Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: humorous mystery

First Place Category Winners for the 2015 Mystery & Mayhem Awards
The Mystery & Mayhem Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy Mysteries and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries. The Mystery & Mayhem Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are pleased to announce the 2015 M&M Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 M&M Grand Prize Award.
- Animal Mystery: Leighann Dobbs – Ghostly Paws
- Small Town Cozy Mystery: Cherie O’Boyle – Iced Tee
- Adventure: M. L. Rowland – Murder Off the Beaten Path
- Classic: Lonna Enox – Blood Relations
- Amateur Sleuth: Wendy Delaney – There’s Something About Marty
- Hobby/Profession: Nancy G. West – Fit to be Dead
- Humorous: Michele Lynn Seigfried – Community Affairs
- Historical (PNW): Jennifer Mueller – Murder Beside the Salish Sea
- Historical: Michael Scheffel – St. Louis Affair: The Adventures of Herbert Falken
- Blended Genre: Mark Vilela – The Long December
- Romance: Kate Vale – Crossing Paths
Honorable Mention:

E. M. Graham – St. Jude Without

More than $30,000 dollars in cash and prizes are awarded to Chanticleer International Blue Ribbon Awards Winners annually.

The Mystery & Mayhem First Place Category award winners will compete for the Mystery & Mayhem Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Best Mystery Novel. Grand Prize winners, blue ribbons, and prizes will be announced and awarded on April 30, 2016 at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash.

The First In Category award winners will receive an award package including a complimentary book review, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

We are now accepting entries into the 2016 M&M Awards. The deadline is March 31, 2016. Click here for more information or to enter.

Congratulations to those who made the M&M AWARDS 2015 FINALISTS official listing.

More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2015 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Ten genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

Who will take home the $1,000 purse this coming April at the Chanticleer Awards Gala and Banquet?
March 5, 2016
MAUI WIDOW WALTZ by JoAnn Bassett, a humorous cozy mystery

Nervous and demanding brides are nothing new to wedding planner, Pali Moon. She’s been in the business long enough to know how to calm nerves and cool tempers. But nothing in her skill set has prepared her for Lisa Marie Prescott, a spoiled, demanding uber-rich kid who insists on the “perfect” Valentine’s Day wedding. A wedding that comes with more than a few complications and one sticky little detail – the groom is missing and presumed dead.

Lisa Marie, however, insists that her fiancé, Brad, will show up on time. And if that fails, she has a back-up plan. GQ-handsome Kevin – Brad’s business partner – is going to stand proxy at the altar for Brad.

With bills piling up, her house in foreclosure and her business being pulled out from under her, Pali isn’t in a position to question the legality of Lisa Marie’s crazy plan. Or the fact that Lisa Marie expects a paparazzi-worthy ceremony complete with one thousand origami paper cranes in just nine days. Then Lisa Marie’s father, known as the “Godfather of Garbage,” shows up with a warning: he’ll focus his talent for making people disappear on Pali if she doesn’t deliver on her promise of the perfect wedding.

Pali’s desperate financial situation coupled with her strong sense of survival keeps her moving forward with arrangements for the big day. And with Lisa Marie’s demands escalating as her grip on reality crumbles, Pali is trapped in a no-win situation, struggling to keep the wedding-from-hell from turning into another Saint Valentine’s Day massacre.

In this highly entertaining first installment of the “Islands of Aloha” mystery series, author JoAnn Basset delivers a well-rounded cast of intriguing, eclectic characters. The author’s use of first-person narrative invites the reader into Pali’s inner circle, her “ohana” or “family” of caring friends that give the book a cozy, close-knit feeling of community. And with crazy Lisa Marie driving the runaway bridal train, the author provides a hilariously unique twist on the “Bridezilla” theme.

Wit and humor shine through the author’s savvy blending of endearing characters and incomparable island beauty. And with a fast-paced, cleverly-crafted plot, “Maui Widow Waltz” promises to be a hands-down favorite for cozy mystery enthusiasts!

February 18, 2016
The Mystery & Mayhem Writing Contest Official Finalist List for 2015
The Mystery & Mayhem Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy Mysteries and Classic Mysteries. The M&M 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 2015 writing competition winners!

The M&M Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are: Amateur Sleuth, Romance, Animals, Cooking/Knitting/Hobbies, Blended Genre, Medical/Lab, Travel, Humorous, Historical, Classic British, Y/A, and Senior Sleuth.

The following titles will compete for the FIRST IN CATEGORY Positions and Awards Packages.

The Finalists Authors and Titles of Works that have made it to the Short-list of the M&M 2015 Novel Writing Contest are:

The Long December by Mark Vilela

The Returner by Mark Vilela

The Prince Charming Killer by R. Johnson

St. Jude Without by E.M. Graham

A Stitch in Time by Ann Yost

The Bleak by Keith Dixon

Iced Tee by Cherie O’Boyle

Blood Relations by Lonnie Enox

There is Something About Marty by Wendy Delaney

Not with My Brain You Don’t by Richard Tenney

Terror in Taffeta by Maria Cooper

Community Affairs by Michele Lynn Seigfried

Prosecco Pink and Limoncello Yellow by Traci Andrighetti

The Hut in the Woods by VLZ

Murder Off the Beaten Path by M.L. Rowland

Ghostly Paws by Leighann Dobbs

A Stitch in Time by Ann Yost

Stabbing in the Senate by Colleen Shogan

Brain Matters by JR Scott

Double Duplicity by Paty Jager

Murder Beside the Salish Sea by Jennifer Mueller

A Time to Love in Tehran by C. J. Fewston

St. Louis Affair by Michael Scheffel

Sherlock Holmes and The Case of the Sword Princess by Suzette Hollingsworth

Endangered Eagle by Richard Carl Roth

Crossing Paths by Kate Vale

Organized for Murder by Ritter Ames

Fit to be Dead and Dang Near Dead by Nancy G. West
The M&M Finalists will compete for the M&M First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the M&M GRAND PRIZE AWARD competition, which has a cash prize of $250 or $500 dollars in editorial services. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.
- All First In Category Award Winners will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.
- First In Category winners will compete for the M&M Awards Grand Prize Award for the $250 purse and the M&M Grand Prize Ribbon and badges.
- TEN genre Grand Prize winning titles will compete for the $1,000 purse for CBR Best Book and Overall Grand Prize.
- A coveted Chanticleer Book Review valued at $345 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order as to posting.
- A CBR Blue Ribbon to use in promotion at book signings and book festivals
- Digital award stickers for on-line promotion
- Adhesive book stickers
- Shelf-talkers and other promotional items
- Promotion in print and on-line media
- Review of book distributed to on-line sites and printed media publications
- Review, cover art, and author synopsis listed in CBR’s newsletter
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
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 M&M 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 M&M Grand Prize Winner will be announced at the April 30th, 2016 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.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2016 M&M Awards writing competition. The deadline for submissions is March 30th, 2016. Please click here for more information.
November 13, 2015
The M&M Awards for Mystery & Mayhem Novels 2014 First Place Category Winners
Chanticleer Book Reviews is honored to announce the First Place Category Winners for the M&M Awards 2014 for Mystery & Mayhem Cozy Novels, a division of Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.

The M&M Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of cozy mysteries novels. The First Place Category Winners will be recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala held in late September 2015.

The M&M FIRST PLACE 2014 Award Winners are:
- Amateur Sleuth: Wendy Delaney for SEX, LIES, and SNICKERDOODLES
- Romance: Janet Shawgo for FIND ME AGAIN
- Animals: Pamela Beason for THE ONLY CLUE
- Blended Genre: Winslow Elliott for SATI and the RIDER
- Classic Cozy: Stephen Kaminski for DON’T CRY OVER KILLED MILK
- Female Sleuth: Julie Mulhern for The DEEP END
- Humorous: Ann Philipp for GRAND THEFT DEATH
- American Mystery: Amy Beth Arkawy for DEAD SILENT
- Classic British Cozy: Marni Graff for GREEN REMAINS
- Y/A/New Adult: Julie Moffett for NO PLACE LIKE ROME
- Senior Sleuths: Mark Reutlinger for MRS. KAPLAN and the MATZOH BALL of DEATH
- Legal/Medical/Lab: Ken Malovos for CONTEMPT of COURT
CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to all of the 2014 M&M Finalists Short List! This is a highly competitive writing competition and many of the calls were close. We invite you to enter your new works into the M&M 2016 Awards.

Congratulations to those whose works were selected for First Place Category positions. Good Luck to the M&M First Place Category Winners as they compete for the M&M AWARDS 2014 GRAND PRIZE position!

The 1st Place Category Winners compete for the M&M AWARDS 2014 GRAND PRIZE position. The 2014 M&M category winner was announced at the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala in September 2015. See the Grand Prize Winners.
- The deadline for entries for the M&M Awards 2014 was March 31, 2014.
- The deadline for entries for the M&M Awards 2015 was March 31, 2015.
- The deadline for entries for the M&M Awards 2016 is March 31, 2016.
GRAND PRIZE Overall M&M Awards 2013 Winner was:

Berndatte Pajer, for Fatal Induction

To view the 2013 M&M Award Winners, please click here.

To compete in the 2016 M&M Awards or for more information, please click here.

CBR’s rigorous writing competition standards are the reason literary agencies seek out our winning manuscripts and self-published novels. Our high standards are also another reason our reviews are trusted among booksellers and book distributors.Chanticleer Book Reviews & Media, L.L.C. retains the right to not declare “default winners.” Winning works are decided upon merit only. Please visit our Contest Details page for more information about our writing contest guidelines.

Please do not hesitate to contact Info@ChantiReviews.com with any questions, concerns, or suggestions about CBR writing competitions. Your input and suggestions are important to us.

Thank you for your interest in Chanticleer Book Reviews international writing competitions.
July 25, 2015
FIRE at WILL’S by Cherie O’Boyle, a West Coast Cozy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 17, 2015
99 cents SALE on MRS. KAPLAN and the MATZOH BALL of DEATH

MRS. KAPLAN and the MATZOH BALL of DEATH by award-winning author Mark Reutlinger is on sale for 99 cents on Amazon March 27 – April 9th.

A cozy mystery is a rollicking adventure through a mystery at the Home for Jewish Seniors. “Deliciously funny” series published by Random House.

“Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death” is a Finalist in the 2014 M&M Awards. Congratulations to Mark Reutlinger!

February 24, 2015
An Editorial Review of “Rules of Lying” by Stephie Smith

Bridget Jones fans can quit waiting for a sequel. Readers who enjoy humorous stories about single women now have a new heroine: Jane Dough, a bestselling romance author whose boyfriend dumped her—make that a former bestselling author. It seems his carousing ways have given Jane a load of writer’s block. Instead of penning romance novels about rich dukes “hung like stallions,” Jane castrates her male characters. Her agent is not pleased, and Jane worries she will never sell a book again.

In Stephie Smith’s fun to read mystery novel, Rules of Lying, Jane is tired of the deceptive ways of her mother and five sisters. However, that doesn’t stop Jane from posting a ‘Husband Wanted’ sign on her Florida property, even though the young woman has no intention of marrying. Jane just wants some of the muscles that come with a man–the kind of muscles that will clear her property to please the Home Owners’ Association. But somehow, despite her best efforts, her eyes are continuously drawn to the area around the thigh muscles of the more worthy applicants for the position. Even so, she is determined not to get distracted.

Sue, Jane’s best friend, finally convinces her to keep an open mind and that “new doesn’t necessarily mean wrong.” And this is when the fun begins—with a rash in the- you-know-where.

Enter a handsome doctor, a good looking cowboy, some newspaper articles that suggest that Jane has a racy past, a few obnoxious neighbors, a threatening banker, a hurricane, a tomcat who adopts her, and then mix in Jane’s misguided good intentions and her family’s —well, you’ve got a laugh-out-loud story that will keep you entertained to the very end.

While some romantic heroines tangle in a love triangle, Jane’s predicament grows into a polygon. Not only is Dr. Rossi a candidate for her heart, with his mansion and vintage Jaguar, the handsome neighbor Hank Tyler also offers Jane money to fix up her property along with his property clearing muscles. Even though Jane’s at risk of losing her home and swampy land, accepting money from others is not in her game plan.

Gale force winds descend while she tries to discover the culprit who is sabotaging her best laid plans to keep her home. Meanwhile, as Jane tries her best to keep her pants on, her friend Sue reminds her of the different kinds of sex she is missing out on: Sweet sex, fun sex, gorilla sex, make up sex… Jane thinks the whole sex thing isn’t going to be that easy when she continuously finds herself looking goofy, once even sporting a muddy foot “complete with its own grass-sprouting wart” when the handsome and rich doctor came a calling.

Readers who enjoy fun and randy mysteries about being caught in the bumbling world of love will greatly enjoy Stephie Smith’s Rules of Lying. Jane Dough is a charmer. I was surprised with the ending and am looking forward to reading more about Jane’s adventures and her new lease on love.

Rules of Lying by Stephie Smith was awarded 1^st place in the Mystery & Mayhem Awards, Humor Category; a division of Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.

January 24, 2014