Southern Fiction Thrillers

New Orleans novice detective, Brenda Shapira, investigates murders committed by a vengeful killer, only to discover that the killer has been dead for 100 years.

Swift Justice tells the story of Leon Brooks, an educated black man, who comes under the wrath of the Texas KKK for initiating a voting drive. The Klan, which is led by the Imperial Wizard Atwood Baker, who is called "Judge" because he is the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, cannot allow the voting drive to happen. His solution - lynch Leon Brooks and set an example.

With this critically acclaimed debut collection, Frank Bill announces himself as an author of fiercely defined vision. In these vivid tales, Bill’s southern Indiana proves a literary destination of immense nuance, even as his mostly working-class characters cry out in voices that cannot be denied.

Terminal Exposure is the story of Chance Barkley and Jack McCoy, two trouble shooters hired by the Texas Syndicate to take down a dirty federal agent, who is involved in a ten-million-dollar cocaine buy that is traded for ten million dollars' worth of heroin. The multi-faceted story follows the load as it heads north into the USA near Douglas, Arizona. Deep-cover CIA agent Pablo Morales is brought in to help Barkley and McCoy. If successful, the newly formed strike team will have their first advantage over the Mexican cartels in their fight for control of the Southern border.

When the mysterious death of a childhood friend forces homicide detective Alex Abrams to return to her hometown, she’s pulled back into a world of dark secrets and painful memories she thought she’d left behind. Alex, a battle-hardened Iraq War veteran, is forced to confront the ghosts of her past—and the deadly truth lurking in the shadows of her tight-knit community. Teaming up with her twin brother, Lucca, Alex soon uncovers a chilling pattern of so-called "accidental" deaths—each one more calculated and chilling than the last.

When a popular youth pastor is accused of a grisly crime, MacLaren Yarbrough won't rest until she finds the truth. Her gut instinct tells her Luke Blessed is innocent. Still, how could the dream he had on the night a young woman was murdered depict the crime with such chilling accuracy? As MacLaren tracks down clues from all corners of Hopewell, GA, four like suspects emerge. But the police aren't buying her theories. Even her husband, local magistrate Joe Riddley, resists her amateur sleuthing. This case, he feels, is too dangerous.

After Windsor Ebonwood’s love life and successful career as a book conservator vanish in one fell swoop, she’s determined to begin anew. Win moves to Darkly Island off the coast of Louisiana, where she’s been bequeathed an unusual bookshop and a charming home on the edge of a dark swamp. Win gets to work settling into her new life in the sleepy Southern town but discovering Darkly’s heartless town alderman impaled on a gravestone wasn’t on the books. Nor was finding out about her family’s legacy as powerful witches responsible for protecting the bookshop at all costs.

Some say it was the spirt of one of the pirates that haunt the island that killed him. Others say the death was the result of greed and revenge. All that was known for certain, was that death did not come peacefully for the last inhabitant of a now deserted island. The lighthouse on Skull Island is a mysterious place steeped in legend and folklore.

Fifty-three years ago, Francine Kettleman was found dead in a cemetery fifty miles from Gull Island. Her body was found in a graveyard and most believe she was the fourth victim of the Silk Stalking Strangler, a mass murderer credited with killing thirteen women over a ten-month period from 1964 to 1965.

I told you I was sick, reads the headstone above Mamie Sue Preston's grave. She was the richest woman in Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky, and also the biggest hypochondriac. Ironic, considering someone killed her - and covered it up perfectly. And how does Emma Lee, proprietor of the Eternal Slumber Funeral Home, know all this? Because Mamie Sue's ghost told her, that's how. And she's offering big bucks to find the perp.

Jake believes he has found happiness, but a devastating blow sends him back into the world of evil that lies beneath tropical beauty. He begins a path of revenge, carefully crafting a plan to ensure the end of Santiago and Group 45.

Hanna and Alex risked their lives to put mob boss Xander Lacroix behind bars. When they learn of his early release from prison and one of his henchmen starts a relentless campaign of harassment and revenge, they both find themselves again on the precipice of chaos and danger. The alarming death of a local woman in Alex's hometown of Dugganville leads to a surprising chain of events that quickly escalates into a deadly struggle with the dark forces of crime and corruption in the Low Country of South Carolina.

The shocking disappearance of a young woman and a suspicious death put Hanna and Alex back in the crosshairs of the ruthless Dellahousaye crime family. Hanna and Alex again find themselves in the troubled waters of love and commitment. Alex returns to South Carolina with the promise of a new start, but with strings attached that Hanna may never be able to live with. The story plays out against the compelling backdrop of Charleston, Pawleys Island, and the fictional Dugganville, South Carolina.

Ingrid often said that one could find anything and everything they needed at yard sales. Perhaps she was right. In retirement, she laid her hands on the biggest yard sale find of all. The love of her life, Jerome Prioleau. Now, there was a wedding to plan. Meanwhile, strange things were happening in Juniper. A woman was murdered, her body found deep beneath Lake Murray by one of Ingrid’s former students. Later, the woman’s husband, none other than Juniper’s mayor, was found dead. A victim of his own poisoning.

Southern matriarch Lillian Summer Fairview is settling right nice into prison, until Big Martha, the toughest broad on the cellblock, comes asking for a favor. Her niece has fallen for a guy she met online, and Martha’s convinced Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True is up to no good. All Lil’s friends have to do is investigate the guy and report back. Will these amateur sleuths be able to track down the elusive Romeo in the scam-filled world of online dating without alerting the local police to their shenanigans, or will they find themselves in trouble right up to their granny panties?

What's a witch to do when the meanest man in the county drops dead in his coleslaw during her shift at the local barbecue joint? Noelle does what any good Southern girl would do: She flicks a wrist to clean up the mess, then thanks the stars for doing the world a favor. Until she becomes a suspect.

Fifty-three years ago, Francine Kettleman was found dead in a cemetery 50 miles from Gull Island. Her body was found in a graveyard and most believe she was the fourth victim of the Silk Stalking Strangler, a mass murderer credited with killing 13 women over a 10-month period from 1964 to 1965.

It was the bottom of the ninth, tying run on third, bases loaded, two outs, full count, and the tension was high. The pitch was thrown, everyone in the crowd held their breath. Trey Alderman lined up with the pitcher and swung the bat with all his might before falling to the ground.

Andy Buckland is determined that nothing will interrupt her first Christmas with Malcolm Jones and her last holiday spent in her childhood home. When the family recipe book disappears from the Bowtie Angel, and Aunt Cecily threatens to put "The Eye" on the entire population of Beaverton if it isn't returned, Andy and Jones decide to put the eggnog on hold for a little old fashioned sleuthing. But as one secret leads to another and rumors are served up along with hot buttered penne, Andy can't shake the suspicion that her life is about to change forever.

The fact that Katrina Pomeroy had been murdered was in and of itself a newsworthy event. The fact that she had been murdered on Friday, October 13th, exactly 11 years after she’d been one of five teenagers to survive the Friday the 13th Massacre, made her passing worthy of notice by the national news agencies Jillian Hanford used to work for.