“…wonderful review of Raggedy Man. I am honored–and also impressed by your reviewer’s close reading of the story. She clearly has read the book carefully, which only makes the review more meaningful. I am also grateful for the exposure to the book among such a wide audience and for the posting of the its title and your review to so many media sites. Thanks so much!”
Tag: Mystery
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Clyde Curley, author of the Detective Toussaint Mystery Series
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RAGGEDY MAN by Clyde Curley, The CLUE Awards Grand Prize Winner
Detective Matt Toussaint is one of Portland, Oregon’s finest. Experienced and dedicated to the job of solving the violent crimes that plague his beloved city, his case clearance rate is one of the best. Because of his success, Toussaint is regularly asked to partner with and train new homicide detectives.
As his latest murder investigation begins, he’s been assigned yet another new partner, Detective Missy Owens. Smart and known to be a rising star in the police department, Missy is nonetheless inexperienced at homicide investigations. Toussaint has his hands full, educating Missy about crime scene protocol while puzzling through the crime scene evidence.
The murder victim, Ben Foeller, presents an intriguing contradiction: he is clean and neatly dressed, though his clothes are old and worn. His backpack contains literary works by some of the world’s famous writers, but Toussaint finds a vial of crack cocaine beneath his body. Is Foeller just a recent addition to Portland’s homeless community? Or was he under the bridge where his body was found for another reason, such as dealing drugs? And given that he’d recently traveled back to Portland from the East Coast, how does that connect with his murder in Toussaint’s fair city?
Though the case appears at first glance to be a fairly typical crime associated with Portland’s homeless community, it quickly becomes apparent that the murder may have been committed for far more complicated reasons. As Toussaint digs ever deeper into the victim’s life, more contradictions arise. The cast of suspects is equally intriguing and includes members of Foeller’s own family, who are wealthy and influential, as well as a mentally disturbed homeless man whom Ben Foeller befriended. While some story elements reveal themselves logically as the police investigation unfolds, other details seem almost serendipitous, illuminating how simple circumstance can affect the outcome of any murder case.
Mr. Curley has written an engrossing debut novel that immerses the reader in the lives of the characters and the city they inhabit. His story world is one that you don’t want to leave behind. His characters are fully-realized, living and breathing human beings struggling to make their way through days complicated by the best and worst of the human condition, and his writing is exquisite in its detail. I was disappointed when the book ended, and I am happy to know that Mr. Curley has written a second novel in the Detective Toussaint series titled A Cup of Hemlock. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][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”][Read Chanticleer’s review]
Raggedy Man by Clyde Curley was awarded the CLUE Awards Grand Prize for Best Suspense/Thriller/Mystery Novel. The CLUE Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Reviews
International Novel Writing Competitions.[Editor’s Note: Clyde Curley’s novels are prodigious—yes they come in at more than 500 pages, but you will be wishing it were longer—and are page turners that tackle and explore the big ethical and societal issues of today. Curley’s deft use of murder mysteries to microscopically explore society’s ethical issues is nothing short of brilliant. Highly recommended.]
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WHERE the BONES are BURIED by Jeanne Matthews
Waiting for the other shoe to drop and looking over her shoulder is what cultural anthropologist Dinah Pelerin feels like she has spent the majority of her adult life doing. With a plum new job at the university in Berlin and Thor Ramberg, the James Bond-like Norwegian cop sleeping next to her, there should be plenty to keep her happy. And she is ready for a new lease on life.
However, Dinah’s new found happiness flies out the door when she literally opens it to Swan Calms, her Seminole Indian mother, who has a tomahawk to grind with her ex-husband’s German business partner. The fact that her ex got an early ticket to the happy hunting ground in the sky or that she has no valid claim to the pile of money the partner has stashed doesn’t deter Swan.
Armed with a gun and a half-baked plan Swan is intent on getting “her share” and she didn’t show up on Dinah’s and Thor’s doorstep alone. She’s managed to drag her former arch enemy and current sidekick, Margaret, along for the ride. Tension between the two older women immediately ratchets-up, leaving Dinah to wonder what planets must have collided to bring Margaret, also an ex-wife of the same drug-dealing man, and Swan together. With a pathological liar for a mother and murder in Margaret’s background, the outlook isn’t looking so good.
Swan’s plan turns to blackmail, putting everyone’s life the line. Then the plan turns deadly and Swan becomes the focus of a murder investigation. Genetic ties and misplaced loyalties press Dinah to channel her inner warrior to track down the evidence needed to exonerate her mother. But what if the evidence proves her guilt?
Secrets, lies, and betrayal weigh heavily in this fifth installment of the Dinah Pelerin series. And, Dinah knows well that the cruelest lies are those of omission. Like Dinah, each character in this rich, quirky cast has a story to tell but their truths rest dangerously below the surface. Dinah’s hunt for the killer tests her resolve and forces her to question her own truths. By releasing the secrets of her past, Dinah gains a new level of strength and confidence. Her final hurdle is one of trust, and readers will root for her as she grapples with a long-overdue leap of faith.
With a strong sense of setting, author Jeanne Matthews invites the reader to travel vicariously with Dinah while she navigates her way through the sights, sounds and history of Berlin. As Dinah delves deeper into the city, the reader becomes privy to the eccentricities of a European sub-culture in love with the Native American past, and to the darker side of the antiquities trade.
Where the Bones are Buried contains a large cast of characters, some fun and peculiar, some dark and tortured, all of whom have a hidden agenda. While the associated subplots are intricate, “red herring” aficionados will savor the challenge of bringing together the myriad clues of this clever and complex mystery. Matthews has, once again, crafted an entertaining, and, at times, humorous mystery that will have mystery readers enthralled.
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BLOOD RELATIONS by Lonna Enox
In a tangled web of mystery and lies, the truth can only be discovered, if the seeker can survive. Often working out a mystery and following the clues can lead to danger. Unfortunately, sometimes the answers found may not be the ones sought after.
Blood Relations is the second book in this cozy mystery series set in the contemporary Southwest. Not only will readers be intrigued throughout the story, they will enjoy the vivid descriptions of a wild bird refuge, the rugged beauty of the Southwest, along with the visuals of the quaint small towns and their local personalities that the mystery revolves around.
Sorrel, a retired investigative journalist, is simply seeking peace after the brutal murder of her husband. She opened a small gift shop out of her home in Saddle Gap, with a close girlfriend, Teri, who handles the daily operations. This allows Sorrel to pursue her passion, photography, especially wildlife photography. She is mentored by her friend, John, also a professional wildlife photographer.
It was on one of John and Sorrel’s trips that this mystery starts. Sorrel arrives at the Annual Crane Festival in Socorro, New Mexico as she and John had planned. The morning starts with some amazing views of the wintering birds, as well as a striking sunrise. When John fails to show up, and she is instead greeted by Chris Reed, a Saddle Gap detective, Sorrel fears the worst.
Sorrel is determined to figure out what has happened to John. She feels that he is in trouble, and she will not stop searching until she gets some answers. Reed and Sorrel start to investigate John’s disappearance. Along the way they encounter many strange things that, at that point, don’t seem to make any sense: a dead body of an unidentified man, strange papers, phone messages from John’s attorney, and strange coded messages left in various places.
Sorrel and Reed’s search propels them into harm’s way, where they find themselves terrorized and in situations that require tenacity, survival skills, and teamwork. When these experiences cause Sorrel to question the people and events in her life, she learns of a deception that will change her life forever.
Sorrel and Reed have a feisty friendship that teeters on becoming more. She dodges his romantic flirtations with her sassy comments, exerting her independence. Undaunted, Detective Reed is more intrigued by her and her secretive past.
Not many books leave me with the urge to immediately re-read them, but Blood Relations most certainly did. The subtlety of the details and clues written throughout the mystery surfaced only after I finished reading. It is an amazing talent for an author to leave you wanting to re-read her novel. And this well-written and entertaining book made me do so. I then went on to read book one, The Last Dance, which was awarded the Best Debut Mystery in the CLUE Awards. I was not disappointed. This reviewer is looking forward to reading the next book in this captivating and engaging contemporary Southwestern mystery series by Lonna Enox.
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THE DEVIL’S MUSIC by Pearl R. Meaker
The last thing Emory Crawford – loving wife, empty nester, knitter, library volunteer, blue-grass fiddler, and an avid reader of Miss Marple mysteries – would ever expect to find at quiet Twombly College, was an on-campus murder. The victim was a friend, fellow bluegrass musician, and bestselling author, Dr. Archibald Finlay Dawson.
When the police arrive, college president Jarius Twombly declares that he wants the whole thing kept as quiet as possible during the conference. And he wants the murderer arrested before it is over, while everyone is still in attendance. He assigns Jebbin Crawford, college chemistry professor (and Emory’s husband), to monitor and report on the investigation. His friend and lab partner, Dr. Chatterjee, known as Chatty, will conduct the actual forensics analysis.
The stunned Emory seeks furry comfort with her two cats, Hortense and Kumquat, and her dog, Sophie. She finds liquid comfort in the form of hot chocolate in one cup and herbal tea in the other. As curiosity consumes her, Emory begins asking herself questions: Who could have wanted to kill Dr. Dawson? Who had an alibi for the time of the murder? Then she wonders aloud just what her favorite mystery series sleuth, Jane Marple, would do. The cats stare at her.
Pearl R. Meaker, the author of The Devil’s Music, introduces us to a range of intriguing and peculiar characters as Emory, a self-acknowledged Miss Marple wannabe, begins her own investigation in her own non-threatening way. After all, she is a grandmother who knits and bakes cookies.
The author delightfully takes us through Emory’s transformation from empty nester homemaker to crime-solver in The Devil’s Music. Emory must wrestle with self-doubt as she begins to trust her own investigative deductions. While the scientists use their labs and research methods to solve the crime, Emory precedes to continue seeking clues and answers in her own way.
We learn that Emory is quite well-read, and that her broad collection of interests aids her in astutely and stealthily gathering information. Meaker deftly weaves in fascinating bits of Salem witch trials history, old superstitions, the powers of herbal tinctures, the symbolism of flowers, and Bluegrass music. One can almost hear the devil’s music, a specific type of Bluegrass—practically a character itself in the mystery—as Emory discovers the missing pieces to the puzzle.
The inquisitive and delightful Mrs. Emory Crawford, who uses her intuition and her knitting projects to solve crimes, will surely become a favorite sleuth to cozy mystery fans. Her quirky sidekicks with their interesting peculiarities, along with the locals of this quaint college town in the heartland of America, add touches of humor to this mystery.
Classic mystery readers will not be disappointed with The Devil’s Music’s plot twists and intriguing puzzles in this entertaining whodunit by Pearl R. Meaker. We look forward to the next book in this winsome new cozy mystery series.
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The Mystery & Mayhem Awards 2014 – Official Finalists List
The M&M Awards 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 Blue Ribbon Awards Writing Competitions.
More than $25,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2014 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 in through the first three rounds of the M&M 2014 Novel Competitions are:
Danger Comes Home by Judy Alter
No Place Like Rome by Julie Moffett
Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death by Mark Reutlinger
Civil Blood by Linda Triegel
Grand Theft Death by Ann Philipp
Sex, Lies, and Snickerdoodles by Wendy Delaney
The Deep End by Julie Mulhern
Peete and Repeat by Karen Musser Nortman
The Only Clue by Pamela Beason
Sati and the Rider by Winslow Eliot
Behind the Walls by Elaine L.Orr
Find Me Again by Janet K. Shawgo
Murder on the Bermuda Queen by Cheryl Peyton
The Ghost of Laurie Floyd by Courtney Mroch
Tax Cut by Michele Lynn Seigfried
Kauai Temptations by Terry Ambrose
The Wham Curse by Virgil Alexander
Contempt of Court by Ken Malovos
Her Father’s Daughter by Kate Vale
Who Killed Tom Jones by Gale Martin
Sydney West by R. McKinsey
Parchman Redeemer by Michael H. Thompson
Ladd Springs by Dianne Venetta
The Green Remains by Marni Graff
Killed Milk by Stephen Kaminski
Dead Silent by Amy Beth Arkawy
Summerville by JoHannah Reardon
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. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the $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 $325 dollars U.S. CBR reviews will be published in the Chanticleer Reviews magazine in chronological order.
- 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
- Award winning books may be eligible to be included in the Chanticleer Collections (which sell and promote the winning titles) in North America through Promontory Distribution. The Chanticleer Collection is represented toIndependent Book Stores and major bookseller chains such as Barnes & Noble and Books A Million through an exclusive agreement with Promontory Distribution for our vetted Chanticleer Collection. Participating in the Chanticleer Collections is not required.
- The Chanticleer Collection is our way of helping new Indie authors find North American distribution for their titles, but is in no way mandatory. Self-published and Indie published authors in our pilot program have found the CC to be extremely beneficial in increasing sales and readership.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com. We promise to reply.
- Default First in Category winners will not be declared. Contests are based on merit and writing craft in all of the Chanticleer Writing Competitions.
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 In CATEGORY positions for the 2014 M&Ms.
First In Category announcements will be made in March 2014. Results will be announced in social media as they come in.
The M&M Grand Prize Winner will be announced at the September 29th Chanticleer Annual Awards Gala, which takes place on the last evening of the Chanticleer Authors Conference.
We are now accepting submissions into the 2015 M&M Awards writing competition. The deadline for submissions is March 30th, 2015. Please click here for more information.
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THE LAST DANCE by Lonna Enox
Lonna Enox’s The Last Dance is a twisty mystery set in small town Saddle Gap, New Mexico. When Sorrel Janes inherits an aunt’s house and art gallery in Saddle Gap, she decides to flee her big city secrets and start fresh. But this doesn’t turn out to be as simple as it sounds—when a young woman is murdered just outside the town bar, Sorrel becomes an important witness after her first night in town.
Even as Sorrel works to renovate the gallery in time for a Memorial Day opening, complications begin to pile up. Originally intending to work as a local interest photographer, she starts her new career by getting called to yet another crime scene. It seems that murders are thick on the ground in this supposedly placid community.
As the reader gradually discovers the secrets of Sorrel’s past, her skittish nature begins to seem more reasonable. An up-and-coming television crime reporter in Houston, Sorrel dealt with the less savory elements of society without fear. One day, however, she came home to discover her husband had been murdered. Out of fear that his death may be related to her career, she goes into hiding, assuming a new identity and a new life.
With help from a friendly local woman who seems to be related to half the town, Sorrel begins to rebuild a life. Her attempts at normalcy are hampered by local sheriff Chris Reed, who is both dangerously attractive and persistent in pursuing Sorrel as a suspect in the first murder. Even as their relationship progresses, Sorrel cannot trust that his intentions are genuine.
A series of petty crimes on Sorrel’s property as well as her job at the newspaper draw Sorrel deeper into the developing mystery. Has her past followed her to Saddle Gap? Determined not to run from a life she is beginning to discover she wanted all along, Sorrel resolves to stand her ground even in the face of turmoil. She is aided by guidance from her former photography professor, John, her only remaining connection to her former life.
Charming secondary characters and the antics of Sorrel’s cat Flash add color and depth to the narrative, enhancing the small town feel. While the quick ending may disappoint some readers looking for a more complex mystery, Enox has a deft hand with atmosphere and characterization. This is the first in a new series of mysteries featuring Saddle Gap, and readers will find it a comfortable place to revisit.
The Last Dance by Lonna Enox was awarded Best Debut Novel in the CLUE Awards for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Fiction 2013, a division of Chanticleer Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.
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An Editorial Review of “Cornered” by Alan Brenham
Detective Matt Brady of the Temple City police is up to his eyeballs with work. He has too many kidnapped women, no leads, and the chief of police is breathing down his neck with reminders of how the last time he worked a case like this, a woman died. As the kidnappers are always ten steps ahead, it’s looking like the time has come to hand the case off to the FBI, which would end Brady’s chance at redemption. So begins Alan Brenham’s detective novel, Cornered.
Burt Smith and his henchmen, Weaver and Chiles, appear to be more than a match for Detective Brady at the start of the novel. The villains are loose-cannons, capable of anything, but they still have their own personal lives to deal with. Smith is attempting to escape an unhappy marriage, hounded left and right by his ex-wife, while Weaver and Chiles are cons trying to put their lives back together. It would be easy for the reader to feel sympathetic for them, if they didn’t spend their spare time committing heinous criminal acts. The focus on all the characters, not just the protagonists, is what sets Brenham’s story apart.
The development of characters who would usually go unnoticed in other stories adds dimension to the novel. Brenham gives the reader an opportunity to connect with a little old woman yelling at Chiles and Weaver as they speed by her house, and to join Brady in reviling his least favorite detective who never shuts up. In giving the story that extra bit of depth though, Detective Brady and his romantic interest, a veterinarian named Tracy Rogers, lose a bit of the development they could have received in exchange for a fast and furious read.
Since the reader knows from the get go who the villains are, the overriding theme is how far is too far for the detective to use his position to thwart the villains’ next attempt and what the reasons are for the kidnappings. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking; Brady’s ex-girlfriend has gone all “Fatal Attraction” on him; and anyone involved in any way with the kidnappings—innocents, hit men, criminals, good guys, or opportunists are all in the crosshairs.
The switch between so many characters, whom the reader knows decently, keeps the excitement burning in the ever present question of what happens next. Moments where the reader expects to loathe the antagonists can elicit sympathy, where other scenes show their irredeemable qualities in vicious detail. The question of who will be saved and who will die, who will cut a deal and who will stick it out to the end, drives the story keeping the pages rapidly turning.
Cornered is definitely a story that moves against the grain. The reader spends equal time with villains and heroes, making the story focus more on the people than the criminal acts being committed. The tension Brenham builds through the switching of viewpoints creates a novel that commands the reader’s interest, along with giving unique perspectives of the individuals involved.
Cornered, Alan Brenham’s thriller novel is a winner and we look forward to reading more from this criminal law attorney and former law enforcement officer turned author.
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An Editorial Review of “The Hourglass” by Sharon Struth
This debut novel could be said to be a story within a story: the male protagonist, CJ Morrison, is a best-selling author who pens a dark thriller called The Hourglass shortly after his wife’s death in a car accident that leaves CJ guilt-ridden, for reasons that are unclear. CJ hires Brenda McAllister, a relationship and sex counselor and self-help author as a consultant for his manuscript on the advice of his publisher, to help him move forward with the main character. The two instantly share a mutual, and in CJ’s case unwanted, attraction. The author, Sharon Struth, has a knack for creating a palpable attraction between the two.
When Brenda evaluates CJ’s other bestsellers, she realizes that the fictional character in CJ’s new story may reflect his personal demons. Brenda has her own baggage as well, not least of which is the recent death of her husband of 25 years, whose suicide is viewed by nearly everyone as proof that he was guilty of fraud at the Stamford, CT office of Global Business Systems. Brenda doesn’t believe it, but worries that the almost-violation of her marriage vows with her late husband’s best friend and colleague, Luc, might be why her husband took his own life.
The main characters each possess a set of all-too-human flaws as well as other romantic interests which complicate their reactions to the attraction each feels during their work sessions, but each of them must conquer their personal demons before they can act on said attraction.
Their repartee at each subsequent meeting is well-written and accurately reflects each of their conflicting push-pull emotions. These characters are in the midpoint of their lives, but how they react to each other, along with their respective sexual tension reads well without requiring that the author haul us into a bedroom with the characters. The motivation that keeps these characters working with each other is skillfully woven around Brenda’s need to clear her husband’s name even as Luc seeks to “help” her. Struth deftly adds some twists and turns to this contemporary romance as she ramps up the intrigue and the chemistry as Brenda discovers that her late husband’s work may not have been what she was led to believe.
Struth has added touches of humor and quick-witted dialogue that makes for an entertaining read, while she presents very real-life situations and human frailties within this well written story. The Hourglass will leave you thinking about it long after reading the last page. Throughout this suspenseful romance, the author provides clues that, by themselves, are easily missed, but which, when added together, resemble the gathering sands in an hourglass. We look forward to reading more of Sharon Struth’s contemporary women’s fiction.
The Hourglass by Sharon Struth is a Chatelaine First in Category award winner for Romantic Women’s Fiction.
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An Editorial Review of “An Ex to Grind in Deadwood” by Ann Charles
The Deadwood Mysteries by Ann Charles is a wickedly funny paranormal mystery romance series that takes place in its namesake city in South Dakota.
Meet Violet “Spooky” Parker, a sassy single-mom real estate agent who is earning a reputation for selling haunted houses and finding dead bodies. And, now her agency’s boss is advertising that “she’ll show you a magic place that you’ll love…” on an interstate billboard. He also has her lined up to appear in a reality TV show featuring ghosts.
But, Vi has more than her reputation to worry about when she gets a unsettling call from a mysterious women insisting that they meet immediately. When she and her sidekick Harvey arrive at the appointed place, all they find are ticking clocks, a shrunken head, and yet another dead body.
Vi swears not to get involved especially after she is warned to keep out of the way by the police detectives on the case. She especially swears off the case when her ex decides to make a reappearance in her life. However, when she finds evidence that links her young son to the victim, all bets are off now that her child maybe in mortal danger.
The Deadwood Mysteries offer a welcomed new twist for cozy mystery lovers! Fresh writing, lovable quirky characters, a good dose of randiness, peculiar situations (I have no idea how Ann Charles comes up with this stuff, but it makes for an entertaining read), and clever surprises at every twist and turn. An Ex to Grind keeps the laughs coming or the suspense building. Get ready for another hilarious and spooky suspenseful read from Ann Charles.
[Reviewer’s Note: I LOVE the ending.]