With so many crime fiction and nonfiction books coming out each year, there needs to be a way to find the top stories to read. That is why following contests is so important. They give us the judges’ suggestions for the top reads of the year.
The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards are given to honor the Best Books of the previous year (2022). The winners will be announced on Saturday, August 19, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee at the 2023 Killer Nashville Awards Dinner.
Best Action Adventure
Revelation by Victor Acquista
Shadow War by A.M. Adair
Sister! A Natalie McMasters Mystery by Thomas A. Burns, Jr.
The Child Riddler by Angela Greenman
The Ballad of Clay Moore by Eric S. Hoffman
The Shadow of War by Timothy S. Johnston
Richter The Mighty by J.B. Manning
Bloody Soil by S. Lee Manning
Franco’s Lost Gold by Johan Rosenlind
Best Comedy
A Dusty Demise by SL Calder
Her Dying Day by Mindy Carlson
Five Moves of Doom by A.J. Devlin
Jiggered By Gin by Lucy Lakestone
Richter the Mighty by J.B. Manning
Goldhammer by Haris Orkin
Birthdays are Murder by Cindy Sample
Gambling with Murder by Lida Sideris
How to Kill a Kingpin by Gabrielle St. George
Gag Me: A Friday Harbor Novel by Susan Wingate
Best Cozy
The Dog Days of Murder by M.K. Dean
Five Belles Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein
Murder at the Willcotts Hotel by Sasser Hill
Black Magic Murder by Polly Holmes
Murder at the Wedding by Christine Knapp
Killer in the Kitchen: A Chesapeake Bay Mystery by Judy L. Murray
Murder in the Third Position by Lori Robbins
A Deadly Bone to Pick by Peggy Rothschild
Bushwacked in the Outback by Nancy Raven Smith
Doodled to Death by C.B. Wilson
Best Historical
Whiskey Love by Joy Allyson
Murder at the Galliano Club by Carmen Amato
The Counterfeit Wife by Mally Becker
The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception by Katherine Cowley
A Spying Eye by Michelle Cox
A Kind and Savage Place by Richard Helms
A Bend of Light by Joy Jordan-Lake
Funeral Train by Laurie Loewenstein
Chaos at Carnegie Hall by Kelly Oliver
The Gallery of Beauties by Nina Wachsman
Best Investigator
The Photo Thief by J.L.Delozier
Hidden Pieces by Mary Keliikoa
Grind Slowly, Grind Small by Thomas Holland
Thunder Road by Colin Holmes
Dead Drop by James L’Etoile
Behind the Lie by Emilya Naymark
Party Wine by D.R. Ransdell
Crystal Blue Murder by Saralyn Richard
Abducted in Appalachia by Drew Strickland
A Nice Place To Die by Joyce Woollcott
Best Juvenile / YA
In Myrtle Peril, a Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery by Elizabeth Bunce
Dead Flip by Sara Farizan
Sugaring Off by Gillian French
Imagining Elsewhere by Sara Hosey
Bleary Eyes by Summer Rain
Deadly Setup by Lynn Slaughter
Best Literary
The Return of Faraz by Aamina Ahmad
Treasure of the Diary by Tom Collins
Last Professional by Ed Davis
Rook by Stephen Eoannou
The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger
Best Mainstream / Commercial
Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner
A Patient Enemy by S.E. Greco
One Gun by Vinnie Hansen
Best Mystery
Badge of Edisto by Hope Clark
The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden
Innocent Spouse by Leonard Getz
Pesticide by Kim Hays
Her Sister’s Death by K.L. Murphy
The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker
A Deadly Covenant by Michael Stanley
The It Girl by Ruth Ware
Cause for Elimination by Marla White
The Bone Records by Ruth Zahradnik
Best Nonfiction
Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier by Robin Barefield
American Airman: a memoir of a wounded veteran by Jonathon Benjamin
Bub: Essays from Just North of Nashville by Drew Bratcher
Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath by Bill Browder
The Tuskegee Strangler by Linda Lou Long
Going Under: Kidnapping, Murder, and a Life Undercover by John Madinger
Someone Knows by Christine Mager Wevik
Lies People Tell: An FBI Agent’s Toolkit for Catching Liars and Cheats by Frank Runles
Kill Your Characters: Crime Scene Tips for Writers by Steve Rush
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy
The Future of Humanity by Esteban Corio
2003: The Time-Loop Device by David Cornish
Nula by Frank Gratton
Beauty and the Alchemist by Elle Hartford
Midgard by Jeanne Hull Godfroy
Death Warrant by Bryan Johnston
The Registration by Madison Lawson
Traveler by Nola Nash
Heliotrope by Palmer Pickering
The Wizard’s Brew: A Zane Vrexon Mystery by Jordan Reed
It’s Been A Long, Long Time by Janet Raye Stevens
Master of Shadows by Joss Walker and R.L. Perez
Best Short Story Collection/Anthology
Of Course He Pushed Him & Other Sherlock Holmes Stories: The Complete Collection by Chris Chan
An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue by Marianne Donley
Countess of Shadows: The Ladies of Almack’s Omnibus No. I by Marissa Doyle
The Darkened Doorstep by Catherine Jordan
Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga by Lindy Ryan
The Therapeutic Death: Violent Short Stories by J.B. Stevens
Incredible Witness by J.D. Webb
Best Southern Gothic
Delusion of the Collar and the Key by Alexandria Ausman
The Ark and the Whale by James Fulmer
House of Mirrors by Nola Nash
The Unkindness of Ravens by John Ryland
River of Ashes by Alexandria Weis and Lucas Astor
Best Supernatural
Misguided Revenge by D.M. Bourgeois
Picture Unavailable by Andrew J. Brandt
The Island Mother by Jon Cohn
The Kill Club by James Glass
Buried Trust by Nancy Hughes
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
Dead Reckoning by Jacob Moon
The Girl in the Corn by Jason Offutt
The Unkindness of Ravens by John Ryland
Grave Intervention by Dr. Shira Shiloah
Best Suspense
The Danger With Diamonds by Traci Hunter Abramson and Sian Ann Bessey
The Niece by Georgina Cross
Flash Point by Tracey Devlyn
Chasing Justice by Kathleen Donnelly
Trust Me by Kelly Irvin
Target Acquired by Lynessa Layne
The Dinner Guests by Kiersten Modglin
A Quiet Retreat by Kiersten Modglin
Fallout by Carrie Stuart Parks
We Spread by Iain Reid
Best Thriller
Not Dead Yet by Traci Abramson
They Come At Knight by Yasmin Angoe
Foregone Revenge by Terry Barnett
Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik
Blackout by Erin Flanagan
The Child Riddler by Angela Greenman
Terror’s Sword, A Kyle McEwan Novel by Kevin Kuthens
Hooker Avenue by Jode Millman
One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose
Confessions of an Accidental Lawyer by Michael Stockham
Best Western
Trout Town by Dave Ames
Roundtree Days by Gerald Elias
Blood on the Trail by Terrence McCauley
The 2023 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists @TimSuddeth @OpeningaMystery @KillerNashville #SilverFalchions #mysteries Click To Tweet
One response to “2023 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Finalists”
[…] you wonder what the different genres offer, here is a great place to start. And here is a link to the finalists. Congratulations to everyone on both […]