Southern Crime Fiction

Which of the following short stories would you read first? A.) A stubborn donkey challenges a Tennessee race horse. B.) A chess match ends in bloodshed. C.) Two sisters beg a funeral director to play their daddy's favorite Johnny Cash song. D.) A shooter takes aim from a church baptistry. E.) Two astronauts survive a horrific spinout only to return to earth and find everybody else walking around in super slow motion. Why not read them all? They're all in this far-flung collection of short stories and more. Scroll up and get them now with just one click.

A Long-Awaited Romantic Interlude Turns Deadly…At long last Alex has returned to Wyndley Farm, her childhood home, with her infant child and the love of her life, undercover operative Jacob Stark. Her happiness is short-lived and abruptly ends as CIA agent Digger Stildove gathers intel that suggests trouble from the other side of the globe. Digger and Jacob leave Virginia for the Middle-East but danger escalates quickly on the homefront as the Secret Service detect terrorist activity near the farm. updated 10.9.2020

Samantha Patrick's cousin Sarah has lived with an abusive husband for thirty years. After a brutal attack she finally finds the courage to leave. Sarah goes to Land's End looking for safety and comfort with her family on this small, idyllic island but the horror is not over yet. Someone is stalking Sarah. Is it the abusive husband or someone else? Will Land's End be the place where Sarah finds new life, or it will be where it ends?

"What I love about Steven F. Freeman’s writing is that he keeps you guessing; just when you think you’ve figured it all out, he throws another curveball at you. This clever style of writing keeps the reader on their toes throughout. The action in When the Killing Starts begins on page one and never lets up. This novel can be read as a stand-alone story. Action/thriller readers will love this book as much as I did." - Readers' Favorite The Winter Olympics: the perfect time for competition, sportsmanship…and mayhem Days before the Winter Olympics are scheduled to begin, host country ...

Iggy Guerra is out of prison, but his homecoming is anything but smooth. His beloved mother is gone, his grief-stricken father Armando is deep in debt, and they are about to lose the butcher shop that has been in their family for generations. Iggy must earn his father’s lost trust in order to save La Carnicería Guerra from the threats imposed by a new rival business, a vigilante activist, and big-game hunter Orin, who has dragged Armando into his dangerous money-making schemes deep in the Everglades, where more than secrets are buried.

Her fiancé battles terrorists… He's one of America’s elite…Marrying him is a risk – suppose he doesn’t come home?Alex, now living in Virginia and working in Washington, DC for the Institute of Medicine, is recalled to the Big Easy to investigate a series of hospital crimes where she reconnects with her ex-husband Robert, the calm, steady surgeon.She realizes she misses him desperately as guilt consumes her…A series of emergency calls, one from the hospital, another from her home, Twist her heart and her…What will she do? She’s being pulled in so many directions… Evil ...

The deed is done when flower petals land on the body. To this serial killer, it’s all about the flowers. It always has been and always will be. A young female slides onto a stool at a hotel bar, hoping to escape life for a few minutes. She promises herself one drink will make it all better, even though she doesn’t drink alcohol. Halfway through her drink, she chats with a nice-looking guy. Then things turn for the worse. The following day, Sheriff Steele responds to a report of a deceased body at the park. The victim was later identified, and her death shocked even the hardened agents ...

Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, Charon has had only two murders. After years of working as an FBI agent, no one knows better than Titus that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. But a year after Titus's election, a school teacher is killed by a former student. The student is then fatally shot by Titus's deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes, and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight.

A witch out of her element... An evil specter set on gaining immortality... A paranormally gifted girl's work is never done. April accepts the dangerous mission of uncovering the truth behind a series of disappearances on the mysterious coastal island of Turtle Key. Armed with nothing more than her resolve and unreliable supernatural "gifts," April works with her makeshift paranormal team as they face mortal danger and uncover a terrible family secret. Along the way, she grapples with the complicated relationship with her mentor, neighbors, and even her family. With suspense and powerful ...

With one phone call from a man he barely recalls meeting years ago, South Florida detective Louis Kincaid heads to the Michigan town of his college days to reopen a disturbing cold case -- and finds himself confronting his own painful past secrets...secrets that risk his future with the woman he loves, detective Joe Frye.

This coming-of-age tale set in the mountains of post-WWII North Georgia features a fourteen-year-old Zeb Barton, his irascible surgeon father, and Thelka, the gun-toting maid who mentors Zeb through progressively dangerous times. Even though the book is set in the 1960's, many of the characters are still reeling from the damages of WWII combat while others are being haunted by dead family members.

All Mel and Dana wanted was a weekend break... Mel and Dana take a long weekend break with the family on a Lake Erie island, or so they planned. Things just never seem to work out as they plan because crime follows them everywhere. Will they ever get a break? Probably not, but maybe Mel will find the career spark that's been missing for a while. This is a short story featuring Mel and Dana that takes place sometime after Book 12 of the Morelville Mysteries series. You don't need to have read the series to enjoy this story, but it will certainly help you understand Mel and her motivations. ...

Book #6 of the bestselling John Whicher novels. Midnight in the Chinati Mountains, gunfire flashes out at a remote desert ranch. Deputy US Marshal John Whicher picks up the emergency call to respond. Searching the hills there’s no trace of a gunman. But something more than darkness waits out in the black…

In the heart of Amblewood’s bustling downtown, Café Cozy is the go-to spot for warm conversations, freshly brewed coffee, and a touch of autumn magic. Owned by Emma Blake, the café is more than just a place to grab a latte—it’s a community hub where friends gather, secrets are shared, and the espresso is always made with love. But when ruthless food critic Derrick Matheson collapses after sipping the café’s newest seasonal drink, the cozy atmosphere turns cold. Whispers of poisoning spread through the town like wildfire, and business drops as suspicion swirls around Emma and her ...

This is a story of the rich and the very poor. This is a story of an illegal auction with dire consequences. This is a story of murders past and present. This is a story of intertwined relationships and the silent ripples they leave behind, where love becomes a guiding force, revealing the lengths one will go to protect those they cherish.

Evelyn Peters is desperate. Desperate for a way out of McNair Falls, the dying Southern town that's held her captive since the day she was born. Desperate to protect her little sister from her mother's terrifying and abusive boyfriend. And desperate to connect with anyone, even fallen golden boy Ashton Harper, longtime boyfriend of the girl Evelyn can never stop thinking about - beautiful, volatile, tragically dead Reid Brewer. Until a single night sends Evelyn and Ashton on a collision course that starts something neither of them can stop.

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.

Evil is stalking South Africa’s Sabi Sand Game Reserve. Viewers around the world are shocked when a live lockdown webcast of a safari game drive exposes them to the brutal reality of rhino poaching. A wily poacher disappears into thin air, confounding logic and baffling ace trackers Mia Greenaway and Bongani Ngobeni. Detective Colonel Sannie van Rensburg, still reeling from a personal tragedy, is dealing with an angry community on the border of the Kruger National Park - two young girls have been abducted.

Alex returns to Wyndley Farm, her childhood home in Virginia, to await the birth of her baby. An urgent call from Crescent City Medical Center compels her to return to New Orleans to investigate cruel, questionable incidents and heinous patient deaths. Digger Stildove returns from Yemen where he has searched for Jacob Stark. Michaela McPherson travels from Richmond with police dog Angel to consult with Commander Francoise in his search for St. Germaine. Events unfold as the evil continues and the hospital attempts to safeguard patients and staff.Updated 10.9.2020

Hank Weinberg is a modern day Atticus Finch, recently retired as a defense attorney in Mobile, Alabama, and a Holocaust survivor, who fled the Nazis as a young child. With his daughter in rehab, he's now taking care of his special needs grandson. Mourning his dead wife, spending mornings fishing on the pier with other octogenarians, he passes the rest of his days watching over his sweet grandson with the help of Lupita, a young Honduran babysitter.