Staff Picks
#BroaderBookshelf 2024: Mystery titles set in Alabama or Georgia
- Savannah G.
- Monday, January 15
Collection
Check out one of these mystery titles set in Georgia or Alabama and fulfill the 2024 Broader Bookshelf prompt "Read a book set in Georgia or Alabama"!
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree
Published in 2010
As the country struggles through the Great Depression, the Darling Dahlias of Darling, Alabama, are determined to keep their chins up. Their garden club has a clubhouse, a garden, a flag, a weekly column in The Darling Dispatch, and members from across the social spectrum. But when a treasure trove of sterling silver is found buried under the town's famous Cucumber Tree, two of the Dahlias claim it - which leads to some very unladylike behavior.
Savannah Blues
Published in 2002
Follows Eloise "Weezie" Foley, an antiques picker, as she deals with a huge estate sale, eccentric relatives, a sexy ex-boyfriend, and her ex-husband and his new girlfriend, unexpectedly discovering love is much better the second time around.
Savannah Breeze
Published in 2006
Savannah belle BeBe Loudermilk struggles to cope with the loss of everything following her relationship with Reddy, an investment "counselor" and conman, until she launches a campaign to retrieve her fortune and bring Reddy to justice.
Seams Deadly
Published in 2023
"Lydia Barnes is excited for a fresh start when she moves to the quaint mountain town of Peridot, Georgia. Her friend, Fran, offers her a job at the Measure Twice fabric store and even sets her up on a date with the handsome Brandon Ivey, who also happens to be Lydia’s new next-door neighbor. Finally, things are looking up. But after a disaster first date that ends with a fist bump instead of a kiss, Lydia doesn’t think her night can get any worse. She’s soon proven wrong when she later stumbles upon Brandon’s dead body. Considered the prime suspect by the police, Lydia calls on her friends to help her hunt for the truth and prove her innocence. But when another body is soon found inside the Measure Twice store, Lydia knows that the killer must be close by, and that this town has more than its fair share of secrets. Who would want to frame the newest addition to Peridot for these terrible murders—and why? Lydia may discover that while sewing might have a pattern, killing rarely does. Will she be able to stitch together the clues and clear her own name before the killer strikes again?" -- Amazon.
Out of the Blues
Published in 2016
Assigned to the cold-case murder of a blues musician whose death had been ruled a drug overdose, rookie homicide detective Sarah "Salt" Alt considers new evidence from a convicted felon who Sarah helped put behind bars.
A Killer Read
Published in 2012
When the first meeting of the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society results in murder, Lizzie Turner teams up with the police chief to catch the killer.
Murder on a Girls' Night out
Published in 1996
Flamboyant divorcee Mary Alice, better known as "Sister, " decides to buy her favorite hang-out, the Skoot 'n' Boot bar despite the disapproval of her respectable sister Patricia Anne, but the disagreement does not keep the women from teaming up to solve a crime when a dead body is found in the pub's wishing well.
The Scribe
A Novel
Published in 2015
Investigating a series of murders targeting post-Civil War Atlanta's wealthiest black entrepreneurs, a disgraced former detective partners with the city's first African-American officer in a case marked by fierce racial, political, and personal tensions.
Real Murders
Published in 2020
"Aurora Teagarden, small town librarian and true crime buff, is looking forward to the monthly meeting of the Real Murders Society, a group of fellow crime enthusiasts who share a unique interest in historical murders. The Society meetings are the highlight of Roe's social life in sleepy Lawrenceville, Georgia, and she's ready for a quiet night of discussion, coffee, and cookies. But after she finds the body of a Society member in a staged crime scene eerily similar to the one the group was supposed to discuss that very night, Roe finds herself at the center of a murderous story of her own. As the killer strikes again, it's obvious that members of the Real Murders Society have become targets of a knowledgeable copycat. With the help of handsome police detective Arthur Smith and the town's dashing new resident, mystery novelist Robin Crusoe, it's up to Roe to discover if the murderer is one of the group's own and to piece the perplexing puzzle together before another body appears."--Back cover
Bury Me when I'm Dead
Published in 2016
"Charlene "Charlie" Mack is a PI in Detroit. Born and raised in the city that America forgot, Charlie has built a highly respected private investigations firm through hard work, smart choices, and relentless ambition. Her team of investigators are highly skilled and trustworthy, but she secretly struggles with her sexual orientation and a mother with early-onset Alzheimer's. When Charlie and her crack team head to Birmingham, Alabama following the trail of a missing person, what should be a routine case turns into a complex chase for answers. Shady locals and a southern patriarch with dark secrets dating back forty years obscure their path. It seems like everyone has something to hide, including Charlie. When the case turns deadly with a double murder, and Charlie is attacked on a quiet neighborhood street, everything suddenly becomes personal"-- Back cover.
Time's Undoing
A Novel
Published in 2023
"A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist's search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago--inspired by the author's own family history. Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the 'Magic City' for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city's busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it's also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention. 2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather's murder--but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family's long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger. Inspired by true events, Time's Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman's quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan's search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change"-- Provided by publisher.
Dream with Little Angels
Published in 2013
Eleven-year-old Abe Teal struggles to make sense of his police officer mother's obsession with finding a missing girl in their small Alabama town, a case that may be tied to the unsolved murder of another young girl twelve years earlier.
In the Wick of Time
Published in 2023
"December in Savannah, Georgia, is a sight to behold. With all the festivities--including the traditional riverfront luminary display during the boat parade--twin sisters Tabby and Sage Winslow are busier than ever setting up for the big celebration. But that isn't the only thing on the sisters' minds. Both Sage and her fellow employee Mary Nicole are vying for the sought-after assistant manager job at the plant nursery. But when Loren Lee, their boss, is found dead, and Sage becomes the police's favorite suspect, both Winslow girls know that they'll need more than a flicker of magic and their sisterhood to solve the murder and clear Sage's name. Soon, Tabby realizes that this is just one of the many problems they have. If being a suspect for murder wasn't enough, there are more magical problems that they have to fix: Sage's boyfriend is having a paranormal experience of his own he can't control, there's an energy vampire searching for his supposedly lost cousin, her cat suddenly dislikes her, and oh--every time Tabby hiccups, she turns completely invisible. The suspect list grows with each day and it seems everyone has a reason or a connection to Loren Lee. Tabby and Sage are burning the candle at both ends--but will it be enough to keep their friends safe and find this killer? Or will they be burned by their efforts?"--Amazon.
Snuffed out
Published in 2023
Twin sisters Tabby and Sage Winslow, owners of The Book and Candle Shop in Savannah, come to the aid of their shop clerk Gerald when he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of one of the shop's customers.
Nightmares Can Be Murder
Published in 2014
Taylor Blake is visiting Savannah to help her sister Allison make a success of her vintage candy shop, Oldies But Goodies. Though a skeptic, she attends a dream interpretation discussion at one of Allison's Dream Club meetings. But it's a nightmare when a local dance instructor is murdered and the crime scene looks exactly like a dream shared at their latest meeting. In addition to being a shady businessman, Chico Hernandez was quite the Latin Lothario who left a string of broken hearts in his wake - including Allison's - who admits to visiting Chico the night he died. Soon Taylor comes to suspect various members of the Dream Club.
Murder by Page One
A Peach Coast Library Mystery
Published in 2021
"Marvey, a librarian, has moved from Brooklyn to a quirky small town in Georgia. When she's not at the library organizing events for readers, she's handcrafting book-themed jewelry and looking after her cranky cat. At times, her new life in the South still feels strange ... and that's before the discovery of the dead body in the bookstore. After one of her friends becomes a suspect, Marvey sets out to solve the murder mystery. She even convinces Spence, the wealthy and charming newspaper owner, to help. With his ties to the community, her talents for research, and her fellow librarians' knowledge, Marvey pursues the truth. But as she gets closer to it, could she be facing a deadly plot twist?"--Page 4 of cover
Murder out of Character
Published in 2022
"Marvey, still adjusting to life in Peach Coast, Georgia, is at a library fundraising event when she comes across a list of four names. One is the name of someone who recently died--and who may have been murdered. Another is Spencer Holt, the handsome newspaper owner who's become one of Marvey's best friends. The four people appear to have nothing in common other than living in Peach Coast. Spencer dismisses the list at first, but before long, he has to admit he may be in danger. As Marvey prepares for a visit from her parents, can she, Spencer, and their intrepid librarian friends stop a killer bent on long overdue revenge?"--Amazon.com.
The Good Detective
Published in 2019
Introducing Detective P.T. Marsh in a swift and bruising debut where Elmore Leonard's staccato prose meets Greg Iles' Southern settings. How can you solve a crime if you've killed the prime suspect? Detective P.T. Marsh was a rising star on the police force of Mason Falls, Georgia--until his wife and young son were killed in an accident. Since that night, caught in a spiral of grief and booze, he's lost the ability to see the line between smart moves and disastrous decisions. Such as when he decides to 'help out' an exotic dancer by confronting her abusive boyfriend. When the next morning he gets called to the scene of his newest murder case, he is stunned to arrive at the house of a dead man, the very man he beat up the night before. He could swear the guy was alive when he left, but can he be sure? What he does know is that his fingerprints are all over the crime scene. But the trouble is only beginning. P.T. and his partner Remy begin to suspect the murder is connected to a local arson and lynching; two days earlier, the dead body of a black teenager was found in a burned-out field, a portion of a blackened rope around his neck--and P.T. realizes he might have killed the #1 suspect of this horrific crime. Amid rising racial tension and media scrutiny, P.T. uncovers something sinister at the heart of the boy's murder--a conspiracy leading all the way back to the time of the Civil War. Risking everything to unravel the puzzle even as he fights off his own personal demons, P.T. races headlong toward an incendiary and life-altering showdown.
A Stillness of Chimes
A Novel
Published in 2014
Laura Gantt doesn't mind being home in Prospect, Georgia. What she does mind are the Southern niceties and mini-sermons she has to endure after her mother's unexpected death. On her summer break from teaching in Colorado, Laura wants to focus on wrapping up her mother's estate. Turns out dodging painful memories becomes impossible when her lifelong friend and former beau Sean Halloran reveals that the town is buzzing with rumors due to numerous sightings of her father, Elliott. Problem is, her father has been dead since she was seventeen.
Lightning Men
A Novel
Published in 2017
""Reads like the best of James Ellroy." --Publishers Weekly (starred review, on Darktown) "Mullen is a wonderful architect of intersecting plotlines and unexpected answers." --The Washington Post, on Darktown From the acclaimed author of The Last Town on Earth comes the gripping follow-up to Darktown. Officer Denny Rakestraw and "Negro Officers" Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith have their hands full in a rapidly changing Atlanta. It's 1950 and racial tensions are simmering as black families, including Smith's sister, begin moving into formerly all-white neighborhoods. When Rake's brother-in-law launches a scheme to rally the Ku Klux Klan to "save" their neighborhood, his efforts spiral out of control, forcing Rake to choose between loyalty to family or the law. Across town, Boggs and Smith try to shut down the supply of white lightning and drugs into their territory, finding themselves up against more powerful foes than they'd expected. Battling corrupt cops and ex-cons, Nazi brown shirts and rogue Klansmen, the officers are drawn closer to the fires that threaten to consume the city once again. With echoes of James Ellroy and Dennis Lehane, Mullen demonstrates in Lightning Men why he's celebrated for writing crime fiction "with a nimble sense of history...quick on its feet and vividly drawn" (Dallas Morning News)"-- Provided by publisher.
The Cat, the Devil, and Lee Fontana
Published in 2014
When Satan tempts him with the promise of one more successful robbery, thief Lee Fontana, the night before he is paroled, must make a life-changing decision with the help of a spirited phantom cat who tails him on his dangerous mission.
The Professor
Published in 2023
"On a spring afternoon in Athens, Georgia, Ethan Haddock is discovered in his apartment, dead, apparently by his own hand. His fatality immediately garners media attention: not because his death reflects the troubling increase of depression and mental health issues among college students, but because the media has caught the whiff of a scandal. His professor, Dr. Verena Sobek, has been taken in for questioning, and there are rumors his death is the result of a bad romance. A Title IX investigation is opened, the professor is suspended, and social media crusaders and trolls alike are out for blood. Marlitt Kaplan never investigated love affairs. A former detective turned research assistant, she misses the excitement of her old job, but most of all the friendship of her partner, Teddy. When her mother, a professor at the university and colleague of the accused professor, asks for her help, she finds herself in the impossible position of proving something didn't happen. Without the credentials to interview suspects or access phone records, she will have to get closer to a victim's life than ever before. And she quickly finds herself in his apartment, having dinner with his roommates, even sleeping in his bed. But is she too close to see the truth? In her relentless pursuit to uncover the mystery behind Ethan's death, Marlitt will be forced to confront the power structures ingrained in the classroom against the backdrop of a historic campus and an institution that sometimes fails its most vulnerable members"-- Provided by publisher.
The Resemblance
Published in 2022
"Lauren Nossett's artfully written debut, The Resemblance is an exhilarating, atmospheric campus thriller reminiscent of The Secret History and The Likeness. Never betray the brotherhood. On a chilly November morning at the University of Georgia, a fraternity brother steps off a busy crosswalk and is struck dead by an oncoming car. More than a dozen witnesses all agree on two things: the driver looked identical to the victim, and he was smiling. Detective Marlitt Kaplan is first on the scene. An Athens native and the daughter of a UGA professor, she knows all its shameful histories, from the skull discovered under the foundations of Baldwin Hall to the hushed-up murder-suicide in Waddel. But in the course of investigating this hit-and-run, she will uncover more chilling secrets as she explores the sprawling, interconnected Greek system that entertains and delights the university's most elite and connected students. The lines between Marlitt's police work and her own past increasingly blur as Marlitt seeks to bring to justice an institution that took something precious from her many years ago. When threats against her escalate, and some long-buried secrets threaten to come to the surface, she can't help questioning whether the corruption in Athens has run off campus and into the force and how far these brotherhoods will go to protect their own"-- Provided by publisher.
Rosemary and Crime
Published in 2013
"Piper Prescott, a transplanted Yankee living in the South, has got her sass back. She might be down, but don't count her out. "Change of life?" she asks. Bring it on. Recently divorced, Piper decides to pursue a dream she's secretly harbored: owning her own business, Spice it Up!, a spice shop in her adopted hometown, Brandywine Creek, Georgia. But Piper's grand opening goes awry when the local chef who's agreed to do a cooking demo is found stabbed. Not only did Piper find the body, she handled the murder weapon and doesn't have a witness to her alibi, making the case look like a slam dunk to brand new police Chief Wyatt McBride. Desperate to uncover the truth--and prove her innocence--Piper enlists the help of her outspoken BFF Reba Mae Johnson to help track down the real culprit."-- Provided by publisher.
Cinnamon Toasted
A Spice Shop Mystery
Published in 2015
"Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Case in point: Piper Prescott's former mother-in-law Melly. Beneath her twin sets and pearls beats the heart of a geek--a geek whose programming changes for the point-of-sale software in Piper's shop have the owners of the program ready to make her an offer she can't refuse. "Trusty" Rusty Tulley and Chip Balboa swing by Brandywine Creek--just in time for the town's annual Oktoberfest, which has cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom flying off Piper's shelves in record numbers. News spreads faster than a text message, and Melly is the toast of the town. But it isn't long before Melly's status changes to public enemy number one when Chip's body is found at the foot of her basement stairs. Questions start to pile up when handsome police chief Wyatt McBride arrives on the scene and the coroner sets the time of death for the previous evening. McBride wants to know why it took Melly so long to report the incident--especially after she admits to arguing with Chip about the contract he wanted her to sign. Piper knows Melly would never hurt a fly, so she enlists the help of her BFF Reba Mae to clear her name--but can they find the real killer before Melly gets sent away for good? A mouth-watering entry in Gail Oust's delicious Spice Shop series, Cinnamon Toasted is sure to delight cozy fans of all stripes"-- Provided by publisher.
The Floating Girls
A Novel
Published in 2022
"In Bledsoe, Georgia during a sticky summer in the mid-2000s, twelve-year-old Kay Whitaker stumbles on a stilt house in the midst of a neighboring swamp, and upon Andy, a boy about her age. Andy and his father Nile Webber have recently moved back to Georgia from California, and rumors about Nile's wife's death have chased them there and back. Andy-tall, unschooled, and living in poverty with Nile-fascinates and enamors Kay. Kay is willful and loud-mouthed and doesn't listen when her father tells her to stay away from the Webbers. But when Kay's emotionally compromised half-mute sister goes missing, the mystery of Nile's wife's death-and her parents' potential role in it-comes to light, and Kay, Andy, and her brothers must navigate the layers of secrets that emerge in the course of the investigation. The Floating Girls is wonderfully atmospheric Southern fiction, a novel that will appeal to readers of The Girls in the Stilt House, Where the Crawdads Sing, and This Tender Land"-- Provided by publisher.
All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt
Published in 2015
While providing authentic period outfits for a film being shot on a historic plantation, vintage clothing store owner Cookie Chanel finds herself starring in a real-life murder mystery in which she must rely on the supernatural support of her psychic cat to find a killer among a cast of suspects.
If You've Got It, Haunt It
Published in 2014
"Cookie Chanel has a passion for fashion--and a murder mystery to solve! Cookie Chanel has opened her own vintage clothing boutique, It's Vintage, Y'All, in the charming town of Sugar Creek, Georgia. Always on the lookout for stylish second-hand steals, she attends the estate sale of deceased socialite Charlotte Meadows. But she gets a lot more than she bargained for when Charlotte's ghost appears before her--offering fashion advice and begging Cookie to find out who murdered her. As the persistent poltergeist tags along and a possibly psychic pussycat moves into the shop, Cookie sorts through racks of suspects to see who may be hiding some skeletons in the closet. Do a clothing store owner and a disembodied socialite have a ghost of a chance of collaring a killer--or will Cookie's life be the next one hanging by a thread?"--Page [4] of cover.
The Cantaloupe Thief
Published in 2016
"A murder mystery set in NE Georgia, USA, and featuring a reporter, Branigan Powers, who is commissioned to investigate a cold case, an unsolved murder of a wealthy widow ten years previously. She enlists the help of Malachi Ezekiel Martin, a homeless man who is both a possible suspect and a possible sleuth: the idea being that homeless people get overlooked, and hence see things that are concealed from the rest of the population. This is the first in an intended series of novels featuring Branigan, Malachi, and Branigan's friend Liam, who runs a shelter for the homeless."--Amazon.com
Cop Town
A Novel
Published in 2014
"Atlanta, 1974. It's Kate Murphy's first day on the job and the Atlanta Police Department is seething after the murder of an officer. Before the day has barely begun, she already suspects she's not cut out for the job as a cop. Her male uniform is too big, she can't handle a gun, and she's rapidly learning that the APD is hardly a place that welcomes women. Worse still, in the ensuing manhunt, he'll be partnered with Maggie Lawson, a cop with her own ax to grind (and a brother and uncle already on the force)--a strategy meant to isolate Kate and Maggie from the action. But the move will backfire, putting them right at the heart of it"-- Provided by publisher.
Triptych
Published in 2016
"In the city of Atlanta, women are dying--at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread--and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael's lover before she became his enemy. But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer's trait in the most coincidental of ways--someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open."--Back cover.
Deadly Summer
Published in 2018
Ten years ago, Summer Butler was television's most popular teenage sleuth. Since then, shes hit what gossip sites just love to call the gutter. Nearly bankrupt, betrayed, estranged from her greedy mother, and just about unemployable, she's coaxed into that desperate haven for has-beens: reality TV. Winging it as a faux PI, she'll solve off-the-cuff mysteries in her hometown of Sweet Briar, Alabama. For added drama, there's police chief Luke Montgomery, inconveniently Summer's first and only love. It's when Summer stumbles upon a very real corpse that Darling Investigations takes an unexpected twist. The growing list of suspects is a big draw to viewers, but the reality is that Summer doesn't know whom she can trust. Someone has written this killer new scene especially for her, and unless Summer gives the role everything she's got, it could be her last.