Funny Southern

From Publishers Weekly In his third installment (after A Short History of a Small Place and Off for the Sweet Hereafter of hilarious adventures narrated by young Louis Benfield of Neely, N.C., Pearson again spins a rollicking yarn with somber undertones and reveals himself to be a shrewd social commentator. Essentially the chronicle of the pursuit of a stolen Chevrolet that ends with the murder of a black man, the kernel of the story is embroidered on, digressed from, told and retold with deepening significance each time. Everything that goes on in the real worldincluding the sordid and the...

Sheriff Gus knows it’s going to be a bad week when he sees Sedric Hedgecock’s breathalyzer score. With a blood alcohol level of 0.62 percent, Hedgecock should be dead. If the breathalyzer’s isn’t on the fritz, Hedgecock’s superhuman. Either way, he’s blind drunk, so off to the county jail he goes. Joining the wannabe Bacchus in Gus’s cells is Jennifer Louis Bachman, awaiting extradition to Kansas on a murder charge. The victim in question is Jennifer’s unborn child, and the murder weapon is an illegal Mexican abortion. With the governor vacillating on whether to extradite, ...

Birtha Blacktail isn’t your average hunting dog. In fact, she’s not much of a hunting dog at all—unless snoring in the sun and philosophizing from the porch count as skills. She’s big, she’s loyal, and she’s got just enough brainpower to wag when necessary. Alongside her 14-year-old human, Jason, Birtha proves that life doesn’t have to be fast-paced or fancy to be downright extraordinary. Set in the quiet rhythms of rural life, this heartwarming and hilarious tale explores friendship, loyalty, lazy afternoons, and the occasional wild adventure (reluctantly participated in, of ...

Retired pitcher Lefty Gallagher wants to enjoy the summer. He doesn't want to start it by getting killed. Lefty helped Iris in the past. She's got more trouble now. She's seen something she shouldn't see and the killers could be right behind her. Cool, funny, sympathetic, and gritty. The dialogue is pitch-perfect.

Tired of college, Kate Kennedy’s granddaughter, Katharine, drops out and heads for Florida, landing in the apartment of Kate’s best friend. In her quest for a new life, she takes up with a gang of surfers that go by the name “The Four Boardsmen of the Apocalypse.” But catching waves can be a dangerous pastime. When Katharine’s surfer crush is killed in a shark attack, foul play is suspected, especially by the police. Fingers are pointing at Katharine—including, to Kate’s disappointment, those of her friend Detective Nick Carbone. It’s up to Kate to prove her beloved ...

Kate and her best friend Marlene are attending the Palmetto Beach Flea Market in hopes of selling Marlene’s collection of 1950s memorabilia. Fortunately, a table has become available in the busy corridor just outside the circus tent. Unfortunately, the vacant table’s previous occupant died from electrocution when a television set took a dive into his bathtub. The police suspect foul play. And Kate suspects nearly every seller who had a table near the victim—and a motive to put him out of business. - - - - - - - - - - - - - DEATH IS A BARGAIN by Noreen Wald A Henery Press Mystery. If ...

Welcome to Sweetgum Hollow—where stories grow wilder than blackberry vines and one red-haired girl can stir up more truth than a Southern storm. Meet Jennymae “Jingles” Tibbins: a feisty, 13-year-old sparkplug with a jangle in her pocket, a rebel spirit, and a sweet tea wit that cuts through nonsense like a butter knife through biscuits. In these pages, you’ll ride shotgun through the Deep South—on dirt roads, church pews, and secrets buried beneath front porch chatter. Jingles doesn’t aim to cause trouble, but truth has a funny way of finding her—and when it does, it sure ...

A Paranormal Women’s Mystery Novel! Alyssa Anderson has a fairly normal life in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That is, until two things happen nearly simultaneously: First, she gets laid off from a job she loves. Second, visions of a missing little girl begin haunting her sleeping and waking hours. A little girl, it tuns out, who's gone missing in Alyssa's home town. Out of work and plagued by these visions, Alyssa returns home to Georgia to reconnect with friends and family...and to help search for the missing girl. There, she makes several startling discoveries about herself, her ...

A small-town, sweet southern romance about finding home where you least expect it. Runway model Charlie Weston is used to flashbulbs, fast flights, and faking perfection. Burnt out and hiding from the headlines after a very public fall from grace, she escapes to the last place anyone would look—Dent County, Missouri, population nosy and proud of it. She’s just here to breathe. To disappear. To stay until the dust settles. But then there’s Jackson Sharp—a quiet, stubborn craftsman who prefers wood over words and thinks Instagram is a brand of crackers. He’s everything Charlie ...

Jennifer Collins thought the hardest chapter of her life had finally closed. After losing her mother to cancer and learning how to live with grief, she’s just beginning to breathe again. With her best friend Beth now married and moving forward, Jen finds herself feeling more alone than ever—until he comes back. Hunter Wright walked away when Jen needed him most. No goodbye. No explanation. Just gone. Now, years later, he’s returned to Salem, Missouri with a smile that still turns her knees to jelly and eyes that hold far too many memories. Jen’s not sure if she wants to yell at him,...

K.T. Tomb introduces three new heroines: bounty hunters Roberta, Riley, and Ricki Vaughan. All sisters. And all tough as nails. When a new client hires the streetwise Vaughan sisters to find and recover a stolen diamond that’s worth millions, the recovery fee alone could save their struggling business. However, their new client refuses to call the police, so the sisters have to keep this case on the down low. And when the prime suspect turns up dead, things really start to heat up in the Deep South. When an unexpected event threatens more than the recovery of the one-of-a-kind gem, all ...

SWITCH BACK is a novella (about 1/3 of a full-length novel, about 4-5 times longer than a short story) and takes place prior to BOARD STIFF (Elliott Lisbon Mystery #1). After inheriting an entire town, Ballantyne Foundation Director, Elliott Lisbon, travels to Texas to thank them. She quickly learns they don’t want her gratitude, they want their town back. And they’re willing to kill for it. Trapped in a small town full of big suspects, Elliott must unlock their secrets, or she’ll never get out alive. Now doesn’t that sound like fun? Read the whole series and gets even better. - - -...

In the South, we believe in being polite, even if it kills us. So, when we just can't fight the urge to say something nasty, we follow it up with a "bless her heart" just to make us feel better. "Look at that poor woman trying to jog around that track. Her rear-end is dragging a trail, bless her heart." Youngblood and Poole talk about the ins and outs of nosy neighbors, sibling rivalry, and why every Southerner worth her salt feels the need to offer advice.

Welcome to the front porch of Possum Neck, Arkansas—where the tea is sweet, the air is thick with crickets and mischief, and Grandpa Charlie’s rocking chair creaks with more secrets than a preacher at a pie auction. In That Reminds Me of a Story, you’re about to experience twenty outrageous, side-splitting, and possibly-not-entirely-true tales straight from the mouth of the South’s most animated storyteller. From possessed hams and time-warping lawnmowers to ghost-filled outhouses and championship possum pageants, these stories walk the fine line between “that never happened” ...

Can this swoon-worthy hero turn Dani's dreams into reality? Sure, Wade Spencer is easy on the eyes, has that Southern charm, and comes from a good family, but Dani has been burned by the like before and she’s not fool enough to try it again. But her little girl sees a potential daddy. Seeing how Wade showers her daughter with all the love the girl’s father has denied her, Dani can’t help but warm up to the idea of giving love another try. Wade has a lot going on—a mother with a life-threatening illness to look after, four younger siblings to keep in line, and a farm to run. That ...

Jumping trees are the bane of Ben Baker' existence. He can't remember how many times a wampus cat has killed him. It's a wonder Hawgin' Fishbreath and Ben are still alive to tell these tales. If you love Southern humor in the style of Jerry Clower and Justin Wilson with helping of Lewis Grizzard thrown in, this is the book for you. Ben Baker relates tales of growing up in the South, misadventures in the woods and on the water, and some tall tales to tickle your funny bone.

At a dinner for Swami Schwartz, the founder of the Palmetto Beach Yoga Institute, the food is fabulous and the dancing is delightful. That is, until Swami two-steps all over Kate Kennedy’s new shoes and then keels over dead after someone spikes his double espresso with cyanide. Who could have poisoned the yogi? Now Kate has to team up with her best friend Marlene to sort through suspects, including a shady business partner and a pretty yoga student—who may have shared more than a lotus position with Swami. - - - - - - - - - - - - - DEATH OF THE SWAMI SCHWARTZ by Noreen Wald A Henery ...

Welcome to Whispering Pines—a charming Southern town where the casseroles are hot, the gossip is hotter, and secrets don’t stay buried for long. Denise Dee Devecco thought her biggest worry was surviving her mama’s third wedding. That is, until the groom drops dead mid-vow and her own mother becomes the prime suspect. Toss in a teacup dog that hates her, a cranky parrot with murder-related catchphrases, and a local detective who makes her forget how words work—and suddenly Denise’s quiet life is anything but. Armed with stubborn curiosity, a bad case of adult-onset chicken pox, ...

Thirteen bitter sweets. Thirteen bitter suspects. One unhappy ending. World-famous Chandler's Chocolates has unveiled a new storybook-inspired chocolate collection, Once Upon a Truffle. It's up to Anna Clementine, the company's event coordinator, to promote the product by hosting a fairytale-themed beauty pageant. To set the scene, contestants are invited to an abandoned castle deep in the Smoky Mountains. After all, every little girl dreams of being a princess in a palace- unless that castle turns out to be haunted. Anna soon finds herself in a cursed castle, surrounded by spoiled ...

If you're a fan of the Addison Holmes Mystery Series, you're going to love The Scarlet Chronicles! General Patton has nothing on Scarlet Holmes. She's beautiful, savvy, and smart, and if anyone can take down the Nazi's single-handedly, it's her.