Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Police Procedural

The 2024 Clue Long List for Suspense/Thriller Fiction
The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Suspense and Thriller Mysteries. The Clue Awards is a genre division of Chanticleer International Book Awards and Novel Competitions (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards).

These titles have moved forward in the first look rounds from all 2024 CLUE entries to the 2024 Clue Book Awards LONG LIST. These entries are now in competition for the 2024 Clue 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, CAC25.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 in beautiful Bellingham, WA at the Bellingham Yacht Club sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2024 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Suspense and Thriller!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works!
- Christopher Mele – Goodwill’s Secrets
- Pamela Beason – If Only
- Jeff Nania – Musky Run
- John DeDakis – Enemies Domestic
- George St. Georges – AI: Opening
- Charlotte Stuart & Don Stuart – Midnight for Justice
- Hannah D Sharpe – Between Lies and Revenge
- Susan Rogers and John Roosen – Tree Pose
- Meredith Forde – The Protectee
- M.K. Tod – That Was Then
- Cathi Stoler – Out of Time: A Nick Donahue Adventure
- Tony Ollivier – The Tokyo Diversion
- D.W. Layton – Otello’s Oil: A Saga of Blood and Oil
- Lisa Towles – Codex
- T.O. Paine – The Delusion
- M.M. Cochran – The Button Collector
- Peter Berk – First Line of Defense
- Allison McKenzie – The Unexpected Hostage
- Sandra J. Jackson – Letting Go of September
- Charlotte Stuart – Raven’s Legacy
- Lisa Malice – Lest She Forget
- Corey Lynn Fayman – The Esmeralda Goodbye
- Marie Still – My Darlings
- Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Change of Mission: A Jake Fortina Series Novel
- Jeannee Sacken – The Rule of Thirds
- Steven Walker – Gunny Mac Private Detective Trouble in Chinatown
- Patrick Greenwood – Shores of Okinawa
- Chad Boudreaux – Homecoming Queen: A Small Town Political Thriller
- Betsy Hartmann – Last Place Called Home
- J T Owens – The Fisherman Returns
- Ron Singerton – Ruptured
- Michael Grigsby – Forecasting Error
- Jeffrey Jay Levin – Deep Cover, The Unknowing Agent
- Dr. Sandra Tanner – Spirited Unraveling
- Saralyn Richard – Murder Outside the Box
- Sean Hagerty – Jones Point
- Kathryn Caraway – Unfollow Me
- Nannette Potter – Pierce the Darkness
- TJ Stecker – The Moth
- Mike Van Horn – The Fireteam
- Amy Morris-Young – Doolittle 2
- Dana J. Summers – Hell’s Heart
- AG Flitcher – Black Rose Cocoon
- Dave Lager – Revelations
- Carl Vonderau – Saving Myles
- Robert Allen Stowe – The Fires of Rubicon
- Chris Chan – She Ruined Our Lives
- Ray Collins – The General’s Briefcase
- Ray Collins – Motive for Murder
- Lo Monaco – Fallen In A Dark Uneven Way
- Lisa Towles – Terror Bay
- Sharon Michalove – Dead in the Alley
- Colleen Coyne – Bewept
- Shanessa Gluhm – A River of Crows
- Miriam Verbeek – The Forest
- Michael Pronko – Shitamachi Scam
- Wendy Bayne – Dark Entity
- Steve Lazarus – Call Me Sonny
- Sharon Lynn – IoT Gaslight
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, it is easier for us to tag authors when they have Liked and Followed us on Facebook.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

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

Congratulations once more to the 2023 Clue Grand Prize Winner

The Other Murder

By Kevin G. Chapman

Click here to see the full list of 2023 Clue Book Award Winners for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2025 Clue Book Awards for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2024 CIBA Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2025 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 3 – 6, 2025! 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 annual conference as we enter our second decade and discover why!
October 23, 2024
DOUBLE TAKEDOWN, (Mike Stoneman Thriller Series #6) by Kevin G. Chapman – Thriller/Suspense Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Thrillers

In Double Takedown, book six in the Mike Stoneman series by Kevin G. Chapman, we follow two NY homicide detectives as they unravel a murder at a theater in an intricate dance of high-stakes suspense.

Two years after the pandemic shut down the world, NY homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and his partner Jason Dickson are at a charity ballet for an evening out with their wives. When an audience member suddenly dies during the performance, they soon realize they are spectators to a murder.

At first nothing looks suspicious about the death of Alex Bishop, lead actor in a moribund Broadway show, Godfather: The Musical. But with the cause of death uncertain, questions begin to swirl. Mike and Jason pick up the case to find out exactly what caused this mysterious death. The show’s director/producer had a motive and opportunity, and when the detectives find incriminating evidence on his personal laptop, the case is quickly closed. Or is it?

From the first page, readers are pulled into this police procedural that doesn’t let up until the very last page.

What seems to be a cut and dried medical case is scheduled for trial a year later, but when Mike and Jason are approached by a private investigator named Sterling Wright, they find the third act is just beginning. The case hits major snags, and Mike and Jason investigate Sterling’s accusations with private surveillance. The two partners begin with a list of people close to Alex, unraveling a complicated choreography of deceit and lies in which the dead man’s supposed friends tell a different story behind the scenes. As they dig deeper into Alex’s life, the detectives uncover connections that stretch throughout the boroughs of New York, turning this local case into a mystery that at first looks like an open and shut case, but takes a drastic turn to something more sinister.

Double Takedown is a fascinating and involved police procedural that guides readers expertly through the investigative process.

This stand-alone mystery will keep readers on their toes! Lovers of thrillers, suspense, and mysteries won’t miss a step if they dive into Double Takedown before reading the earlier books in the series. Chapman intricately weaves all the necessary details of his characters into the plot and subplot to present a complex tale of a police investigation his readers will relish. The pacing flows gracefully, keeping readers’ attention focused page after page. Other suspects emerge from the wings, presenting a stage full of interesting characters that provide nuance and balance to the story, and you’ll find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat whenever Mike and Jason drill down on a possible suspect.

Chapman masterfully blends meticulous police work with high stakes suspense, delivering a richly layered narrative that will keep crime thriller fans guessing at every turn. With an intricate plot and memorable characters, Double Takedown stands out as a must-read for those who crave the perfect mix of action and intrigue.

October 16, 2024
The 2023 Clue Awards First Place Roundup for Suspense/Thrillers

The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Thriller and Suspense Mysteries. The Grand Prize Winner, Kevin G Chapman’s book, The Other Murder 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 2023 Clue Winners were announced at the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference in April, and you can see the official winners post here!

Join us in celebrating the 2023 First Place Clue Winners!

Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Guidance To Death

In this gripping opening to a detective series, we dive into a world where the line between accident and foul play blurs. The story begins with the mysterious crash of an Amertec Electronics company jet, just after it takes off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on a dreary, rain-soaked day with low visibility. While the National Transportation Safety Board deems it an accident, the victim’s wife insists it was murder.

Enter the protagonist, a seasoned former NTSB investigator turned independent aviation accident sleuth. He takes on the case, only to find himself caught in a web of intrigue that points to deliberate sabotage. As he digs deeper, an additional murder ties back to Amertec, thickening the plot and confirming his suspicions of foul play.

The investigation soon reveals a complex puzzle with international implications. Working mostly solo, our detective finds himself in need of assistance and turns to an old flame and a retired Washington D.C. police officer. Their journey into the underbelly of air traffic and corporate espionage is fraught with danger, challenging their wits and courage.

The narrative weaves a tale of high-stakes and suspense, taking readers on a behind-the-scenes exploration of the aviation world. The story not only captivates with its thrilling plot but also educates, offering insights into the intricacies of air travel and investigation

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Saint Bloodbath

Detectives McGuire and Cortes take on a gruesome homicide case in Long Beach, California, and navigate the complex role of being the murder police in an area marked by homelessness, drug abuse, and gang violence. With little but their combined decades of detective experience to go off of, they investigate personal and gang-related motives in an attempt to identify and arrest their suspect. When a severed hand is found in the desert nearly 100 miles away, their years-long investigation crosses jurisdictions, and they must connect the dots before the bloodbath continues. Saint Bloodbath explores the true story of multiple heinous crimes, but perhaps more importantly, highlights the lives and experiences of the victims, their peers, and the investigators who sought to bring a murderer to justice.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Jode Millman – The Empty Kayak

For Detective Ebony Jones, crime is always personal. But this time, it strikes too close to home.

A pop-up thunderstorm marched its way across the Hudson River, ambushing a young couple’s kayaking trip. The woman miraculously made it back to shore, but her fiancé remains missing. Ebony and her partner are the first responders who rush to the river to assist in rescuing the capsized boater.

The victim’s identity shocks Ebony to the core. Kyle Emory, the ex-boyfriend of her estranged best friend, attorney Jessie Martin, is the man who never made it out of the water. The accident ignites a firestorm between the two friends, pitting them against each other in a race to discover whether Kyle survived or whether he met his untimely demise. Under pressure from the chief and the DA, Ebony needs to solve the mystery, while Jessie seeks justice for the sake of the daughter she shares with Kyle.The investigation leads them through the dark worlds of social media, online sports betting, and extreme sports. Along the way, they uncover lies and betrayals and gather a list of dangerous suspects who are all linked to the accident survivor, Kyle’s mysterious fiancée. Even more, the discovery that Kyle possessed his own life-shattering secrets has trapped Ebony between her career and her lifelong friendship with Jessie. Yet neither Ebony nor Jessie will stop until they discover the truth about the drowning, even if it destroys their friendship and their lives.

But the evidence is as murky as the secretive Hudson River. Only the river knows whether Kyle’s tragic death was an accident, a suicide, or something more sinister.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley

In this seventh book of the series, Clive and Henrietta return to England to find Castle Linley in financial ruin. When Clive’s cousin, Wallace, invites an estate agent in to assess the home’s value, the agent is later found poisoned, throwing all of the Castle’s guests into suspicion. Clive and Henrietta are soon drawn into an investigation, which is slowed by an incompetent local inspector and several unexplained phenomena—the cause of which many, especially the frail Lady Linley, believe to be the workings of the ghost of a hanged maid.

Meanwhile, Gunther and Elsie have begun life on a farm in Omaha. Circumstances are difficult, but they are content—until Oldrich Exely appears, proposing an option Elsie finds difficult to ignore. Melody Merriweather, still masquerading as a nun to aid Elsie’s escape, likewise finds it difficult to ignore a letter with tragic news from home, while Julia, on the other hand, receives a very different sort of letter from Glenn Forbes.

Back in England, Clive is called away to London on suspicious business, leaving Henrietta to carry on with the investigation alone. When she is mysteriously locked in the study one night, however, things take on a more deadly, supernatural feel, leaving her to fear that Lady Linley’s “ghost” might just be real after all…

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Margaret Mizushima – Standing Dead

Deputy Mattie Cobb and her sister, Julia, travel to Mexico to visit their mother, but when they arrive, they discover that she and her husband have vanished without a trace. Back in Timber Creek, Mattie finds a chilling note on her front door telling her to look for “him” among the standing dead up in the high country.

The sheriff’s department springs into action and sends a team to the mountains, where Mattie’s K-9 partner, Robo, makes a grisly discovery—a body tied to a dead pine tree. Mattie is shocked when she realizes she knows the dead man. And then another note arrives, warning that Mattie’s mother is in desperate straits. In a last-ditch gambit, Mattie must go deep undercover into a killer’s lair to save her mother—or die trying.

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Raymond Paul Johnson – Conspiracy Ignited

“Drop the case!” Bashed over the head and tossed overboard into the cold, dark water of a Los Angeles marina, combat veteran turned litigator Eric Ridge struggles to stay alive—and discover who is trying to kill him. And why. No matter the answer, one thing is certain: Eric Ridge does not abandon his clients and will not drop the case. The question is, what case was his assailant yelling about? Working with his legal team—including his best friend and his computer-whiz wife—Ridge is ultimately drawn into the sinister world of the Raven Society, a secretive cabal that controls the courts by coercing or killing judges. And anyone else who gets in their way. In a race against the clock, will Ridge and his team survive to use the evidence they’ve developed? Or will they suffer the same fate as others who have dared to confront The Raven Society?

Find it Locally and on Amazon

Thank you for joining us to celebrate the 2023 Clue First Place Winners!

You can see our Hall of Fame for the Clue Grand Prize Winners, including Kevin Chapman’s incredible book The Other Murder here.

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

Got a great Fiction Book? The 2024 Clue Book Awards are open through the end of September!

Note: Late submissions are accepted until the dates change on the website!

Submit to the Clue Awards Today!

October 3, 2024
The 2024 Clue Book Awards Hall of Fame For Suspense/Thriller!

Who’s at the door at this late hour?

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

The Clue Awards features the best suspense and thriller books, including both fiction and true crime! We are delighted to feature these amazing authors from the last five years of Clue Grand Prize Awards!

Here is the official Hall of Fame for the Grand Prize Winners of the Clue Awards!

The Other Murder
by Kevin G. Chapman

In The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman, two ambitious journalists find themselves at the knife’s edge as they seek to uncover the entire truth of a gruesome double homicide.

“An error does not become truth because of multiplied propaganda, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” –Mahatma Gandhi

Hannah, a journalist with the American Cable News network, is pulled away from a date by her editor to cover the breaking news of a shooting in Washington Square Park. The victim is Angelica Monroe, a White girl from Westchester County and a sophomore at NYU. She was shot at a close range, as shown by the dark hole above her left eye.

The murder becomes much more mysterious and complicated when Paulo, a reporter for a small community newspaper, makes a connection between Angelica’s murder and the shooting of a Latino teen, Javier Estrada, on the other side of the park on the same night.

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

California Son
By Timothy Burgess

California Son, the second installment in the Liam Sol Mystery series by Timothy Burgess, presents another action-packed mystery for protagonist Liam Sol to solve. Honorably discharged after his tour of duty in Vietnam, Liam returns to his primarily Hispanic neighborhood of Baja La Bolsa, a coastal town near LA, California, where trouble finds him.

In his role as a journalist, Liam takes interest in the daily pleas of a Hispanic mother to find her son’s murderer, pleas that the mostly white La Bolsa Police seem to ignore. After an article he writes in hopes of renewing interest in the case appears in La Bolsa Tribune, the mother is found dead in her apartment. No stranger to death or violence, Liam soon finds himself on the personal side of a hunt for the killer of not only the son but also the mother.

Read More Here

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

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

Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Reach out with your news to info@ChantiReviews.com

September 27, 2024
SIX days left to enter the Clue and M&M Book Awards!
Eight Divisions close at the end of September!

Don’t let your book miss out!
- The Clue Award for Thriller and Suspense
- The Mystery and Mayhem Award for Cozy and Not so Cozy Mysteries
Only 6 days left to submit your books to these prestigious CIBA Divisions and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!

The Clue Award for Thriller and Suspense Fiction and The Mystery and Mayhem Awards for Cozy and Not-so-Cozy Mysteries are still open!

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 M&M Awards for Cozy and Not-so-cozy Mystery!
- Liese Sherwood-Fabre – The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait
- Gail Grant Park – We Are Shadows: An Irish Ghost Story
- Rebecca Olmstead – Dreams and Illusions
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles
- Patrick E. Craig – The Quilt That Knew
- E. W. Finke – Coyote’s Wail
- Lyn Squire – Immortalised to Death
And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Mystery & Mayhem Awards Grand Prize Winner:

A Haunting at Linley

A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel

by Michelle Cox

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2023 Clue Awards for Thriller and Suspense!
- Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Guidance to Death
- Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Saint Bloodbath
- Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley
- Jode Millman – The Empty Kayak
- Raymond Paul Johnson – The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited
- Margaret Mizushima – Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
And a huge round of applause for the 2023 Clue Awards Grand Prize Winner:

The Other Murder

By Kevin G. Chapman

The CIBAs offer more than just recognition — they provide a ladder to success with a range of achievement tiers and expert long tail marketing strategies. From the highly anticipated Long List to the prestigious Overall Grand Prize Winner, the CIBA lists energize both authors and readers, maximizing your digital footprint and expanding your fan base.

We are always eager to support the Best Books through the CIBAs. Join the ranks of celebrated authors who have already taken this critical step in their publishing.

Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable exposure at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 3-6, 2025) where Winners from all 25 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.

In a world hungry for good books, your story deserves to be heard. Submit now and leave a lasting impression.

Let’s celebrate exceptional storytelling together!

Your book deserves to be discovered

Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

The Clue Awards, and The M&M Awards
September 24, 2024
The 2024 Clue Spotlight for Thriller/Suspense
Lock Your Doors and Leave the Lights on!

The Clue Awards are the Darker Side of Mysteries!

The Clue Award is our Division for the more gritty, darker, crime noir type mystery novels. For the light hearted, cozy mysteries see the Mystery & Mayhem Award.

While most of our categories in this Award are for fictional mysteries, unlike the other Fiction Divisions, Clue also has a Non-Fiction category for True Crime and Investigation books. Instead of putting it into a Non-Fiction Division we took a note from what many bookstores do and put the Non-fiction Mysteries with the Fictional ones.

Book Riot featured the differences between True Crime and Thrillers:

True crime aficionados liked the deep dive into the psychology of it all. Jack El-Hai, a true crime writer who recently published The Lost Brothers, wrote, “I’m only an occasional reader of murder mysteries. Many fictional works about murder are about finding out who did it, and the narrative concludes with that discovery or with catching the perpetrator. I’m more interested in why they did it and the aftermath for everyone affected by the crime.”

True Crime books can also be very important on bringing light to unsolved crimes and helping to solve them. Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which after the authors death, her husband, actor Patton Oswalt, worked with some other writers to finish the book. It was finally published 2 months before the arrest of The Golden State Killer. While her book did not directly affect finding the perpetrator, it did bring crucial publicity towards a largely forgotten case. It was later turned into an HBO documentary series!

The Categories of the Clue Awards are:
- Detective/Crime
- Suspense/Thriller
- Private Eye/Noir
- Legal/Medical/Police Procedural
- US Political Thriller
- Spy/Espionage/Undercover
- True Crime/Investigation
It would be a crime to miss out!

Don’t Delay! Enter Today!

We are delighted to celebrate the 2023 Winners of the Clue Awards who have already started to make their mark on the genre!
- Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Guidance to Death
- Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Saint Bloodbath
- Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley
- Jode Millman – The Empty Kayak
- Raymond Paul Johnson – The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited
- Margaret Mizushima – Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CLUE Awards is:

The Other Murder

By Kevin G. Chapman

We’re excited to feature Kevin and our other winners, but before we do that, here are some of the best reviewed Thrillers that have come our way recently!

ECHO From A BAYOU
By J. Luke Bennecke

John Bastian’s life is falling apart, but after a serious accident, he gains another one. In J. Luke Bennecke’s suspense thriller, Echo from a Bayou, John must tie up the loose ends of a man who died decades ago.

One misfortune after another beats John down. His wife divorces him, and his California business is going bust. On a ski trip to boost his mood, he fails to save a man from falling to his death out of a slopes-bound cable car. The next day, on the mountain, John slams head-first into a tree.

He’s not the only one who wakes up in his hospital bed.

Read more here!

THE EXCURSION
By T.O. Paine

The Excursion by T.O. Paine is a horror thriller with enough twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded reader.

Two people tell this story. Charly, a woman in her 30s, faces her emotionally damaged family. Randall, meanwhile, works as an agent of Zaroff Excursions, a hunting club for the uber-wealthy with an interest in an extreme form of hunting where the prey is much more intelligent than a deer or bear.

On a cold Thanksgiving weekend, Charly and a few other members of her family travel to an isolated cabin in the mountains above Denver. Her car gets stuck in a snowdrift, leaving her stranded, but that’s only the start of her trouble. She finds that the cabin has been rented by Randall’s company for that same weekend, forcing her family to share the lodge with strangers.

Read more here!

REVELATIONS: Ro Delahanty Series Book 6
By Dave Lager

Ro Delahanty bears heavy weights on her shoulders—a decades old conspiracy, the complexities of polyamorous love, and troubling family secrets—all of which she will begin to face in Revelations, book 6 of Dave Lager’s Ro Delahanty series.

The wealthy, powerful Pribyl family is up to something sinister in their new scrap shipment business, Ro is sure of it. But she has to prove it to herself before she can even start to convince anyone else. And as much as she’d like to dive head-first into that mystery, she has many more problems to solve as a Fort Armstrong County Sergeant Deputy.

An unsanctioned party threatens to become a dangerous mob, setting fire to a half-constructed house. Ro’s bold, decisive nature comes under fire from a rival at the Sheriff’s office. Worse, a major change in that office could upend the foundation of Ro’s life and even rob her of the comradery she and her colleagues rely on.

Read more here!

IDENTIFIED: A Hacker Thriller
By John Wilander

Identified by John Wilander is a dystopian novel about the omniscient power of our potential cyber future.

West, a young man, spent 15 years in prison for hacking government systems. His mother, a highly visible activist against his imprisonment, is also trying unsuccessfully to get her health insurance to pay for her fight against a deadly medical condition. In Identified West believes the government is responsible for illegally blocking her insurance and vows to find out who’s behind the effort and put his mom back on the insurance rolls.

This is no easy task. Cybersecurity is now a fully linked global enterprise called the G20S, an expansion of today’s G20 nations. Virtually every form of human activity across the world can be logged by the system. It will take a small crew of talented hackers who call themselves the Survivors to develop unique hacker tools for West to break into the system, find the guilty, and get his mother insured. At every point, success could slip out of their grasp.

Read more here!

Thank you to these wonderful authors for sharing their spine-tingling reads with us!

We hope to see your work in the 2024 Clue Awards!

This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter!

Your book deserves to be discovered
September 12, 2024
REVELATIONS: Ro Delahanty Series Book 6 by Dave Lager – Small Town Mystery, Police Procedural, Conspiracy Thriller

Ro Delahanty bears heavy weights on her shoulders—a decades old conspiracy, the complexities of polyamorous love, and troubling family secrets—all of which she will begin to face in Revelations, book 6 of Dave Lager’s Ro Delahanty series.

The wealthy, powerful Pribyl family is up to something sinister in their new scrap shipment business, Ro is sure of it. But she has to prove it to herself before she can even start to convince anyone else. And as much as she’d like to dive head-first into that mystery, she has many more problems to solve as a Fort Armstrong County Sergeant Deputy.

An unsanctioned party threatens to become a dangerous mob, setting fire to a half-constructed house. Ro’s bold, decisive nature comes under fire from a rival at the Sheriff’s office. Worse, a major change in that office could upend the foundation of Ro’s life and even rob her of the comradery she and her colleagues rely on.

All the while, Ro is troubled by matters of the heart as much as matters of the badge.

She realizes that her arms-distance flings with two charming men have turned into something more—a kind of love. Tag and Foxtrot make her confront these feelings directly as they both test the boundaries of their relationships. Ro must stay true to what she needs, but fears what might happen if she opens more of herself to them.

Soon, Ro learns that she wasn’t the only one in her family with a taste for multiple partners. And when an uncovered secret threatens to tear apart the bonds she’s spent a lifetime building, she, her brother, and her father try to reconcile this revelation with the memory of the woman they all loved.

As the structure of Ro’s life starts to turn on her, she’ll have to rely on those she can trust.

Lager imbues each character with a distinct personality, compelling in their flaws and virtues alike.

This story frequently steps into the past to slowly build up a grand criminal enterprise at the heart of Ro’s mystery. Readers get to see how it was all shaped by the ambitions, fears, connections, and hearts of people across decades. These charming, unique characters engender a real sense of personal history to the setting of Lee’s Landing and make it easy to care about the fates of both heroes and villains.

Ro frequently discovers that her connections to other people are deeper and more complex than she ever could have imagined.

Her struggles with emotional intimacy make her both an effective parallel of some of the characters who define her past, and an endearing protagonist in her own right.

And while Ro’s disdain for petty interpersonal politics makes her relatable and dedicated to the true purpose of her job, those same traits come back to hurt her as people who do play such games garner power over her.

Ro’s determination, bravery, and honest heart will have readers rooting for her no matter how deep the schemes of her enemies go.

Revelations explores the nature of power and wealth, how they shape people’s lives down to even small, personal matters.

Lee’s Landing exists under the thumb of wealthy families like the Pribyls, Randalls, and Prentisses, kept aloft by sinister deals and ruthless small-town politicking. Their plans trickle down to affect nearly every character — especially Ro herself, who has already lost much in her life due to them.

As Ro uncovers more and more secrets, she and those she cares about prepare for major changes in their lives. Whether good, like her brother’s upcoming marriage, or concerning, like the election of a new sheriff, they remind the characters that they can’t simply dwell on the past—there’s always more to do here and now.

Ro knows this better than anyone, especially as this story concludes with a difficult decision, dangerous plan, and ever-more-complex mysteries for her to unravel. Readers will eagerly await the next installment of Ro Delahanty’s story.

The Ro Delahanty series by Dave Lager won First Place in the 2023 CIBA Series Awards for Fiction Series.

July 31, 2024
The 2023 CLUE Book Awards WINNERS for Suspense/Thrillers
The Clue Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in Suspense and Thriller Mysteries. The Clue Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is seeking the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime-solving, we will put them to the test to discover the best! (For lighter-hearted Mystery and Classic Cozy Mysteries please check out our Mystery & Mayhem Awards, and for High Stakes Suspense Novels please check out our Global Thriller Awards).

1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners were announced at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony by D.D. Black on Saturday, April 20th, 2024 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2024 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

This is the OFFICIAL 2023 LIST of the CLUE BOOK AWARDS First Place Category Winners and the CLUE Grand Prize Winner.

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2023 CIBAs.
- Kevin G. Chapman – The Other Murder
- Daniel V. Meier Jr. – Guidance to Death
- Frederick Douglass Reynolds – Saint Bloodbath
- Michelle Cox – A Haunting at Linley
- Jode Millman – The Empty Kayak
- Raymond Paul Johnson – The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited
- Margaret Mizushima – Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2023 CLUE Awards is:

The Other Murder

By Kevin G. Chapman

You can see all of our amazing 2023 Clue Finalists! Congratulations to all and thank you for submitting!

Well done climbing the CIBA Levels of Achievement!

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

Attn CIBA Winners: More goodies and prizes will be coming your way along with promotion in our magazine, website, and advertisements in Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards long-tail marketing strategy. Welcome to the CIBA Hall of Fame for Award Winners!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the Facebook post. However, for Facebook to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews.

Please click here to visit our page to LIKE, COMMENT, and SHARE on Facebook.

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Facebook and Twitter handle is @ChantiReviews

Or click here to go directly to Chanticleer’s Twitter feed.

A Note to ALL the WINNERS: The coveted CIBA Blue Ribbons will be mailed out starting in June. We will contact you with an email to verify your mailing address and other items. You will receive an OFFICIAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION with Digital Badges and more information.

NOTE: We will post at least two 2023 CIBA Divisions’ OFFICIAL Winners per business day starting April 24, 2024. We do a final sweep and reconciliation prior to making the Official CIBA Posts for the 2023 First Place and Grand Prize Winners. We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. There are many moving parts involved with the Chanticleer International Book Awards Program.

Thank you for participating in the 2023 CIBAs! We are looking forward to reading your future entries.

Team Chanticleer
April 30, 2024
THE ESMERALDA GOODBYE by Corey Lynn Fayman – Mystery, Crime Thriller, Police Procedural

In The Esmeralda Goodbye, Corey Lynn Fayman crafts a suspenseful crime story about a patrolman who becomes entangled in a criminal saga with stakes as high as his life.

The duty of investigating a suicide threat made by well-known author Raymond Chandler falls to Jake Stirling, one of the newest members of the San Diego Police Department. With a deft maneuver, Jake prevents Chandler from ending his life when he visits his apartment. This success fills Jake with excitement to make a name for himself in his new career as a police officer.

Months later, he’s called to investigate the theft of a diamond necklace from the Del Charro Hotel. Jake first questions a hopeful lead: J. Edgar, the FBI Director, who just so happened to be there during the raid. But though Jake plans to simply file a report so that detectives can be assigned to the case, he’s taken aback when the director encourages him to give up the case and concentrate his time elsewhere, such as assisting the decent, law-abiding citizens in the neighborhood. As he mulls over the director’s idea, a well-known name from the Creeper case— which had ruined his father, a police officer before his death— reappears.

Jake becomes engrossed in speculations about a piece of interest he took from Chandler’s house a few months earlier.

Moreover, he encounters a formidable investigative officer who is secretly working with a web of cartels. Jake’s life takes a drastic turn after a buddy passes away, and he quickly discovers that his independent demeanor has given his bosses cause for concern. Bearing down on him all the while, the Creeper case has turned its destructive attention from father to son.

Fayman has crafted a page-turner filled with drama, intrigue, and thrilling action that readers will find difficult to put down.

Starting with an unlikely sequence of events, the first chapters reveal unexpected motivations from unlikely individuals. A steady and regulated pace during the uncovering of the mystery keeps readers steeped in curiosity and ever-changing theories, with skillful distribution of clues. New information gradually comes to light through the interactions of real, multifaceted individuals, and a high degree of tension stretches from beginning to end.

“The Esmeralda Goodbye” is a masterpiece with excellent character development. Its remarkable tale and charming hero revel in the excess of 1950s Southern California atmospheres.

March 13, 2024
THE OTHER MURDER by Kevin G. Chapman – Murder Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Police Procedural

In The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman, two ambitious journalists find themselves at the knife’s edge as they seek to uncover the entire truth of a gruesome double homicide.

“An error does not become truth because of multiplied propaganda, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” –Mahatma Gandhi

Hannah, a journalist with the American Cable News network, is pulled away from a date by her editor to cover the breaking news of a shooting in Washington Square Park. The victim is Angelica Monroe, a White girl from Westchester County and a sophomore at NYU. She was shot at a close range, as shown by the dark hole above her left eye.

The murder becomes much more mysterious and complicated when Paulo, a reporter for a small community newspaper, makes a connection between Angelica’s murder and the shooting of a Latino teen, Javier Estrada, on the other side of the park on the same night.

Two detectives, Mariana and Dru, investigate the crimes and also connect Javier to the Monroe crime scene. A bag containing his Air Jordans was found near Angelica’s body. The investigators believe that Monroe may have had a dangerous item in her possession and that she may have involved herself in a highly unlikely vice, which brought her into the park and put her in harm’s way. By this time, Hannah and her network had built up Angelica as the tragic innocent victim of urban crime. When Paulo and Hannah team up, the true facts deviate farther and farther from the original narrative.

In this thrilling novel, the hunt for truth is challenged at every turn by confusion, desperation, and near-death experiences. The ‘system’ becomes increasingly complex and unpredictable, as stern directives are issued from the top, to which the investigators and the journalists are expected to adhere – even if it restricts their search. This obfuscation frustrates the investigators and prompts deep reflection in readers, as it mirrors the growing real-world indifference to truth, the cynical espousing of lies, and the fake news that popular newsrooms today have boldly proclaimed.

These themes of truth in the face of powerful deception become immense and haunting through the story of The Other Murder.

Readers will be struck by the inhumane and high-tension crime scene in the first chapter, as well as the accelerated pace at which Paulo and Hannah swing into action. The plot is chilling but heroic and boils down to one simple conclusion: Facts cannot be hidden forever, regardless of the backlash or denial against them.

Chapman has crafted a must-read novel through a proficient mixture of police procedural, thriller, and mystery. The Other Murder is undoubtedly a tale that will draw a reader in from the first page to the last. Chapman’s characters are a beautiful blend of various personalities, with their natural reactions to distress and pressure giving life and a satisfying richness to this tale.

March 1, 2024