Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Suspense

The 2022 SOMERSET CIBAs Semi-Finalists for Literary and Contemporary Fiction
The SOMERSET Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The Somerset Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, magical realism, or women and family themes. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Somerset Literary and Contemporary Fiction Short List to the 2022 Somerset Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Somerset Finalists. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the Finalist positions. Winners will be selected from the Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2022 Somerset Book Awards novel competition for Literary and Contemporary Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Conon Parks – Everything That Was
- Michael Richard – Chosen’s Beautiful Heart
- Karla Huebner – In Search of the Magic Theater
- Maggie St. Claire – Into the Wind
- Vee Kumari – ANKANAM
- Linda Moore – Attribution
- Kathleen Stone – Tell Me You Love Me
- Datta Groover – The Reluctant Visionary
- Rebecca Miller – Touch
- Robert Tucker – The Discontent of Mary Wenger, Paper Dolls, Book 1
- Patricia Sands – The Secrets We Hide
- Meredith Berlin – Friends with Issues
- Frances Howard-Snyder – A Willow Cabin at Your Gate
- Julia Tvardovskaya – Identifiable
- Michael Chatlien – Northern Lights
- Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch: A Modern Ranch with an Ancient Secret
- Ellen Sherman – Into the Attic
- Fran Hawthorne – I Meant to Tell You
- Jeff Hartman – The End Of The War
- Leslie Kain – Secrets In The Mirror
- Patricia Averbach – Dreams of Drowning
- Tom Stewart – Immortal North
- Jeffrey Dale Lofton – Red Clay Suzie
- Brenda Stanley – The Still Small Voice
- John Hansen – Hired Hand
- Jo Deniau – Stiff Hearts
- Dianne C. Braley – The Silence in the Sound
- Maggie Smith – Truth and Other Lies
- Susan Lynn Solomon – Raising Kane
- Lynn Byk – The Fearless Moral Inventory of Elsie Finch
- Edward Pontacoloni – The Rookery
- Lee Bukowski – A Week of Warm Weather
- Betsy Withycombe – The Murder of Sarah Grosvenor
- Morgan Sloan – Scars and Honey
- Harriet Cannon – Exiled South
- Ann Marie Stewart – Out of the Water
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 Somerset Awards is Lies in Bone by Natalie Symons

Click here to see the 2021 Somerset Book Award Winners for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Somerset Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
February 28, 2023
The 2022 SOMERSET CIBAs Short List for Literary and Contemporary Fiction
The SOMERSET Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The Somerset Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, magical realism, or women and family themes. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Somerset Literary and Contemporary Fiction Long List to the 2022 Somerset Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Somerset Semi-Finalist. The Semi-Finalists will compete for the Finalist positions. Winners will be selected from the Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2022 Somerset Book Awards novel competition for Literary and Contemporary Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Conon Parks – Everything That Was
- Michael Richard – Chosen’s Beautiful Heart
- Karla Huebner – In Search of the Magic Theater
- Maggie St. Claire – Into the Wind
- Vee Kumari – ANKANAM
- Linda Moore – Attribution
- Kathleen Stone – Tell Me You Love Me
- Datta Groover – The Reluctant Visionary
- Ja-ne de Abreu – The Energy Inside Valsin’s Choices
- Rebecca Miller – Touch
- Grace Marcus – Visible Signs
- Robert Tucker – The Discontent of Mary Wenger, Paper Dolls, Book 1
- Patricia Sands – The Secrets We Hide
- Meredith Berlin – Friends with Issues
- Frances Howard-Snyder – A Willow Cabin at Your Gate
- Julia Tvardovskaya – Identifiable
- David B. Seaburn – Give Me Shelter
- Michael Chatlien – Northern Lights
- Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch: A Modern Ranch with an Ancient Secret
- Ellen Sherman – Into the Attic
- Fran Hawthorne – I Meant to Tell You
- Antonia Gavrihel – Back to One: Take 2 Ambient Light
- Karen Heenan – Coming Apart: A Novel of the Great Depression
- Jeff Hartman – The End Of The War
- Leslie Kain – Secrets In The Mirror
- Patricia Averbach – Dreams of Drowning
- Tom Stewart – Immortal North
- Jeffrey Dale Lofton – Red Clay Suzie
- Brenda Stanley – The Still Small Voice
- John Hansen – Hired Hand
- Jo Deniau – Stiff Hearts
- Drema Drudge – Southern-Fried Woolf
- Dianne C. Braley – The Silence in the Sound
- Maggie Smith – Truth and Other Lies
- Susan Lynn Solomon – Raising Kane
- Barbara Francesca Murphy – Lucina’s Letters
- Lynn Byk – The Fearless Moral Inventory of Elsie Finch
- Peter McDade – Songs By Honeybird
- Edward Pontacoloni – The Rookery
- Lee Bukowski – A Week of Warm Weather
- Betsy Withycombe – The Murder of Sarah Grosvenor
- Gloria Mattioni – California Sister
- Morgan Sloan – Scars and Honey
- Harriet Cannon – Exiled South
- Ann Marie Stewart – Out of the Water
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 Somerset Awards is Lies in Bone by Natalie Symons

Click here to see the 2021 Somerset Book Award Winners for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Somerset Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
February 22, 2023
The 2022 CLUE CIBA Finalists 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).

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Clue Suspense/Thriller Fiction Semi-Finalists to the 2022 Clue Book Awards FINALISTS. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the First Place and Grand Prize Winners of the 2022 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Thriller/Suspense Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following Finalists and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Marie Sutro – Dark Obsessions
- J.J. Clarke – Dared to Dream
- Martin Roy Hill – Upriver
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hollywood Holmes, a Babs Norman Mystery
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Spree, A Buck Taylor Novel
- Kevin G. Chapman – Dead Winner
- Michael Stockham – Confessions of an Accidental Lawyer
- Michael Pronko – Azabu Getaway
- Saralyn Richard – Bad Blood Sisters
- Brenda Stanley – The Still Small Voice
- Bryan Cassiday – Knot of Fear
- Danielle M. Wong – Last Liar Standing
- Michelle Cox – A Spying Eye
- Arthur Herbert – The Bones of Amoret
- Britt Lind – Malevolence – A Hollywood Mystery
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- Paul Attaway – Eli’s Redemption
- Paul Attaway – Blood in the Low Country
- Lisa Towles – Ninety-Five
- Leah Angstman – Falcon in the Dive
- Susan Wingate – When You Leave Me
- Alexandrea Weis – Have You Seen Me?
- Jodé Millman – Hooker Avenue
- Brian Cuban – The Ambulance Chaser
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Exploded, A Buck Taylor Novel
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB 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 Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CLUE Awards was:

The Vines

by Shelley Nolden

See the full list of 2021 winners here!

The 2022 CLUE Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 CLUE Book Awards are open until the end of July. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
February 20, 2023
The 2022 SOMERSET CIBAs Long List for Literary and Contemporary Fiction
The SOMERSET Book Awards recognize emerging talent and outstanding works in the genre of Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The Somerset Book Awards is a genre division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards (The CIBAs).

Chanticleer International Book Awards is looking for the best books featuring contemporary stories, literary themes, adventure, magical realism, or women and family themes. These books have advanced to the next judging rounds. We will put them to the test and choose the best among them.

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Somerset Literary and Contemporary Fiction entries to the 2022 Somerset Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Somerset Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 Somerset Book Awards novel competition for Literary and Contemporary Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Conon Parks – Everything That Was
- Michael Richard – Chosen’s Beautiful Heart
- Karla Huebner – In Search of the Magic Theater
- Maggie St. Claire – Into the Wind
- Vee Kumari – ANKANAM
- Linda Moore – Attribution
- Kathleen Stone – Tell Me You Love Me
- Datta Groover – The Reluctant Visionary
- Theresa Griffin Kennedy – Talionic Night in Portland
- Ja-ne de Abreu – The Energy Inside Valsin’s Choices
- Rebecca Miller – Touch
- Grace Marcus – Visible Signs
- Robert Tucker – The Discontent of Mary Wenger, Paper Dolls, Book 1
- Patricia Sands – The Secrets We Hide
- Meredith Berlin – Friends with Issues
- Frances Howard-Snyder – A Willow Cabin at Your Gate
- Zubin Aibara – Gulliver’s Tramps
- J. F. Alexandria – Children of the Sun
- Julia Tvardovskaya – Identifiable
- David B. Seaburn – Give Me Shelter
- Michael Chatlien – Northern Lights
- Julia Brewer Daily – The Fifth Daughter of Thorn Ranch: A Modern Ranch with an Ancient Secret
- Ellen Sherman – Into the Attic
- Fran Hawthorne – I Meant to Tell You
- Antonia Gavrihel – Back to One: Take 2 Ambient Light
- Karen Heenan – Coming Apart: A Novel of the Great Depression
- John Nicholson – The Parables of Chance
- Terry Tierney – Lucky Ride
- Jeff Hartman – The End Of The War
- Leslie Kain – Secrets In The Mirror
- Patricia Averbach – Dreams of Drowning
- Tom Stewart – Immortal North
- Jeffrey Dale Lofton – Red Clay Suzie
- Brenda Stanley – The Still Small Voice
- John Hansen – Hired Hand
- Jo Deniau – Stiff Hearts
- Drema Drudge – Southern-Fried Woolf
- Dianne C. Braley – The Silence in the Sound
- Maggie Smith – Truth and Other Lies
- Susan Lynn Solomon – Raising Kane
- Barbara Francesca Murphy – Lucina’s Letters
- Lynn Byk – The Fearless Moral Inventory of Elsie Finch
- Peter McDade – Songs By Honeybird
- Edward Pontacoloni – The Rookery
- Lee Bukowski – A Week of Warm Weather
- Betsy Withycombe – The Murder of Sarah Grosvenor
- Gloria Mattioni – California Sister
- Morgan Sloan – Scars and Honey
- Matthew Marullo – Welcome To Opine
- Robert Steven Goldstein – Will’s Surreal Period
- Karen S. Bell – Like a Lily Among the Thorns
- Harriet Cannon – Exiled South
- Ann Marie Stewart – Out of the Water
PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB to allow us to tag an author, that author must LIKE our page and Follow Chanticleer Reviews. FB rules — not ours.

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

Additionally, we also post on Twitter. Chanticleer Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 Somerset Awards is Lies in Bone by Natalie Symons

Click here to see the 2021 Somerset Book Award Winners for Literary and Contemporary Fiction.

We are now accepting submissions into the 2023 Somerset Book Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction. The 2023 CIBA winners will be announced at CAC 2024.

Please click here for more information.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Chanticleer In’tl Book Awards Ceremony that is sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
January 26, 2023
The 2022 CLUE Book Awards for Suspense/Thrillers – CIBAs Semi-Finalists
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).

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Clue Suspense/Thriller Fiction Short List to the 2022 Clue Book Awards SEMI-FINALISTS. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the FINALISTS of the 2022 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Thriller/Suspense Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following Semi-Finalists and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Marie Sutro – Dark Obsessions
- Leah Angstman – Falcon in the Dive
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- J.J. Clarke – Dared to Dream
- Martin Roy Hill – Upriver
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hollywood Holmes, a Babs Norman Mystery
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Spree, A Buck Taylor Novel
- Kevin G. Chapman – Dead Winner
- Michael Stockham – Confessions of an Accidental Lawyer
- Michael Pronko – Azabu Getaway
- Saralyn Richard – Bad Blood Sisters
- Bryan Cassiday – Knot of Fear
- Danielle M. Wong – Last Liar Standing
- Michelle Cox – A Spying Eye
- Arthur Herbert – The Bones of Amoret
- Britt Lind – Malevolence – A Hollywood Mystery
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- Paul Attaway – Eli’s Redemption
- Paul Attaway – Blood in the Low Country
- Susan Wingate – When You Leave Me
- Jodé Millman – Hooker Avenue
- R.U. Randy – Astraphobia
- Brian Cuban – The Ambulance Chaser
- Lisa Towles – Ninety-Five
- Alexandrea Weis – Have You Seen Me?
- John J. Valentino, Chief John J. Mandeville – Old Dark and Dangerous
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Exploded, A Buck Taylor Novel
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB 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 Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CLUE Awards was:

The Vines

by Shelley Nolden

See the full list of 2021 winners here!

The 2022 CLUE Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 CLUE Book Awards are open until the end of July. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
January 19, 2023
The 2022 CLUE Book Awards for Suspense/Thrillers – CIBAs Short List
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).

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Clue Suspense/Thriller Fiction Long List to the 2022 Clue Book Awards SHORT LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Clue Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SEMI-FINALISTS of the 2022 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Thriller/Suspense Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following Short List authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Marie Sutro – Dark Obsessions
- Leah Angstman – Falcon in the Dive
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- Craig H. Bowlsby – Requiem for a Lotus
- Chris Norbury – Dangerous Straits
- Steve Mullaney – Twisted
- J.J. Clarke – Dared to Dream
- Martin Roy Hill – Upriver
- Kevin Kuhens – Terror’s Sword – A Kyle McEwan Novel
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hollywood Holmes, a Babs Norman Mystery
- J. Luke Bennecke – Waterborne
- Lo Monaco – Suddenly Deadly
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Spree, A Buck Taylor Novel
- Gerard Shirar – The China Paradox
- Kevin G. Chapman – Dead Winner
- Michael Stockham – Confessions of an Accidental Lawyer
- Michael Pronko – Azabu Getaway
- Saralyn Richard – Bad Blood Sisters
- Bryan Cassiday – Knot of Fear
- Craig W. Fisher – Baker Street Irregular
- Danielle M. Wong – Last Liar Standing
- Michelle Cox – A Spying Eye
- Arthur Herbert – The Bones of Amoret
- Britt Lind – Malevolence – A Hollywood Mystery
- Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- Paul Attaway – Eli’s Redemption
- Paul Attaway – Blood in the Low Country
- Justin M. Kiska – Vice & Virtue
- Paul Alexander Sangillo – The Golden Prison
- Susan Wingate – When You Leave Me
- Jodé Millman – Hooker Avenue
- Charlie Robinson – Hybrid Hysteria – A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Both Holy and Diabolical
- R.U. Randy – Astraphobia
- Carolyn M. Bowen – The Death of Me
- Cathi Stoler – Straight Up A Murder On The Rocks Mystery
- Brian Cuban – The Ambulance Chaser
- Lisa Towles – Ninety-Five
- Alexandrea Weis – Have You Seen Me?
- John J. Valentino, Chief John J. Mandeville – Old Dark and Dangerous
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Exploded, A Buck Taylor Novel
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB 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 Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CLUE Awards was:

The Vines

by Shelley Nolden

See the full list of 2021 winners here!

The 2022 CLUE Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 CLUE Book Awards are open until the end of July. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
January 10, 2023
The 2022 CLUE Book Awards for Suspense/Thrillers – CIBAs Long List
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).

These titles have moved forward in the judging rounds from all 2022 Clue Suspense/Thriller Fiction entries to the 2022 Clue Book Awards LONG LIST. Entries below are now in competition for 2022 Clue Short List. The Short Listers will compete for the Semi-Finalist positions. Finalists will be selected from the Semi-Finalists. All FINALISTS will be announced and recognized at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC23).

The First Place Category Winners, along with the CIBA Division Grand Prize winners, will be selected from the 25 CIBA divisions’ Finalists.

We will announce the 1st Place Category winners and Grand Prize Division Winners at the CIBAs Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at the luxurious Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, Wash. sponsored by the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference.

These titles are in the running for the SHORT LIST of the 2022 Clue Book Awards novel competition for Thriller/Suspense Fiction!

Join us in cheering on the following authors and their works in the 2022 CIBAs.
- Marie Sutro – Dark Obsessions
- Leah Angstman – Falcon in the Dive
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- Craig H. Bowlsby – Requiem for a Lotus
- Chris Norbury – Dangerous Straits
- Steve Mullaney – Twisted
- Steve Mullaney – Randomization
- J.J. Clarke – Dared to Dream
- Theresa Griffin Kennedy – Talionic Night in Portland
- Jon Kaledin – Dissonance
- Martin Roy Hill – Upriver
- Kevin Kuhens – Terror’s Sword – A Kyle McEwan Novel
- Elizabeth Crowens – Hollywood Holmes, a Babs Norman Mystery
- J. Luke Bennecke – Waterborne
- Lo Monaco – Suddenly Deadly
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Spree, A Buck Taylor Novel
- Gerard Shirar – The China Paradox
- Jim Gish – Hell Game
- Kevin G. Chapman – Dead Winner
- Jule Selbo – 9 Days, A Dee Rommel Mystery
- Michael Stockham – Confessions of an Accidental Lawyer
- Matt Andrus – T’HUG
- Robert Buschel – God$ Ponzi
- McKinley Aspen – Praesidium
- Merit Clark – Killing Innocence
- Michael Pronko – Azabu Getaway
- Saralyn Richard – Bad Blood Sisters
- Bryan Cassiday – Knot of Fear
- Craig W. Fisher – Baker Street Irregular
- Danielle M. Wong – Last Liar Standing
- Kim Hays – Pesticide
- Miriam Verbeek – The Website
- Michelle Cox – A Spying Eye
- Arthur Herbert – The Bones of Amoret
- Brooke Maddaleni – Next Door
- Britt Lind – Malevolence – A Hollywood Mystery
- Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke – Major Jake Fortina and the Tier One Threat
- D.V. Chernov – Severed Echoes
- AG Flitcher – Boone and Jacque: Cytrus Moonlight
- Kenneth Arbogast – Coast Guard Blues
- Paul Attaway – Eli’s Redemption
- Paul Attaway – Blood in the Low Country
- Justin M. Kiska – Vice & Virtue
- Paul Alexander Sangillo – The Golden Prison
- Susan Wingate – When You Leave Me
- Jodé Millman – Hooker Avenue
- Charlie Robinson – Hybrid Hysteria – A Novel of Corporate Intrigue Both Holy and Diabolical
- R.U. Randy – Astraphobia
- Carolyn M. Bowen – The Death of Me
- Cathi Stoler – Straight Up A Murder On The Rocks Mystery
- Brian Cuban – The Ambulance Chaser
- Lisa Towles – Ninety-Five
- Alexandrea Weis – Have You Seen Me?
- John J. Valentino, Chief John J. Mandeville – Old Dark and Dangerous
- Carl and Jane Bock – Day of the Jaguar
- Chuck Morgan – Crime Exploded, A Buck Taylor Novel
Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

PROMOTING OUR AUTHORS!

This post has been posted on the Chanticleer Facebook Page. We try to tag all authors listed here in the FB post. However, for FB 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 Twitter’s handle is @ChantiReviews

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

Good luck to all as your works move on to the next rounds of judging.

The Grand Prize Winner for the CIBA 2021 CLUE Awards was:

The Vines

by Shelley Nolden

The 2022 CLUE Book Awards winners will be announced at CAC23 on April 29, 2023. Save the date for CAC23, scheduled April 27-30, 2023, our 11-year Conference Anniversary!

Submissions for the 2023 CLUE Book Awards are open until the end of July. Enter here!

Don’t delay! Enter today!

IN-Person – April 27-30, 2023! Register Today!

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 11th annual conference and discover why!
November 29, 2022
THE EXCURSION by T.O. Paine – Horror, Thriller, Suspense Action

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.

Charly is there for a complicated family reunion.

Along with her autistic brother Jacob, whom Charly has taken care of all her life, she deals with two cousins: Amanda, who must win everything in her life at any cost, and Cal, who Charly fears might be a psychopath.

Randall has come for his “excursion,” well paid for his work, and confident that this weekend will prove his superiority to his boss. A self-styled alpha male, a hunter-cum-master-of-the-universe, he is in control of every detail of what happens in this ultimate form of hunting. Joining Randall in the cabin are Barry, the wealthy hunter who has signed on for this excursion, and Barry’s gaggle-headed girlfriend Kennedy.

But Randall brought one more person. Tyler sits caged in the boathouse near the cabin, kidnapped to serve as the designated prey. Randall didn’t expect his perfectly planned hunt would include Charly and her family, or Barry’s girlfriend, but he sees an opportunity in them. He has delicious, final plans for everyone at the cabin.

What can go wrong for the hunter who has everything perfectly under control?

A hidden pleasure here is the literary “Easter eggs” the writer has planted. For example, Charly’s last name is Highsmith, certainly a reference to celebrated mystery writer Patricia Highsmith. And Randall may well be related to Steven King’s protagonist in his best-selling The Stand. Does the unusual spelling of “Charly” have its roots in the science-fiction novel, Flowers for Algernon?

The Excursion grips you from the first page. Its march through dense snowdrifts and mountains will leave you yearning for waterproof boots, or, better, a blanket to hide under as you dig further into this twisty, unrelenting story. If you’re a fan of satisfying horror novels, this is one not to miss.

November 18, 2022
November SPOTLIGHT on the 2022 Somerset Awards for Literary and Contemporary Fiction

November brings insight, reflection, and contemplation of the state of affairs in which we find ourselves. As the year winds down, so, too, we reflect and ponder what we have done, who we are, and who we would like to be.

It’s a perfect time to curl up with a good novel, you know, the type that grabs you and lives with you long after you put it down.

This is why we celebrate novels that are literary, satirical, and contemporary. This is why we celebrate the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards – Somerset Literary Novels Writing Competitions.

We chose William Somerset Maugham because we love his work and love what he has to say about it:

“I am a made writer. I do not write as I want to; I write as I can… I have had small power of imagination… no lyrical quality… little gift of metaphor I had an acute power of observation, and it seemed to me that I could see a great many things that other people missed.” W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham was a British author who wrote plays and short stories and novels. He was a dashing and daring man who did not wish to follow the other men in his family to practice law. Imagine, an individual in the Victorian Era… He was born on January 25, 1874, in Paris (at the British Embassy) and died on December 16th, 1965, in Nice, France.

During the First World War, our Somerset proved his valor by serving with the Red Cross in the ambulance corps (remember his earlier medical training) and was recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service right before the October Revolution in 1917.

Somerset dove into medicine and was fairly good at it until he wrote his first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897) and all bets were off. The book flew off the shelves and people were reportedly wrestling in the streets for copies to gift their loved ones. (*Creative license at work – however, you don’t know that this did not happen…) He was known to say, “I took to it (writing) as a duck takes to water.”

At the age of sixty-six, he had to flee with only a suitcase from the encroaching Nazis as they advanced across Europe. He escaped to England and then on to South Carolina, in the U.S. where he continued to work on the screenplay for Razor’s Edge. He moved to Hollywood and then eventually back to France.

Did we mention that W. Somerset Maugham was repudiated to be the highest-paid author of the 1930s?

It’s obvious why we chose Somerset to represent our Literary & Contemporary Fiction Awards!

Submit your novel or manuscript to our Somerset Awards today!

Here is a listing of the Somerset Book Awards Hall of Fame Winners!

The 2018 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

Hard Cider – a novel by Barbara A. Stark-Nemon

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

The 2019 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

The Proprietor of Theatre Life by Donna LeClair

Still in progress, we’re excited to review Donna’s book when it comes out!

The 2020 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

Gregory Erich Phillips for A Season in Lights

Gregory Erich Phillips’ A Season in Lights is a well-crafted, engaging exploration of creatives, each following their heart and trying to reach their dream.

Against backdrops of the 1980s AIDS crisis and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic, the story entwines the lives of a 30-something dancer and an older musician as they strive to make their artistic mark in the cultural capital of New York City.

Here in a two-fold unveiling, the story comes to life from the first-person perspective of Cammie, a starry-eyed aspiring dancer from Lancaster, PA, and the third-person reveal of Tom, a more seasoned black pianist. He longs for a classical career but is too often labeled a jazz musician. Cammie first encounters Tom in a studio dance class where he’s taken a job as the musical accompanist. Befriended by the gay dance instructor, Tom heeds the worldly advice offered about surviving in the Big Apple. “All you’ve got to do is convince people that you belong. You’ve got to tell them who you are before they tell you.”

The 2021 Somerset Award Grand Prize Winner was:

Lies in Bone Natalie Symons

A review of Lies in Bone is forthcoming. However, we know you’ll love this intricate story told with beautifully tight control. A mystery lies at the heart of this book that has the feeling of a grown-up To Kill a Mockingbird meets Serial Production’s S-Town Podcast. Highly Recommended.

Will your novel be recognized as the best of the best in the Somerset Awards for 2022? Find out!

Submit your work to the Chanticleer International Book Awards – today!

The last day to submit your work is November 30, 2022. We invite you to join us, tell us your stories, and find out who will take home the prize at CAC23 on April 29th.

As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your literary novel deserves! Enter today!

The SOMERSET Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs.

The winners will be announced at the CIBA Awards Ceremony on April 29, 2023, which will take place during the 2023 Chanticleer Authors Conference. All Finalists and First Place category winners will be recognized, the First Place Winners will be whisked up on stage to receive their custom ribbon and wait to see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of dinner, networking, and celebrations!

First Place Winners and Grand Prize winners will each receive an awards package. Whose works will be chosen?

The excitement builds for the 2022 SOMERSET Book Awards competitions.

November 10, 2022
THE VINES by Shelley Nolden – Medical Mystery, Suspense, Historical Fiction

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.

Beginning with Otto, Finn’s great-grandfather, who worked at the Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island at the turn of the 20th century, this family has been consumed by unanswered medical questions about universal conditions that impact the human race.

Years after Otto’s death, the Riverside Hospital was ultimately closed, leaving North Brother abandoned, subject to the ravages of rats, birds, and vines. However, Finn’s father and grandfather secretly continued Otto’s research at the now crumbling, empty medical facility.

Although aware of their secret research, Finn had always been excluded from the details, despite his curiosity. What exactly were they doing? And why?

In 2007, the 28-year-old Finn clandestinely crosses the East River to North Brother. Instead of learning about his family’s secret research, he encounters an unfriendly, mysterious woman, her body scarred from previous physical abuse, yet fit and strong, bathing in one of the abandoned buildings.

More than a century ago in February 1903, Coraline McSorley, Cora to most, is infected with typhus and quarantined at Riverside Hospital, New York City’s most notorious pesthouse.

The ensuing story skips back and forth in time, slowly revealing itself through flashbacks, real-time, and places in between. As it grows, The Vines becomes more engaging. Nolden utilizes historical people, places, and events associated with North Brother Island to create a story in which Cora, along with the island itself, are sympathetic characters irrevocably tied to a family whose fanatical, convoluted curiosities dominate every aspect of their lives.

Several chapters into the book, the hook is set deep, pulling the reader in close and holding them there.

The Vines offers readers a mystery to be unraveled, connecting dots back and forth in time as the pace and action increase. Rather than ending with a conclusive resolution, The Vines leaves questions for the reader to ponder, matching the curiosity of the story’s characters.

Readers pulled into this mystery will be glad to find another baited hook dangling just beyond the gateway to the future, as Nolden suggests a sequel is in the works.

The Vines by Shelley Nolden won Grand Prize in the 2021 CIBA CLUE Awards for Suspense and Thriller Mysteries.

November 4, 2022