Southern Fiction Mystery

The terrorized children of Governor's Road grew up without resolution or closure to the most devastating event of their young lives. Their friend, a child their age, disappeared one afternoon and somehow, they never seem to learn what happened. Saddened parents decide to protect their children, and the obvious fear recedes in the face of the calm that settles back over the neighborhood. But, fear never really disappears until it's confronted.

A group of teenagers find strange prints seared into the ground around their campsite. They follow the tracks, thinking it will lead to fun. But it doesn't. They eventually arrive at the edge of Alvaretta Graves' property - house of the legendary Riverwood Witch. When an agrument that arises turns violent, Alvaretta places a curse on them.

With this critically acclaimed debut collection, Frank Bill announces himself as an author of fiercely defined vision. In these vivid tales, Bill’s southern Indiana proves a literary destination of immense nuance, even as his mostly working-class characters cry out in voices that cannot be denied.

Bored with his desk job, Flight Lieutenant Harry "Flash" Rose is persuaded by his dear friend Daniel "Granny" Smith to re-join Excalibur Squadron, now flying Hawker Typhoons in the defence of the south coast of England. His success rate is extraordinary, but there is much more to Rose’s story than combat.

Once again, the Sophia Island Shrimp Festival is over. Thousands attended to eat shrimp, shop, and watch the pirates come ashore as usual, but this year’s temperatures were warmer than ever. Everyone is happy that the busy hot weekend is over, and everyone came through unscathed. Or so it seems. Jewel and Craig Mantelle also made it through their kids and families’ first visit to their new island home.

Jewel Mantelle is just beginning to get used to the humidity in her new Southern home on Sophia Island, when Turtle Season opens way too early. At least, it's too early according to her friends with Turtle Trackers. Is it a true sea turtle nest found on a stormy April morning? Not likely, when a body is eventually discovered buried where the eggs should be.

Los Angeles TV journalist Beatrice Middleton has lost her job. With a possible employment offer in Atlanta, she heads home to Savannah, Georgia, to reconnect with her contentious African-American family, arriving to find that her 15-year-old nephew has been murdered. This begins the unraveling of a cloak of family secrets surrounding another devastating crime, one that shattered Bea's world when she was a teen. The traumatic memory has been buried so deep it almost feels like it never happened - almost.

It’s August in Chattanooga, Tennessee and moonshiner Hattie Hayes has collaborated with a nearby vineyard to serve her moonshine at a Wine and 'Shine event. Not only is this an opportunity for Hattie to gain more moonshine fans, but she’s also excited to hear the Bootlegging Brothers, a popular bluegrass band. But not every attendee is looking for harmony. When one of the brothers disappears and is presumed dead, Hattie realizes her grace note gathering has suddenly turned more sour than her mash.

It was an addiction, really. One she couldn’t kick through no fault of her own. It wasn’t CJ Turley’s fault that someone stuck her dog, Caper, in a canoe in the middle of the lake. She also couldn’t help that Caper kept bringing her diamonds from a recent jewel heist in town. Any homebody seeking adventure would do the same thing, right? Gather your gumshoeing friends and find a jewel thief. What could possibly go wrong? The small-town tiny house community of Heavenly Acres is thrust into yet another mystery that might be CJ’s undoing.

Attorney Lilly Atkins and her supermodel sister, Tally, have led a charmed life, but when a mysterious bank deposit puts Tally in a tizzy, Lilly has to find a way to protect her sister. The Posse’s rounding up a road trip to celebrate bride-to-be Brandy’s upcoming nuptials, and it looks like they’re going to get more of a bachelorette party than they bargained for. Outlaw Cash Stetson is knocking at Lilly’s door, even after Prince Charming Spencer Locke has all but swept her off her feet. Can Tally find solid ground again? Will Lilly stand steady?

The gang from the Gull Island Writers Retreat take on the case of a man who is currently doing time for the murder of a woman he swears he did not kill. After speaking to the man, Alex determines that he is most likely telling the truth, so he enlists the help of the gang to prove it. As they work together to sort fact from fiction, they realize there may be a lot more going on than they originally thought.

Five years ago, award-winning actor Rhett Crawford threw a Halloween party. On the third night of the party, the groundskeeper found the body of one of the guests bludgeoned and left in the toolshed. It was eventually determined that the victim’s date had most likely killed the woman before fleeing the scene of the crime.

Southern California is where dreams come true—or so Scarlett Gardner thought. When she moved there and opened the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop, she thought her boyfriend and business partner would be part of the story. When he leaves her for a better job, Scarlett finds herself struggling to keep her new business afloat. And that’s not the only thing she has to worry about—she discovers something underneath the pier by her bookshop that she didn’t outline for her life’s story: the dead body of a book-buying customer.

Attorney Avery Andrews has returned to her humdrum hometown of Dacus, South Carolina, leaving her job at a powerful law firm in the rearview mirror. But with her Donna Karan suits she's struggling to fit back in. Is it still a place she's able to call home now that she's swapped her prestigious clients for high school bullies and formidable aunts? She finds sanctuary in her grandfather's cabin on Luna Lake until police arrive to investigate a mysterious rumor. But more than secrets lie beneath the dark surface of Luna Lake.

Marci thinks mouthwatering pastries are just what her small Southern hometown needs. Most residents agree, saying that her baked goods are magical, creating love and good fortune all over town. When Kelly Lowry is shot in front of the shop, it gives the pastries a new meaning behind “to die for.” Who killed her, and why was her murder followed by a strange Frenchman’s appearance? When Antoine Dubois wanders into her quaint shop, Marci is smitten immediately. But soon, more questions arise than answers: How did Antoine end up in Kentucky? And what was his connection to the dead woman?

When amateur baker, and now amateur sleuth, Rosie Hart finds herself embroiled in another mystery in rural Airlie Falls, Texas, she can’t believe her bad luck. Soon the town is reeling from a murder, an unidentified body, a late mayoral challenge, missing town money, and a strange group of socialites gathered at a mansion out of town. With so many of her new friends suspected of wrongdoing, Rosie can’t sit on the sidelines any longer. She’s convinced these strange occurrences are connected, but she’s running out of time to prove how.

Realtor Chelsea O'Connell is found dead in a model home of the new development in Normal. She was not popular in the small tourist town located in the Daniel Boone National Park because the last thing this town wants is for more development to come in to take away anymore of the forest.

There isn't much crime in Lilyvale, Arkansas, but local authorities have their hands full with Ms. Sherry Mae Stanton Cutler and her housemates - a crafty group of retirees who've dubbed themselves the Silver Six. But when Sherry Mae's niece, Nixy, arrives to keep them in line, Lilyvale also plays host to a killer.

The vintage seaside town of Camellia Beach, South Carolina, seems like the perfect place for romance with its quiet beach and its decadent chocolate shop that serves the world's richest dark chocolates. The Chocolate Box's owner, Charity Penn, falls even further under the island's moonlit spell as she joins Althea Bays and the rest of the turtle watch team to witness a new generation of baby sea turtles hatch and make their way into the wide ocean. Before the babies arrive, gunshots ring out in the night.

Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She's even helped organize the town's lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band's lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.