Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers' Choice Award

THE 2023 TOP 20 FINALISTS

Kris Calvin / Under a Broken Sky

Hope Clark / Badge of Edisto

Tracey Devlyn / Flash Point

Kathleen Donnelly / Chasing Justice

Darlene Dziomba / Clues from the Canines

Lori Duffy Foster / Never Broken

Lori Duffy Foster / Never Let Go

Leigh M. Hall / Within These Walls

James L'Etoile / Dead Drop

Richard Meredith / Maskirovka—The Russian Science of Deception

Kiersten Modglin / The Dinner Guests

Kiersten Modglin / A Quiet Retreat

Kelly Oliver / Chaos at Carnegie Hall

Saralyn Richard / Bad Blood Sisters

Saralyn Richard / Crystal Blue Murder

Jeneva Rose / One of Us is Dead

Jeff Shaw / Lieutenant Trufant

Ruth Ware / The It Girl

C.B. Wilson / Doodled to Death

Lois Winston / Guilty as Framed

Winner will be announced at the 2023 Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on August 19, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee

THE 2023 NOMINEES

Traci Abramson / The Danger with Diamonds

Traci Abramson / Not Dead Yet

Victor Acquista / Revelation

A. M. Adair / Shadow War

Aamina Ahmad / The Return of Faraz Ali

Lawrence Allan / Big F@!king Deal

Joy Allyson / Whiskey Love

Carmen Amato / Murder at the Galliano Club

Terry Ambrose / Lies, Spies, and the Baker's Surprise

Dave Ames / Trout Town

Yasmin Angoe / They Come At Knight

Lis Angus / Not Your Child

Daco Auffenorde / The Forgotten Girl

Alexandria Ausman / Delusion of the Collar and the Key

Kathleen Bailey / Silence Says the Most

Brian Baker / The Ambassador

Robin Barefield / Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier

Terry Barnett / Foregone Revenge

Barbara Barrett / Measure Twice, Murder Once

Christopher Bates / Rise of the Water Margin

Mally Becker / The Counterfeit Wife

Marlene M. Bell / Copper Waters

R.G. Belsky / It’s News to Me

Jonathon Benjamin / American Airman

Scott Allen Benkie / The Lawyer's Angel

Irwin Black / Silver and Blood

Kim Taylor Blakemore / The Deception

Shelley Blanton-Stroud / Tomboy

Rick Bleiweiss / Pignon Scorbion & The Barbershop Detectives

Liz Boeger / AppleJacked

Jacqueline Boulden / Her Past Can't Wait

D. M. Bourgeois / Misguided Revenge

Jodi Bowersox / Blue-Eyed Devil

Michael Bradley / None Without Sin

Andrew J. Brandt / Picture Unavailable

Drew Bratcher / Bub

Valerie J Brooks / 1 Last Betrayal

Bill Browder / Freezing Order

Allison Buccola / Catch Her When She Falls

Elizabeth Bunce / In Myrtle Peril

Debbie Burke / Until Proven Guilty

Thomas A. Burns, Jr. / Sister! A Natalie McMasters Play

SL Calder / A Dusty Demise

Kris Calvin / Under a Broken Sky

Ross Carley / The Three-Legged Assassin

Mindy Carlson / Her Dying Day

Chris Chan / Of Course He Pushed Him & Other Sherlock Holmes Stories

Hope Clark / Badge of Edisto

Jon Cohn / The Island Mother

Tom Collins / Treasure of the Diary

Trace Conger / Catch and Release

Esteban Corio / The Future of Humanity

David Cornish / 2003

Katherine Cowley / The Lady's Guide to Death and Deception

Michelle Cox / A Spying Eye

J. A. Crawford / Heroes Ever Die

Martha Crites / Danger to Others

Georgina Cross / The Niece

Matty Dalrymple / The Serpent’s Tooth

Charles D'Amico / Perdue

Jillian David / Fallen Comrade

Ed Davis / Last Professional

Sharon L Dean / Calderwood Cove

Tina Debellegarde / Dead Man’s Leap

J. L. Delozier / The Photo Thief

A.J. Devlin / Five Moves of Doom

Tracey Devlyn / Flash Point

P.A. De Voe / Justice Delayed, Justice Denied

Sonja Dewing / Evil Nuns from Space

Frank DiBianca / Laser Trap

Marianne Donley / An Element of Mystery

Kathleen Donnelly / Chasing Justice

Marissa Doyle / Countess of Shadows

Darlene Dziomba / Clues from the Canines

TK Eldridge / Rook

Gerald Elias / Roundtree Days

Joanna Elm / Fool Her Once

Stephen Eoannou / Rook

Trish Esden / The Art of the Decoy

Alan Evans / Salma's Revenge

Mike Faricy / Hit & Run

Mike Faricy / Suspect Santa

Sara Farizan / Dead Flip

Matthew Farrell / The Perfect Mother

Katherine Faulkner / Greenwich Park

Erica Ferencik / Girl in Ice

Carter Fielding / Murder in the Tea Leaves

Craig W. Fisher / Baker Street Irregular

Erin Flanagan / Blackout

Lori Duffy Foster / Never Broken

Lori Duffy Foster / Never Let Go

S.M. Freedman / Blood Atonement

Gillian French / Sugaring Off

James Fulmer / The Ark and the Whale

Susan Furlong / What They Don't Know

Shirley B. Garrett, Psy.D / Murder in the Churchyard

Deb Gaskill / Hidden Fitz

Leonard Getz / Innocent Spouse

Jennifer Givhan / River Woman River Demon

James Glass / The Kill Club

James Glass / Minutes to Midnight

Rick Glaze / Spanish Pieces of Eight

Bradeigh Godfrey / Imposter

Jeanne Godfroy / Midgard

Debra H Goldstein / Five Belles Too Many

Judith Gonda / Murder in the Community Garden

Frank Gratton / Nula

S.E. Greco / A Patient Enemy

Angela Greenman / The Child Riddler

Henry Hack / Broken Windows

Leigh M. Hall / Within These Walls

Leslie Hall / Curves Ahead

Patrick Hanford / The Creation of Marla Adams

Vinnie Hansen / One Gun

Elle Hartford / Beauty and the Alchemist

Dennis Havlin / The Grave With Greener Grass

L. C. Hayden / That Last Ghost Dance

Peter Hayes / The Things That Secrets Cannot Hide

Kim Hays / Pesticide

Richard Helms / A Kind and Savage Place

Lori Roberts Herbst / Frozen in Motion

Bailey Herrington / The Girl in the Orange Maillot

Lynn Hesse / The Forty Knots Burn

Lynn Hesse / A Matter of Respect

J L Hill / Killer With Ice Eyes

Sasscer Hill / Murder at the Willcotts Hotel

Sue Hinkin / The Rx for Murder

Eric S. Hoffman / The Ballad of Clay Moore

Thomas Holland / Grind Slowly, Grind Small

Colin Holmes / Thunder Road

Polly Holmes / Black Magic Murder

Bruce Holsinger / The Displacements

Sara Hosey / Imagining Elsewhere

Catherine Ryan Howard / Run Time

Linda Hughes / Sisters of the Lake

Nancy Hughes / Buried Trust

Kelly Irvin / Trust Me

Candace Irving / Chokepoint

Lynn-Steven Johanson / Corrupted Souls

Bryan Johnston / Death Warrant

Timothy S. Johnston / The Shadow of War

Mark Edward Jones / A Gentleman from the Darkness

Joy Jordan-Lake / A Bend of Light

Tom Joyce / The Missing Peace

Jo Kaplan / When the Night Bells Ring

Alma Katsu / The Wehrwolf

Fenton Kay / A Piano in the Night

Syrl Kazlo / A Doggone Death

Sean Keefer / The Code

Mary Keliikoa / Deceived

Mary Keliikoa / Hidden Pieces

Tom Kelso / Stability Island

Bill King / Trouble in Valdez County

J. Robert Kinney / At All Costs

Justin M. Kiska / Vice & Virtue

Christine Knapp / Murder at the Wedding

Ryan Kovacs / The N.M.E.

Kevin Kuhens / Terror's Sword

Lucy Lakestone / Jiggered by Gin

Kathryn Lane / Missing in Miami

Madison Lawson / The Registration

Lynessa Layne / Target Acquired

Jane B Lee / Cynthia the Enforcer

Cristina LePort / Dissection

James L'Etoile / Dead Drop

NN Light / The Dog Days of Murder

Laurie Loewenstein / Funeral Train

Amber A. Logan / The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn

Joan Long / The Finalist

Linda Lou Long / The Tuskegee Strangler

Linda Lovely / Neighbors To Die For

Debbi Mack / Fatal Connections

Lexa Mack / Legacy of Lies

John Madinger / Going Under

J.B. Manning / Richter the Mighty

S. Lee Manning / Bloody Soil

J. Lawrence Matthews / The Case of the Disappearing Beaune

Dianne McCartney / Dark Vengeance

Terrence McCauley / Blood on the Trail

Bonita McCoy / Twisted Vows

Richard F. McGonegal / Ghoul Duty

Tony McKenna / The Face of the Waters

Amanda McKinney / Buried Deception

Jennifer McMahon / The Children on the Hill

Richard Meredith / Maskirovka—The Russian Science of Deception

Mandy Miller / Friday Night in The Glades

Jode Millman / Hooker Avenue

Kiersten Modglin / The Dinner Guests

Kiersten Modglin / A Quiet Retreat

Jacob Moon / Dead Reckoning

K. L. Murphy / Her Sister's Death

Judy L Murray / Killer in the Kitchen

Nola Nash / House of Mirrors

Nola Nash / Traveler

Emilya Naymark / Behind the Lie

Jason Offutt / The Girl in the Corn

Laura Oles / Depths of Deceit

Kelly Oliver / Chaos at Carnegie Hall

Haris Orkin / Goldhammer

Susan Ouellette / The Wayward Assassin

Ann Parker / The Secret in the Wall

Carrie Stuart Parks / Fallout

Robin Peguero / With Prejudice

W.A. Pepper / DoGoodR

W.A. Pepper / You Will Know Vengeance

Palmer Pickering / Heliotrope

Carol Potenza / Spirit Daughters

Lolli Powell / The Ghost Wears A Badge

Richard Powell / What God Abandoned

Dareth Pray / Sweetland

Beth Prentice / Tidal Wave

A.D. Price / After the Blue, Blue Rain

David Putnam / The Sinister

Summer Rain / Bleary Eyes

D.R. Ransdell / Brotherly Love

D.R. Ransdell / Party Wine

E.L. Reed / Spikes

Jordan Reed / The Wizard's Brew

Iain Reid / We Spread

Saralyn Richard / Bad Blood Sisters

Saralyn Richard / Crystal Blue Murder

Amy Rivers / Stumble & Fall

Lori Robbins / Murder in Third Position

Jeneva Rose / One of us is Dead

Johan Rosenlind / Franco's Lost Gold

James Ross / Coldwater Confession

Peggy Rothschild / A Deadly Bone to Pick

Kaira Rouda / Somebody's Home

Mark Rubinstein / Assassin's Lullaby

Frank Runles / Lies People Tell

Steve Rush / Kill Your Characters

Lindy Ryan / Into the Forest

John Ryland / The Unkindness of Ravens

Cindy Sample / Birthdays are Murder

J.R. Sanders / Dead-Bang Fall

Kathryn Scarborough / What Was Hidden

Jule Selbo / 9 Days: A Dee Rommel Mystery

Jeff Shaw / Lieutenant Trufant

Lisa Sherman / Forget Me

Dr. Shira Shiloah / Grave Intervention

Joel Shulkin, MD / Toxic Effects

Lida Sideris / Gambling with Murder

J.T. Siemens / To Those Who Killed Me

Benny Sims / Mile Marker Zero

Elizabeth Sims / Tight Race

Diane Sismour / That Darkened Doorstep Anthology

Lynn Slaughter / Deadly Setup

Nancy Raven Smith / Bushwhacked in the Outback

Jonathan Snowling / Distorted Perception

Monique Snyman / Dark Country

Holly Spofford / The Even Game

Michael Stanley / A Deadly Covenant

Janet Raye Stevens / It's Been A Long, Long Time

J.B. Stevens / A Therapeutic Death

Gabrielle St. George / How to Kill a Kingpin

Michael Stockham / Confessions of an Accidental Lawyer

Pat Stoltey / In Defense of Delia

Colleen M. Story / The Beached Ones

Gregory Stout / The Gone Man

Drew Strickland / Abducted in Appalachia

Charlotte Stuart / Not Me! Speluncaphobia, Secrets and Hidden Treasure

Marie Sutro / Dark Obsessions

Bob Van Laerhoven / The Shadow Of The Mole

Nina Wachsman / The Gallery of Beauties

Joss Walker and R.L. Perez / Master of Shadows

Ruth Ware / The It Girl

S. K. Waters / The Dead Won't Tell

Linda Watkins / Tainted Wine

J. D. Webb / Incredible Witness

R Weir / Sold Souls

Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor / River of Ashes

Christine Mager Wevik / Someone Knows

Alana White / The Hearts of All on Fire

Marla White / Cause for Elimination

Becki Willis / Murder at the Stroke of Midnight

Becki Willis / Superstitions and Apparitions

C.B. Wilson / Doodled to Death

Susan Wingate / Gag Me

Susan Wingate / When You Leave Me

Lois Winston / Guilty as Framed

Victory Witherkeigh / The Girl

Joyce Woollcott / A Nice Place To Die

Allen Wyler / Deadly Odds 5.0

Melissa Yuan-Innes / The Shapes of Wrath

Mary Yungeberg / The Man Behind The Shadows

Anastasia Zadeik / Blurred Fates

Rich Zahradnik / The Bone Records

2023 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award

Every year Killer Nashville receives hundreds of submissions for our Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award competition for best books of the previous year. It takes several rounds of judging by industry professionals to determine the winner(s). However, the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award is different. This is your chance to vote for YOUR Top 10 favorites! You may vote for up to 10 titles, but you can only vote once. Spread the word and encourage other fans to vote! Voting is open until midnight Monday, July 31, 2023.

Killer Nashville was a runaway favorite among our readers, earning more votes than any other event on our list and attracting writers, agents, editors, fans of crime and thriller literature, and forensic experts from across the country every year.
— The Writer Magazine
When The Devil’s Bible won the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. Having a group of your peers affirm your work gives you the kind of confidence boosts that lasts—even in those darker times of self-doubt when it’s just you and your computer.
— Dana Chamblee Carpenter
I started writing at the age of sixty-three, so I was anxious to hit the ground running as an author. The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award has clearly advanced my career and I encourage others to reach for their dreams and to seek the recognition this award bestows. Keep writing!
— Bradley Harper