Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: fiction

The TRIAL of CONNOR PADGET by Carl Roberts – Legal Fiction, Literary, Fiction

When is murder justified?

If you ask the district attorney of this affluent Louisiana community where a man has shot and killed another man, and the murder captured live on TV, there is no justification.

Jack Carney sees it differently. An affluent middle-aged civil attorney, he considers the killing to be the result of a man pushed beyond his limits by another who seemingly destroyed his marriage, kidnapped his son, and might have been planning a horrible fate for the boy he stole.

There are real-world consequences to Jack’s taking the case. The shooter, a childhood friend, has no money, so Jack volunteers to take the case free of charge. Jack’s law firm is dismayed, his wife is unhappy with his decision, but Jack’s conscience, his religious convictions, and his military honor will not let him ignore his troubled friend.

There is no question about whether Connor Padget committed the crime. The real suspense is whether Jack can still lessen the charge of murder to manslaughter when the DA is determined to show no mercy to the defendant; when Connor’s wife and Connor himself put obstruction after obstruction in front of Jack in his determination to have the law do right by his friend.

While the crime story is suspenseful, it is nearly matched by other nuances that lift this novella well beyond the usual legal procedural.

Rarely does a book about the law take you this close into the mindset of an attorney. Carney isn’t a criminal attorney but his ability to think “legal” demonstrates how a well-trained mind can work even in a foreign territory like criminal law. His familiarity becomes our familiarity. This is not a blockbuster case; no mob bosses will fall; no bombastic courtroom duels await. What is showcased here, however, is good lawyering, legal competence, and a writer’s commitment to sharing his love of the law with his readers.

Familiarity also extends to the book’s Louisiana setting. With small but well-crafted touches, you are introduced to the writer’s south, not so much of a bus tour as a first-person sharing of the places where the characters live. You know he knows and loves his south and brings you along for a first-person ride.

Two marriages—the client’s and the lawyer’s – are central to understanding the fates of both Connor and Jack. Neither is happy nor conventional. Jack’s marriage is particularly at odds: his wealthy wife plans to build a home in an affluent neighborhood and live there whether Jack joins her or not. Their sexuality flourishes, but will the marriage survive? As for Connor’s marriage, the fact that the murdered man played a part in the dissolution of his marriage is clear, but what part remains an open question. Unlike the portrayals of the law and the south in this novel, the path ahead for both marriages remains mysterious throughout.

This reader can only hope the author rescues Jack Carney from the obscurity he seems determined to want and bring him back for another round or two of tussling with the law and his conscience.

May 7, 2019
The SPANISH CLUB by Danielle Burnette – Y/A, Fiction

Seven Chicago teens spend one eventful week on a chaperoned field trip to Mexico. Traveling with the intention of cultural immersion, they instead learn love, forgiveness, and some serious life lessons.

St. Francis High School Spanish Club members Brianna and her BFF Dana, along with five other friends are on a field trip that they won’t soon forget. It’s the summer before their senior year, and adulthood—with all of its attendant major decisions—looms. Flying into Mexico City accompanied by teachers Mrs. Fritz and Miss Yancy, they meet Miguel the guide, who ushers them through La Ciudad’s myriad monuments, cathedrals, and markets, as well as Teotihuacán, Guanajuato, and Guadalajara. It’s quite the whirlwind trip, with Miguel’s impassioned recounting of history adding meaning and depth for students and readers alike. Indeed, the rich imagery of the hi about astorical landmarks blossom on the page, and the descriptions of the people, the food, and the art should fire the imaginations of teen readers and instill in them a desire to travel to Mexico City and beyond.

That said, The Spanish Club is not a travel essay, but a young adult drama, stocked with classic teen yearnings, choices, vanities, and pranks. Author Burnette does a marvelous job of imbuing the narrative with colorful angst: “At once, every blemish on Brianna’s body itched and squirmed for Enrique’s attention, and she stiffened under the weight of all her imperfections.” Her characters embody every emotional high and low – especially protagonist Brianna Garrett.

Brianna is inseparable from her BFF, Dana Tate, until she discovers, with equal parts shock and delight, that heartthrob Enrique has shared her distant admiration since freshman year. A rift grows between the girls, and not only because of Enrique. Dana is jealous of Brianna’s growing friendship with dance team leader Stacia.

But boys and BFFs aren’t the only things commanding Brianna’s attention.

Before the trip, Brianna needed to acquire her passport. What she soon discovered forces a rift between the parents she always counted on for the truth. Brianna was adopted. And her parents never once disclosed the information. Now in Mexico, she rages against them and shuns their long-distance calls. But what brings eventual forgiveness is not her identity but her friend Dana.

Throughout the story, the World Cup serves as a foreboding backdrop, with the alarming zeal of local news reports of fan-related tragedies. This culminates in a frightening confrontation that departs from the story’s general lightheartedness to make a sobering point, but also, brings Brianna and Dana back together, making The Spanish Club a very good summer read for Y/A audiences.

May 30, 2017
The CLUE Awards for Thriller/Suspense Novels 2016 – Official Finalist Listing
The CLUE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genres of Thriller and Suspense Novels. The CLUE Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2016 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 2, 2017!

The CLUE Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are:
- Suspense/Thriller
- Detective/Crime
- Private Eye/Noir
- Legal/Medical/Police Procedural
- Spy/Espionage
The following titles will compete for the Short List (Semi-Finalists) Positions.

This is the OFFICIAL FINALIST POSTING of Authors and Titles that have made it to the Finalist List of the CLUE 2016 Novel Writing Contest. Good luck to all as the works compete for the 2016 CLUE SHORT LIST!
- Craig Anderson – Grabbed and Gone
- Ken Baysinger – El Camino
- Phillip Buchanon – Sexual Departure
- Timothy Burgess – The Never-Ending Swell
- Pamela Crane – A Secondhand Life
- Elaine Williams Crockett – Do Not Assume
- Don Daglow – The Fog Seller
- Dermot Davis – Fatal Eclipse
- Denise Dearth – Blind Redemption
- Joshua Andrew Dickson – Canon
- Donna Dillon – Dreamcatcher Chronicles: Little Girl Lost
- Keith Dixon – The Innocent Dead
- Jack and Sue Drafahl – D.N.A.
- Gregg Dunnett – The Wave at Hanging Rock
- A.S.A. Durphy – The Thing Speaks for Itself
- Lonna Enox – Striking Blind
- Danielle Esplin – Give It Back
- Alan J. Field – The Chemist
- Zach Fortier – Baroota: The Hunting Ground
- Patrick M. Garry – The Illusion
- John Herman – My Father’s Son
- Clint Hollingsworth – The Sage Wind Blows Cold
- Tina Meggs Keller – Baptism by Fire
- Matt Kilby – The Road Cain Walks
- Christopher Leibig – The Black Rabbit
- Christopher Leibig – Almost Mortal
- Christopher Leibig – Montanamo
- Michael Byars Lewis – Veil of Deception
- Kara Lumbley – Never Alone
- LS Cahn – The Trus Game
- Ken Malovos – Fatal Reunion
- James Marshall Smith – Silent Source
- Kaylin McFarren – Banished Threads
- A.B. Michaels – Death Runs on Time
- A.B. Michaels – Sinner’s Grove
- A.B. Michaels – The Lair
- M. Ruth Myers – Maximum Moxie
- Toby Neal – Wired In
- Dana Ridenour – Behind The Mask
- Bjarne Rostaing – Epstein’s Pancake
- Janet Shawgo – Archidamus
- Ben A. Sharpton – 2nd Sight
- James G. Skinner – The Goa File
- Lee Strauss – Gingerbread Man (A Marlow & Sage Mystery – A Nursery Rhyme Suspense)
- E.V. Stephens – Accountable
- Cary Allen Stone – After the Evil: A Jake Roberts Novel, Book 1
- Susan Strecker – Nowhere Girl
- Luke Swanson – The Ten
- Keith Tittle – A Matter of Justice
- Lawrence Verigin – Seed of Control
- Timothy Vincent – Prince of the Blue Castles
- Jim Weber – Jehovah: A Novel
- P. K. Williams – Buried Beneath
- Manning Wolfe – Dollar Signs: Texas Lady Lawyer vs Boots King
- DM Wolfenden – Carly
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

Congratulations to the Finalists in this fiercely competitive contest!

Good Luck to all of the CLUE Finalists as they compete for the coveted First Place Category positions.

First In Category announcements will be made in our social media postings as the results come in.

The CLUE Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Category winners will be announced and recognized at the April 2nd, 2017 Chanticleer Writing Contests Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash. To be present when your name is called, register for the Chanticleer Author Conference.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2017 CLUE Awards writing competitions for Thriller, Suspense & Mystery Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.
December 22, 2016
July Contest Spotlight: The Laramie Awards Prove Writers are People with Guts and a Pen

Does the heat of July remind you of the unending desert…maybe the prairie where cowboys once roamed, prospectors risked life and limb in search of fame and fortune, and pioneer women and men ventured forth across thousands of miles in covered wagons in search of a better life?

It isn’t just a coincidence that July 31st is our last call for submissions to the Laramie Awards for Western Fiction, Pioneer, and Civil War fiction.

There is an old frontier saying “A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse” and we are pretty sure that “A writer is someone with guts and a pen.”

It takes guts to write a book, more guts to publish it, and even more to enter it in a contest. We have seem many authors who had the guts to enter and reaped the rewards.

LARAMIE AWARDS for Western, Pioneer, and Civil War Fiction Grand Prize Winners

2015

Doctor Kinney’s Housekeeper by Sara Dahmen won the Laramie Grand Prize in 2015 after taking first place for the Women’s Western Fiction category. It is a heartwarming story set in the early years of the Dakota Territories about the journey of a widow as she seeks a new life in a new place. Sara was present at the Chanticleer Author Conference Award Gala when her book was announced as one of the best books of 2015. Look for the Chanticleer review coming soon!

Sara Dahmen is a successful entrepreneur, metal smith, a print production designer and producer, and a parent of three. You can usually find her speaking at TEDx, historical writing conferences, or enthusiastically writing for trade publications. She also has written and illustrated children’s books. The 2015 Laramie Award 1st place winners are full of talented authors and books worth reading. Sara will present at the 2017 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

2014

In 2014 Not on My Mountain by Jared McVay took the Laramie Grand Prize. A story about a Vietnam veteran in Utah who puts up with being shunned by people in his small town for years, but comes to the rescue when a radical white supremacists set up a compound in an abandoned lodge located on the mountain where he lives and then takes four local teens hostage. Even though Rafe Talltree is an outcast of the town, he can’t allow the hatred of small minded bigots to ruin the lives of others, at least not on his mountain. The violence escalates and sides are taken in this contemporary western.

Jared McVay is a fiction writer, screenwriter, actor, and filled many other roles throughout his career, but being a master storyteller is his best role!

2013

And in 2013, D.B. Jackson won with Unbroke Horses. A Literary Western Thriller about an innocent boy kidnapped by Civil War deserters, with “…carefully chiseled characters and is written with unflinching clarity in short, powerful chapters dominated by taut dialogue and hard hitting action.”

D.B. Jackson is the author of multiple award winning Western novels. Waiting on Rain, his third novel, is currently in editing. The 2013 Laramie Award 1st place winners are full of talented authors and books worth reading.

Your book could earn a place in our Laramie hall of fame for 2016.

All you have to do is have the guts to enter.[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”single solid” sep_color=”transparent” class=”” id=””]What are the Laramie Awards?[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”3_5″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Our Laramie Awards are the Chanticleer Reviews search for the best western, pioneer, or Civil War fiction books of 2016!

We are looking for the best books featuring cowboys, the wild west, pioneering, civil war, and early North American History, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_5″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”1px” border_color=”#606060″ border_style=”solid” padding=”10px” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

Our Chanticleer Review Writing Contests feature more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes each year!

~$1000 Overall Grand Prize Winner
~$2800 in Genre Grand Prizes
~$28,980 in reviews, prizes, and promotional opportunities awarded to Category Winners

If Westerns are not your genre, then please take a look at the other 14 prestigious writing contests that we offer. Just click on this link to take you the Chanticleer Writing Contests webpage

[/fusion_text][fusion_button link=”/services#!/Western-Pioneer-&-Civil-War-Historical-Fiction-Novels-Pre-1900s/p/21521125/category=5193080″ color=”darkgray” size=”” type=”” shape=”” target=”_blank” title=”” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”1px” shadow=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” modal=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”1″ alignment=”center” class=”” id=””]Enter Now![/fusion_button][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

July 25, 2016
Contest Spotlight: March Madness brings “Mystery & Mayhem” to our Writing Competitions

[fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]For some March Madness is basketball, for us at Chanticleer Reviews it’s that last minute rush, as Mystery Authors scramble to meet our March 31st deadline for the Mystery & Mayhem Awards (aka the M&M’s).

The M&M’s cozy mysteries is one of our favorite categories and we have many fond memories of amazing books and authors winning M&M’s. Some, like author Pamela Beason’s THE ONLY WITNESS–which answers the question: “What would happen if a signing gorilla was the only witness to a terrible crime?”–taking not just taking the M&M’s but also the top overall grand prize.

Pam is working on creating a dynasty as she won again with her sequel THE ONLY CLUE, taking the M&M Grand Prize for 2014. And for 2015 her RACE WITH DANGER is a contender in in our Dante Rossetti awards!

Our 2013 M&M Grand Prize winner Bernadette Pajer’s FATAL INDUCTION: A PROFESSOR BRADSHAW MYSTERY is another favorite here in the Chanticleer office. Revolving around a race to win an electrical engineering competition in Seattle 1901, the time of Tesla!

Bernadette has gone on to write four book in the series and we couldn’t be happier to see the witty and entertaining Professor Bradshaw continue his escapades of electrical engineering and solving mysteries with science.

Your book could earn a place in our M&M hall of fame for 2016.

All you have to do is enter.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”single solid” sep_color=”transparent” class=”” id=””]What are the M&M’s?[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”3_5″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Our Mystery & Mayhem Awards are the Chanticleer Reviews search for the best cozy mystery fiction books of 2016!

We are looking for the best books featuring “mystery and mayhem”, amateur sleuthing, romantic suspense, light suspense, travel mystery, classic mystery, British cozy, hobby sleuths, senior sleuths, or historical mystery. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For thriller, action suspense, detective, crime fiction see our Clue Awards).[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_5″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_size=”1px” border_color=”#606060″ border_style=”solid” padding=”10px” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

Our Chanticleer Review Writing Contests feature more than $30,000.00 worth of cash and prizes each year!

~$1000 Overall Grand Prize Winner
~$2800 in Genre Grand Prizes
~$28,980 in reviews, prizes, and promotional opportunities awarded to Category Winners

[/fusion_text][fusion_button link=”/services#!/Cozy-Mystery-Writing-Contests-Chanticleer-Book-Reviews/p/21521076/category=5193080″ color=”darkgray” size=”” type=”” shape=”” target=”_blank” title=”” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”1px” shadow=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” modal=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”1″ alignment=”center” class=”” id=””]Enter Now![/fusion_button][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

March 8, 2016