Southern Noir

The Akashic Noir series’ forensic study of Southern California sharpens its focus on one of Los Angeles’ most recognized neighborhoods.

The 13 chapters of The Art of War, each devoted to one aspect of warfare, were compiled by the high-ranking Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher Sun-Tzu. In spite of its battlefield specificity, The Art of War has found new life in the modern age, with leaders in fields as wide and far-reaching as world politics, human psychology, and corporate strategy finding valuable insight in its timeworn words.

After his son is convicted of capital murder, Vietnam War veteran Jeremiah Fitzjurls takes over the care of his granddaughter, Joanna, raising her with as much warmth as can be found in an Ozark junkyard outfitted to be an armory. He teaches her how to shoot and fight, but there is not enough training in the world to protect her when the dreaded Ledfords, notorious meth dealers and fanatical white supremacists, come to collect on Joanna as payment for a long-overdue blood debt.

In the far south, a young girl goes missing, lost without trace in the wilderness beyond her remote family cottage. A year later, her father disappears in the exact same place. Then, nothing. At all. Eventually, the years grow over the grief. The decades wear away the questions and life flows past the forgotten tragedy. Until Finn moves into the abandoned home, looking for a fresh start.

Family meant everything to Ayden Stratton. It always had even when he didn’t always allow it to show. Because of that, he understood the fury in Tobias Blaise’s eyes when they learned that his sister was their hometown's most recent crime victim...dragged out the backdoor of her restaurant despite every effort to stop her from being kidnapped. Fury didn’t begin to describe what he saw in his brother’s face. Cassidy Blaise might be Tobias’s sister, but she was Benjamin’s entire world. This Stratton Family saga will have you wondering what could possibly happen next. Keep some ...

A rising star is murdered. A crusader is accused. And in a town built on secrets, the truth is the darkest thing of all. Rosie Beckett had a bright future—a political intern with charm, ambition, and a long list of admirers. But her life ends on a quiet Georgian backstreet, her body found shot and thrown into a dumpster behind a row of houses in small southern town, Brunswick. And standing at the center of it all is Jake Tully. The host of a popular anti-corruption podcast, Tully has spent years exposing the dark secrets of the powerful, earning him fans—but too many enemies to count. ...

A body in an alleyway. Blood on the accused. Witnesses to the crime. When a sleepy Georgian town is rocked by the brutal murder of the local prosecutor’s son, all the evidence points to one man: Marcus Brantley. His only hope rests in defense counsel, Ryan Noble, drawn back to the town he tried to forget by his mother’s cancer diagnosis. But Noble’s homecoming brings a case that could cost him everything. Unwelcome, outnumbered, and with the clock ticking, Noble must navigate a dangerous game of secrets and lies before time runs out—where hostility lurks behind every corner and he ...

When tech visionary Julian Yates is arrested for the brutal murder of his business rival, the evidence seems airtight—a damning video, financial motive, and a public feud gone too far. But defense lawyer Ryan Noble knows something’s off. The pieces don’t fit. It all seems too clean. As Noble digs deeper, he uncovers a web of deceit stretching from the heart of Georgia’s legal system to the dark corners of the internet. Behind the scenes, powerful interests are manipulating the truth—and Yates may be just another pawn in a far deadlier game. With corporate espionage, digital ...

He vanished fifteen years ago. She’s about to find out he didn't just disappear. He was erased. If you crave heart-stopping suspense and a tough heroine who refuses to back down, you've found your next favorite read. This is your kind of thriller: ✅ A resourceful female lead character who turns from hunted to hunter. ✅ A tense mystery with action and adventure that erupts into a heart-pounding fight for survival. ✅ An immersive Louisiana setting so real you'll feel the hurricane's fury. ✅ A deadly conspiracy of money, power, and federal corruption. June Sawyer is drowning. In debt...

Assassin extraordinaire, Monica Killingsworth, has a penchant for rugged men, Turkish cigarettes, expensive jewelry, and accurate guns. Money is her god, and her only code of honor is her contract; she'll see that through to the bitter end. Call it a matter of professional pride. From the twisting, voodoo-tainted back alleys of Haiti to the snake-infested Down Under, Killingsworth leaves a trail of dead targets, collecting her pay through offshore accounts from unnamed and unknown clients...until the day comes when the tables are turned and she becomes the target.

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.

As Sheriff Clayton Burroughs tries to juggle fatherhood, his job, and his recovery from being shot in the confrontation that killed his two criminally inclined brothers last year, he’s doing all he can just to survive. Yet after years of carefully toeing the line between his life in law enforcement and his family, he finally has to make a choice. When a rival organization makes a first foray into Burroughs' territory, leaving a trail of bodies and a whiff of fear in its wake, Clayton is pulled back into the life he so desperately wants to leave behind.

Dane Kirby is a broken man and no stranger to tragedy. As a life-long resident and ex-arson investigator for McFalls County, Dane has lived his life in one of the most chaotic and crime-ridden regions of the south. When he gets called in to consult on a brutal murder in a Jacksonville, Florida, motel room, he and his FBI counterpart, Special Agent Roselita Velasquez, begin an investigation that leads them back to the criminal circles of his own backyard.

Life was never going to be the same again…friends had become family and strangers became friends…all in the midst of a storm like no other and the aftermath that no one could have ever predicted. Jess and Max find their relationship takes an unexpected and life-changing turn…Brian decides on a risky mission that no one can talk him out of…and Sara struggles with the knowledge that among those responsible for the terror of the last year are a few who have ties to the tragedy in her past that is never far from her thoughts.After the Storm is the final book in the ongoing story of ...

Winner of the 2023 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction Winner of the 2023 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award Winner of the 2024 Sir Walter Raleigh Award One of Vanity Fair’s Favorite Books of 2023 “A beautifully fearless contemplation.” –S. A. Cosby From award-winning writer...

“An instant Southern noir classic” –S.A. Cosby S.A. Cosby meets Don Winslow in the breakout thriller from New York Times bestselling author Ace Atkins. A Memphis woman hires a PI to find her missing husband, only to discover that he is involved in a dangerous web of international...

“V.I. Warshawski is as dogged and ferocious as ever. So is Sara Paretsky, who is at the top of her crime novel game.” — C.J. Box Chicago’s legendary detective, V.I. Warshawski, knows her city’s rotten underbelly better than most, but she’s unable to avoid it when her...

No one escapes In the toxic ghost town of Picher, Oklahoma, where blood-red creeks and crumbling mine shafts whisper of a poisoned past, rumors swirl of Tsisdetsi’s Shadow—a spectral creature stalking the shadows of the Tar Creek Superfund site. When reality TV’s Cryptid Hunter star Jake Huntington sets out to capture the beast on film, he enlists his voodoo priestess girlfriend, Mama Mulate, and gritty Oklahoma P.I. Buck McDivit to lead the charge. Guided by advice from locals, residents of an off-the-grid commune, and the cryptic wisdom of Quapaw medicine woman Nadie, the team ...

In Denton, Arkansas, the fate of the high school football team rests on the shoulders of Billy Lowe, a volatile but talented running back. Billy comes from an extremely troubled home: a trailer park where he is terrorized by his unstable mother’s abusive boyfriend. Billy takes out his anger on the field, but when his savagery crosses a line, he faces suspension. Without Billy Lowe, the Denton Pirates can kiss their playoffs bid good-bye.

Aspiring author Graye Templeton will do anything to escape the horrific childhood crime that haunts her. After a life lived in shadows, she’s accepted a new job as protégé to Laura West, influential book blogger and wife of an acclaimed novelist. Laura’s connections could make Graye’s publishing dreams a reality. But there’s more to Laura than meets the eye. Behind the veneer of a charmed life, Laura’s marriage is collapsing. Her once-lauded husband is descending into alcoholism and ruin and bringing Laura nearer to the edge.