Clay Stafford, the founder of the Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference, announced the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists. The 2024 Silver Falchion Awards celebrate the best books of 2023. The winners will be announced from the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on the final night of the conference. According to their website, “Our goal is to see this diverse range of books find their way into everyone’s library as we read the works of old friends and discover new ones.” The Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference is August 22-25, 2024.
The goal of Opening a Mystery is very similar, to introduce our readers to new authors and genres in mystery fiction. Stay tune for when they announce the winners. Now, here are the finalists.
2024 Silver Falchion Award Finalists
Best Action Adventure
A New Game by A.M. Adair
Siphon by Ley Esses
A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnson
Hanging the Devil by Tim Malceny
Splinter by Paul McHugh
The Warmaker: A Black Spear Novel by Benjamin Spada
Best Comedy
Downsized or Dead by S.E. Greco
Shocked by Champagne by Lucy Lakestone
Cultured by DP Lyle
Citizen Orlov by Jonathan Payne
Model Suspect by TK Sheffield
A Crafty Collage of Crime by Lois Winston
Best Cozy
Under the Cocoon Moon by Kathleen Bailey
Dumpster Dying by Michelle Bennington
Puppy Love by Mike Faricy
Naked Came the Detective by Glendall Jackson
Karma Comes in Red, A Beyond Mystery by Morgan James
Trust the Terrier: A Coral Shores Veterinary Mystery by DL Mitchell
Best Historical
Revenge at the Galliano Club by Carmen Amato
Red Flags: A Novel by Rebecca McQueen
Arsenic at Ascot, A Fiona Figg & Kitty Lane Mystery by Kelly Oliver
The Sorrowful Girl by Keenan Powell
The Last Drop of Hemlock by Katherine Schellman
A Courtesan’s Secret by Nina Wachsman
Best Investigator (Includes Procedural, Serious P.I., Detective, and Noir)
When Things Fall Apart by Alan Brenham
Reflections in a Dragon’s Eye by Bradley Harper, MD
Vessels of Wrath by Thomas Holland
These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald
Standing Dead: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima
Splintered Loyalty by Mark Troy
Best Juvenile/Y.A.
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould
The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary by K.B.Jackson
A Place of Vengeance by David Lafferty
A Tall Dark Trouble by Vanessa Montalban
Immortality: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz
Stateless by Elizabeth Wein
Best Literary
Brush: A Novel by Penn Anderson
The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton
Multo By Cindy Fazzi
Nemesis Rising by Adam Golob
The Salt Cutter by CJ Howell
Best Mainstream/Commercial
Stolen Diary by Kathryn Lane
Beverly Bonnefinche is Dead by Kristen Seeley
Prom Queen by Laura Wolfe
Best Mystery
Mouse in the Box by Lewis Allan
Indigo Road by Reed Bunzel
Beautiful Death by John Deal
Secrets Don’t Sink by Kate B. Jackson
BeatNiki’s Café by Renee James
The Empty Kayak by Jode Millman
Best Nonfiction
Forget It, Jake, It’s Schenectady: The True Story Behind ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ by David Bushman
Monster on the Loose by Richard Carrico
Here, Where Death Delights by Mary Jumbelic
The Climate Pandemic: How Climate Disruption Threatens Human Survival by Dennis Meredith
Saint Bloodbath by Frederick Reynolds
Finding YOUR Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide by Judy Penz Sheluk
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
The Pilgrim-Part 1 by A. Keith Carreiro
The Confession of Hemingway Jones by Kathleen Hannon
Interface: Book One: Connection by R.K. Hillhouse
The Zone: A Cyberpunk Thriller by Stu Jones
Do You Believe In Magic by Jim Melvin
Darwin’s Dilemma by Don Stuart
Anthology (Awarded to Individual Author or Collection Editor)
The Black Hole Pastrami by Jeffrey Feingold
There Is No Death In Finding Nemo by Jeffrey Feingold
Paper Walls/Glass Houses by Richard Helms
Blues City Clues by Carolyn McSparren
Obsession by Multiple Authors
Hook, Line, And Sinker: The Seventh Guppy Anthology by Emily Murphy
Best Southern Gothic
Inescapable, A Novel by WB Henley
Best Supernatural
Monstera by EL Block
Personal Demons by L.R. Braden
The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
Downpour by Christopher Hawkins
A Mother’s Torment by Xavier Poe Kane
Ghost Tamer by Meredith R. Lyons
Best Suspense
Don’t Close Your Eyes by Mary Alford
Deep Fake Double Down by Debbie Burke
Deadly Ties by Mary Keliikoa
Perspectives by Matthew Minson
Dead West by Linda L. Richards
The Rules of Thirds by Jeannee Sacken
Best Thriller
Checkout Time by John Bukowski
The Followers by Bradeigh Godfrey
The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard
Implied Consent by Keenan Powell
Breaking Apart by Wanda Venters, MD and Mary Rae, MD
Kyd’s Game by Marc Rosenberg
Best Western
Reckoning by Baron Birtcher
Bladestay by Jackie Johnson
Sting of Lies by Carol Potenza
2024 Silver Falchion Award Finalists @TimSuddeth @OpeningaMystery @Killer Nashville @SilverFalchionAwards #Mysteries Share on X
2 responses to “2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists”
I was honored to be nominated in the Mystery Division for THE EMPTY KAYAK and congratulate INDIGO ROAD on its big 2024 win.
[…] awards are chosen by a team of selected judges. Click here for a list of finalists. The winners of the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award winners […]