Recognition and Awards

• 2017 B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree
• 2017 Honorable Mention–Genre Fiction–Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

• 2018 Finalist–MN Writes, MN Reads Self-Published Author Contest

A Contest Judge’s Praise for Castle Danger:

“This was a very well-done book. You have a strong opening that attracts the reader. You have incredible pacing. The events keep building throughout the book, relentlessly. I was most impressed with the setting. So often the setting is just a throwaway to the thriller, but you made the setting be a character in the novel, which is what the best genre authors do. I’m thinking of Chandler and LA and Connelly and LA (as well.) I was reminded of the works of William Kent Krueger, and that’s a compliment indeed. Have you considered attending Thrillerfest or other conferences that might get you additional promotion for a great book?“

Excerpted from a Judge’s Commentary, 25th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

Castle Danger is the second book in the Matt Lanier trilogy. Now a fugitive from the law and a hitman, Matt escapes to the small town of Castle Danger, MN on the shore of Lake Superior. There he meets a beautiful restaurant owner who’s a fugitive from her own sordid past. It’s a suspense-thriller where the most brutal winter in recent memory is the wildcard that affects events throughout the story.

Fugitive Matt Lanier, unjustly accused of a violent crime, has been hiding in the northeastern Minnesota wilderness for nine months. The law wants him in jail. His enemies want him dead. He simply wants to survive the most brutal winter in decades.

After rescuing an injured trapper, Matt is forced to leave his primitive encampment. He undertakes a Herculean trek through a blizzard to Castle Danger, a small town on the rugged North Shore of Lake Superior. There he’s saved from near death by Allyson Clifford, a shrewd and beautiful restaurant owner with secrets of her own. Despite wanting to move on in order to evade his pursuers, Matt helps Allyson weather a business crisis as repayment for her benevolence.

Then Allyson’s estranged husband, Donnie Vossler, shows up intent on reclaiming their 8-year-old son, Josh. Caught in the middle of the custody battle, Matt learns about Allyson and Vossler’s criminal past life together and is torn between self-preservation and his growing feelings for Allyson and Josh.

Matt’s recent past has left him with little hope for the future, so when Vossler resorts to sabotage, kidnapping, and attempted murder to capture his son, Matt’s integrity, honor, and survival instincts are put to the ultimate test just as a hitman hired by his enemies closes in for the kill.

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New in 2021, find the e-book version at:  

Chris donates ONE DOLLAR ($1.00) per book sale to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern MN. Thanks for supporting an outstanding mentoring organization.