Notable Nominees at Nashville

Organizers of this year’s Killer Nashville convention, scheduled to take place in Franklin, Tennessee, from August 19 to 22, have released their lists of finalists for two separate annual commendations.

First come the books and authors contending for the Silver Falchion Awards. These are supposed to recognize “the best stories from the previous year told through various media utilizing the elements of mystery, thriller, and/or suspense.” There are 13 Silver Falchion categories, including the following two.

Best Mystery:
• Every Kind of Wicked, by Lisa Black (Kensington)
• Dark Secrets of the Bayou, by Kim Carter (Raven South)
• Travels of Quinn, by Sasscer Hill (Independently published)
• Three Houses on a Hill, by Nicholas Holloway (JPM)
• Relative Silence, by Carrie Stuart Parks (Thomas Nelson)
• Calling for the Money, by Cathy Perkins (Red Mountain e-book)
• Love Power, by Martha Reed (Buccaneer)
• Murder, Forgotten, by Deb Richardson-Moore (Lion)
• Code Gray, by Benny Sims (Pandamoon)
• Murder at Lolly Beach, by Jane Suen (Jane Suen)

Best Thriller:
• Collateral, by Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson (Bonefrog Press)
• Bakersfield Boys Club, by Anne Da Vigo (Quill Driver Press)
• Blind Edge, by Candace Irving (Blind Edge Press)
• The Venezuelan, by Bill King (Independently published)
• Fall, by Leslie McCauley (Ingram Sparks)
• Percentages of Guilt, by Michael Niemann (Coffeetown Press)
• Ripple in the Sea, by Charley Pearson (CEP)
• Hot Ice, Cold Blood, by Holly Spofford (HSS)
• The Divine Devils, by R. Weir (Independently published)
• Scorpion Scheme, by Melissa Yi (Olo)

To see all of the 2021 Silver Falchion nominees, click here. Winners in each category will be announced during the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on Saturday, August 21.

Additionally, Killer Nashville is out with its top-20 finalists for this year’s Claymore Award, given for the “best first fifty pages of an unpublished [mystery or thriller] manuscript.” They are as follow:

• Choosing Guilt, by Frances Aylor
• IoTa, by Christopher Bates
• Crooked, by Mary Bush
• Spooked, by Dara Carr
• NISEI Rookie, by Ray Collins
• Blackwood, by Claire Dowley
• Murdered and Missing, by Ardis Eckel
• Androcide in Paradise, by James Graham
• Corniced to Death, by Margaret S. Hamilton
• Curse of Darkness, by Nicholas Knight
• Stolen Diary, by Kathryn Lane
• Cornerstone, by Grace Lawler
• The Forget-Me-Knot, by Richard McGonegal
• Dying to Live Here, by Shelley Spence
• A Bad Week in Wampo, by Patricia Stoltey
• Zebra, by Jill Wallace
• Infinity Is Not Forever, by Michael Wheeler
• Unraveling, by Judy White
• A Star in Her Crown, by Darryl Wimberley
• Mr. Perfect? by Kelly Woll

Three Claymore Award winners will also be declared during the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner.