charlie Robinson

Two professors uncover a conspiracy to sterilize liberal Americans with specially-manufactured electric cars, in Charlie Robinson’s thriller, Hybrid Hysteria.

Dr. Theresa Lauzon, endowed assistant professor at SUNY-Canton’s Department of Automotive Engineering, comes to Charlie “CC” Cavanaugh, university Chaplain and physics PhD, with two troubling revelations.

First, while testing an electric car donated by the Gauss Hybrid Electric Automobile Company (GHEA), she’d discovered troubling spikes in its battery’s electromagnetic field. She connects these spikes to a rash of infertility and miscarriages along the Pacific coast, where GHEA cars have boomed in popularity.

Second, Theresa is pregnant, and the father is GHEA’s technician-on-loan to SUNY-Canton, Jay Fish. And though Fish recently disappeared from campus, Theresa has much more complicated problems.

Read More Here

The Chameleon
By Ron McManus

The Chameleon: A Jake Palmer Novel by Ron McManus takes on one of the most terrifying issues in the modern world: nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists.

Amidst the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, the world’s superpowers recognize that both nations possess large nuclear arsenals, which intelligent, well-armed fanatics threaten to steal for their own nefarious purposes. If these weapons went off, they could easily lead to World War III. To prevent this, the U.S. eagerly takes on the role of supervising the security of these weapons in both countries.

In this terrorism thriller, India and Pakistan clash over the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan’s leaders decide to secretly deploy a variety of nuclear weapons to the front, sending them along backroads in unmarked trucks. But in a carefully planned attack, terrorists kidnap one of these vehicles containing three nuclear weapons, before substituting a precise duplicate truck to take its place. The theft is not discovered until the decoy truck reaches its destination.

Read More Here

The Bucharest Dossier
By William Maz

Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love

At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.

With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.

The Bourne Identity Meets John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

Buy it here!

Now that you’re set on your next reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Global Thriller Winners is to submit today!

Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

Submit to the CIBAs Today!

Now is your chance to touch the hearts of readers everywhere. Your Thriller story deserves to be discovered, and you can submit to the 2025 Global Thrillers Awards by the end of the month. Don’t miss this chance to give your book the recognition it deserves.

The Global Thriller Awards is your chance to shine!

July 4, 2025
The 2024 Global Thriller First Place Round Up for High Stakes Suspense

The Global Thriller Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of High Stakes Thrillers. The Grand Prize Winner, Timothy S. Johnston’s book, A Blanket of Steel, will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Global Thriller contest page year ’round!

The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the continued love and promotion for your book!

The 2024 Global Thriller Winners were announced at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

Join us in celebrating the 2024 First Place Global Thriller Winners!

T.O. Paine – The Delusion

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. It’ll drive you crazy. Literally.

Emma has sacrificed everything for her research in psychology at the University of Baltimore, dedicating her twenties to studying the persuasive effects of social media on the masses.

And, just when it’s about to pay off, her relentless graduate professor mysteriously disappears. They never got along, and the detective on the case blames her.

Now, desperate to clear her name, Emma sets out on a dangerous adventure only to discover a web of shocking lies and twisted motivations. Dark forces set in motion during the ‘90s converge, intertwining the dot com era, social media, and toxic manipulation.

A sinister, narcissistic madman has stolen her research, and with it, he can persuade the world to do as he wishes.

Emma is the only one who can stop him.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Charlie Robinson- Heavy Hysteria

From Chanticleer:

Scientific and moral questions swirl in Charlie Robinson’s latest thriller, Heavy Hysteria: A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Involving the Minerals of this Sacred Earth.

Readers are thrust into a suspenseful journey with worldwide implications alongside Dr. Charlie Cavanaugh, a 68-year-old priest and scientist.

Arriving home after a spiritual retreat, he is surprised by an FBI agent sitting with Cavanaugh’s gun on his lap. The agent has subverted a freshly enhanced security system to retrieve Cavanaugh’s encrypted, unpublishedHybrid Hysteriareport from a concealed USB stick.

The FBI needs Cavanaugh’s assistance with a delicate national security issue.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Tony Ollivier – The Tokyo Diversion

David Knight is still having a rough time…

Having survived the implanting of another man’s memories, ballet dancer David Knight is struggling to adjust. He has been hunted, attacked, and almost killed because a TV minister wanted the acquired memories destroyed; injuring his best friend. Now a year later, the memories are gone, but his life will never be the same.

While trying to find his new normal in Canada’s premier dance company and living a pauper’s life, he’s fired because of anger issues. But when friend and aging spymaster Asher Fitzsimmons offers him a three-day contract for some light surveillance of one of the world’s largest security software companies, he jumps at it. However, David is soon embroiled in a corporate conspiracy that drags him to Japan to save the life of a billionaire’s daughter and uncover the greatest sleight of hand in history.

Will David Knight survive The Tokyo Diversion?

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Change of Mission

IN THIS COMPELLING third installment of the Jake Fortina global thriller series—set predominantly in Italy—US Army Lieutenant Colonel Jake Fortina and his Italian Carabinieri bride, Sara Simonetti-Fortina, must each face deadly threats from different enemies. Meanwhile, Jake’s decision to seek a change in his life’s mission turns out to be far more momentous than expected. Jake’s new mission will require him and Sara to face criminal and dark international enemies head-on, and to seek the assistance of his closest allies while employing his vintage resourcefulness and agility. Will the assistance provided by a highly trusted US Army sergeant and a Ukrainian Air Force colonel be sufficient for Jake Fortina to accomplish his mission? Find out in this fast-paced and heart-pounding thriller!

From Chanticleer:

This Series also won a First Place in the 2024 Series Award, book 1, Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat, will be showcased in the first-place post for Series. You can also check out our review for book 2, Jake Fortina and the Roman Conspiracy, Our 2023 Global Thriller Grand Prize Winner here:

Talk about a ripped-from-the headlines thriller in Jake 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.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Ron Singerton – Ruptured

RUPTURED: The story of a family torn apart, unsuspected betrayal, terrorism, secession, and potential civil war as the nation is sundered.

Following the loss of a hotly contested election, Jefferson Calhoun Lee, a former U.S. senator with a questionable past establishes the Nationalist Christian Republic of America, a conglomeration of states with ties to the old Confederacy.

Janice, wife of FBI Director Steven Whitinghill, accompanies her debonaire lover James Goodwin, a close friend of Lee, to the NCRA’s capitol in Montgomery, Alabama where Lee is sworn in as the all-powerful leader of the new nation. Amid mounting chaos U.S. President Edith Barnes is encouraged to declare war as powerful members of the NCRA engage in draconian measures that spin out of control. Janice, having severed her relationship with husband and daughter, learns of Goodwin’s checkered past and attempts to survive as her world turns upside down.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Sheri T. Joseph – Edge of The Known World

In a near future where DNA tests are used at ID checkpoints, brilliant Alexandra Tashen is hiding in the open. After a blissful childhood on a Texas ranch, she learned of the secret in her genes—a harmless inherited marker and ancestry that would get her deported to a brutal regime and likely death. Her adoptive father’s experimental gene therapy masks her marker, but not completely. Every security check is a one-in-ten chance of getting caught.

When her father vanishes, Alex risks everything in a headlong and often comic search across nations. A volatile love triangle develops with two brothers—one a disgraced intelligence officer, the other a damaged, charismatic diplomat—each guarding secrets of their own. As betrayals mount and the secrets unravel, Alex must confront the confounding choices between love, family loyalty, and moral obligation.

Edge of the Known World blends the tension of a global thriller with the heart of a love story.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Carla Seyler – A Place Unmade

Valentina Sorelli is a part-time graduate student and full-time marketing director of a community park in New Orleans. Jack Stillman is a corporate executive who hijacks his company’s research for personal gain, and he doesn’t care about the consequences. Their separate paths intersect when Valentina meets Jack’s son Sam, who becomes the link between the worlds of scientific discovery and corporate espionage.

As the story unfolds, Valentina and her classmates unite to try to stop Jack. They get a little help from a corporate whistleblower as well as the FBI. Valentina’s friendship with one of her classmates evolves into something more as they fight for their lives. A Place Unmade takes the reader on a provocative journey into the dangers lurking in our decreasing lack of biodiversity and patentable genetics.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Randall Krzak – Frozen Conquest

An international criminal gang, known as Diablo Corps, plans a series of devastating attacks to take over the G7 countries unless their demands are met. Secure in their hidden headquarters in Antarctica, they possess the means to disrupt the leading world economies. The CEO wants what other power-hungry people want—more power.

Will the G7 bend to the will of these rogues or will evil triumph? Diablo Corps believes their previous infiltration of the international banking system and world stock exchanges will allow them to risk all on a single gamble.

The Scandinavian Protection Agency joins forces with Bedlam to thwart the efforts of the group and restore faith. Will Antarctica become a smoking ruin or will the world suffer an economic meltdown?

From Chanticleer:

Frozen Conquest by Randall Krzak is a thrilling and intense conflict between the cold of Antarctica and the blazing ambition of those seeking global control, fusing the issues of power, greed, and survival into a high-stakes adventure.

The icy edge of Antarctica serves as the center of a sinister organization, Diablo Corps. The ruthless leader, Walter Brown, threatens global mayhem if his aspirations for power are not met. With technological efficiency and the ability to disrupt critical infrastructure, Diablo Corps is poised to leverage its capabilities against the G7. Soon, an anonymous climate-related warning is sent out, with events such as the hacking of the London metal exchange proving to authorities the true weight of that threat.

Such dire actions demand an immediate answer. A classified team of specialists is called upon to gather at Ramstein Air Base. With naturally skilled leader Craig, sharp and observant Evelyn, and the humor and humility of Rufus and August, the promising recruits form the Bedlam Quick Reaction Force (QRF) and venture out into the peril of a frozen land.

Read More Here

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Global Thrillers First Place Winners!

Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

Got a great High Stakes Suspense Thriller? The 2025 Global Thriller Book Awards are open through the end of July!

Submit to the Global Thriller Awards Today!

July 2, 2025
The 2025 Global Thriller Awards Spotlight for High Stakes Suspense!
The World is in Danger!

Can Your Hero Save the Day?

The Chanticleer Investigation Agency is on the phone asking: Can your hero save the world? The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Global Thriller Awards close submissions on July 31, 2025!

The Global Thriller Awards celebrate the highest-stakes suspense fiction—where the fate of nations, civilizations, or even humanity itself hangs in the balance. While our Clue Awards focus on personal crimes and our M&M Awards celebrate intimate mysteries, Global Thriller demands nothing less than world-shattering events and planet-threatening conspiracies.

This is where Jack Reacher meets Mission: Impossible, where scientific discoveries become weapons of mass destruction, and where a single hero’s actions determine whether civilization survives another day. From underwater empires fighting for the future of humanity to cyber-terrorists threatening global infrastructure, Global Thriller authors understand that sometimes saving the world is the only story worth telling.

The Categories Where Heroes Rise to Global Threats
- Historic features the theater of war, international spycraft, and epic conflicts that shaped our world—think The Hunt for Red October or wartime espionage where one mission changes history.
- LabLit merges real science with “what-if” scenarios that feel terrifyingly plausible—where cutting-edge research becomes humanity’s salvation or its doom, like The Andromeda Strain for the modern age.
- Science Fiction explores threats from beyond our known reality—alien invasions, interdimensional warfare, or technological catastrophes that make Independence Day look like a warm-up act.
- Dramatic delivers classic Die Hard-style consequences where personal stakes escalate to global proportions—one hero, impossible odds, and the clock ticking toward worldwide disaster.
- Action/Adventure needs no explanation—pure adrenaline-fueled storytelling where heroes race against time to prevent global catastrophe through spectacular set pieces and death-defying stunts.
- CyberTech (Cyberpunk) presents dystopian futures with 1980s aesthetics and futuristic technology—where digital wars determine physical reality and hackers hold the keys to civilization’s survival.
Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!

Timothy S. Johnston took home the 2024 Global Thriller Grand prize win with his epic underwater thriller A Blanket of Steel! This concluding volume of The Rise of Oceania series delivers everything we expect from world-class global thriller fiction.

Johnston’s masterpiece imagines a future where climate change has devastated the surface world, forcing humanity to colonize the ocean floors. As nations suffer famine, drought, and apocalyptic flooding, underwater leader Truman McClusky faces his gravest threat: a Russian assassin bent on destroying humanity’s last hope for oceanic civilization. With the fate of underwater colonies hanging in the balance, Mac must uncover the killer’s identity while leading the largest underwater battle ever assembled.

A Blanket of Steel represents the pinnacle of global thriller storytelling—The Expanse but told beneath Earth’s oceans, where one man’s final test determines the future of human survival. In addition to all the featured posts that have already gone out for the Global Thriller Awards, A Blanket of Steel will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame post. Timothy S. Johnston will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and A Blanket of Steel will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.

Looking for Your Next World-Saving Read?

Check out some of these incredible global thrillers we’ve reviewed recently that showcase the life-or-death stakes that define the genre!

THE LAST RIVAL: A Time of Our Choosing
By Kyle Palmer

The Last Rival: A Time of Our Choosing by Kyle Palmer is a modern take on the mid-20^th century style of pulp-fiction, combining the genre’s brazen and entertaining storytelling with reflections on the deeper meaning behind all the action. This masculine romp through history dares to imagine the aftermath of World War II—in a slightly different world.

The story opens in Washington, DC, in 1946, through the eyes of a fictionalized “Wild Bill” Donovan. The real Wild Bill was an American soldier and intelligence officer, perhaps best-known for founding the CIA. Author Kyle Palmer deftly weaves such historic details into his fictionalized account of American history, offering readers a chance to learn as they come along for the ride.

From the machinations of government in Washington, DC, The Last Rival spirals into the wild resurgence of a World War II threat. The powers of the Third Reich haven’t truly been neutralized.

Read more here!

THE WOLF HUNTER: DESOLATION: Mack Murphy Series Book 1
By Terrence O’Malia

In The Wolf Hunter: Desolation, Book One of Terrence O’Malia’s Mack Murphy series, staff sergeant Mack Murphy is convinced there are three types of people: sheep, wolves, and hunters.

The sweet, innocent, dutiful sheep are blissfully unaware of the deadly wolves that could strike at any time. But thankfully, the hunters protect the sheep and even seek out the wolves to prevent their attacks on the flock. Mack defines himself steadfastly as a wolf hunter. He loves his family with all his heart and would do anything to protect them.

Mack’s protective nature continues into his military life where he is part of a team based in the mountains of Afghanistan. Just as it is with his family, he pledges his full allegiance to his team.

Read more here!

FROZEN CONQUEST
By Randall Krzak

Frozen Conquest by Randall Krzak is a thrilling and intense conflict between the cold of Antarctica and the blazing ambition of those seeking global control, fusing the issues of power, greed, and survival into a high-stakes adventure.

The icy edge of Antarctica serves as the center of a sinister organization, Diablo Corps. The ruthless leader, Walter Brown, threatens global mayhem if his aspirations for power are not met. With technological efficiency and the ability to disrupt critical infrastructure, Diablo Corps is poised to leverage its capabilities against the G7. Soon, an anonymous climate-related warning is sent out, with events such as the hacking of the London metal exchange proving to authorities the true weight of that threat.

Such dire actions demand an immediate answer. A classified team of specialists is called upon to gather at Ramstein Air Base. With naturally skilled leader Craig, sharp and observant Evelyn, and the humor and humility of Rufus and August, the promising recruits form the Bedlam Quick Reaction Force (QRF) and venture out into the peril of a frozen land.

Read more here!

CLIMATE DRAGON: Treachery, Pestilence & Weirding Weather
By S.W. Lawrence

Climate Dragonby S.W. Lawrence offers a unique blend of climate fiction, thriller, and real scientific inquiry, setting the stage for an intriguing trilogy centered on dual crises—an impending climate catastrophe and the outbreak of a mysterious disease.

Jake Harper, a newly minted engineering professor, and his romantic partner Abbey London, an infectious disease specialist, balance their burgeoning careers with their bustling inn outside Washington, D.C. But the demands of their lives are disrupted as the two crises draw in Jake and Abbey—the only people prepared to face them.

Jake’s suspicions of a cyberattack on the North American power grid grow after attending a lecture at George Washington University. Meanwhile, Abbey discovers an alarming new bleeding disorder spreading among the drug-injecting population, raising the stakes for both her career and personal safety as she navigates the risks to her pregnancy.

Read more here!

THE BYZANTINE CROSS
By Dena Weigel

The Byzantine Cross by Dena Weigel starts at the end of an explosive rogue mission. Sarah Kraft is committed to saving a record of irreplaceable relics from a bombing mission in World War II. Despite her extraordinary success, the OSS spy is later put out in the cold by her handler, Albert Phillips, for a mistake she didn’t commit.

Years after World War II has ended and the Cold War is dominating headlines, Kraft has a new role as an art insurance appraiser in New York. The company’s lip service for their rich clients and irreverence for her skills don’t sit well with Sarah. It becomes clear that her moral compass will soon lead her into unemployment. But right at the end of her rope, Agent Phillips returns to recruit her back into the organization, now rebranded the CIA.

Sarah Kraft’s mission is simple: break into the Kremlin and retrieve an ancient relic from before the birth of Christ.

Read more here!

These reviews represent just a glimpse of the high-stakes adventures and world-threatening scenarios waiting to be discovered in today’s global thriller fiction.

See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

We’re excited about all the exceptional books we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each advancement tier is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.

The World Needs Your Story!

Global catastrophes demand global recognition. Whether your thriller features international conspiracies, scientific disasters, or heroes racing to prevent worldwide destruction, the Global Thriller Awards provide the platform your world-saving story deserves.

In a world facing real global challenges, readers hunger for stories that remind them heroes can triumph against impossible odds. Your thriller could be the next to join the ranks of celebrated authors who understand that when the stakes are planetary, only the best storytelling will do.

You know you want it…

Don’t let your world-saving hero remain unknown—the deadline is July 31, 2025!

Submit to the Global Thriller Awards today and help save the literary world!
June 30, 2025
Don’t let your Books Slip into the Shadows! Speculative Fiction Deadline Looms!
Time is Running Out for your Book to be Discovered!

Three great speculative fiction divisions close at the end of June!
Your book shouldn’t stay hidden!

Enter the CIBAs today!

Only 10 days left to submit your books to the prestigious CIBAs and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!

We’re looking for the best of the best for Speculative Fiction! Chanticleer started with a mandate to offer a platform specifically to indie authors and presses, and now every year we receive every type of work, from brilliant manuscripts to Big Five publications. Does your book have what it takes?

The Shelley Awards for Paranormal Fiction, Ozma Awards for Fantasy Fiction and the Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction are still open!

We are proud to recognize ALL of these 2024 CIBA Winners in Speculative Fiction Divisions!

Cygnus Award Winners!
- Timothy S. Johnston – A Blanket of Steel
- Peter Dingus – Deep Time
- A. R. Black – No Man’s Land
- Thomas R. Weaver – Artificial Wisdom
- Shami Stovall – The Half-Life Empire
Ozma Award Winners!
- Curt Locklear – Treasure and Murder In Ireland
- Glen Dahlgren – The Realm of Gods
- Susan Wands – High Priestess and Empress, Book Two, Arcana Oracle Series
- Prue Batten – The Red Thread
- S.G. Blaise – Meddling Mages
- J.A. Nielsen – The Claiming
Shelley Award Winners!
- Evette Davis – The Gift
- Alexander Fernandez – Above the Ashes
- Keith Steinbaum – In Lieu of Flowers
- Tim Facciola – Ghosts of Rheynia
- AA DaSilva – Periphery
- Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle – Vein Pursuits
And the 2024 Grand Prize Champions of Speculative Fiction

Congratulations once more to these powerhouse authors!

From left to right we have The Cygnus Grand Prize Winner Ares, the Ozma Grand Prize Winner Circle of Stars, and the Shelley Grand Prize Winner Time-Marked Warlock

More than just recognition

The CIBAs are your portal to discoverability in a world with millions of books published annually. Whether your book makes it to the first lists or all the way to the coveted Blue Ribbon, the CIBAs signal to readers, booksellers, and industry professionals that you’re serious about your craft.

Join the ranks of celebrated authors who’ve taken this critical step.

Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable recognition at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 2026) where Winners from all 28 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.

Your story deserves to be heard.

Submit now and leave a lasting impression.

The Cygnus Awards for Science Fiction

The Ozma Awards for Fantasy Fiction

The Shelley Awards for Paranormal Fiction

Don’t Delay! Enter Today!
June 20, 2025
The 2025 Clue Hall of Fame for the Best in Thriller/Suspense

Who’s at the door at this late hour?

It’s the Clue Awards closing at the end of July!

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

You can find the book here!

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.

Read More Here

The Vines
By Shelley Nolden

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.

Read More Here

A Venomous Love
By Chris Karlsen

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.

Read More Here

Salvaging Truth
By Joanne Jaytanie

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.

Read More Here

These Authors Cracked the Code

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.

Time Is Running Out!

Deadline: July 30, 2025

Don’t let another case go cold—Submit to the Clue Awards today!

Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!

June 20, 2025
The Clue Book Awards for Thriller/Suspense First Place Round Up from 2024

The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Thriller and Suspense Mysteries. The Grand Prize Winner, John DeDakis’s book, Enemies Domestic will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Clue contest page year ’round!

The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!

The 2024 Clue Winners were announced at the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

Join us in celebrating the 2024 First Place Clue Winners!

Pamela Beason – If Only

With her housemate Blake away and her lover Chase also absent, Sam Westin embarks on a backpacking trip in the North Cascades, hoping to photograph elusive gray wolves. Blake, reeling from a recent breakup, has taken a six-week job far away in Evansburg, caring for three gorillas while their owner, Dr. Grace McKenna, is on vacation. But events take a dark turn when the baby gorilla is shot by an intruder, prompting Grace’s lover, Detective Finn, to investigate.
Sam’s impromptu trip becomes dangerous when she finds a corpse and then stumbles upon an injured immigrant and packhorse carrying drugs. After a gunshot forces her to flee her campsite, Sam faces a perilous cross-country journey with the injured man and horse in tow.
In Evansburg, while following the trail of the gorilla shooting, Detective Finn stumbles upon a murdered woman in a nearby abandoned house and her child hiding in the gorilla barn. With both investigations going nowhere fast, it will take Sam visiting Blake and the gorillas to spot a clue that may be the link needed to solve all the crimes.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Jeff Nania – Musky Run

Olympic medalist Anna MacDonald comes home to Namekagon County to emcee the Great Wilderness Race as predators stalk the Northwoods. While occasional interactions with potentially dangerous animals are old hat for most residents, this changes when unpredictable behavior patterns make it unclear who is the hunter and who is the hunted. Sheriff John Cabrelli and the new Musky Falls chief of police work swiftly to keep the community calm as they try to piece together the clues before it is too late.

Musky Run is the fourth book in the award-winning Northern Lakes Mystery series, following Figure Eight, Spider Lake, and Bough Cutter.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Sean Hagerty – Jones Point

By day, we’re your neighbors. Your boss. Your teacher. By night, we hunt the monsters who hunt our children.

As a Special Operations soldier, Dane Cooper was trained and tested to handle the toughest, most dangerous situations around the world. He was not, however, prepared for the abduction of his daughter.

That kidnapping sends him into a downward spiral, the depths of which are unknown even to Dane. But a lifeline is thrown to him by a mysterious cabal, which sees his skills as paramount to helping others.

Now investigating other grieving parents’ cases, Dane must conceal his efforts from the zeal of an FBI agent hot on the trail of the vigilante cabal, a dedicated Virginia Bureau of Investigation team, and an elusive network of monsters at the center of it all. Punishing the wicked while searching for his little angel, Dane must also overcome the struggle with his own demons.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me

This harrowing true crime novel telling the story of the authors experience with a stalker is not yet released, but we are excited to see it come out eventually and see her story told! Unfollow Me is also Chanticleer’s 2024 Journey Grand Prize Winner and won a First Place for Cover Design in Non-Fiction. For more information see the authors website at kathryncaraway.com and unfollowme.com for the authors advocacy project for stalking awareness.

From Chanticleer:

When you’re a target of stalking, “Each day is a fight to stay alive. Even while sleeping, you must be ready.” So reveals Kathryn Caraway in Unfollow Me, a spine-tingling true crime novel tracing a life shattered by severe stalking.

Although the author uses the pseudonym “Kathryn Caraway” throughout this novel to protect her identity, her harrowing tales of being the target of a stalker and fighting for her rights to freedom and safety are a testament to the real danger she was exposed to. Caraway’s experience creates a compelling story of one woman’s brave quest for justice against her torturer.

Kathryn emotionally, mentally, and physically falls apart at the hands of a violent, ubiquitous presence. Despite the severity of the crimes committed against her, Kathryn’s concerns are routinely dismissed as irrational and hysterical by law enforcement officials, lawyers, and even long-time friends.

Before a malicious intruder targets her, Kathryn is a beloved mother, a wonderful friend, and a confident employee. But after she is introduced to Todd, he begins to slowly strip her life from her control.

Read More Here

Carl Vonderau – Saving Myles

When the FBI can’t help, an unassuming banker takes matters into his own hands to bring his son home

Wade, a respected banker in La Jolla, CA, and his estranged wife, Fiona, make the unbearable decision to send their teenage son, Myles, away to an expensive treatment center after a streak of harmful behavior. After a year of treatment, Myles comes home, seemingly rehabilitated. But soon, he sneaks off to Tijuana to buy drugs—and is kidnapped.

When the ransom call comes, Fiona is frantic and accepts help from Andre, the Quebecois whose charity Fiona runs. Wade is wary of Andre’s reputation and the bank he owns, but seeing no other way to secure a kidnap negotiator or the ransom, he swallows his doubts to get his son home.

In order to get the ransom money, Wade makes a deal with Andre—he’ll work for Andre’s bank in exchange for the cash. But as Wade races to rescue Myles before his kidnappers lose their patience, he realizes he’s wrapped up in more crime than just a kidnapping—he’s now indebted to a cartel.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Shanessa Gluhm – A River of Crows

In 1988, Sloan Hadfield’s brother Ridge went fishing with their father and never came home. Their father, a good-natured Vietnam veteran prone to violent outbursts, was arrested and charged with murder. Ridge’s body was never recovered, and Sloan’s mother—a brilliant ornithologist—slowly descended into madness, insisting her son was still alive.

Now, twenty years later, Sloan’s life is unraveling. In the middle of a bitter divorce, she’s forced to return to her rural Texas hometown when her mother is discharged from a mental health facility.

Overwhelmed by memories and unanswered questions, Sloan returns to the last place her brother was seen all those years ago: Crow’s Nest Creek. There, she is shocked to hear a crow muttering the same syllable over and over: Ridge, Ridge, Ridge.

When the body of another boy is found, Sloan begins to question what really happened to her brother all those years ago. What she discovers will shock her small community and turn her family upside down.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Michael Pronko – Shitamachi Scam

In Tokyo, there isn’t always respect for older people. Sometimes, it’s the opposite.

After the suspicious deaths of a seventy-something woman and a student recluse, Detective Hiroshi tracks down a gang of scammers who target retirees, robbing them of their pensions, life savings, and even the deeds to their homes. Hiroshi teams up with Detective Ishii, who’s been running a women’s crime task force. Together, they find out who has been ripping off the pensions, life savings, and deeds to homes in shitamachi, the older, eastern side of the city.

With his personal life on hold (almost), Hiroshi finds out how complex the traditional life of Tokyo still is. With old-school Detective Takamatsu and ex-sumo wrestler Chief Sakaguchi watching his back, he finds out who’s behind the scams, and who’s behind the scammers.

Find it Locally and on Amazon!

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2024 Clue First Place Winners!

Your book can join the Tiers of Achievement, but only if you submit to the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards!

Got a spine-tingling thriller?

The 2025 Clue Book Awards are open through the end of July!

Submit to the Clue Awards Today!

June 18, 2025
The 2025 Clue Spotlight for Thriller/Suspense Fiction
Lock Your Doors and Leave the Lights On!

The Clue Awards Spotlight the Darker Side of Crime Fiction

The submissions for the 2025 Awards are underway, and Clue closes submissions on July 30, 2025!

The Clue Awards celebrate the grittier, more intense side of crime and mystery fiction—where shadows hold secrets, justice comes at a cost, and the line between hero and villain blurs. While cozy mysteries offer comfort, the Clue Awards recognize the authors who aren’t afraid to explore the darker corners of human nature and criminal minds.

From psychological thrillers that keep readers awake at night to political conspiracies ripped from today’s headlines, the Clue Awards honor the storytellers who understand that the best crime fiction doesn’t just entertain—it reveals uncomfortable truths about the world we live in.

You know you want it…

The Categories That Define Crime Excellence
- Detective/Crime features the classic investigative stories where seasoned detectives and determined cops work to solve cases that challenge both their skills and their moral compass.
- Suspense/Thriller delivers heart-pounding tension and psychological complexity—think Gone Girl meets The Silence of the Lambs, where every page turn could reveal a shocking twist.
- Private Eye/Noir captures the atmospheric world of hard-boiled investigators and morally ambiguous characters navigating corruption and betrayal in the tradition of Raymond Chandler and modern masters like Tana French.
- Legal/Medical/Police Procedural combines professional expertise with compelling storytelling—from courtroom dramas to forensic mysteries that showcase the intersection of science and justice.
- US Political Thriller explores the dangerous world of power, corruption, and conspiracy in American politics, more relevant than ever in today’s climate.
- Spy/Espionage/Undercover delves into the shadowy world of international intrigue, double agents, and high-stakes missions where one wrong move could mean death.
- True Crime/Investigation represents our newest unique non-fiction category, recognizing the section in the bookstore right next to thrillers. Stories of real criminal events that will chill you.
Celebrating Our 2024 Clue Grand Prize Winner for Thriller/Suspense!

John DeDakis with his Clue Grand Prize Ribbon

After months of reviewing entries, we’re thrilled to announce that John DeDakis claimed the 2024 Clue Grand Prize with his politically charged thriller Enemies Domestic! This achievement is particularly meaningful given DeDakis’s extraordinary background as a CNN Senior Copy Editor and former White House correspondent who covered presidents Reagan and Carter.

DeDakis brings authentic expertise to the political thriller genre that few authors can match. His 25-year career at CNN, including his role as Senior Copy Editor for “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” provides him with insider knowledge of how political crises unfold—knowledge that translates into gripping, believable fiction.

Enemies Domestic represents the pinnacle of political thriller writing: a story that feels ripped from tomorrow’s headlines, crafted by someone who’s spent decades in America’s newsrooms. In addition to all the featured posts that have already gone out for the Clue Awards, Enemies Domestic will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame post. John DeDakis will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Enemies Domestic will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.

Looking for Your Next Edge-of-Your-Seat Read?

Check out some of these incredible crime and thriller books we’ve reviewed recently that showcase the diversity and intensity of the genre!

BUTTERFLY PINNED
By Leslie Liautaud

Fleeing a small and troubled life back home, college student Marin falls headfirst into the attention of the fabulous, wealthy, and mercurial Bette. In Leslie Liautaud’s psychological thriller Butterfly Pinned, Marin gives body and soul to Bette for agonizing want of transformation.

Marin has toiled for the chance to become someone new and continues to fall back into her old limitations. Even as she moves to Chicago with a college scholarship, she struggles to escape the shadows of anxiety and poor self-esteem. But a chance meeting with Bette Winston casts her in glorious and terrible light.

Bette enthralls Marin with poetry, luxury, and the backdoor invitation to a world of refined grandeur. She convinces Marin to double-major in philosophy, while pulling her away from classes and all other mundane responsibilities. Marin gets to share this new world with Bette’s high-class friends Ozzie and Harry, shunning any connection to her old, embarrassing life. But as she meets those who know Bette beneath her lustrous glamor, Marin glimpses a sinister history.

Read more here!

WHERE The SLEEPING LADY LIES
By M.E. Schuman

An Environmental Thriller inspired by the 9.2 Good Friday earthquake of 1964 in South Central Alaska, M.E. Schuman’s Where the Sleeping Lady Lies is a story of political espionage and environmental danger.

The legend of the Sleeping Lady is a tale of a giant woman who falls asleep waiting for her lover to return from battle. When tragic news arrives that her lover was killed, the other women cannot bear to wake her, and to this day the Sleeping Lady still lies as part of the landscape.

In the present day, Sam is on her way back to Alaska, a few weeks after a catastrophic earthquake has hit.

Read more here!

SMITE The WATERS: The Isaak Collection
By David T. Isaak

Smite the Waters by David T. Isaak begins with the xenophobic billionaire Rex Atwater whose goal is to eliminate terrorism. His certainty that it’s “us” or “them” has led him to one horrifying conclusion: he must nuke Mecca.

Convinced of his twisted plot’s perfection, Atwater assembles a deadly team. Carla Smukowski is a military assassin mourning the death of her brother. Boyce Hammond works as a covert FBI agent deeply entrenched in a right-wing movement. And rounding out the cast is Gerald Graves, a nuclear expert willing to commit this heinous crime. Together, they vow to annihilate terrorism.

Virtually every character in this story is fully fleshed out, gritty and driven, to draw the reader deep into their individual stories.

Read more here!

SOMETHING I KEEP UPSTAIRS
By J.D. Barker

An old and hungry thing wakes beneath the house on Wood Island. It calls out to another generation of children. In J.D. Barker’s supernatural mystery, Something I Keep Upstairs, a circle of New Castle teenagers digs up the unholy secrets of those who came before them.

When the hermit Geraldine Rote dies without clear cause, her grandson Spivey inherits Wood Island and the historic house upon it. He plans to spend the summer as a carefree sixteen-year-old rather than submitting to another round of cancer treatments. With the help of the mysterious estate lawyer Marston, Spivey escapes his parents’ reach.

At first, the island becomes a perpetual party, drawing an endless stream of kids and alcohol. But only a few learn the truth behind Wood Island’s dark stories.

Read more here!

These reviews are only a glimpse of the compelling criminal minds and complex investigations waiting to be discovered in today’s crime fiction.

See the Chanticleer Difference for Yourself!

We’re excited about all the exceptional books we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. Throughout this year’s Clue Book Awards, we had the pleasure of promoting more than fifty books as they advanced through our competition tiers. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each advancement tier is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.

Don’t Let Your Crime Story Remain Unsolved!

Submission Deadline: July 30, 2025

The crime and thriller market is more competitive than ever, but readers are hungry for authentic, well-crafted stories that keep them guessing until the final page. Whether your thriller explores political corruption, features a hardboiled detective, or investigates a real criminal case, the Clue Awards provide the recognition and promotion platform your work deserves.

Crime fiction has the power to illuminate society’s darkest corners while delivering the satisfaction of justice served. Don’t let your story remain in the shadows—submit to the Clue Awards today and join the ranks of celebrated crime writers who’ve found their audience through Chanticleer!

Submit to the Clue Awards today!
June 16, 2025