Southern Fiction Thrillers

After more than twenty years away from the law, Joe Hennessy is forced back into the courtroom. Trying to save his vineyard after years of drought, Hennessy returns to practice in Charleston, South Carolina–the city he walked away from after the murder of his ten-year-old son. When one of South Carolina's most powerful men is charged with possessing stolen artwork, Hennessy steps forward to defend him. But as Hennessy digs into the evidence, as he navigates the truth, he finds that the criminal charges are only the start of their problems…

For 30 years, a secret agency called the Southern Reach has monitored expeditions into Area X - a remote and mysterious place that's sequestered from civilization. After the twelfth expedition, the Southern Reach is in disarray, and John Rodriguez (a.k.a. "Control") is the team's newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes, and more than 200 hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves - and what they expose pushes Control to confront truths about both himself and the agency he's promised to serve.

Patricia Campbell's life has never felt smaller. Her ambitious husband is too busy to give her a goodbye kiss in the morning, her kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she's always a step behind on thank-you notes and her endless list of chores. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime and paperback fiction. At these meetings they're as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are marriage, motherhood, and neighborhood gossip.

When out of work graphic designer Verity Long accidentally traps a ghost on her property, she’s saddled with more than a supernatural sidekick—she gains the ability see spirits. It leads to an offer she can’t refuse from the town’s bad boy, who also happens to be the brother of her ex and the last man she should ever partner with.

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.

When one of South Carolina's most powerful lawyers is charged with the murder of his wife, criminal defense attorney Joe Hennessy agrees to be part of the defense team. As Hennessy builds a legal defense, he's thrown into a world of danger and corruption, cruelty and violence. Despite his full caseload, Hennessy agrees to defend a folk singer charged with drug trafficking. As he prepares for the trial, Hennessy digs into a world of lies, manipulation, and exploitation.

Desperate to save his vineyard from financial collapse, criminal defense attorney Joe Hennessy agrees to defend Bernard Palin, an accountant accused of embezzling millions of dollars from a children's charity—a shameful and scandalous crime. Promised a hefty payday that could fund his retirement, Hennessy dives into the case, fighting against corrupt law enforcement, hardened criminals, and shadowy powerbrokers. Unraveling decades of corruption, deceit, and betrayals, Hennessy risks everything to win the case for his client.

In Charleston, South Carolina, eighteen-year-old Alicia Fenton is arrested for the murder of her stepfather. In exchange for information that has been buried for twenty years, attorney Joe Hennessy joins her defense team. Desperate to know the truth about the past, Hennessy battles to prove Alicia is innocent. Fighting against corrupt cops, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and ruthless prisoners, the evidence leads Hennessy into the dangers of the criminal underworld.

After twenty years of anguish, after twenty years of pain, defense attorney Joe Hennessy has the chance to confront the man who ordered the murder of his ten-year-old son. In Charleston, South Carolina, Hennessy uncovers evidence that Senator Richard Longhouse has links to his son's unsolved murder. Desperate to know the truth, Hennessy digs deep into the past, following the evidence trail into the criminal underworld. Clashing with corrupt cops, dishonest politicians, and ruthless felons, Hennessy uncovers information that has been buried for twenty years.

In Charleston, South Carolina, against a backdrop of racial tension, twenty-one-year-old Deon Ramsey was convicted for the brutal assault of his blonde girlfriend. The first trial stirred up feelings of hatred and angst amongst the community, bringing the city to the edge. Two years after the conviction, when new information is discovered that might prove Ramsey's innocence, criminal defense attorney Joe Hennessy agrees to join the defense team.

Stafford Lee Penney is a small-town lawyer with a big-time reputation for winning every case he tries. In his sharp suits and polished Oxford shoes, Penney is Biloxi, Mississippi’s #1 Lawyer and top local celebrity. Just as Penney notches his latest courtroom victory, his wife is scandalously killed. He spirals into a legal and personal losing streak, damaging his reputation and ruining his career. That’s when Penney makes a bold decision. He stops trading on his power-lawyer identity and creates a new one: lawyer lifeguard.

Richmond, Virginia, is a city rich in Southern history yet overrun by such modern-day problems as drug trafficking and escalating juvenile crime. Former Charlotte police chief Judy Hammer is brought in to clean up the police force--the most difficult assignment of her career. Now, in the face of overwhelming public scrutiny, she must navigate through local politics and prejudices to solve a brutal murder that springs straight from the rotting core of Richmond's heart.

Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband's betrayal and the cruelty of his prominent Charleston family. Now an assistant D.A. in Manhattan, Alexa has made a name for herself as a top prosecutor while juggling her role as devoted single mom to a teenage daughter.

You never know when an ordinary day in Magnolia Cove will turn into one that’s extraordinary—and not in a good way. All heck breaks loose when Pepper and her cousins accidentally release a magic eater into their beloved town. At first, they’re not sure what kind of evil they’ve unleashed, but when bodies start dropping, it’s clear this magic eater intends to feast on people in town. Pepper must stop the creature from claiming more victims and attempt to plan her wedding to Axel Reign. Can she and her friends stop the magic eater or will a member of the Craple family become its next victim?

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.

Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, a father, a neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946, he rose early, drove into town, walked into the church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell.

One hot, sticky summer in Bledsoe, Georgia, twelve-year-old Kay Whitaker stumbles across a stilt house in a neighboring marsh and upon Andy Webber, a boy about her age. He and his father have recently moved back to Georgia from California, and rumors of the suspicious drowning death of Andy’s mother years earlier have chased them there and back. Kay is fascinated and enamored with Andy, and she doesn’t listen when her father tells her to stay away from the Webbers.

Thirteen-year-old Loyal Raines is supposed to stay close to home on a hot summer day in 1934. When he slips away for a quick swim in the river and finds a dead body, he wishes he'd obeyed his mother. The ripples caused by his discovery will impact the town of Beverly, West Virginia, in ways no one could have imagined.

Vampires have officially "come out of the coffin", and Miss Sookie can't wait for one to come her way.

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?