Southern Fiction Mystery

Following in the path of her blockbuster Kay Scarpetta thrillers, Patricia Cornwell's novel is a testimony to the singular versatility and narrative power of one of the country's best-read storytellers. In Southern Cross, she casts her shrewd and knowing eye at the men and women in blue, in a...

Best friends Lindsey, Kendra, and Dani endure every parent’s nightmare when a tragic accident befalls their teenage boys, leaving one dead, another in a coma, and a third too traumatized to speak. Reeling from the worst night of their lives, the three mothers plunge into a desperate investigation of the bizarre incident. How could something so horrible happen in their wealthy Southern California suburb? They soon discover that the accident was just the beginning, and troubling discoveries lead to chilling questions: Do they really know their children? Do they even know each other?

Novelist Anne George injects murder, mayhem, and laughs into her popular mysteries. Nominated for an Agatha Award, this hilarious tale of two “60 something” sisters reveals the deadly consequences of a hasty real estate purchase. Retired Alabama school teacher Patricia Anne thinks her older sister, flamboyant Mary Alice, has lost her cotton-pickin’ mind. On a whim, Mary Alice bought the Skoot ’n’ Boot, the local country western night spot where she and her boyfriend hang out. Mary Alice insists it will be easy to run the club - until the previous owner is found executed.

Readers will flock to NYT bestselling author Donna Andrews' latest installment in the award-winning Meg Langslow series. Two of Meg’s cousins, members of Mother’s vast Hollingsworth clan, are getting married, and both have chosen Caerphilly for their Christmas destination wedding . . on the...

"Reader Vacker does a remarkable job voicing the main characters and keeping the tension high....Mystery and true crime fans will be drawn in and ultimately satisfied by this complex, tense tale read expertly by a talented narrator." - Booklist "[Karissa] Vacker switches easily between the...

Blanche White is a plump, feisty, middle-aged African-American housekeeper working for the genteel rich in North Carolina. But when an employer stiffs her, and her checks bounce, she goes on the lam, hiding out as a maid for a wealthy family at their summer home. That plan goes awry when there's a murder and Blanche becomes the prime suspect. So she's forced to use her savvy, her sharp wit, and her old-girl network of domestic workers to discover the truth and save her own skin.

The governor of North Carolina has appointed Deborah to a judicial seat in the District Court Division. On her weekends, the fledgling judge has been helping an all-woman building crew complete a home for a needy single mother. Her attempts to gain positive P.R. go awry when her niece is found battered and half-naked in the partially completed home, with Deborah's own bloody hammer lying nearby.

Aidan Collins has his very first large case when his client, Marina Vasiliev, a drop-dead gorgeous mental patient, is accused of killing her wealthy husband. Marina insists that she didn't do it, but Aidan can't trust her. After all, he met Marina in the mental hospital–he originally obtained her as a client when she was involuntarily committed, and he assisted her with getting out. Diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, Marina's view of reality shifts from day to day. Marina has no memory of what happened the night that her husband died.

First a dead stranger. Now a missing police chief. Did Chief Cade run off to elope? Or has he met with foul play? No one knows who the victim was, where he came from, or why he staggered out in front of Chief Cade’s car. Guilt overwhelms him that he killed the mysterious stranger, until Cade...

No one is quite who they seem to be in the twisty, soapy, gasp-inducing world of the Debutantes by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 bestselling author of The Inheritance Games. Think of the White Gloves like the Junior League— by way of Skull and Bones. Reluctant debutante Sawyer Taft...

Small town defense attorney Leland Munroe isn't afraid to tackle cases others run from. But when a federal judge plunges to his death from a locked courthouse stairwell just before testifying, Leland is pulled into a deadly investigation. Every clue he uncovers drags him deeper into a dark web of deceit.

Verity’s family tree has deep roots… and deadly secrets. Some families pass down antiques or china. Verity’s family? They can’t seem to pass up a good mystery. So when Verity’s dearly departed grandmother drops by unexpectedly, Verity is overjoyed—until she learns Grandma Didi is back with a chilling request tied to a cherished family heirloom.

As Pepper's wedding day quickly approaches, the entire town is excited to celebrate the big event. But when one witch is overlooked as a wedding guest, she takes her anger out on the town—cursing them. Now, people's nightmares are coming to life—literally. The consequences are potentially devastating. Now, it's up to Pepper and the gang to squash the curse and stop their dreams from becoming reality. Can she do it? Or will Magnolia Cove succumb to the curse?

Framed. Imprisoned. Now free and out for blood. Avery Collins spent seven years behind bars for a murder she didn't commit. Now she's hell-bent on exposing the truth and making her enemies pay. With her best friend and relentless PI Regina Baldwin at her side, Avery peels back layers of corruption reaching to the highest levels of power. As they dig deeper, a sinister web of greed, deceit, and murder unravels—revealing the shocking truth behind Becky Whitfield's death.

In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar.

With the Mississippi sun beating down, An'gel and Dickce are taking a break to cool off and pet sit their friend Charlie Harris's cat, Diesel, when their former sorority sister, Rosabelle Sultan, shows up at their door unexpectedly, with her ne'er-do-well adult children not far behind. Rosabelle's selfish offspring are desperate to discover what's in her will, and it soon becomes clear that one of them would kill to get their hands on the inheritance.

In 1919, Delano, Georgia, appoints its first chief of police. Honest and hardworking, the new chief is puzzled when young men start to disappear. But his investigation is ended by the fatal blast from a shotgun. Delano's second chief-of-police is no hero, yet he is also disturbed by what he sees in the missing-persons bulletins. In 1969, when Delano's third chief takes over, the unsolved disappearances still haunt the police files.

Defense attorney Leland Monroe lost it all: his big-city job, his reputation, and, worst of all, his loving wife. Now he’s back in his hometown to hit restart and repair the relationship with his troubled son. But the past is always present in a small town. Leland returns to find his high school sweetheart hasn’t had the easiest of lives - especially now that her son faces a death sentence for murdering his father.

Avery Collins isn't your typical attorney. After years behind bars for a murder she didn't commit, she's now a relentless defender of the innocent. Her latest case? A ticking time bomb of secrets and lies. Esme Guitierrez, an El Salvadoran refugee, stands accused of murdering Aria Whitmore, the talented daughter of a billionaire hotelier. Avery unearths a web of disturbing truths hidden within the Whitmore mansion: the disappearance of Aria's birth mother, her unlikely friendship with a schizophrenic man, and threatening emails containing insider information point to a much darker reality.

When a young woman dies in a late-night restaurant fire, the owner, Bobby Carter, is charged with arson and murder. The evidence is stacked against him, but something doesn’t add up. And his only chance for justice rests on the shoulders of small-town lawyer Leland Munroe… Leland is convinced someone’s out to frame his client. But as the trial heats up, he realizes that he's facing more than just a legal battle.