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Southern Exposure: A Novel
by Linda Lightsey RiceA lyrical voice from the South weaves a searing psychological drama around a small town shocked by its first murder, hurtling a calm and complacent community into a harrowing realm of alienation and distrust. Essex, South Carolina, is a town where doors are never locked--until an elderly widow is murdered in her bed. Stoney McFarland and his wife Anna have returned to his hometown in hopes of rebuilding their connection. But Stoney's obsession with the murder investigation, his efforts to restore the town, threaten deeply buried secrets other townspeople are desperate to suppress. From eerie voodoo rituals in the mist-shrouded swamps, to the Old South matriarch who fears a dead woman, to the Civil Rights activist searching for the mother who abandoned her, the town is soon fractured by the twin perils of public danger and private exposure. The story reaches a devastating climax when it becomes clear what some people will do to protect the place they love. A lushly atmospheric novel that confronts complex ideas about bigotry, love, and modern society.
Southern Fatality (Jersey Barnes Mysteries)
by T. Lynn OceanIn Southern Fatality, T. Lynn Ocean serves up an action-packed, sun-soaked adventure set in the historic port city of Wilmington, North Carolina.Jersey Barnes thinks she has retired from a risk-filled career as a private security specialist. A sexy, hard-hitting brunette, she's ready to enjoy her newfound free time and is looking forward to leaving home without a weapon.But when her boyfriend asks her for a simple favor, she can't turn him down. What should be a routine surveillance job lands Jersey smack-dab in the middle of a high-stakes cover-up, a double kidnapping, and a scheme that may steal millions of dollars from hard-working Americans.With input from her business partner, Ox (a Lumbee Indian whose savory looks she can't quite ignore), a comedic group of her aging father's poker buddies, a computer hacker named Soup, and a faithful dog, Jersey sets out to prevent what might be the cyber crime of the century
Southern Fried (Avery Andrews #1)
by Cathy PickensSouthern legal thriller with female lawyer in a solo practice.
Southern Fried (The Kenni Lowry Mysteries #2)
by Tonya Kappes“Fabulous fun and fantastic fried food! Kappes nails small town mystery with another must-read hit” (Darynda Jones, New York Times–bestselling author). In the South, it’s better when the food is fried and the secrets kept buried . . . After the dead body of a beloved Cottonwood resident is found tangled up in an electric fence, Sheriff Kenni Lowry has a hunch that somethin’ ain’t right. Her investigation heats up with a fierce cook-off competition, a euchre game where the intel is sweeter than the brownies, and a decades old family recipe that may just be the proof in the pudding. The icing on the cake: Kenni is fighting an attraction to her recently sworn-in deputy sheriff, and election season is hot on her tail. When the killer comes after who she holds most dear, even her poppa’s ghostly guidance might not be enough to keep her and her own out of the frying pan. “Another entertaining story that fans will enjoy. . . . The mystery is engaging and exploring the idea heirlooms come in variety of packages made me think about my own grandmother’s recipe book.” —Kings River Life Magazine “This was a great story and this wonderful cozy mystery is filled with Southern charm, manners and absolutely addicting Southern sayings.” —A Cup of Tea and a Cozy Mystery “Murder, the supernatural and humor are the norm in a Tonya Kappes novel. There are plenty of suspects to keep me guessing, with some romance on the side and a lovable hound dog.” —Fundinmental
Southern Fried Spies (Spy Games Ser. #1)
by J. D. RyanCold War, hot spies, y'all. Vincent and Kolya are back -- in the Deep South. They must protect a brilliant chemist and his family while the man completes the new formula he's promised to sell to T.H.R.U.S.T.The assignment should have been a piece of pecan pie, but F.I.S.T. has its eye on the formula, and the local rednecks take exception to a bunch of Damn Yankees moving into their territory. Can the two spies keep the family safe? Will the doctor's two precocious children sabotage the whole assignment?And what about Vincent and Kolya's new relationship? This is their first assignment since they made the decision to move in together. Can they cope with the strain of the job ... and the humidity? Or will their new romance be put on the back burner along with the grits and collard greens?
Southern Ghost
by Carolyn G. HartBookstore owner Annie Darling must set aside her shame and do some serious sleuthing when her husband Max becomes the prime suspect in an unspecified crime involving a beautiful blonde.
Southern Ghost (Death on Demand #8)
by Carolyn G. HartThe first author to win all three major mystery awards--the Agatha, the Anthony, and the MacAvity--offers her latest Annie and Max Darling mystery. Southern Ghost is a delicious Southern Gothic full of humor, electric suspense, and a beloved cast of characters.
Southern Gothic
by Dale WileyAspiring author Meredith Harper owns the hottest bookstore in Savannah.Michael Black is her favorite writer?long thought dead?until he mysteriously approaches Meredith with a new manuscript, and a most unusual offer. Meredith can keep the manuscript to herself, or publish it under her own name.Her decision results in a bestseller, but the novel contains a coded secret; one that will put her on trial for murder and in hiding from ?the blood stalker,? proving too late that making a deal with the devil comes at a heavy price.
Southern Harm: A Southern B&B Mystery (Southern B&B Mystery #2)
by Caroline FardigA little Southern charm never killed anybody—until now—in an enchanting cozy mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Southern Discomfort and the Java Jive novels. After solving a murder at a local restaurant, Quinn Bellandini just wants to get back to her comfortable life running her grandfather&’s B&B in Savannah, Georgia, with her sister, Delilah. But those plans get buried when Quinn and her new boyfriend, Tucker Heyward, dig up an old skeleton while doing some landscaping in his aunt Lela&’s backyard. Before long, Lela becomes the prime suspect in the thirty-three-year-old unsolved murder of a high school homecoming queen. Tucker is devastated. But Quinn&’s conscience won&’t let her risk an elderly woman spending her twilight years in jail for a crime she didn&’t commit. And Delilah, bored by the quiet B&B biz, has been itching to do some more investigating of her own. Soon they&’re questioning a growing list of suspects, from nosy neighbors and snooty Savannah socialites to mild-mannered teachers and old high-school friends of the victim—including Quinn and Delilah&’s own parents. But no one is safe from a killer who&’s totally old school. Don&’t miss Caroline Fardig&’s &“wildly entertaining&”* Java Jive mysteries, which can be read together or separately: DEATH BEFORE DECAF | MUG SHOT | A WHOLE LATTE MURDER | BREW OR DIE | MURDER OVER MOCHAS *Suspense Magazine
Southern Latitudes
by Stephen R. ClarkBurnt-out reporter Nelson Ingram knows that in Litchfield, Alabama, not everything is as it seems-even an apparent Klan lynching. But it will take more than Nelson's renewed sense of purpose to uncover the buried secrets of the deep South.
Southern Man: A Novel (Penn Cage #7)
by Greg IlesAn instant New York Times bestseller!“Greg Iles is one of America’s great storytellers." –Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author"A first-rate political thriller."–John Grisham, #1 New York Times bestselling authorThe hugely anticipated new Penn Cage novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Natchez Burning trilogy and Cemetery Road, about a man—and a town—rocked by anarchy and tragedy, but unbowed in the fight to save those they loveFifteen years after the events of the Natchez Burning trilogy, Penn Cage is alone. Nearly all his loved ones are dead, his old allies gone, and he carries a mortal secret that separates him from the world. But Penn’s exile comes to an end when a brawl at a Mississippi rap festival triggers a bloody mass shooting—one that nearly takes the life of his daughter Annie.As the stunned cities of Natchez and Bienville reel, antebellum plantation homes continue to burn and the deadly attacks are claimed by a Black radical group as historic acts of justice. Panic sweeps through the tourist communities, driving them inexorably toward a race war.But what might have been only a regional sideshow of the 2024 Presidential election explodes into national prominence, thanks to the stunning ascent of Robert E. Lee White, a Southern war hero who seizes the public imagination as a third-party candidate. Dubbed “the Tik-Tok Man,” and funded by an eccentric Mississippi billionaire, Bobby White rides the glory of his Special Forces record to an unprecedented run at the White House—one unseen since the campaign of H. Ross Perot.To triumph over the national party machines, Bobby evolves a plan of unimaginable daring. One fateful autumn weekend, with White set to declare his candidacy in all fifty states, the forces polarizing America line up against one another: Black vs. white, states vs. the federal government, democracy vs. Fascism. Teaming with his fearless daughter (now a civil rights lawyer) and a former Black Panther who spent most of his life in Parchman Prison, Penn tears into Bobby White’s pursuit of the Presidency and ultimately risks a second Civil War to try to expose its motivation to the world, before the America of our Constitution slides into the abyss.In Southern Man, Greg Iles returns to the riveting style and historic depth that made the Natchez Burning trilogy a searing masterpiece and hurls the narrative fifteen years forward into our current moment—where America itself teeters on the brink of anarchy.
Southern Nights: Night People, Arise and Walk, Baby Cat Face ("rebel Inc" Ser.)
by Barry GiffordA collection of three of Gifford's wildest and weirdest Southern gothic novelsBarry Gifford's three Southern Gothic novels, Night People, Arise and Walk, and Baby Cat-Face, may be among the weirdest and best of Gifford's novels for their sheer velocity--the copious, raw violence; the invented religions and gods that make people do things; and how the horrors somehow cohabit--affably--with the genuine pathos and loveliness of the unforgettable characters that live in these books and the things they say so easily that we've never heard anyone say before. God in these Southern Nights is only another possibly deranged near relative, cast in the only nonspeaking part in this human drama. Everyone else talks and talks. And it's the dialogue in these novels that make them some of Gifford's best, reminders of the author's seemingly unlimited range and versatility, a comic-tragic genius for our time. As a character in Night People says, "Safety first ain't never been my motto."
Southern Pecan Killer (Cupcakes in Paradise #5)
by Summer PrescottOut of the mouths of babes... A murder is a terrible thing to witness, particularly if you're three years old. Cupcake baker Melissa Beckett is an amateur sleuth faced with the most heartbreaking case of a lifetime. An apparent murder/suicide haunts her sleepy beachside town of Calgon, Florida, and local Coroner, Timothy Eckels, discovers some clues that prove to be quite chilling. An orphaned young child may be the only witness to the tragic event, and her bond with Missy's new employee, Aunt Beulah, may be Missy's last hope of finding out what really happened, Melissa Beckett is faced with a life-changing decision, once the terrible truth of the case comes out...will her life ever be the same? This exciting Cozy Mystery can be read as a standalone, but if you'd like to know more about Missy, Chas and the rest of the Calgon gang, their history can be found in the two series previous to this one. The first Missy and Chas series is Frosted Love Cozy Mysteries, and the second is The INNcredibly Sweet Series. Enjoy them all!
Southern Peril (Jersey Barnes Mysteries)
by T. Lynn OceanOn the heels of the lauded Southern Poison, readers will welcome another hilarious, suspenseful, and sun-soaked adventure from the unforgettable Jersey Barnes.Why is it so hard for Jersey Barnes to retire? When a state supreme judge calls in a favor, she tells herself (again) that this is her last case. She must investigate the judge's brother, Morgan, and his newly-inherited business. When Jersey realizes the DEA is checking on Morgan, too, she finds herself in the middle of a twenty-year-old mystery and a drug ring investigation. Still checking up on her geriatric father and his trouble-making friends, negotiating the steamy friendship/relationship with her bartender Ox, and dodging the flirtacious sparks flying back and forth with the cute DEA agent, Jersey begins to wonder if retirement is ever in her future.
Southern Poison: A Jersey Barnes Mystery (Jersey Barnes Mysteries #2)
by T. Lynn OceanOn the heels of the lauded Southern Fatality, readers will welcome another hilarious, suspenseful, and sun-soaked adventure from the unforgettable Jersey Barnes.The last time Jersey Barnes tried to quit her career as a security specialist and leave home without a weapon, she ended up in the middle of a high-stakes cover-up and a scheme to steal millions from hardworking Americans. This time her early retirement is for real. Friends threw her a party to prove it. There was a cake and everything.But out of the blue, her former handler shows up with other ideas. When Jersey tells him she doesn't want an assignment---even if does come with an upfront hazard-pay bonus---he reminds her of a clause in the contract she signed back when she was first recruited to work for the government: a pesky paragraph that says she can be recalled into service at any time.With boating and golfing plans on hold yet again, Jersey straps on her weapon of choice and goes undercover to help root out a terrorist threat---only to learn that another more sinister plot is in the works. And things aren't any more relaxing at home, either. Just as she starts to explore a steamy relationship with her hunky pub manager, Ox, his ex-wife flies in from California to reclaim him.Southern Poison moves at breakneck speed as Jersey must save herself from an assassin, stop an evil chemist, keep her troublemaking father and his poker buddies out of jail, untangle a steamy romance, and maybe---just maybe---retire.
Southern Sass and Killer Cravings (A Marygene Brown Mystery #1)
by Kate YoungLife has always been sweet on Georgia’s Peach Cove Island, but a case of murder has Marygene Brown down in the pits . . . For generations, the women of the Brown family on Peach Cove Island have been known for their Southern sass and sweet homemade desserts at their beloved Peach Diner. Since their mother's passing two years ago, Marygene has been stuck in Atlanta while her sister Jena Lynn has been running the family business. Now Marygene has left her husband and returned to her hometown, where she can almost feel Mama's presence. But all is not peachy back home. Marygene has barely tied on an apron when a diner regular drops dead at the counter. When it turns out the old man's been poisoned, Jena Lynn is led away in handcuffs and the family eatery is closed. Now, to save her sister and the diner, Marygene must find the real killer. With some startling assistance from her Mama's spirit, Marygene will be serving up a special order of just desserts . . . Includes Seven Recipes from Marygene’s Kitchen!
Southern Sass and a Battered Bride (A Marygene Brown Mystery #3)
by Kate YoungAt a murder mystery–themed wedding reception on Georgia&’s picturesque Peach Cove Island, the bride is doing an awfully good job playing dead . . . Marygene Brown always figured she&’d marry her childhood sweetheart, Alex Myers, not cater his wedding. But the Peach Diner could use the exposure. Most of the island is showing up—although more for the role-playing murder game at the reception than for the widely loathed bridezilla, Lucy Carmichael. Marygene may have to smile through the festivities, but Mama doesn&’t have to hold her peace—especially since only Marygene can hear her mother&’s ghost. Mama says she sees an aura of darkness around the wedding. So when Marygene finds Lucy lying beside the wedding cake, buried in batter, with no pulse, it looks like Mama called it. This is no game. And when the bride&’s body simply vanishes, it&’s up to Marygene and her best friend Betsy (cousin to the groom and no fan of the bride) to solve a real-life mystery—with a little help from Mama&’s sassy spirit . . . Includes Seven Recipes from Marygene&’s Kitchen!
Southern Sass and a Crispy Corpse (A Marygene Brown Mystery #2)
by Kate YoungOn Georgia&’s picturesque Peach Cove Island, a killer is serving up a two-for-one special . . . After their mama's passing, Marygene Brown returned to Peach Cove Island to help her sister Jena Lynn run the family diner, renowned for its homemade peach desserts. But Mama is never too far away—her sassy spirit haunts the island, and more specifically Marygene. Lately Mama has been warning her that the dead will seek her out to solve their murders, an idea Marygene is far from peachy keen on. But that prophecy appears to be coming true when she goes skinny-dipping off the island and swims right into a woman's charred corpse floating in the waves. And when Marygene and her brother Sam come upon a second burned body in a wine cellar at an event they're catering, it appears they have a double homicide on their hands. It soon turns out the victims have more in common than their charred remains, and Marygene will need to double down to find a killer who has no aversion to playing with fire. Good thing Mama has her back . . . Includes Seven Recipes from Marygene&’s Kitchen! Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com
Southern Seas
by Patrick Camiller Manuel Vazquez MontalbanBarcelona detective Pepe Carvalho's radical past catches up with him when a powerful businessman--a patron of artists and activists--is found dead after going missing for a year. In search of the spirit of Paul Gauguin, Stuart Pedrell--eccentric Barcelona businessman, construction magnate, dreamer, and patron of poets and painters--disappeared not long after announcing plans to travel to the South Pacific. A year later he is found stabbed to death at a construction site in Barcelona. Gourmand gumshoe Pepe Carvalho is hired by Pedrell's wife to find out what happened. Carvalho, a jaded former communist, must travel through circles of the old anti-Franco left wing on the trail of the killer. But with little appetite for politics, Carvalho also leads us on a tour through literature, cuisine, and the criminal underbelly of Barcelona in a typically brilliant twist on the genre by a Spanish master.
Southern Storm (Cape Refuge Series #2)
by Terri BlackstockSequel to the #1 best-selling Cape Refuge First a dead stranger. Now a missing Police Chief. Did Chief Cade run off to elope . . . or has he met with foul play? The body in the morgue had no ID. No one knew who he was or where he came from when he walked out in front of Cade’s car. And when Cade learns he had a gunshot wound before he was struck, finding his identity becomes even more urgent. Then Cade vanishes. Authorities discover the victim’s name, and the woman Cade was last seen with turns out to have been the dead man’s wife. Speculation abounds about Cade’s relationship to the woman and his part in the victim’s death. His disappearance makes him look even more suspicious. But Blair Owens doesn’t believe the rumors. Something has happened to Cade, and she’s determined to find him. Saving Cade’s life will take faith in a God whom Blair has always doubted—but he may be her only hope.
Southern Storm (Cape Refuge, Book #2)
by Terri BlackstockFirst a dead stranger. Now a missing Police Chief. The body in the morgue had no ID. No one knew who he was or where he came from when he walked out in front of Cade's car. And when Cade learns he had a gunshot wound before he was struck, finding his identity becomes even more urgent. Then Cade vanishes. Authorities discover the victim's name, and the woman Cade was last seen with turns out to have been the dead man's wife. Speculation abounds about Cade's relationship to the woman and his part in the victim's death. His disappearance makes him look even more suspicious. - But Blair Owens doesn't believe the rumors. Something has happened to Cade, and she's determined to find him. Saving Cade's life will take faith in a Cod whom Blair has always doubted-but he may be her only hope.
Southernmost Murder
by C. S. PoeAubrey Grant lives in the tropical paradise of Old Town, Key West, has a cute cottage, a sweet moped, and a great job managing the historical property of a former sea captain. With his soon-to-be-boyfriend, hotshot FBI agent Jun Tanaka, visiting for a little R&R, not even Aubrey’s narcolepsy can put a damper on their vacation plans. But a skeleton in a closet of the Smith Family Historical Home throws a wrench into the works. Despite Aubrey and Jun’s attempts to enjoy some time together, the skeleton’s identity drags them into a mystery with origins over a century in the past. They uncover a tale of long-lost treasure, the pirate king it belonged to, and a modern-day murderer who will stop at nothing to find the hidden riches. If a killer on the loose isn’t enough to keep Aubrey out of the mess, it seems even the restless spirit of Captain Smith is warning him away. The unlikely partnership of a special agent and historian may be exactly what it takes to crack this mystery wide-open and finally put an old Key West tragedy to rest. But while Aubrey tracks down the X that marks the spot, one wrong move could be his last.
Southland
by Nina RevoyrA compelling story of race, love, murder, and history against the backdrop of an ever-changing Los Angeles. "I'm an LA native with a lot of love for LA crime fiction, but instead of preaching to the noir choir about The Long Goodbye, I'd like to gush about Southland by Nina Revoyr. It's a brilliant, ambitious, moving literary crime novel about two families in South Los Angeles and their tangled history between the 1930s and the 1990s. The central mystery is the death of four black boys in a Japanese-American man's store during the Watts Rebellion of 1965. It's a powerful book, one that I think about often, as well as a huge influence on my work. Right up there with Chandler." --Stephanie Cha (of the LARB) in GQ on "The Greatest Crime Novelists on Their Favorite Crime Novels Ever" "A story about injustice dressed up as a detective novel, Southland reminds us that activism is both an ongoing project and a deeply personal choice." --Vallaire Wallace in Electric Lit on "The Novel That Shows Us How to Face our Past to Change Our Future" "Jackie Ishida's grandfather had a store in Watts where four boys were killed during the riots in 1965, a mystery she attempts to solve." --New York Times Book Review, Ross MacDonald on "Where Noir Lives in the City of Angels" "It is the kind of saga that often epitomizes and shocks LA--friction and violence between races and cultures." --Los Angeles Times, named one of the 20 Essential LA Crime Books "When I started working on Your House Will Pay, I hoped to write something that was half as smart and affecting as Southland. Revoyr's novel takes place in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, following two families--one black, one Japanese--over several decades. It's a character-driven saga with the engine of a crime novel, unravelling a horrific multiple murder that took place in the chaotic days of the Watts Rebellion in 1965." --The Guardian (UK), one of Steph Cha's Top 10 Books About Trouble in Los Angeles "[A]n absolutely compelling story of family and racial tragedy. Revoyr's novel is honest in detailing southern California's brutal history, and honorable in showing how families survived with love and tenacity and dignity." --Susan Straight, author of Highwire Moon Southland brings us a fascinating story of race, love, murder and history, against the backdrop of an ever-changing Los Angeles. A young Japanese-American woman, Jackie Ishida, is in her last semester of law school when her grandfather, Frank Sakai, dies unexpectedly. While trying to fulfill a request from his will, Jackie discovers that four African-American boys were killed in the store Frank owned during the Watts Riots of 1965. Along with James Lanier, a cousin of one of the victims, Jackie tries to piece together the story of the boys' deaths. In the process, she unearths the long-held secrets of her family's history. Southland depicts a young woman in the process of learning that her own history has bestowed upon her a deep obligation to be engaged in the larger world. And in Frank Sakai and his African-American friends, it presents characters who find significant common ground in their struggles, but who also engage each other across grounds--historical and cultural--that are still very much in dispute. Moving in and out of the past--from the internment camps of World War II, to the barley fields of the Crenshaw District in the 1930s, to the streets of Watts in the 1960s, to the night spots and garment factories of the 1990s--Southland weaves a tale of Los Angeles in all of its faces and forms.
Southside
by Michael KrikorianLos Angeles Times gang reporter Michael Lyons has just left his favorite downtown saloon when he is shot and wounded on the sidewalk two blocks from City Hall. After the initial shock, fellow reporters put together a betting pool. The bet? "Who Shot Mike?" There are a lot of contenders. When the LAPD's investigation stalls, the Times runs editorials critical of the police. Then, when detectives uncover an audio tape of Lyons talking to a gang member about the benefits of getting shot, they release the tape. The embarrassed newspaper editor fires Lyons, who then sets out on the streets of Southside Los Angeles with a vengeance to find the shooter. When three seemingly unrelated people are murdered on the streets of L.A., Lyons connects them to his own shooting. The tie-in? An imprisoned, notorious gang shot-caller known as Big Evil, who Lyons made famous in a gang profile and whose younger brother is among the victims. But who is doing the killing?
Southsiders:That's All Right
by Nigel BirdRay Spalding's had enough of his wife, Paula. He's left his home in Edinburgh's Southside and headed for Belfast. It's safer there.Unknown to Ray, Paula's also had enough of him. She's not going back home. Not now, not ever.Jesse Spalding wakes up one morning to find both his parents gone. And he can't tell anyone or he'll be taken into care.As time passes and bills need paying, all Jesse can rely on are his wits, his friend Archie and his dad's 1950s record collection.Southsiders: That's All Right is the first in a series of powerful short novels that follow the spiralling fortunes of Ray and Jesse, pushing father and son to their limits while they struggle against the odds in the darker shadows of two of Britain's capital cities."The prose is tightrope taut and the plotting first class ... a tense and thrilling novella" - Crimesquad.com on Mr Suit"Grim, but really good" - Ian Rankin on SmokeNigel Bird is the author of several novels, novellas and short story collections, including In Loco Parentis, Smoke, Mr Suit and Dirty Old Town.