Southern Family Mystery

Anne George’s novels offer a delightful mix of gentle comedy and compelling mystery. Murder Runs in the Family finds two feisty 60-something sisters doing a little amateur sleuthing into the death of a visiting genealogist. Mary Alice has spared no expense for her daughter’s wedding. Two days after the glittering affair, Mary Alice and Patricia Anne are spending a fascinating lunch listening to the groom’s cousin explain the ’dog-eat-dog" world of professional genealogy.

With a beautiful and clever wife, a growing investigative business, and a baby due any day, former Bow Street Runner John Pickett finally has a respectable life far removed from his beginnings as a juvenile pickpocket in the rookeries of St. Giles.

Ya'll, let me tell you my story!Glad you could find your way here, and I welcome you to the Sellers Plantation here in the deep south of Mobile, Alabama. I'm anxious to get started with my story tellin,' so, I'm sharin' a little bout the story that I be tellin' to ya'll down below. When I wuz born, I be given the name Gertrude Ida Rollins, but as I be growin' folks just be callin' me Ms. Gertie. I wuz born in Mobile, Alabama in the year eighteen and eighty-eight. Yes, that be a long time ago for most of ya'll, but I thinks it be good to be learnin' bout the history that be comin' before you...

The third installment of the John Pickett series of humorous Regency mysteries finds Bow Street Runner Pickett in Scotland investigating a woman found unconscious on the beach - a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the local laird's daughter, a girl missing and presumed dead for the last 15 years. Pickett is surprised to discover that the woman was found by none other than Lady Fieldhurst and her three young nephews - and gratified to learn that her ladyship has registered at the seaside inn as Mrs. Julia Pickett.

Agatha O’Malley has become a recluse in the home that should be holding warm and wonderful memories. Up until her husband’s death, she led a happy and social life as the wife of a wealthy physician in the small town of Park Place, South Carolina. But now that he’s dead, she’s not only grieving for him, she’s furious with him over the mysterious disappearance of the stocks, bonds and money he told her he’d put aside for their retirement. What is she to do when there’s barely enough money in their joint checking account to survive, and how will she pay property taxes and keep up...

Finally settled with Viking vampire Eric, Sookie finds normalcy just as chaos surrounds her. Sookie’s former lover Bill, her boss Sam, and even Eric are struggling with family problems. Then things get really interesting when the werewolves tell Sookie an ominous presence is lurking.

A mountain girl in the early 1900’s copes with a marriage arranged by her dad. Her story is titled from an old saying “I own my land, heaven-high and hell-deep.” “Your pa gave his consent for us to marry,” he said the words as though it was a simple matter. It wasn’t a romantic proposal of love and devotion. It wasn’t a proposal at all. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I tried again. “I don’t know your name,” I managed to say as I felt my chest constrict. There was a pain in me that started at my toes and went to the roots of my hair. Dad had come up with a ...

Southern historical fiction novel of drama and intrigue set on the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains in Western North Carolina. Excerpt from Chapter Nine: She hid in the woods all night long. Didn’t even come out to milk the goat or feed her mother’s chickens. The goat was starting to bleat to be milked by the next morning, but she was too afraid to take a chance on being out in the open long enough to milk her. By the time the sun started going down, she gathered enough determination to slip close enough to the cabin to see through the open door. There was enough light left in ...

What if your next conversation was your last? When Pastor Charles returns to Bayou Refuge, he expects peace and familiarity. Instead, he finds a strange fog that won’t lift from the grounds, old avoiding his questions, and a mystery that he can't seem to crack. A place of refuge… or life-changing secrets? As Charles reconnects with old friends, he’s also tasked with sharing God’s love with three guests staying at Bayou Refuge. But the deeper he leans into these conversations, the more he begins to uncover a startling truth, one that forces him to rely on his faith in Christ more ...

Death by devil's food—but was it really the cake? Savannah Stanton thought she was finally settling into small-town life in Spring Grove. But when a prestigious judge drops dead during the town's annual Dessert Festival—right after sampling Holly's signature devil's food cake—Savannah finds herself kneading through far more than just dough. With the bakery's reputation at stake and whispers of sabotage rising like badly proofed bread, Savannah must sift through a cast of colorful suspects: a fiercely competitive rival baker, a resentful estranged brother, and a host of other townsfolk...

Tracks Beneath the Clay A story unearthed a legacy rewritten When a daughter uncovers her family's hidden past, she discovers a secret that could rewrite everything she thought she knew about herself. Janice only meant to fix up the old Georgia house. Instead, she finds a grave without a name, a letter never sent, and a hidden cellar that holds more than family silver. A century earlier, seventeen-year-old Natalie arrives at her aunt's plantation—a Northern girl sent south as punishment. Beneath the whitewashed columns and sweet tea, she encounters a cousin whose charm masks something far...

A wealthy family with DARK secrets. A SHOCKING reveal that you guaranteed won't see coming... Avery Collins is an attorney with the tender heart of a warrior for the wrongfully accused, for one simple reason. She was once wrongfully accused, and spent 7 years in prison for a murder she didn't commit. Now sworn to protect the indigent accused, she's persuaded to represent Esme Guitierrez, an El Salvadoran refugee who is accused of killing 21-year-old Aria Whitmore. Aria was the daughter of the prominent billionaire hotelier Jacob Whitmore, and was also an aspiring concert pianist and music ...

The first book in the instant NYT bestselling gothic fantasy series; a modern paranormal romance set against the gothic backdrop of an isolated southern town. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse...

It’s John Wayne Orkney’s first week as a cop. There’s already one dead body, two old flames, a half-feral foster brother, and a murder suspect who once slept with him… and recently ran over the police chief with a mobility scooter. Welcome back to Camelot, West Virginia—a down-but-not-out Appalachian town full of ghosts, grudges, and folks trying to claw their way back. Some with magic. Some with moonshine. John Wayne never wanted a badge. He’s already juggling EMT runs, trying to launch a business, and keeping tabs on his three wild brothers. Then there’s Gallagher Lance—...

On opening night, murder takes center stage. Savannah Stanton's perfect date night turns deadly when Spring Grove's dinner theater production ends with a real murder instead of a staged one. The murder weapon? Sweet Springs Bakery's engraved cake knife. The suspects? Nearly everyone in the theater company. As Savannah and Sheriff Cole Hensley navigate backstage drama, bitter rivalries, and opening night chaos, they'll discover that behind the curtain, someone has staged the perfect crime.

Title: The Quilt That Talked Series: The Stitch & Sleuth Society – Book 5 Author: Lydia Cotton When a vintage quilt is donated to The Cozy Thimble, Ruby and her friends expect to display a charming piece of Sweetwater Falls history. Instead, they find a fresh bloodstain in the center of the folded fabric—and a mystery decades in the making. The Stitch & Sleuth Society is back, and this time, the clues are stitched right into the seams. As Ruby, Bea, Maude, Tilda, and the rest of the crew piece together the puzzle, they unravel more than just fabric. Family secrets, forged identities, ...

316 pages print edition, 98,142 words, Contemporary southern fiction, suspense, drama, romance. Appalachian Culture Heritage From Chapter 1: A cold sweat gathered on Catalena’s skin as she gripped the steering wheel. She didn’t want to move a muscle, was afraid to draw a breath. She was scared out of her mind. Her overwhelming fear of heights had her feeling paralyzed. A sheer rock wall towered on the left side of the vehicle with a cliff of dizzying proportions dropping straight down on the right side. It reminded her of the Road of Death in North Yungas, Bolivia where hundreds of ...

From the author of the bestselling Pelican Cove cozy mysteries Meet Meera Patel - college dropout and soon to be murder suspect Life in sleepy college towns in the south follows a predictable pattern. Summers are slow and lazy and campus is almost deserted. Scorching days end in flaming sunsets. Meat cooks on the backyard grills, infusing the air with heady aromas of charcoal and dry rubs. Kids splash in pools and run around, licking snow cones and popsicles. It's the calm before the storm, before the frenzy of fall term begins in earnest. Swan Creek, Oklahoma is no different. Meera Patel ...

One tragic moment shatters Kathryn Moore’s world—and the truth could destroy everything she holds dear. After her beloved uncle—her mentor and only confidante—dies in a suspicious car crash, Kathryn is forced to leave behind the strained comfort of her Boston upbringing for the haunting beauty of Charleston to confront her family’s dark legacy. The inheritance of her uncle’s historic home pulls her into a web of family secrets, where every answer leads to more questions and every truth threatens to unravel her already fragile sense of self. As Kathryn digs deeper, she’s ...

Step into the haunted heart of the South with The Rose Falls Trilogy, where love, betrayal, and the supernatural intertwine in an unforgettable saga of vengeance and redemption. Helene Wyndham's love for her cousin Paul blinds her to his sinister ambitions. As the Wyndham family fortune hangs in the balance, Paul's greed leads to murder, and Helene's fate is sealed in silence. Generations later, Sasha Berry Wyndham inherits the enigmatic Rose Falls estate, unaware of the dark history it holds. With her boyfriend Adam by her side, they uncover the estate's secrets, only to awaken the ...