Winners
Fiction: Mystery & Thriller
2024 FINALISTS - FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER
See below for the list of 2024 finalists in the FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER category, for books with a copyright date of 2023.
Citizen Orlov
2024 Finalist
Author: Jonathan Payne
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744309010
When Citizen Orlov, an unassuming fishmonger and upstanding citizen, answers a mysterious phone call, he is catapulted into a web of espionage and political maneuverings. Not every fishmonger can be a secret agent, but Orlov will certainly try.
Dead West
2024 Finalist
Author: Linda L. Richards
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
ISBN: 9781608095124
Rule #1 of being a hired killer: never get to know your target . . . and definitely don’t fall in love with them. Taking lives has taken its toll. Her moral justifications have faltered. Do any of the people she has killed—some of them heinous, but all of them human—deserve to die? Her next target is Cameron Walker, a rancher in Arizona. When she arrives at his remote desert estate to carry out her orders, she discovers that he is a kind and beautiful man. After a lengthy tour of the ranch, not only has she not killed him—she’s wondering who might want him dead.
King Me
2024 Finalist
Author: J. A. Crawford
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744305760
Super sleuth Ken Allen is called into action when the creator of an immensely popular fantasy television series is murdered, and his notebook—which holds all the secrets, twists, and endings—goes missing.
2023 WINNERS - FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER
See below for the list of 2023 winners in the FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER category, for books with a copyright date of 2022.
Heroes Ever Die
2023 Gold Winner
Author: J.A. Crawford
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744305920
D-list detective Ken Allen investigates a series of murders of superhero actors after the blame falls on Ken’s oldest friend. But the deaths are not accidental. Someone is killing heroes—maybe for love, maybe for money. Maybe for both.
The Registration: A Novel
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Madison Lawson
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744307023
In a world where most citizens are allowed to kill once in their lifetime, Lynell Mize finds herself on the hitlist of many and has only fourteen days to survive, find out why, and learn to forgive herself.
Running to Fall: A Novel
2023 Silver Winner
Author: Kalisha Buckhanon
Publisher: AALBC Aspire
ISBN: 9780979637407
Tragedy and Victor Powell have moved to the desirable but dark Grayson Glens enclave of dream homes just outside of Chicago. With only a few blacks in their elite community, they settle in but never quite feel at home. Then, a missing Black woman floats up in the Grayson River.
2022 WINNERS - FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER
See below for the list of 2022 winners in the FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER category, for books with a copyright date of 2021.
False Light: A Novel
2022 Gold Winner
Author: Eric Dezenhall
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
ISBN: 9781626347496
Seasoned reporter Sanford ''Fuse'' Petty is old-school in every way anti-technology, anti-Millennial (don't even mention Gen-Z), and anti-''gotcha'' journalism. After Fuse is asked to leave his paper, he has plenty of time on his hands. So when his oldest friend approaches him for advice after the man's daughter says she was sexually assaulted by her boss, a prominent media star, Fuse agrees to help. He gives his buddy the only options he feels are available: report the incident to the police or plan something even better — revenge.
Jove Brand Is Near Death
2022 Silver Winner
Author: J. A. Crawford
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744301700
In this irreverent action-packed mystery, a failed actor who once disastrously portrayed a famous fictional superspy is forced to go full method and play the part for real when he is framed for the murder of his celebrated successor.
The Wayward Spy
2022 Silver Winner
Author: Susan Ouellette
Publisher: CamCat Books
ISBN: 9780744300536
When her fiancé, a CIA operative accused of treason, is killed overseas, intelligence analyst Maggie Jenkins smells cover-up and sets out to clear his name, following a trail littered with corruption and deceit, leading straight to a terrorist threat looming where the Russian Mafia, Chechen rebels, Al Qaeda and . . . US government officials meet.
2021 WINNERS - FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER
See below for the list of 2021 winners in the FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER category, for books with a copyright date of 2020. Click here to watch the Gold and Silver winner speeches.
A Child Lost: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel
2021 Gold Winner
Author: Michelle Cox
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781631528361
In this fifth book of the series, Henrietta and Clive find themselves involved in two cases: A spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town, and the search for the mother of an immigrant child mistakenly admitted to a notorious Chicago insane asylum after experiencing epileptic fits.
Hanging Falls: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Margaret Mizushima
Publisher: Crooked Lane
ISBN: 9781643854458
Deputy Mattie Cobb is on a quest to uncover the darkest secrets from her past when murder stalks the rugged Colorado high country. A body floating in a lake sends Mattie and her K-9 partner Robo on a new mission to track down the killers before darkness threatens another victim
Things to Do When You'd Rather Be Dead
2021 Silver Winner
Author: Michael Guillebeau
Publisher: Madison Press
ISBN: 9780997205596
Things to Do When You'd Rather Be Dead is a dark humor mystery. Officer Joe was a Birmingham homicide detective chasing a serial killer called the Angel of Mercy who preyed on children. The killer turned on Joe and killed his wife and daughter. Birmingham PD believes that Joe killed the Angel, but Joe believes that he killed an innocent man. He spirals into obsession and falls apart as a cop and a man.
2020 WINNERS - FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER
See below for the list of 2020 winners in the FICTION: MYSTERY & THRILLER category, for books with a copyright date of 2019.
A Veil Removed: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel
2020 Gold Winner
Author: Michelle Cox
Publisher: She Writes Press
ISBN: 9781631525032
Henrietta and Clive return from their shortened honeymoon to investigate the “accidental” death of Clive’s father, while Elsie gets involved with a German immigrant’s secret past.
Bleed Through: Alex Greco, ADA Series Book 2
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Roger Canaff
Publisher: Brooklyn Writers Press
ISBN: 9780999790380
Inspired by actual events, this is the second book in the ADA Alex Greco series. Gripping, fast-paced and unflinchingly reflective of the #MeToo era.
The Last Getaway
2020 Silver Winner
Author: Clay Savage
Publisher: Ocean Park Press
ISBN: 9781733880602
When a bank heist goes sideways, two getaway drivers come together to figure out what the hell happened, and make the score of a lifetime.
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