Southern Police

On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel.

A website offering underage girls. A missing informant. When a body turns up, Sgt. Cory Marin, head of homicide and five months pregnant, is thrust into an investigation of the shady world of strip clubs and sex for sale. Cory Marin turns up multiple suspects: the girl’s ‘manager’ and two prominent men she was blackmailing. As the case heats up, the discovery of a leak casts suspicion on the law enforcement agencies involved. As she investigates, Cory must juggle pressure from the DA not to ‘ruffle feathers’ with pressure from the FBI to keep her investigation quiet while the FBI ...

Vivienne Lane thought she left the drama behind when she traded big-city chaos for the quiet charm of Foxwick Harbor. Now, she spends her days running Lane & Co. Antiques, sipping lattes at Bean & Bloom, and avoiding her nosy neighbor’s unsolicited opinions. But when she stumbles upon the town’s most scandalous socialite dead in a wedding dress—and in a very inconvenient place—Vivi suddenly finds herself at the center of a mystery far messier than her shop’s storage room. Gwendolyn Fairchild wasn’t just any bride-to-be; she was a journalist with a reputation for unearthing ...

Only the tide can wash away their darkest secrets. DI Graham Walker is just beginning to settle into a quieter life on the picturesque Gower peninsula when a call comes in. Even to the coast, death has followed him. The remains of a woman have washed up on the golden sands of Three Cliffs Bay. Her young body is twisted, broken, and Graham soon learns that hers was not the first that the local community have seen – not by a long shot. As Graham begins to probe into the lives of those around him, it becomes clear that the people that had so warmly welcomed him are less than keen to bring an...

A young black woman, Jamila Mosely, is killed, but slain even worse by media coverage that refuses to let her be an innocent victim. Per usual, they air her most questionable photo, and hint at sketchy associations to portray her as a victim to her own devices. Detective Sawyer takes it personal. Sawyer becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth and restoring dignity to the name of a young lady not much older than her daughter Star. And yet there is still the unresolved issues with Chosen, Travis, Duke, and even her struggling marriage to contend; Sawyer has a full plate. Under the ...

One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing persons report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, deeply disturbing turn.

Life has been difficult lately for Somerton County Deputy Sheriff John Lee Quarrels. He's on the trail of a sexual predator, his love life is in turmoil, his soon-to-be ex-wife just served him with divorce papers, someone has stolen his police car and is using its radio to broadcast offensive jokes, a 350-pound redneck named Baby Bubba just tried to brain him with a shovel, and all of that happened before John Lee shot the dead guy.

As far as everyone in the squad room knows, Ben Halloran is completely fresh to the streets of the 77th Division - just a soft kid from the West Side who's decided to become a cop and happened to draw the hardest neighborhood in LA. But demons from Ben's complicated past catch up with him and his tough, oddly principled Daryl Gates-era partner, Miguel Marquez, all too quickly. From the moment Ben and Marquez hit the streets together, they're pulled into a web of ultra-violent corruption and retribution.

Fresh out from under five years of deep cover in New York City’s seamy world of narcotics trafficking, Detective Joe Dante is teamed with the straight-laced Rosa Losada to investigate a series of gruesome serial murders that have all of Manhattan on edge. The mystery killer is clearly obsessed with a type and has the means to strike at will. Motivated by entirely different sets of life experiences, both Dante and Losada are equally obsessed with seeing this string of killings brought to an end and need to discover a means of working together without friction to accomplish that task. “...

They’ve dedicated their lives to saving others, but can they save themselves? Seventeen years ago, they met while doing emergency response work following Hurricane Rita. Maybe it was adrenaline that brought them together, maybe it was love, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t meant to be. They lived in different parts of the world. They agreed to share one night, then went their separate ways. Dr. Clara Bownton has spent her entire medical career saving people’s lives and she’s always had a soft spot for Texas. But the years of traveling to disaster sites and war zones have worn her ...

A town threatened with extremist violence. One woman is tasked with defusing the threat. Can she uncover the truth before her town explodes in violence? Sgt. Cory Marin wants to bask in the glow of her pregnancy, but when an extremist preacher threatens to burn the Koran and books of the devil, national attention falls on her peaceful college town. Racing to avoid an international incident, she uncovers a second threat, a more dangerous leader with plans for a rally that will draw like-minded people from around the country. With extremists staging protests to grab national headlines, ...

Welcome to the Manhattan South homicide squad. Today’s assignment: a triple murder in a chic midtown bistro. Three bodies DOA: the bartender, a known mob associate, and the trophy wife of a garment district businessman. A private investigator, hired to follow the woman by her suspicious husband, barely clings to life. NYPD sergeant Thornton Savage suspects more than just adultery—he suspects a professional hit. But the truth is far more complicated. Blackmail and political treachery abound. The players include the Russian Mafia, a collector of rare toy soldiers, and a United States ...

With one phone call from a man he barely recalls meeting years ago, South Florida detective Louis Kincaid heads to the Michigan town of his college days to reopen a disturbing cold case -- and finds himself confronting his own painful past secrets...secrets that risk his future with the woman he loves, detective Joe Frye.

The deed is done when flower petals land on the body. To this serial killer, it’s all about the flowers. It always has been and always will be. A young female slides onto a stool at a hotel bar, hoping to escape life for a few minutes. She promises herself one drink will make it all better, even though she doesn’t drink alcohol. Halfway through her drink, she chats with a nice-looking guy. Then things turn for the worse. The following day, Sheriff Steele responds to a report of a deceased body at the park. The victim was later identified, and her death shocked even the hardened agents ...

Detective Rob Miller is at home with his crying newborn son when he gets the news. Retired Chief Superintendent Sam Lawrence, Rob’s friend and mentor, has been shot dead. Rob is devastated. An hour ago Lawrence had called to ask him to meet, but Rob couldn’t go because he was on daddy duty. Now he will hunt down the killer—but his boss thinks he’s too emotionally involved. This time it’s personal, but it’s not the only murder Rob’s got on his plate. His baby won’t sleep. His partner needs him. Can he be there for them and bring a killer to justice?

"I stared out at the majestic vista before me and thought, if God lived anywhere, it'd be here. And then I looked down at the dead body at my feet." Murder. Mystery. Quirky townspeople? There’s something strange about Twizel. Maggie Blackmore didn’t come to this sleepy hollow for a mystery, but she sure as heck found one. Being an Aucklander in the South Island doesn’t help either. If they’re not calling her a JAFA (Just Another F**king Aucklander) then they’re telling her to slow down. Twizel Time is real and Maggie has to learn to roll with it. As if that’s not enough, then ...

Ronald Kitchen was 21, on his way to buy milk for his four-year-old, when he was picked up by the Chicago police, brutally tortured, and coerced to confess to five counts of heinous murder. He spent 22 years in prison, 13 of those on death row, labeled as a monster. Kitchen was only one of the many victims of Jon Burge and his notorious Midnight Crew that terrorized and incarcerated Black men - 118 have come forward so far - on the south side of Chicago for nearly two decades.

Bureau of Indian Affairs Police Sergeant Charlie LeBeau’s morning break is interrupted when he notices a toddler alone at the edge of the grocery store’s parking lot. Upon further investigation, Charlie discovers the child’s mother dead in the tall grass just off the pavement. The woman appears beaten, or was she hit by a car? Was it an accident or murder?

Which of the following short stories would you read first? A.) A stubborn donkey challenges a Tennessee race horse. B.) A chess match ends in bloodshed. C.) Two sisters beg a funeral director to play their daddy's favorite Johnny Cash song. D.) A shooter takes aim from a church baptistry. E.) Two astronauts survive a horrific spinout only to return to earth and find everybody else walking around in super slow motion. Why not read them all? They're all in this far-flung collection of short stories and more. Scroll up and get them now with just one click.

How far would you go to protect a loved one? Would you tamper with evidence? Commit arson? Allow a prime suspect to remain at large? Pegasus Quincy and her former partner, Shepherd Malone, have some difficult choices ahead when Shep’s daughter is caught with a murder weapon in her hand. It doesn’t help when the detective on the case has problems of his own. When he applies to the sheriff’s department, he conveniently forgets to mention that he was terminated from his previous position under a cloud of fraud.