Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Spy Thriller

  • September Spotlight is on the CLUE Awards – Mysteries, Thrillers/Suspense, Detective Novels

    September Spotlight is on the CLUE Awards – Mysteries, Thrillers/Suspense, Detective Novels

    [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”][fusion_text]September brings countless clues and unsolved mysteries! Who will crack the case and emerge a winner? Stay tuned…

    Thriller Suspense Fiction Award

    The game’s afoot this September with thrilling adventure, nail-biting suspense, keen detective work, and more. Perhaps you’ll need a private eye on the case or follow police procedural to the letter. What’s certain, while authors work hard at crime solving, when September draws to an end, all of our cases will be closed! 

    What are the CLUE Awards? Thrillers, Suspense, the grip of Mystery. CLUE is all about the uncertain– detectives and private eyes, cops and criminals; those who have something to hide and those who hunt to bring those dark secrets to light. CLUE novels thrive on questions and build suspense with each turning of the page. For writers who scatter pieces of a mystery throughout their stories, and readers who enjoy putting those pieces together, CLUE is the genre of choice.

     

    The deadline is just around the corner! Who will survive the Slush? Who will be Longlisted and Shortlisted?
    Who will take home the prize at CAC19 on April 27th?

    Kaylin McFarren, CLUE Grand Prize Winner

    Avoid the crime of letting this deadline slip by! Send in your stories of thrilling detectives, super sleuths, daring and flawed police detectives today. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them. 

     As the September 30th deadline for submissions draws closer, don’t miss this opportunity to earn distinction for your novel. Enter today!

    All category winners have the opportunity to attend our Awards Ceremony on April 27, 2019,  that will take place during the 2019 Chanticleer Authors Conference. First Place category winners will be whisked up on stage to receive their custom ribbon and await to see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting and electrifying evening of dinner, networking, and celebrations! 

    First Place category winners and Grand Prize winners will each receive a stunning awards package well worth the price of entry into the CLUE Awards competitions.

    The CLUE Awards for the best Thriller & Suspense Fiction novels

    HALL of FAME

     The Grand Prize CLUE Winner in 2017:

    Twisted Threads by Kaylin McFarren won the “Suspense/Thriller” category in the Clue Awards and then took home the Clue Grand Prize! Twisted Threads  is the fourth book in her Threads Series set on a cruise ship, “With killers on the loose and no avenue for escape, tension is ratcheted to a breaking point, forcing everyone to choose between love and loyalty – or deeply held honor – in order to survive.” 

     

    Kaylin McFarren photo

    Kaylin McFarren is a multi-award winning author who has earned more than forty national literary awards. “She keeps a glass of wine close by while writing love scenes, Kleenex on her desk while writing heartbreakers, and has been known to empty a box of chocolates when she’s completely stumped.“

     

    1st Place Category Winners in 2017:

    • Do Not Ask by Elaine Williams Crockett
    • 100 Days of Terror by Larry Temple
    • The Butcher’s Bill by SMartin Roy Hill
    • The Criminalist: A Novel of Forensic Science Suspense by John Houde
    • Aged in Charcoal by Jeffrey Ridenour

    Grand Prize Winner of 2016:

    A Matter of Justice by Keith Tittle won the “Suspense/Thriller” category in the 2016 Clue Awards and went on to win the Grand Prize! “Author Keith Tittle rings all the challenges in this complex, gripping mystery. His story combines diverse elements lending the story opportunity for multiple mayhems. Jeff Dawes is a believable hero – determined, diligent, dogged by past failures that spur him to try harder. The setting – Portland, Oregon, with its scenic natural environs makes for a variety of well-staged scenarios.“

     

    Keith Tittle's Profile Photo, Image may contain: 1 person, beard, eyeglasses and outdoor

    Keith Tittle is “…a lifelong history buff, baseball fan, and resident of the Pacific Northwest, and lives with his wife in southwest Washington.” Keith is working on the second novel in this series.

     

     

    1st Place Category Winners in 2016:

     

     

    Grand Prize CLUE Winner in 2015:

    Blood Relations by Lonna EnoxIn 2015, Lonna Enox’s Blood Relations won the CLUE Grand Prize. This is the second book in Lonna’s Sorrel Janes Mysteries series set in the contemporary Southwest. In Blood Relations, “… a tangled web of mystery and lies, [proves that] the truth can only be discovered if the seeker can survive.“

     

    Lonna Enox says this about herself, “I’m a ‘what if’ person. I’m also curious, and ask lots of questions, read about things, try things, & always investigate.”

     

     

     

    1st Place Category Winners in 2015:

    Grand Prize CLUE Winner in 2014:

    The Red Ribbon by Rachel B. LedgeThe Red Ribbon by Rachel B. Ledge won the 2014 Clue Grand Prize. This historical fiction thriller set in London 1773 about a young woman who struggles to adjust to life after witnessing the murder of her closest friend by the man she loves.

    “Rachel B. Ledge is an award-winning author of historical novels with elements of suspense, romance, and time travel. She grew up in Idaho, Texas, Utah and California due to circumstances that didn’t involve the military. An expat since 2008, she and her husband lived in Sydney for five years before sailing to Singapore, where they lived on a boat for a while before transitioning onto terra firma. She can be found sitting up late at night, reading anything with a compelling storyline.”

    1st Place Category Winners in 2014:

    • Historical: Rachel B. Ledge for The Red Ribbon  
    • Romantic Suspense: Mimi Barbour for Special Agent Francesca  
    • International Intrigue/World Events: Lawrence Verigin for The Dark Seed
    • Contemporary Mystery/Suspense: Pamela Beason for The Only Clue
    • Private Eye/Noir:  Keith Dixon for The Bleak
    • Police Procedural: Jode Susan Millman for The Midnight Call
    • Spy/Espionage: Michelle Daniel for The Red Circle
    • Psychological Thriller: Rebecca Nolen for Deadly Thyme
    • Cozy/Amateur Sleuth: JoAnn Basset for I’m Kona Love You Forever
    • True Crime: Gayle Nix Jackson for Orville Nix: The Missing JFK Assassination Film 

     

    Grand Prize CLUE Winner in 2013:

    Raggedy Man by Clyde CurleyIn 2013, Clyde Curley took home the Grand Prize for his novel Raggedy Man, the first in the Detective Toussaint Novels.  Here’s a top-notch detective murder mystery set in the Pacific Northwest, Portland Oregon, to be exact. “His 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.” – Chanticleer Reviews

     

    Clyde Curley tells us “…this is all that matters: I’ve grown up and now I’m an author. For me, the permanence of art stands as a bulwark against the slings and arrows of outrageous real life. The highest, richest form of art is that which is formed from words—the first and most important attribute of humans striving to behave less like animals and more like gods.”

     

     

    1st Place Category Winners in 2013: 

    • Romantic Suspense: Small Town Storm by Elise K. Ackers
    • Steamy/Action/Thriller: Buried Threads by Kaylin McFarren
    • Debut Novel: The Last Dance by Lonna Enox
    • Historical Mystery: Forevermore by Jim Musgrave
    • Caper/Adventure: Too Many Violins by Mark Reutlinger
    • Private Eye: Fire Trap by Richard Mann
    • Police Procedural: Eleven by Carolyn Arnold
    • Classic Detective: Raggedy Man by Clyde Curley
    • Mystery/Crime: Deadly Recall by Donnell Ann Bell
    • Amateur Sleuth: Death Over Easy by Toby Speed
    • Thriller/Suspense: Grind His Bones by Richard Newell Smith
    • Medical: Without Consent by Bev Irwin
    • Psychological Thriller: The Grave Blogger by Donna Fontenot

    The Grand Prize CLUE Winner in 2012:

    Pamela Beason’s Mystery/Thriller, The Only Witness tied for Grand Prize in 2012. The Only Witness is a marvel of story-telling. Pamela Beason’s novel is one of those rare gems that is intelligent and informative but also embracing and charmingly accessible. 

     

    A former private investigator, Pamela Beason “…lives in the Pacific Northwest. Pam challenges the human assumption that we are the superior species. Each of her titles takes readers on an adventure while reminding us that drifting through life is not enough; you have to live it…”

     

     

    1st Place Category Winners in 2012: 

    • Shadow Games by Jeanette-Marie Mirich
    • Corporate Insanity by Tom Pors
    • New Smyrna Swing by D.D. Queens
    • Made in China by Mark Reutlinger
    • Mrs. Kaplan in the Soup; The Matzoh Ball of Death by Mark Reutlinger
    • Murder Strikes a Pose, A Downward Dog Mystery by Tracy Weber

     

     

    Your book could earn a place in our CLUE hall of fame for the CIBA 2018 Best Books.

    All you have to do is to enter your manuscript or published novel.

    [/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 Clue 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]Thriller Suspense Fiction AwardOur Clue Awards are Chanticleer Reviews search for the best mystery, suspense, and thriller fiction novels of 2018!

    We are looking for the best books featuring suspense, thrilling adventure, detective work, private eye, police procedural, and crime solving, we will put them to the test and choose the best among them. (For light-hearted Mystery and Suspense entries see our Mystery & Mayhem 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! 

    • All First in Category Winning Titles will be placed in the queue to receive a coveted Chanticleer Book Review Package (value $395) for the winning title (reviews are non-transferable)  and go on to compete for the genre Grand Prize and the Overall Grand Prize.
    • The Overall Grand Prize Winner is named Chanticleer Reviews Best Book of the Year and awarded the $1000 prize
    • All Winners receive a Chanticleer Prize Package which includes a digital badge, a ribbon and a whole assortment of goodies

     

    [/fusion_text][fusion_button link=”/services#!/Mystery-Thriller-Suspense-Writing-Contest/p/21521209/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]

  • EPSTEIN’S PANCAKE by Bjarne Rostaing – Political Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, CLUE AWARD WINNER

    EPSTEIN’S PANCAKE by Bjarne Rostaing – Political Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, CLUE AWARD WINNER

    Blue and Gold Clue 1st place badgeStyled in the cooling off days of the Reagan era and the still heated Iran Contra imbroglio, Epstein’s Pancake features a street-wise hero afflicted by PTSD and new to the spy vs. spy game. Viet Nam vet Rob Price is not having an easy time with civilian life when a friend introduces him to a mysterious man who wants to hire him for some low-level, well-paid courier work in France – dropping things off, meeting people in airports, that kind of thing.

    Of course, it’s espionage and despite how careful Price normally is, he doesn’t hesitate. He has little to lose, though he will gradually realize that even someone with little to lose might find something worth saving. In this case, possibly, the entire world. As he gets more tightly drawn into more secretive levels of the work, Price begins to wonder who the good guys really are. He has one trustworthy supporter, a martial arts teacher name Jennie whose instruction might save his life as he takes on an entire military-industrial complex.

    At the core of this multi-layered plot is a scientist playing with something that still seems ultra-futuristic, though it has been around for longer than most people realize: artificial intelligence. In this case, AI is represented by a plate full of genetic mush connected to wires and computers – the eponymous pancake that multi-nationals, dictators and even the leaders of the free world want to control. After numerous near-death experiences and constant switchbacks that force Price to re-learn his playbook almost daily, he will identify the villains in the piece and force their hand. But not without cost to his psyche.

    Rostaing, an award-winning author, paints a remarkable picture of the times and the setting of this action-rich, intelligent tale, and is able to convey it in rich language. Doubtless, he has accessed many sources in piecing together a novel that seems entirely accurate down to small but significant details, from everything that was on TV in the late 1980s to how the bigwigs were thinking.

    He inserts some believable behind-the-scenes vignettes and a few well-chosen opinions without weighing the narrative, and he has an excellent ear for dialogue. In Price, he has brought to life an enjoyable mix of John le Carré’s cool-headed Smiley and Dashiell Hammett’s hard-bitten Sam Spade.

    With international intrigue, a new twist on almost every page, life-threatening danger, and a hard-living hero with a soft heart, Epstein’s Pancake is a smart story solidly in the spy thriller genre that’s bound to garner a loyal readership.

    Epstein’s Pancake won First Place in the 2016 Clue Awards for Bjarne Rostaing.

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews

     

     

  • The BLIND POOL by Paul McHugh – Political Thriller, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Organized Crime

    The BLIND POOL by Paul McHugh – Political Thriller, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Organized Crime

    The Blind Pool won First Place in the 2018 CIBAs in the CLUE Awards. Congratulations!

     

    Blue and Gold Clue 1st place badgeImagine you’re stuck in traffic on a hot Florida Overseas Highway when you notice a group of rough-looking motorcyclists roaring down the highway between the cars. Irritating and enviable. But then, the leader of the group suddenly stops at a Cadillac and smash in the driver’s side window with his helmet. What would you do? Would you step in? Would you pretend you didn’t see it?

    Meet Dan Cowell, the man who steps in, and his girlfriend, Linda Parker, who cannot stand idly by while bullies terrorize the elderly couple inside the car.

    Heroes. But, now our heroes are in trouble. And just like Anton Chekov was so fond of saying, “Where there’s water, someone’s gonna go in…” * our heroes plummet over the railing and into the waters below. Welcome to the opening scenes of Paul McHugh’s thriller, The Blind Pool.

    The rest of the novel keeps up the thrilling and suspense-filled pace.  Dan and Linda survive the fall, but their adventures are far from over. The leader of the gang understands that Dan and Linda survived the fall, which means they can identify him. His identity is at the center of interlaced mysteries, each a jagged puzzle piece on a deadly board.

    Our heroes need professional protection. Enter Carl Blackadar, Dan’s buddy from his service days, a guy with more military and federal connections than anyone on the planet. His girlfriend, Melanie Olson, as sassy as she is smart, is a journalist who has recently been dismissed from the FBI for insubordination. Before that, she was the wife of a U.S. congressman, a position that still enables her to wield political clout. A moment in her company and no one is surprised about the insubordination charge; no one tells this feisty fireball what to do, and heaven help the misguided fool who tries.

    Dan’s and Carl’s investigations about the motorcycle gang take them to Ecuador where they discover a retired Russian general turned top-level gangster following the fall of the Soviet Union.  His office is an extravagant yacht, and here McHugh delivers exemplary scenes of crimes committed on the water in the dark of night. Meanwhile, Linda and Melanie undertake their own investigation in Texas, posing as a journalist and photographer, where they scrutinize a privately-owned prison with highly suspect practices and uncover the prison’s most notorious prisoner, Ted James Burnett, a man who murdered his parents in an insidious fashion. The women also take in the local color, including running interference with an annoying and odd tattoo artist who has ties to the prison. How does all of this relate to the motorcycle gang on the highway? In myriad and intricate ways that will have readers guessing and holding their collective breath until almost the last pages of the book.

    The action takes place in the present tense, giving an immediacy and added suspense to already alarming situations. Much of the plot is moved forward by dialogue, and what dialogue it is!  Witty, snappy, satiric, funny, anything but dull. Each of the four main characters has a distinctive conversational style, but the women especially shine. From Linda’s broken English to Melanie’s fluid charm, each can deliver a verbal punch when the situation calls for it. It’s a pleasure to read a novel that so celebrates the intricacies and art of the verbal take-down.

    This can’t be the end for these characters—Paul McHugh must carry on and give us more! At a time when the interference of foreign governments and gangsters in American life is much in the news, those who spend time with The Blind Pool will want a sequel. Not only that, but it would be a pleasure to read a prequel. Given the bits and pieces we know about our four main characters and how they came to know each other, I’d love to read a book that sets The Blind Pool in motion. It’s rare that a reader roots for a before and after, but, to his credit, Paul McHugh leaves us wanting just that.**

    *Chekov actually said, “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it’s not going to be fired, it shouldn’t be hanging there.” 
    **Hot off the press! Mr. McHugh just informed us that a prequel is forthcoming. Also, he is hard at work on a sequel!

    “A thrilling ride!” Chanticleer Reviews

     “From Florida’s Overseas Highway to Ecuador, our heroes are hot on the trail of organized corruption that may spell their doom. A hold-your-breath thrill-ride that does not disappoint.” – Chanticleer Reviews

    • Writing:  Excellent
    • Sex: Nudity, sexual violence
    • Violence:  Several scenes involve physical violence and torture
    • Narration:  Third Person
    • Tense: Present
    • Mood:  Highly suspenseful

     

  • HONG KONG CENTRAL, Lee Carruthers #3 by Marilynn Larew – Suspense, Crime Thriller

    HONG KONG CENTRAL, Lee Carruthers #3 by Marilynn Larew – Suspense, Crime Thriller

    Former CIA agent and all around badass, Lee Carruthers, returns for the thrilling third book in the series, Hong Kong Central by Marilynn Larew.

    Lee is looking forward to some well-earned downtime, so when her ex-boss and mentor, Sidney Worthington calls with another job, Lee is not amused. During her previous mission, people tried to kill her—multiple times. All she really wants right now is some serious R&R. However, she is the gal who will never say “no” to a job. And besides, Worthington swears it’s an easy gig.

    Easy sounds nice. So, our heroine jets off to Hong Kong to track down Henry Wong, an antique dealer who missed a routine weekly check-in for the first time in twenty years. What could possibly be easier?

    Once Lee arrives, she sets out to locate Wong Antiques and its proprietor, Henry. Ever the professional finder, she arrives at the antique shop just in time and witnesses Henry’s kidnapping. Lee “borrows” a random motorcycle (she’s not shy about bending a law or two when necessary) and the chase is on, ending when the bad guys dump Henry inside a bar run by a notorious Triad. This initiates a string of unfortunate events for Lee.

    In no time at all, Lee is caught up in a battle between the police and pro-democracy demonstrators. The police pursue the demonstrators with tear gas and arrest as many of them as they can get their hands on, including our heroine – Lee. The pièce de résistance: while in jail, Lee is doused with vomit, thanks to one of her cellmates. The end of a perfect day—said no one.

    Once Lee is released, her mission becomes even more tangled by labyrinthine layers of deception and obfuscation. She must kick her badassery into gear to complete the mission and stay alive. So much for a simple job.

    The character of Lee Carruthers is well-crafted, compelling, and believable. She knows what she wants and when she wants it – and especially when she doesn’t. She can dazzle her prey by wearing a sexy black dress, tote a pistol in her clutch, or sport blue jeans and running shoes to investigate a suspicious event. Readers who loved Lee Carruthers in The Spider Catchers and Dead in Dubai will love her even more now. Readers who are new to Larew’s series are in for a fabulously thrilling, nail-biting, page-turning, edge-of-their seats ride.

    Marilynn Larew’s writing style is smooth, engaging, and well-paced. Her ability to craft vibrant settings against the backdrop of exotic and gritty Hong Kong is exceptionally well-delivered. To sum it all up, Hong Kong Central is an absolute win.

    Reviewer’s Notes:

    • How was the writing? Excellent. The author crafts a solid story layered with interesting characters moving in and around the exotic, politically sensitive, and criminal underworld of Hong Kong. Her ability to create intriguing, believable scenes with succinct, eloquent prose is outstanding.
    • Is there any sex? Yes, but it’s not graphic and works to reveal Lee’s attitude towards short and long-term relationships.
    • Is there any violence? Yes, but it is not disproportionally graphic and is necessary to reveal the possible dangers facing the lead character.
    • How is the book narrated? First-Person.
    • Which tense is the book? Past.
    • What’s the mood? Tense, colorful, and mysterious.

    *Fans may purchase Hong Kong Central from the following retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, Kobo, and Apple iTunes

     

  • CLUE Book Awards 2017 SHORT LIST for Thriller Fiction

    CLUE Book Awards 2017 SHORT LIST for Thriller Fiction

    Thriller Suspense Fiction AwardThe CLUE Book Awards recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of  Thrillers, Suspense, & Investigative Fiction. The CLUE Book Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

     Congratulations to these authors for their works moving up from the 2017 CLUE  slush pile to the Short List. These novels will now compete for the First Place Category positions!

    Each of the titles below has earned the CLUE BOOK AWARDS SHORTLIST bragging rights!

    More than $30,000.00 dollars worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to Chanticleer Book Reviews 2017 writing competition winners!

    The CLUE Book Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres are Detective/Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Private Eye/Noir, Legal/Medical/Police Procedural, Investigative, Spy/Espionage, and Political Thrillers.

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

    NOTE: This is the Official List of the CLUE 2017 SHORT LIST.

    This is the Official 2017 Shortlist for the 2017 CLUE  Book Awards:

    • Triveen Nair – Land of Seekers
    • Jeffrey A. Lockwood – Poisoned Justice
    • Carl and Jane Bock – Death Award 
    • Hubert Crouch – The Weight
    • Martin Roy Hill – The Butcher’s Bill
    • Kara Lumbley – As the Ribbons Fall
    • Jeffrey Ridenour – Aged in Charcoal
    • Kaylin McFarren – Twisted Threads
    • John Houde – The Criminalist: A Novel of Forensic Science Suspense
    • Patrick Clark – The Monroe Decision
    • Clint Hollingsworth – Death in the High Lonesome
    • Elaine Williams Crockett – Do Not Ask
    • Deborah Rich – Under the Radar
    • Lisa Malice – Lost & Found
    • Robert D. Calkins – Digger
    • Barb Warner Deane – Killing Her Softly
    • Lou Dischler – Beneath the Frozen Waves of Steel
    • Larry Temple – 100 Days of Terror
    • Elizabeth Crowens – Dear Mr. Hitchcock
    • Zach Fortier – Cachibache
    • Dana Ridenour – Beyond The Cabin
    • K. A. Davis – A Game of Deceit
    • Avanti Centrae – VanOps – The Lost Power
    • John L. DeBoer – When the Reaper Comes
    • Bruce Graham – Member From Devon
    • Murray Lee Eiland Jr – A New Family (The Bart Northcote Series Book 3)

    The CLUE SHORTLISTERS  will compete for the CLUE First-In-Category Positions, which consists of Seven Judging Rounds. First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the CLUE BOOK AWARDS GRAND PRIZE competition. The CBR Grand Prize Genre Winners will compete for the CBR Overall Grand Prize for Best Book and its $1,000 purse.

    Lonna Enox awarded Clue Grand Prize for BLOOD RELATIONS

    All ShortListers will receive high visibility along with special badges to wear during the Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala.

    As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions, concerns, or suggestions at Info@ChantiReviews.com.

    Congratulations to the Short Listers in this fiercely competitive contest!

    Good Luck to each of you!

    The CLUE Grand Prize Winner and the Five First Place Category Position award winners along with all Short Listers in attendance will be announced at the April 21st, 2018 Chanticleer Book Awards Annual Awards Gala, which takes place at the Chanticleer Authors Conference that will be held in Bellingham, Wash.

    We are now accepting submissions into the 2018 CLUE Awards writing competition. The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2018. Please click here for more information.

  • The CLUE Awards for Suspense/Thriller Fiction 2016 First Place Category Winners

    The CLUE Awards for Suspense/Thriller Fiction 2016 First Place Category Winners

    Thriller Suspense Fiction AwardThe CLUE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of  Suspense/Thriller Fiction. The CLUE Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

     Congratulations to the 2016 CLUE Awards First In Category Award Winning Suspense/Thriller Fiction Novels:

    • Detective: A Matter of Justice by Keith Tittle
    • Private Eye/Noir: The Innocent Dead by Keith Dixon
    • Legal Thriller: Almost Mortal by Christopher Leibig
    • Suspense: The Sage Wind Blows Cold by Clint Hollingsworth
    • International Espionage: Epstein’s Pancake by Bjarne Rostaing
    • U.S. Political Thriller: Do Not Assume by Elaine Williams Crockett
    • Undercover Work: Behind The Mask by Dana Ridenour
    • Eco/Natural Resources Thriller: Seed of Control by Lawrence Verigin
    • Investigative: Striking Blind by Lonna Enox
    CLUE Award Winners: Dana Ridenour, Keith Tittle, Lawrence Verigin, Clint Hollingsworth, Elaine Williams Crockett, and Lonna Enox

    CONGRATULATIONS to  Keith Tittle author of the CLUE GRAND PRIZE winner — A Matter of Justice!

    The 2016 CLUE Short Listers competed for these First Place Category Positions. The CLUE First Place Category Award Winners’ novels have competed for the CLUE Grand Prize Award for the 2016 Suspense/Thriller Fiction Novels. These winners were announced and recognized at the annual Chanticleer Authors Conference and Awards Gala, Bellingham, Wash., on April 1st, 2017.

    The First In Category award winning titles will receive an award package including a complimentary Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

    Congratulations to those whose works made the CLUE Awards 2016 FINALISTS and SHORT-LISTERS lists.

    More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2017 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Fifteen different genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

    We are now accepting entries into the 2017 CLUE Awards. The deadline is September 30, 2017.  Click here for more information or to enter.

    More than $30,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the 2017 Chanticleer Novel Writing Competition winners! Fifteen different  genres to enter your novels and compete on an international level.

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

    Please note that Global Thrillers and Lab Lit fiction entries were moved to the newly offered Global Thrillers Awards 2017.

     

     

     

  • RAVEN’S REDEMPTION by John Trudel — a cybertech paranormal thriller

    RAVEN’S REDEMPTION by John Trudel — a cybertech paranormal thriller

    Raven’s Redemption begins where Raven’s Run left off: Josie is recovering in a hospital in Oregon, and Raven, recuperating at a coastal estate in rugged Northern California. He feels responsible for putting her life in jeopardy. Josie is a sensitive paranormal who can do ‘remote viewings’ – but viewings involving violence, remote or otherwise, weaken her to the point of death.

    Raven is an undercover operative who tries to protect her. He receives his next mission from Goldfarb, his boss: Josie’s untraceable extraction from the medical facility. What none of them know is that sinister forces are at work to make sure Josie never gets out alive.

    Her services are desperately needed again, and this mission cannot fail: she is a non-expendable government asset. It’s a simple grab-the-girl and run – or should be – but when animal activists become involved, chaos reigns, and not everyone makes it out intact.

    The story shifts to another hospital – this time the President of the United States is hospitalized in a secret facility after being irreparably poisoned. After a brief period of rest and recuperation for Josie and Raven, Josie is tasked to work her viewings around the condition of the president. While in her viewing state, she encounters a dark force so powerful and evil she cannot penetrate it – and is afraid it would swallow her very life force if she got too close.

    Should the president die, this force, aptly named “The Abyss”, will be unleashed on the world, and with no stopping it. Unfortunately, all envisioned paths to the future lead to his death!

    Goldfarb’s team is able to use Josie’s information to track down those who want the president dead, but the real problem is knowing who is directing their actions, and why. Some familiar villains appear in this book – we get to be entertained with Vogel’s thick German accent and lack of empathy – and some new ones, who seem familiar enough that we might have read about them in the newspaper or seen a report on television.

    In between the heart-stopping, rag-tag, under-funded operations to rescue damsels and flush out the bad guys, Trudel gives us past examples of breaches of security in history to make plausible actions taken in his story. He relates the legend of General Blackjack Pershing’s pig-blood solution to jihad, though the historical authenticity of this event has been challenged where criticism of Islam is politically incorrect.  Occurring over a century ago, the incident – which has been neither proven nor disproved – provides a richer backdrop to the actions of an unanticipated (and unwitting) ally during a chilling nighttime raid.

    In light of recent terrorist events that leave us wondering “how could this have happened?” Trudel offers up examples of enemies hiding in plain sight, of churches that aren’t the peaceful sanctuaries one might expect, and of plans for evil that are much better funded than their defensive counterparts.

    Raven’s character is becoming less rogue. He is listening more to Josie rather than acting brashly every time. She desperately wants out of the business they’re in – “one more mission and we’ll retire” – how many times have you heard that one? This reader doesn’t remotely foresee a true retirement happening any time soon!

    Those who read Raven’s Run will be satisfied with this riveting sequel, but those who are new to Trudel’s work will enjoy it on its own if they are a fan of political intrigue, firearms technology – both new and old, espionage and a bit of other-worldliness to make this a true paranormal thriller.

     

  • The CLUE Awards for Suspense/Thriller Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners

    The CLUE Awards for Suspense/Thriller Fiction 2015 First Place Category Winners

    Thriller Suspense Fiction AwardThe CLUE Awards Writing Competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of  Suspense/Thriller Fiction. The CLUE Awards is a division of Chanticleer International Novel Writing Competitions.

    We are pleased to announce the 2015 CLUE Awards Official First Place Category Winners. Good Luck to them as they compete for the 2015 CLUE Grand Prize Award.

    Global Thrillers 2015

    Please note that Global Thrillers and Lab Lit fiction entries were moved to the newly offered Global Thrillers Awards 2016.

     

    Congratulations to the 2015 CLUE Awards First In Category Award Winning Suspense/Thriller Fiction Novels:

    • Blended Genre: Timothy S. Johnston – The Tanner Sequence
    • Suspense/Thriller: K. J. Klemme – Tourist Trapped
    • Mystery/Crime: Patrick M. Garry – Blind Spots
    • Manuscript Mystery/Crime: Scott D. Smith – Guilty Deeds
    • Espionage/Spy: Michele Daniel – The Red Circle
    • Contemporary Suspense:  Christine Benedict – Anonymous 
    • Mystery:  Lonna Enox – Blood Relations
    • Historical/Vintage Thriller: Michael Scheffel – St. Louis Affair: The Adventures of Herbert Falken
    • Legal/Medical/Police Procedural: Laurie Stevens for The Mask of Midnight
    • Courtroom Drama: Hubert Crouch for The Word
    • True Crime: Zach Fortier for CurbChek Reload
    • International Mystery & Crime: Marian Exall – A Dangerous Descent

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

    cac16The CLUE First Place  Category award winners will compete for the CLUE Grand Prize Award for the 2015 Suspense/Thriller Fiction 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 winning titles will receive an award package including a complimentary Chanticleer Book Review of the winning title, digital award badges, shelf talkers, book stickers, and more.

    We are now accepting entries into the 2017 CLUE Awards. The deadline is September 30, 2016.  Click here for more information or to enter.

    Congratulations to those who made the CLUE Awards 2015 FIRST PLACE 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?

  • The CLUE Awards for Thriller/Suspense Novels 2015 – Official Finalist Listing

    The CLUE Awards for Thriller/Suspense Novels 2015 – Official Finalist Listing

    Thriller Suspense Fiction AwardThe 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 2015 writing competition winners at the Chanticleer Authors Conference April 30, 2016!

    The CLUE Awards FIRST IN CATEGORY sub-genres  are:

    • Suspense/Thriller
    • Detective/Crime
    • Private Eye/Noir
    • Legal/Medical/Police Procedural
    • Spy/Espionage
    • 2015 — Amateur Sleuth/Cozy

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

    This is the OFFICIAL FINALIST POSTING of Authors and Titles that have made it to the Short-list of the CLUE 2015 Novel Writing Contest.

    • CG Fewston for  A Time to Love in Tehran
    • K. J. Klemme for Tourist Trapped
    • Patrick M. Garry for Blind Spots
    • Shirley Worley for Easy Money
    • Sue Barnard for The Unkindest Cut of All
    • Michael A Smith for The Money Game
    • Timothy S. Johnston for The Void; The Freezer;  &  The Furnace
    • J.G. Schwartz for Inventing Madness
    • Timothy Smith for The Red House on the Hill
    • Antonio Commisso for Silent Partner
    • Dave Edlund for Relentless Savage
    • Joe Young for Indian Country
    • Hannah Warren for The Cottage on the Border
    • Gary Grossman for Old Earth
    • Joe Corso for Lafitte’s Treasure
    • Laurie Stevens for The Mask of Midnight
    • Virgil Alexander for The Baleful Owl
    • Matt Stewart for The Man from KNEW News
    • DL Koontz for Edging through Darkness
    • Mark Pople for Rogers Park
    • Ivan Light for Deadly Secret of the Lusitania
    • Megan Davidson for The Thundering
    • Carol Hedges for Death & Dominion
    • Lucy Carol for Hot Scheming Mess
    • John T. Young for The Princess of Poland
    • Keith Tittle for A Matter of Justice
    • Scott D. Smith for Guilty Deeds
    • K. J. Klemme for Tourist Trapped
    • Mimi Barbour for Special Agent Maximilian
    • Michele Daniel for The Red Circle
    • Zach Fortier for Landed on Black; Hero to Zero; Street Creds
    • Lonna Enox  for Blood Relations
    • Rian Everest for The Tangerine Tigress & The Tangerine Trio
    • M. L. Rowland for Murder on the Horizon
    • Ken Oder for The Closing & Old Wounds to the Heart
    • Marilyn Ida Horowitz for The Book of Zen
    • Christine Benedict for Anonymous
    • Debra Erfert for Relative Evil
    • Joan Hall Hovey for The Deepest Dark
    • S.J. Dunn for Angry Enough to Kill
    • Hubert Crouch for The Word
    • Kent Politsch for Blood Anger
    • Stephen Kaminski for Murder, She Floats
    • Tom Dalgliesh for  All Corpses on Deck
    • D. J. Adamson for Outre
    • J.A. Faura for Apex Predator
    • N.G. West for Nine Days to Evil
    • Vanessa Leigh Hoffman for Treasure
    • Chief John J. Mandeville for Pine Village Co-op Murders and Sherlockito
    • J.J. Chow for Seniors Sleuth
    • Vinnie Hansen for Black Beans & Venom
    • Marian Exall for  A Dangerous Descent

    The CLUE Finalists will compete for the CLUE Awards First In Category Positions, which consists of Four Judging Rounds.  First Place Category Award winners will automatically be entered into the CLUE 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 CLUE Awards Grand Prize Award for the $250 purse and the CLUE 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 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 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 CLUE Awards writing competitions for Western Fiction. Please click here for more information or to enter the contests.

     

  • PRIVACY WARS by John D. Trudel – a cyber-tech thriller

    PRIVACY WARS by John D. Trudel – a cyber-tech thriller

    “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.”  Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems, January 1999

    Thrust into a conference room with trigger-happy guards, Privacy Wars opens with negotiations taking place between a software company and one of its clients. The tension is high as this particular client demands special concessions for its privacy software that Cybertech refuses to offer. Fans of Trudel’s work will recognize Cybertech and John Giles from his book Soft Target.

    Set in the not-so-distant future, through a series of “astronomical deficits and a dark period of crony capitalism, corruption, socialism, and frequent national embarrassments,” America has lost its strength as a world power, and Asia has taken its place. Desperate for a solution, the U.S. president enters into secret agreements with Japan for a loan, deals which suggest treasonous behavior and abuses of authority. The biggest casualty will be Cybertech, whose software creates problems for those who think no information should be private.

    Cybertech realizes that it is being targeted through a series of bogus lawsuits and violation claims, crippling its ability to function. When “Iron John,” Giles’ son, Will, now CEO of Cybertech, realizes the attacks might be personal, he goes into hiding and heads for the hills, leaving everything behind, with minimal resources for surviving in the woods. Will is confronted by a mysterious woman who gives him instructions to ensure his survival, and he has little choice but to trust her.

    The attacks on Cybertech escalate from bureaucratic tyranny to an all-out physical war. An organization called the Peace Enforcers, which operates as though they are above any law, conducts acts of war on US soil with no provocation. In conjunction with a martial-arts trained killer named Tanaka, who enjoys torturing and killing, Cybertech staff find themselves at the Peace Enforcer’s mercy, and Will, who has no defensive training, insists on returning to the corporate offices to try to help his staff.

    The consequences of this action are a major turning point in the story: our hero finds himself assisted by ancient technologies of advanced civilizations, the Viracocha, who go back to the building of the pyramids. Fortunately for us, Trudel includes well-researched explanations into the theories after the end of the story: what might appear to be fantasy and science fiction may have some real-world credence.

    The dogged romantic pursuit of Will by his protector, Becky, who is described in favorable dimensions, complete with advanced degrees and connections in high places, adds a sense of intimacy to the story. Trudel has a mastery of using media’s humorous mis-reportings (as he puts them) that  create unintentional heroes. Each section of the book starts with a real attributed quote pertaining to the story line, some going back to ancient times, and others that are there for Trudel to remind the reader of America’s constitutional roots.

    Privacy Wars by John D. Trudel, explores and confronts the issues that are involved with absolute privacy in software, corporations and government from several perspectives with the need to balance personal privacy and corporate privacy with the need for national defense. Trudel is known for his catch phrase “Thrillers are fiction…until it happens.” And he knows how to write a thriller!