Southern Fiction Mystery

Niall Howell's Only Pretty Damned is a taut noir that takes you behind the big top, revealing rough and tumble characters, murderous plots, and crooked schemes designed to keep Rowland’s World Class Circus afloat for another season. When Toby, former trapeze artist turned disgruntled clown, begins seeing Gloria, a young and beautiful dancer longing for a bigger role under the spotlight, his hardboiled past resurfaces.

For Max and the gang, the idea that dead is not the end has become second nature. But the idea that a ghost who has moved on could be ripped back into the world? That is new. And terrifying. When a woman hires the Porter Agency to help with this very problem, she doesn’t know half of what she’s roping them into. Now, it is up to Max, Sandra, and Drummond to find who is behind this atrocity and stop them. Plus, there’s a spirit to return to the Beyond, a missing girl who might have been murdered, and a possible murderer who happens to be the new client.

Vera “Nick” Nicholson is an overtaxed and underpaid attorney wasting away on the bottom rung of the gilded ladder at Turner, Witherspoon, Anders, and Tyler, PA in Winston-Salem, NC. When a high-priced luxury car belonging to one of the firm’s top clients goes missing, Nick gets saddled with the unenviable job of recovering the vehicle - and its mysterious contents - without involving the cops. Enter Fast Eddie and his quirky band of misfits at the National Recovery Bureau, a repo agency located in a sleepy town called K-Vegas.

Alicia Becker shows up at the screen door of The Milkery beaten, bruised, and claims to be one of Mary Elizabeth Moberly's foster children. Mae West's suspicion of why Alicia is there turns to an investigation after Alicia is found on a nearby hiking trail standing over the lifeless body of Craig Sutton. Who is Craig Sutton?

When it comes to solving cold cases, nothing is ever cut and dried…. Quilter Beatrice Coleman is enjoying the sleepy peace of a tranquil afternoon…until it’s interrupted by her friend, Miss Sissy. The elderly lady is making wild claims about narrowly escaping an intruder. And intruders are unusual in tiny Dappled Hills.

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market. It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise.

After elementary school teacher Nichole Miller discovers the woman's body, she makes two phone calls: first to the police, who call Beverly's death a slip and fall, and second to her best friend, journalist Jenny Martin. Jenny is attempting to revive her flailing marriage and her all-but-DOA career, and she knows foul play when she sees it. The two women enlist the help of Beverly’s daughter-in-law, Robin, who’s eager to expose the truth.

It's the week before Christmas, and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to deck out her shop for the Savannah historical district decorating contest, which she intends to win. Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she's done, but the results are stunning. She's certainly one-upped the owners of the trendy shop around the corner, but suddenly things start to go missing from her display and there seems to be an uninvited midnight visitor to her shop.

Crime analyst and newly disgraced deputy police chief Vera Boyett doesn’t visit home often, and she certainly doesn’t venture back into the cave on her family land. But when the remains of her long-missing stepmother are discovered, Vera will have to face a past that threatens all she is. She and her sister Eve had a fairy-tale childhood: good until it was tragic, with a stepmother they never found a bond with. At least they had each other, a baby half-sister, and a mutual devotion that would have them do the unthinkable.

Mae West is bound and determined to stay in shape for her wedding day and with all the delicious Southern dessert Mary Elizabeth is serving for Thanksgiving Mae has joined the local running group to race in Thanksgiving's annual Turkey Trot. She never figured murder would be on the menu and a couple of people she loves have a perfect motive. The list of suspects isn't exactly brief especially when one of the governor's recently pardoned prisoner is at the top of the list.

Welcome to Normal, Kentucky - where nothing is normal. Everyone in Normal is excited for the Hoe Down to celebrate the opening of the new Old Train Station motel grand opening. The evening comes to an abrupt end when a lightning storm knocks out all the power. At least, that's what appears to have knocked out the electricity. But things aren't always as they appear. Mae West has a way of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong and finds herself in a dangerous situation when she finds a treasure map that leads to more than just treasure...a dead body!

Pepper Dunn can’t catch a break. As soon as life settles down in the magical town of Magnolia Cove, Alabama, the sorcerer Rufus Mayes appears, hell-bent on stealing Pepper’s powers for himself. When Rufus casts a spell that links his magic to hers, Pepper is determined to break the connection at all costs. Luckily, she doesn’t have to look too far for help. When an aging wizard agrees to assist her, victory is at hand.

All Pepper Dunn wants is a quiet life in the witchy town of Magnolia Cove, Alabama. But when the Cotton and Cobwebs Festival arrives, her dream goes up in smoke. This year, grandmother Betty is determined to win the award for best magical creature against Melbalean Mayes, the contest matron. To win, Betty needs Pepper’s help. But when Melbalean winds up dead and Betty is accused of the murder, Pepper is thrust into one role she never expected. She must ensure the safety of her town, try to clear Betty’s name, and ensure no one else winds up a victim of the Magnolia Cove murderer.

In less than 24 hours, Pepper Dunn loses her job, her boyfriend, and her home. It's the worst day of her life. But when Pepper discovers she’s a witch and has inherited the most important store in the magical town of Magnolia Cove, Alabama, she’s as happy as a pig in mud. Too bad the shop is a familiar pet store, and Pepper doesn’t like animals - not even a teensy bit. Determined to sell the shop and get the heck out of town, Pepper’s plans go haywire when a local store owner winds up dead and Pepper gets accused of murder.

When the roar of a low-flying plane awakens him in the middle of the night, Sheriff Winston Barnes knows something strange is happening at the nearby airfield on the coast of North Carolina. But nothing can prepare him for what he finds: a large airplane has crash-landed and is now sitting sideways on the runway, and there are no signs of a pilot or cargo. When the body of a local man is discovered—shot dead and lying on the grass near the crash site—Winston begins a murder investigation that will change the course of his life.

It’s Pepper Dunn’s first Halloween in magical Magnolia Cove, Alabama. She can’t wait to experience all her home has to offer—haunted houses, real ghosts, great fried food. And for one night, regular folks are invited to enter this town of witches.

Just when Pepper Dunn starts accepting her ability to communicate with animals, she’s thrown for a loop - an egg containing a baby dragon winds up on her doorstep. Convinced the creature will grow up to become a destructive force of nature, Pepper gives the dragon to the first person interested in buying - a traveling magician named Mysterio, who claims he can communicate with the dead.

Three full-length novels. Several hours of listening. Sweet Southern Magic includes the first three books in the Sweet Tea Witch Mysteries series: Southern Magic, Southern Spells, and Southern Myths.

Ghost hunter Verity Long is overdue for a little R&R (rest and romance) with her boyfriend, Ellis, and a vintage train trip through the Tennessee mountains seems like just the ticket. The Sugarland Express carries history and nostalgia in every compartment, and Verity is determined to enjoy it - without ghostly interference. But the ghosts have other plans… On a dark, desolate night nearly a century ago, the train was stranded in the mountains, and a young woman was found stabbed to death in her locked compartment.

With her phenomenally popular Miss Julia series, author Ann B. Ross has graced the New York Times and other best seller lists on her way to capturing the hearts of her many dedicated fans. Miss Julia, a graceful Southern lady with impeccable manners and a penchant for problem solving, has become a beloved heroine for countless admirers.