Southern Fiction Mystery

The era is the 1970s; the setting is Southern California. Lew Archer has been hired to retrieve a stolen canvas reputed to be the work of the celebrated Richard Chantry, who vanished in 1950 from his home in Santa Teresa. It is the portrait of an unknown woman.

Welcome to Jewell, North Carolina, a small strip of land on the Crystal Coast with no stop signs or traffic lights, but it's got a whole lot of magic. Ruby Mae Jewell helps run the family business of selling antiques and refurbished goods. But with old objects, you never know when one of them possesses more than just dust and cobwebs. When Rue hits up a flea market, she gets more than she bargained for. Finding a potentially dangerous magical object, she has to get it off the market and out of mortal hands.

Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator. With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who, unlike Sanchez, believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor and she’s cashing in.

Southern Legacyby Harper Stanwick, Sr. is a captivating mystery novel set in the Gulf States during the sweltering summer of 1888. This gripping tale weaves together elements of historical fiction, intrigue, and Southern Gothic tradition. In the heat of 1888, at a modest station where eastbound and westbound trains exchange a handful of passengers daily, two men meet whose lives will become deeply intertwined. Adley Witt Jr., a sociable and amiable gentleman, steps in to help a young woman named Kitty Palmer, setting off a chain of events that reveals the complexities of Southern life post-...

Unearth the chilling secrets buried within Rosegate Manor, an age-old home shrouded in darkness and whispers, nestled in Mobile, Alabama.Meet Carrie Jo, a historian with a unique gift—she's also a human dream catcher. Hired to transform the decaying Rosegate Manor into a living museum, she soon finds herself ensnared in webs of disturbing mysteries that stretch back over a century. As she peels back the layers of time, the disappearance of the Brown triplets, three six-year-old boys who vanished without a trace in 1911, haunts her investigation. Guided by spectral figures and pursued by ...

Grab your tickets for Cajun Country Live!, the pickers' and crooners' answer to the legendary New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Maggie Crozat, proprietor of the Crozat Plantation B&B, plans to be in the cheering section when her friend Gaynell Bourgeois takes the stage with her band, Gaynell and the Gator Girls. The festival's headliner, native daughter Tammy Barker, rocketed to stardom on a TV singing competition. When a member of Tammy's entourage is murdered at the festival, Tammy makes sure Gaynell is number one on the suspect list.

High school wasn’t a grand time for everyone, but when a group of friends decide to meet up at a B and B ahead of their 10-year reunion, old grudges resurface, and one of them ends up dead. Now the owners, a kindly older couple, are on the hook for the accidental death due to anaphylaxis, but they insist no mistakes were made on their part. Fortune is asked to look into the situation before the inept local sheriff railroads the couple or simply allows gossip to run them out of business, which will cost them their home. Swamp Team 3 heads to Voodoo Island to find a way to clear the couple.

Fifteen 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.

“Southern storytelling that shows us an old world through new eyes… A beautifully fresh folktale.” - Daniel Wallace, Author, Big Fish "Keeps readers hanging on every word..." - Independent Book Review 2024 NYC Big Book Award Winner Fast-paced, heartwarming and inspired by a real Labrador Retriever, Between the Mountains is a suspenseful tale about a group of people connected through a stray dog. Roscoe was a nomad, roaming alone across a small town until he met J.D., the leader of a community center whose never-ending loyalty rivals that of the old lab. When a figure from the past ...

Jill Gardner has volunteered her Coffee, Books, and More to host a Christmas adopt-a-pet party. Among the potential forever friends is a male terrier named Baby, whose owner died of a heart attack. With few clues to go on, even finding the name of Baby's human is a daunting task. But there's no challenge too big for Jill this holiday season. Playing Santa's Little Helper, Jill is determined to find out what happened - and to fulfill a long-time coming Christmas wish.

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes.

Agatha O’Malley has become a recluse in the home that should be holding warm and wonderful memories. Up until her husband’s death, she led a happy and social life as the wife of a wealthy physician in the small town of Park Place, South Carolina. But now that he’s dead, she’s not only grieving for him, she’s furious with him over the mysterious disappearance of the stocks, bonds and money he told her he’d put aside for their retirement. What is she to do when there’s barely enough money in their joint checking account to survive, and how will she pay property taxes and keep up...

A wealthy family with DARK secrets. A SHOCKING reveal that you guaranteed won't see coming... Avery Collins is an attorney with the tender heart of a warrior for the wrongfully accused, for one simple reason. She was once wrongfully accused, and spent 7 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Now sworn to protect the indigent accused, she's persuaded to represent Esme Guitierrez, an El Salvadoran refugee who is accused of killing 21-year-old Aria Whitmore. Aria was the daughter of the prominent billionaire hotelier Jacob Whitmore, and was also an aspiring concert pianist and music ...

The house has sat empty for 15 years, taking up prime real estate along the picturesque coastline. Built by one of the founders of South Cove, its last known owner, Maryanne Demerit, vanished without a trace. Now her home will be demolished for a condo development, but until then, it's the perfect spot for a Halloween haunted house. Jill Gardner, her boyfriend, and three other couples are spending the weekend in the Demerit home. But what begins as an all-in-good-fun fright fest turns into a mystery begging to be solved as Jill is contacted by the ghost of Maryanne.

Ya'll, let me tell you my story!Glad you could find your way here, and I welcome you to the Sellers Plantation here in the deep south of Mobile, Alabama. I'm anxious to get started with my story tellin,' so, I'm sharin' a little bout the story that I be tellin' to ya'll down below. When I wuz born, I be given the name Gertrude Ida Rollins, but as I be growin' folks just be callin' me Ms. Gertie. I wuz born in Mobile, Alabama in the year eighteen and eighty-eight. Yes, that be a long time ago for most of ya'll, but I thinks it be good to be learnin' bout the history that be comin' before you...

An escape - that's exactly what Birdie Devaine needs when witches around the world publicly announce their existence. Instead of performing for the sold-out crowd at her world-famous magic show in Vegas, Birdie runs away from the dazzling lights to her hometown in Mississippi. She thinks she has it all planned out - keeping busy with renovating an old beautiful house and eventually fading away from the spotlight. But the house has its secrets, including the haunted cemetery that Birdie is now responsible for. It doesn't help when her nosy neighbor catches on to Birdie's big secret....

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.

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.

Seven Sisters Collection: Book Two continues the haunting journey through the heart of Mobile's enigmatic Seven Sisters estate. In this compelling second installment, author M. L. Bullock weaves three more mesmerizing tales: "The Stars That Fell," "The Stars We Walked Upon," and "The Sun Rises Over Seven Sisters." Each story delves deeper into the mysteries of the antebellum mansion and its ghostly inhabitants, blending Southern charm with chilling paranormal encounters. "The Stars That Fell" finds Carrie Jo Jardine adapting to her role as the estate's dream catcher. Her connection to the ...

Series is finished! What turns blue and pink and makes you wanna puke all over? Your favorite bartender babe is about to get a clue about the cozy mysteries of life as only a snarky heroine can. The hard way. Vicki Bohanan has waited a long time for this day. She’s all set to witness her bestie strut across the stage for her doctorate and escape a marriage minded mother. But celebration interruptus is only the tip of the Memorial Day iceberg when all the fun loving with a certain Ranger saddles her with something other than an alien parasite. Before she can right that sinking ship, ...