Southern Thrillers

Trick Albright and a group of eccentric Southerners make a pact to decode the mysterious Voynich Manuscript for a $3BLN prize. This strange book carbon-dates to the 15th Century but is written in an unknown language that might be older than mankind itself. What Trick and his team don't know is that the book's sinister purpose was uncovered a century ago by the brilliant Ethel Boole Voynich, and she had an excellent reason to keep it secret. "When the time comes, we will prove to the world that the black magic of the Middle Ages consisted of discoveries far in advance of 20th-century science...

It begins quietly on a balmy Southern night as some locals gather at Bo Peep’s, one of the town’s favorite watering holes. Within an hour, however, a man will be murdered and his companion will be “disappeared.” An unlikely detective, Morgana Musgrove, doyenne of Savannah society, is called upon to unravel the mystery of these crimes. Morgana is an imperious, demanding, and conniving woman, whose four grown children are weary of her schemes. But one by one she inveigles them into helping with her investigation, and soon the family uncovers some terrifying truths.

Callahan Garrity is the owner of House Mouse, a cleaning service that tidies up after Atlanta’s elite. She’s also a former cop and a part-time sleuth. She and her coterie of devoted helpers can ransack a house for clues faster than it takes a fingerprint to set. When Callahan Garrity gets caught in a liquor store holdup on the way home from a St. Paddy’s Day party, one of her best friends is shot.

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.

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 ...

A fresh murder in Arizona throws a family into chaos, and unravels a decades-old mystery. It’s been 20 years since the accident. A nighttime car crash on a desert road that left her parents dead and her sister disabled. Now a law enforcement officer with the Arizona Rangers, Michaela Sanchez has tried to get over the guilt she feels. She’s tried to move on. But when her brother is charged with the murder of a local activist, echoes of her family’s tragic night come crashing back. Michaela will do everything in her power to prove her brother’s innocence.

Verity Long would really like a day off. Between uncovering the culprit who capped her gangster ghost housemate and dodging the bomb her boyfriend just dropped on their relationship, her spiritual calling has gotten complicated. But when she steps out for a little fun at a church fundraiser, she has another mystery on her hands when a family friend plunges from the bell tower.

After seven long years in prison, Colt Hudson is finally returning to Blake County, Georgia. But in his hometown, he's treated like just another criminal—with good reason. The scion of a tight-knit southern clan, Colt's family is deeply involved in one of the most dangerous meth operations in Georgia. Colt's early release from prison comes with strings attached—a deal with narcotics squad commander Tim Dawson, who wants information that could help bust the family business. But when the drug agent who put Colt away seven years ago turns up dead, a dangerous conspiracy begins to unravel.

It's autumn down south, and An'gel and Dickce Ducote are in Natchez, Mississippi, at the request of Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend. Mary and her husband, Henry Howard, live in Cliffwood, one of the beautiful antebellum homes for which Natchez is famous. Odd things have been happening in the house for years, and the French Room in particular has become the focal point for spooky sensations.

Science Can Be Murder combines three books from the Roger and Suzanne South American Mystery series into one omnibus volume. It starts with the first book in the series, the novel The Ambivalent Corpse, an ideal introduction to the series characters. Parts of a dismembered corpse are found on a rocky stretch of beach in Montevideo, Uruguay, apportioned equally between Memorials to a German cruiser sunk in World War II and to the Jews killed in the Holocaust. Roger and Suzanne travel from Uruguay to Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay to solve this baffling and grotesque murder case. In the ...

Trapped in a dead-end town, Justin Warren has had his life defined by the suspicious deaths of his grandparents. The unsolved crime happened long before Justin was born, but the ripple effects are still felt after thirty-eight years. Justin always knew he wouldn’t have much of a future. He just never imagined that his life might take him backward.

The polite Piedmont town of Hillston, North Carolina, wants to go on believing it is still too temperate to require homicide experts. But when the wife of a state senator is found beaten to death, the inner circle of Hillston’s ruling families arranges to have the case assigned to Detective Justin Savile, the charming black sheep of the dynasty that founded the town. Aided by his wise-cracking partner and a young woman from the Carolina mountains whose strength and love rescues him from his own destructive impulses, Savile sets out to unravel the deceit hidden in Hillston’s past.

It is the summer of 2004, and pristine antebellum homes, once the refuge of wealthy New Orleanians seeking to escape yellow fever, sit proudly along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But beyond this tranquil setting and the seductive Gulf breeze, there are secrets, never revealed, that still remain a threat. Following an interview with a U.S. Senator and leading presidential candidate, a young journalist will have cause to wonder if a killer could soon occupy the White House. While Jonathan Burke attempts to link the Mississippi senator to the secret Sovereignty Commission, an agency whose ...

The Vampires are Running the Asylum! Wormwood Asylum, a private mental hospital located in Southwest Virginia, specializes in treating adolescent psychoses, including Renfield’s Syndrome, an obsession with drinking blood. But when a young man is committed to Wormwood because he believes he’s a vampire, it turns out he wasn’t lying, and soon rapacious revenants are running rampant through the rural mountain community. To fight the blatant bloodsuckers, the local sheriff teams up with a candy striper and her moonshiner grandpa, who just happens to have an arsenal of war-grade weapons ...

Women of Valor The second three of the Alexandra Destephano Psychological Medical thrillers in a digital collection from the Queen of New Orleans Medical thrillersVengeance is the name of the game... Toxic New YearWhat began as rural Virginia’s premier New Year celebration turns into a day of horror when the enemies of Alex Destephano's grandfather, Congressman Adam Patrick Lee, bring the war to his Virginia estate killing, maiming and destroying everything in their path. Evil: Finding St. GermaineMichaela McPherson travels from Richmond with police dog Angel to consult with Commander ...

Southern girl Verity Long is about as high society as her pet skunk. Which is why she’s surprised as anyone when the new head of the Sugarland social set invites her to join the "it" girls. But this is no social call. Verity’s new client needs her to go in undercover and investigate strange happenings at the group’s historic headquarters. But while spirits are whispering hints of murder, the socialites are more focused on Verity’s 1978, avocado-green Cadillac. And when Verity stumbles upon a fresh body, she's going to need the long-dead citizens of Sugarland to help her solve the crime.

Chicago may be the city of broad shoulders, but its political law is "Pay to Play." Money changes hands in the middle of the night, and by morning, buildings and parks are replaced by billion-dollar projects. Chicago PI V. I. Warshawski gets pulled into one of these clandestine deals through her impetuous goddaughter, Bernie Fouchard. Bernie tries to rescue Lydia Zamir, a famed singer-songwriter now living on the streets; Zamir’s life fell apart when her lover was murdered next to her in a mass shooting at an outdoor concert.

Callahan Garrity is the owner of House Mouse, a cleaning service that tidies up after Atlanta's elite. She's also a former cop and a part-time sleuth. She and her coterie of devoted helpers can ransack a house for clues faster than it takes a fingerprint to set. Some people might call Callahan Garrity nosy, but she prefers to think of her tendency toward snooping as a healthy interest in the truth. So when news reaches her of her cousin Patti's death during a carjacking, Callahan shakes off her House Mouse cleaning uniform to don her detective's cap.

On the banks of the North Santee River stands a moss-draped oak that was once entrusted with the dreams of three young girls. Into the tree's trunk they placed their greatest hopes, written on ribbons, for safekeeping - including the most important one: friends forever, come what may. But life can waylay the best of intentions....

Patricia Anne and Mary Alice are “60-something” twin sisters who, after years of sibling rivalry, have discovered a mutual interest in folk art. However, Patricia Anne never dreamed that attending a gallery opening would land them in the middle of a murder investigation. Patricia Anne, a retired school teacher, is pleasantly surprised to see that Claire, a former student, is in charge of the show.