Tag: Thriller

  • TIGER and the ROBOT by Grahame Shannon – Thriller/Suspense, Mystery, Women’s Adventure

    TIGER and the ROBOT by Grahame Shannon – Thriller/Suspense, Mystery, Women’s Adventure

    Chandler (Chan) Gray, recent president of a “rags to riches and back to rags again” app development start-up, is the good-looking, good-hearted protagonist. He was left with enough money to buy the 50-year-old vintage yacht, “Blue Rose,” his home of the moment.

    Tiger is the childhood nickname of the feisty, but gorgeous billionaire Gina Lee, owner of the 120-foot yacht, Aphrodite (aka Afro).

    The Robot is an Android app, the female persona of which is named Saga, created and programmed by the tech savvy Chan. Little does Chan know of the extent of Saga’s AI, its development continuing autonomously way beyond what he programmed, leading to her role as cyber-sleuth private investigator on the trail of Gina (aka Tiger) after she is kidnapped on the morning of the prestigious Swiftsure yacht race.

    “Aphrodite” skipper Billy Taylor, used to his boss’s eccentricities, nonetheless wonders where Gina might be when the race countdown begins. However, he knows that it is his job is to make sure Afro wins the Swiftsure. Chan, previously asked by Gina to join the Afro crew, isn’t as sanguine as Billy, but manages to do his share of the crewing, is caught up in the excitement of waves and wind especially as the sleek vessel is poised to win position among the parade of more than 150 competing yachts racing toward the finish line. Putting a dampening on the thrill is that Gina, the yacht’s owner, is still mysteriously missing. Billy advises Chan to let the police handle her disappearance, but Chan, who recently spent a most memorable night with her at the Empress Hotel, can’t do that. Billy agrees, and Chan search begins, with cooperation from the police.

    Saga (the Android app developed by Chan) enters the story big-time at this point. Chan is the private investigator on the case to the rest of the world, but Saga—operating as an app in Chan’s Android mobile phone while observing the scene via the tiny cameras built into Chan’s sunglasses—is operating behind the scenes.

    Right at home in the world of complex, inventive, and daily changing high-tech communications and electronics, the author Grahame Shannon knows his way around technology. Also, he is a well-known designer of racing yachts as well. In fact, Shannon is a well-known yacht designer. And, for someone born in the Caribbean (Grenada), he’s quite at home in Victoria, Vancouver, and coastal and rural British Columbia, as well as the mariner’s highway along the B.C. and Alaska coast.

    The combination of the authors background and expertise makes the Tiger and the Robot  an entertaining and plausible read for those who are fans of sailing, cyber thrillers,  and for those who simply enjoy a good whodunit mystery. Shannon has created a page-turner of a thriller and carved a small world’s worth of fascinating and unique characters, pulled out of both high places and dark corners.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

    Special Note: The Swiftsure International Yacht Race Week of 2017 began in Victoria, B.C., over Memorial Day weekend. While the reviewer penned this review of Grahame Shannon’s exciting fictional search for the fictional kidnapped owner of a fictional entry in (and fictional winner of) the Swiftsure race of 2016! The fact of the actual race (sponsored by the Royal Victoria Yacht Club every Memorial Day weekend) in real-time late May 2017 lends a touch of reality to Tiger and the Robot, especially if you’re familiar with Victoria, Vancouver, British Columbia, and possibly even the annual Swiftsure event.

  • PRINCE of the BLUE CASTLES by Timothy Vincent – Crime Thriller, Suspense

    PRINCE of the BLUE CASTLES by Timothy Vincent – Crime Thriller, Suspense

    Wilson Ames will always offer you a deal of a lifetime – your lifetime, that is in Timothy Vincent’s suspense/thriller, Prince of the Blue Castles.

    Highly suspenseful and carefully penned, this is a thinking person’s novel that will grab you from the get-go. Castles come into play, but they comprise a book within this book, a small sketchbook to be precise. Our protagonist, Wilson Ames, is never without it since he never knows when he’ll feel the need to draw a castle, using an old-fashioned mechanical pencil filled with dark blue lead.

    Yes, it may seem odd that someone in Ames’ line of work carries a sketchbook rather than a gun or a high-tech electronic device to help extricate himself from dire situations. But, then, Ames is not your typical hero. A slight, quiet, fastidious man who speaks with utmost clarity and precision, his power rests in not being a James Bond type. His opponents don’t know what to make of him, and his size and demeanor cause them to underestimate him, a miscalculation that works to Ames’ advantage.

    So, what exactly does he do? As the founder and only employee of Suadela Consulting Agency, he’s a messenger who delivers the most sensitive of communications.  In doing so, he negotiates, arbitrates, and manages to persuade clients to undertake specific actions if they want to avoid disastrous consequences.

    Although he maintains a very low profile, his skills are well-known to Haines, an old college friend who hires Ames to contact various people. While negotiating with clients, Ames is unflappable. Even when being questioned by brutal, sadistic men who torture him, Ames maintains a clarity of thought and never discloses his consuming desire for the safety of his wife. The cost may be his life, but such is his devotion to her that any concern for himself is abandoned.

    Vincent provides just enough tantalizing information about Ames’ past, via flashbacks, to allow the reader to regard him in the present with escalating curiosity and admiration. When Ames is boxed in by circumstances, his values about to be compromised beyond repair, he meets a worthy opponent, Mr. Yoto, and learns that life sometimes offers options that can’t be anticipated.

    And what of the castles, described in such inviting and lovely language? Is the reader just privy to a relaxing pastime for someone whose life often takes harrowing turns? There’s more to quiet little Wilson Ames than meets the eye, and the same is true of his drawings. They clue the reader to Ames’ thoughts and plans. They are, in a sense, maps that he uses to navigate his work and his overall life. And just when the reader believes all to be resolved, a bit of dark red literally enters the picture, and all is forever changed. Overall, Ames’ opponents are foolhardy to underestimate him, and readers should not make the same mistake.

    A thinking person’s psychological thriller – twists & turns,worthy opponents, conspiracies & deceptions abound–exquisitely intriguing.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

  • MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT by Ann Charles – Action/Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

    MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT by Ann Charles – Action/Adventure, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

    Ann Charles has another true winner on her hands as she reunites the intrepid band of archeologists led by Angélica García for the second installment of her crackerjack series A Dig Site Mystery. From the very first sentence, Make No Bones About It is an entertaining thrill ride of the first order.

    Top-notch archaeologist, Angélica García, admits that after her divorce she “suffered from trust issues—as having no faith in her own ability to judge character.” She leaves her university teaching job for a change of pace and heads to Mexico where she is hired by the National Institute of Anthropology and History to clean up and prepare derelict dig sites (ruins) for the current tourism boon— archaeo-tourism.

    Angélica’s latest project has a few challenges she must overcome. It is located in a remote part of Mexican jungle infested with a myriad of hazards: scorpions, spiders, toxic fauna, bloodthirsty insects, hungry Jaguars, mounds of skeletal remains, and a seemingly endless supply of deadly rattlesnakes. Oh, and it is the same place where her mother, a top archaeologist in her own right, was killed in a helicopter crash—some say because of a curse.

    To accomplish her mission, Angélica is joined by her father, Juan, a brilliant man nursing a leg injury who is saddled with his fair share of superstition anxiety. Quint Parker, a handsome photojournalist that jets off across the globe on assignments on short notice, but returns to lend a hand and tug on Angélica’s heart strings: she is ready with open arms and a razor-sharp machete! Pedro, her quasi-adopted brother and helicopter pilot, and several others round out a solid cast that adds color, context, and pathos to the story.

    Angélica leads the team to unlock and document the secrets of the ruins, but she is consumed by a quenchless drive to complete her mother’s unfinished work. As the team delves deeper into labyrinth warning signs abound and it becomes clear that they are in mortal danger. The book’s first sentence states, “The Mexican jungle had devoured the remains of the dead, bones and all,” and so for those who ignore history could become history.

    At the beginning of the book, Ann Charles discusses her extensive research, which pays off tremendously and adds incredible depth and texture to a well-crafted story. Additionally, C.S. Kunkle’s fabulous illustrations are dramatic, prescient and add substance to the story.

    Make No Bones About It, simply put, is one of those books you pick up and cannot put down.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

  • The JøSSING AFFAIR by J. L. Oakley – Norwegian Historical Fiction, World War II, Thriller

    The JøSSING AFFAIR by J. L. Oakley – Norwegian Historical Fiction, World War II, Thriller

    At a time when true identities are carefully protected and information can get you killed, heroes emerge to fight the evils of Nazi-occupied Norway in J.L. Oakley’s highly suspenseful and beautifully penned historical fiction novel, The Jøssing Affair.

    In a quiet Norwegian fishing village during the Nazi occupation, risk lurks everywhere. Most residents are patriotic members of the resistance, “jøssings,” but there are “quislings,” too. Those who collaborate with the Germans and tout the Nazi propaganda of Nordic brotherhood between the nations. Mistaking the two is a matter of life and death.

    At the heart of the narrative is Jens Hansen who is an exceedingly mild-mannered handyman and a deaf-mute. Jens helps his friend Kjell on this fishing boat but mostly keeps to himself, communicating with paper and pencil when asked a question.

    But Jens has a secret. His real identity is that of Tore Haugland, a man who will risk his life repeatedly as a British-trained member of the resistance. He and Kjell coordinate the transport of weapons and agents via the “Shetland bus,” a fleet of small fishing boats and a few American submarine chasers, that make excursions from the coast of Norway to the Scottish Shetland Islands.

    Haugland and Kjell also assist the young Norwegian men who fled enlistment in the German army and are starving in the woods. Armed with the knowledge that war is ugly and men often break under brutal interrogation and tortured before their deaths, Haugland and Kjell share the scantest details about themselves with each other.

    There are many heart-stopping moments in this novel, deeply affecting episodes told with poignant precision and a sense of awe for the real-life counterparts Oakley’s characters portray.

    Amidst the intrigue and suspense occurring on the seas, daily life in the village may seem calmer, but Oakley deftly demonstrates the pervasiveness of suspicion and danger during wartime. Villagers snub Anna, a beautiful young widow whom they mistakenly believe to be a quisling. As the Allied Invasion progresses through Europe, liberating towns and countries alike, the residents of Fjellstad fear that the German forces will hang on until the last bitter moments in their beloved Norway. How many will die before that time comes?

    Oakley clearly did exhaustive research when writing this book.  A voluminous amount of details is provided on all aspects of the Resistance in Norway.  No stone is unturned and the reader benefits. In addition, the reader learns a great deal about Norwegian life and customs, about an exceptionally hearty people who annually experience four phases of winter and midnight sunshine during summer.  They are not a people to be subjugated, and this book showcases how they fought the German occupation with every means available to them.

    The Jøssing Affair is a highly enriching experience, a fascinating and profound work of historical fiction penned by, J.L. Oakley, one of the best in the business. A certain testimony to the underground heroes of WWII who put aside personal safety for a cause much bigger than themselves. Their courage is acknowledged in this superbly gripping novel.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

  • CHASING VICTORY: The Winter Sisters, Book One by Joanne Jaytanie – Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Psychics

    CHASING VICTORY: The Winter Sisters, Book One by Joanne Jaytanie – Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Psychics

    Greed, power, and genetics combine with a steamy love story to stir up an action-packed, hot read in Joanne Jaytanie’s Chasing Victory: The Winters Sisters, Book One.

    Responding to a cryptic phone call from an old college classmate, Victory Winters, veterinarian and geneticist, makes her way through the foothills of the Olympic Mountains to the agreed upon meeting point. Spotting him from a distance, Victory’s excitement quickly turns to dread when shots ring out.

    To make matters worse, Victory observes a local police detective at the scene – and not in a law-enforcement capacity, either. She can’t go to the cops, and she’s terrified the killers know she witnessed the murder. Needing a safe space to retreat to, Victory flees to her sister, Payton, who is residing in a motorhome at the San Francisco Fairground for a dog show.

    Author Joanne Jaytanie is off and running with a tension-driven novel, opening with a gripping scene. Jaytanie sets the stage for her story by featuring Victory—a vet who combines telepathy with acupuncture to heal dogs. Victory is also close to finding “a genetic link between the canine world and the human world,” an endeavor that has promising potential to cure diseases in humans. This work of hers makes her a hot commodity – so hot, in fact, others will go to great lengths to gain control of her and her work.

    Two entities are indeed keeping track of our heroine. One, Tristan Farraday, a special ops hunk from the U.S. military sent to protect Victory. And second, a nefarious group headed by the malicious Lawrence Braxton, a genetics corporation. Of course, our gal doesn’t know about Braxton’s intentions when he sends her a rather flattering job offer which is where the proverbial screws tighten, and the story takes flight.

    Jaytanie shifts character POVs which increases tension gives her the opportunity to develop her characters and drives the story forward. There are some proofreading errors, but on the whole, this book is a good start for the first in the series. Jaytanie adds chapter cliffhangers, sprinkles in romance and everything sinister, and proves her worth through rich descriptions and excellent dialogue all to produce a flurry of narrative twists to make a fast, fun read.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

  • The FURNACE: The Tanner Sequence, Book 1 by Timothy S. Johnston – SciFi/Thriller/Suspense

    The FURNACE: The Tanner Sequence, Book 1 by Timothy S. Johnston – SciFi/Thriller/Suspense

    Accidents happen on a space station. But when a body’s head and hands go missing, that’s when top investigator, Kyle Tanner rushes in to solve the heinous crime before more of the crew lose their heads. More detective mystery than sci-fi, Timothy S. Johnston’s hero is the only one who can stop the villain before he or it destroys everything in The Furnace.

    The year is 2401. Homicide investigator Kyle Tanner has seen his fair share of the galaxy’s obscenities. Most notably he’s responsible for the capture of its most infamous rogue, popularly dubbed the “Torcher,” in a manhunt that propelled him into the cultural consciousness, though he couldn’t care less. In fact, he’s never felt more alone in the universe after his oversight led to the death of a fellow investigator, and the closest thing to a friend he has ever had.

    But it’s his former exploit that will forever mark his career, and ultimately what has him assigned to investigate SOLEX One, a space station collecting solar energy on the warmer side of Mercury. The case: Jimmy Chin, a crewman aboard SOLEX, killed outside the station when his vac-suit is mysteriously lacerated and decompression finishes the job. Not the grisliest of murders, but when the head and hands are removed from the body twelve hours later, the case falls within the realm of complication Tanner is known for untangling.

    Now Tanner has fourteen remaining suspects aboard the station, any of whom could potentially be guilty of the crime. And though the rest of the crew widely consider Jimmy’s death an accident and the tampering of the body a prank, albeit an odd one, Tanner doesn’t share their sense of humor. He also knows something else: if there is indeed a murderer on the station, he’ll have to work fast to find them as their surroundings are far too claustrophobic and perilous for the potential victims, including himself, to rest easy.

    Sure enough, the bodies begin piling up, and Tanner’s life is directly threatened. Were it the work of another maniac like the Torcher, Tanner might be able to get his head around the situation. Only there’s a secret that makes this case different than anything he’s ever experienced, and with implications that reach far beyond an isolated space station. It soon becomes clear that any one of them would count themselves lucky to make it out alive.

    With a premise that’s virtually Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None meets John Carpenter’s The Thing meets Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, there’s some cross-pollination that could appeal to enthusiasts of multiple genres. This is not a straight Sci-fi, and it isn’t a straight mystery.

    The author does face a challenge of blending a meaningful and entertaining story. Though there is plenty of intrigue piled into the first half of the book, the unwinding during the second half does take on a different pace. Some readers may find the technical aspects of the plot that point to plausibility a bit over complicated, lessening the tension and strength of the work. However, for those who crave Sci-fi/Thriller/Romance with the dial turned up to violent, this is your perfect read.

    Don’t lose your head – even if someone or something tries to take it! Timothy S. Johnston’s The Furnace will have you checking your spacesuit for lacerations and keep you looking over your shoulder for what goes bump in outer space.

     

  • RETURN to MATEGUAS ISLAND by Linda Watkins – Literary Thriller/Paranormal/Occult

    RETURN to MATEGUAS ISLAND by Linda Watkins – Literary Thriller/Paranormal/Occult

    Return to Mateguas Island picks right up with the same intrigue, suspense, drama and mystery that Mateguas Island contained. A page turner from the beginning, this is a tale you will not want to walk away from. The story begins years later with, Karen Anderson along with her new husband Dex and her two teenage daughters returning to the island. Karen goes quite reluctantly, but daughters, Sophie and Terri, are on a mission to find out the truth about their father who went missing and subsequently declared dead.

    Return to Mateguas Island would fit nicely in the supernatural genre but has enough suspense throughout to lean toward this genre as well. This mixture of the two genres makes the story more complex and holds the reader’s interest throughout.

    In this second novel, author Linda Watkins has already established and developed her characters and yet goes deeper into development within these pages. The books do stand alone, but to get a full picture, it is advised to start at the beginning with Mateguas Island to fill in backstory and ascertain each character’s story arch as the tale continues.

    This story answers many of the questions from the first book. By the end of Return to Mateguas Island, however, you are left with just as many new questions and just as hungry for a third installment.

    Upon their return, Karen and the girls find the island relatively unchanged from the day they had left it behind. A day Karen hoped would have been the last they would see of this mysterious venue. The memories were too painful and too jarring for Karen and this quickly bubbled to the surface. As with the previous book, there is something just beneath the surface of things that happen on the island, subsequently, as readers dig into the second book, they will find themselves in a familiar environment.

    The story unfolds rather quickly as Karen once again displays odd behavior as the family returns to their old home. The intense story continues as a well-paced read with many twists and turns. The book holds its own next to the first novel and carries the tale, skillfully and smartly weaving in events that serve to whet readers appetites for the third book.

    High suspense and flashes of horror beckon American Gothic readers to Return to Mateguas Island, the second book in Linda Watkins trilogy –a stunning success leaving readers posed in anticipation for the next installment.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

  • AFTERMATH by Marilynn Larew – Mystery Suspense/Thriller/Female Sleuth

    AFTERMATH by Marilynn Larew – Mystery Suspense/Thriller/Female Sleuth

    Mystery maven Marilynn Larew has devised a can’t-put-down thriller with a female lead who can handle everything from flying bullets, dead cats, and snakes in the jungle, with only the occasional meltdown in Aftermath.

    It’s a normal day for private investigator Annie Carter when handsome, Irish, and possibly crazy “Don’t call me Charlie” Magee shows up at her townhouse/office/home claiming someone is trying to kill him. For one thing, a body fell out of a window and landed near him. But even more convincing, someone shoots a hole through Annie’s front window just as Magee arrives on her doorstep – and not long after that, they find a dead cat on the stoop.

    But can Magee be for real? His stories are garbled, and sometimes he seems to be dodging the truth, but when she lets him move in (for his own protection) it turns out he’s a decent cook and, well, let’s say his interest in her is hard to resist.

    Meanwhile, Annie’s lawyer daughter Elizabeth is bugging her because her boyfriend wants to get married, which is against Elizabeth’s feminist principles, and for some reason, it’s all Annie’s fault. Added to this chaotic, action-crammed and often witty mix is Annie’s newest client, Vivian Rowlandson, whose husband has disappeared without a trace. A complex inheritance means the client must find her spouse or lose all financial support for her over-sized mansion and ten horses. And just as all these mysteries build, Elizabeth is kidnapped.

    Threading her way through other people’s bizarre problems is what Annie signed on for when she became a private investigator. It was the job best suited for a single parent. But now her mothering skills are questioned and her own life is in danger.

    Eventually, the hunt for Vivian’s errant husband will take Annie to the shadowy, steaming jungles of Southeast Asia where human and reptile killers lurk around every tree—and where the charming Magee will prove a stalwart bodyguard—in more ways than one.

    Practiced mystery novelist Larew (Dead in Dubai, The Spider Catchers) presents a plot that brings her expertise to the fore. With teaching and publishing credits in American and Vietnamese military history, she has also visited Hanoi and other far-flung places. Her Annie is a heroine for the mid-life generation: a gritty divorcee with a penchant for adventure and a secret passion for unruly older men. Larew sculpts Annie with just the right proportions of savoir-faire, guts, and a few moments of unabashed girly-ness.

    Sure to please Larew’s fans and attract new ones, Aftermath is a welcome addition to the female detective mystery/thriller genre steeped in exotic locales, alluring hints of romance, bullets flying, people disappearing, and just enough humor to wrap it all together for the perfect read.

    5 Star Best Book Chanticleer Reviews round silver sticker

  • PASSOVER by Aphrodite Anagnost and Robert P. Arthur – Horror/Psychological Thriller/Ghost Story

    PASSOVER by Aphrodite Anagnost and Robert P. Arthur – Horror/Psychological Thriller/Ghost Story

    This novel is a multi-dimensional excursion into the paranormal. Its twists and turns take the reader on a circuitous route, where the impossible is ordinary, and there is no safe place.

    Authors Aphrodite Anagnost and Robert P. Arthur have created a fast-paced, well-written read to challenge even the most hard-core fans of mystery and the supernatural. The writers use a mosaic of imaginative ideas, sensory detail, and historic events to move the reader through a morass of implausible events, to a chilling conclusion.

    For the residents of Zebulon, a tiny, historic Virginia town on the Delmarva Peninsula, the world has become surreal. For the last three months, a serial murderer has been at work. On the night of the full moon, moving from house-to-house on Burnt Chestnut Road, this creature has committed atrocious acts.

    Inexplicable smells, sights, and quirks of weather impinge upon the police investigation of these, driving most of Zebulon’s residents to flee in fear.

    If the killer remains consistent, the next house in line is the home of Dr. Rachel Shelton and her family. One, or all of them, is destined to be the next victim, and tonight is the night. Rachel and her husband, Dave, try to prepare for the onslaught. Little do they know that sharp knives and loaded rifles cannot protect them.

    Sheriff Phil Wise revisits the murder sites and struggles to make sense of the mayhem that occur at each, when “…all explanations seemed stranger than the crime scene itself…” Beatricia, Rachel’s mother, senses the truth, and her revelations help keep the reader engaged.

    The frequency of multiple motifs, e.g., the unexplained smell of burnt wood, levitation of furniture, dis- and re-appearance of objects, random cold spots, and intermittent cessation of normal sound can work to distract the reader. Inconsistencies within the narrative, such as a kitchen floor that is described as linoleum, then tile, and then linoleum in the span of two pages, a discordant timeline of the murders, and a geographic site for one of the serial murders that contradicts the described pattern, detract from the storyline. However, Passover’s plot has “good bones,” and those who enjoy the genre will devour this work. The well-developed character of Beatricia, Rachel’s mother, goes a long way in helping maintain reader engagement.

    Beatricia is not only a learned scholar but also a gifted medium, who views the horrendous events through the lens of spirituality. It is only after she enters the investigation with Lev, a Jewish apostate, that those old truths begin to reveal themselves, and the pieces begin to coalesce. Rachel must acknowledge and utilize her innate psychic abilities if they are to defeat the evil supernatural forces that surround and threaten them.

    “Passover” by Aphrodite Anagnost and Robert P. Arthur takes the reader to a universe where the mundane meets the mystical. Here, the power of “animal magnetism” enables the dead to reanimate and materialize, and a charming teen-aged ghost attempts to seduce Rachel’s adolescent son.

    In this altered reality, symbolism, echoes of ancient religions and myth, memories of age-old bondage, savage twentieth-century anti-Semitism, and ghosts and apparitions collide with everyday family conflict and strife. “Passover” is a paranormal mystery on steroids!

  • 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.