The book published by American author Chris Kuzneski soon after his visit to Malta last year is among the five finalists in the E-book Original Novel category at Thrillerfest, to be held in New York in July.

The book, called “The Prisoner’s Gold”, is partly based in Malta, and it was published last November.

Kuzneski was in Malta in June last year at the invitation of the Malta Tourism Authority along with two other American writers, Boyd Morrison and Graham Brown, both of whom have since also published adventure books with stories extensively featuring Malta.

They were invited after Kuzneski mentioned Malta in several of his books in the past 10 years, including in publications that made it to the Amazon number one spot in the bestselling books list.

Thrillerfest is a yearly event held in New York which brings together all the most famous novelists in a week of activities including discussions on publications, book signings and interviews.

The awards presented on the last day of the event, 9 July, are considered to be the Oscars of thriller publications.

It is the first time that Kuzneski has been shortlisted for a Thrillerfest award. The other four books competing for the title of Best E-book Original Novel are “Jack and Joe” by Diane Capri, “Deadly Lullaby” by Robert McClure, “Ivory Ghosts” by Caitlin O’Connell and “Lie in Wait” by Eric Rickstad.

The other categories are Best Hardcover Novel, Best First Novel, Best Paperback Original Novel, Best Short Story and Best Young Adult Novel.

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