Book picks similar to
Grace, Grits and Ghosts: Southern Short Stories by Susan Gabriel
short-stories
ebook
southern-fiction
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A Friend of Silence
M. Lee Prescott - 2011
Wickie is discovered in his office, a scrimshaw knife protruding from his chest, a knife belonging to beloved teacher and grieving widow, Bess Dore. Initially a suspect, the forty-two year old, Bess is soon exonerated and jumps headlong into a murder investigation along with old flame, police detective, Roger Demaris, and Harry Winthrop, an amateur sleuth, prolific writer, and the son of the school's wealthiest patron. Will Bess find romance along the way, giving her heart to the gruff police officer, who still adores her, or to the fly-by-night, but charming Harry who is clearly smitten? Will the killer strike again? Will the silence and calm of the 200-year old Friends school ever again be restored?
Elevation
Stephen King - 2018
There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face–including his own—he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.
Painting With Fire
K.B. Jensen - 2014
After finding a body buried in a snow bank outside her front door, her suspicions about his eccentric behavior only worsen.Unemployed and obsessed with the murder. she realizes how little she knows about the people who live around her, including Tom. Tempted by love but unable to trust a man with a past in light of the murder, Claudia does everything she can to find out about the killer. The results lead her to a startling discovery. When art and violence collide, the results can be explosive.
The Disembodied
John Grover - 2011
In the mist.An apprentice mortician moves his family to the small town of Sotherton to provide them with a better life. Little did he know the dark secret the town and its people harbored. The town sat on the edge of a mist-shrouded forest with a deadly secret. Something lives in the trees, in the mist and it’s jealous. Jealous of all those who have flesh.Disembodied is a preview story from the author’s upcoming collection Creatures and Crypts due out in late 2011. Creatures of the living and the dead gather in a volume of over 70,000 words to stalk their prey…humans. 20 stories set the scene for a cast ranging from the Grim Reaper, shambling zombies and restless spirits, to unimaginable monsters that only inhabit the shapeless darkness and the author’s imagination. Join them as they wreak havoc on their unsuspecting victims and celebrate with a victory dance on hollowed bones.
Dark Bayou
Nancy K. Duplechain - 2010
That was when we saw the cabin, far off in a corner on the west bank. It was as I had seen it in my dreams—rustic long-forgotten by the world, save for whatever occupied its malevolent little frame. And whatever it was, was nothing more than a black silhouette in a creaking rocking chair on the tiny porch. As I stared at the phantom rocker, it suddenly stopped in mid rock, picked up its head and turned to me, grinning, and started rocking away, never taking its yellow eyes off of me. And there, in the humid twilight of the swamp, a bitter chill washed over me, and my spine felt like ice.When Leigh Benoit returns home to Louisiana for the funeral of her brother and his wife, she becomes increasingly concerned about the welfare of her orphaned niece, Lyla. She is prompted by her grandmother, Clothilde, to move back to take care of her. Leigh has no desire to take on any responsibility, and being home again brings back painful memories. At the funeral, Leigh’s childhood friend, Detective Lucas Castille, tells her the mysterious details of the accident that killed her brother and his wife. Lucas’ young son has dreams of a Dark Man who wishes to harm Lyla. Leigh begins to have similar dreams. She struggles with her rational mind but vows to protect her niece. Soon, she finds out there is more to the story and more to her grandmother than she thought.
Evelyn, After
Victoria Helen Stone - 2016
Her husband, a prestigious psychiatrist, has been in an accident. And he isn’t alone.Suddenly Evelyn’s world isn’t as tidy as she thought. And in the midst of it all is Juliette, not only her husband’s secret lover but also his patient. If news of the affair were to get out, it would ruin more than just Evelyn’s marriage. Although it’s a bitter pill for Evelyn to swallow, protecting her family means staying silent—even if, as she begins to discover, the night of the accident has consequences far more dangerous than the unmasking of an affair.But the more Evelyn learns about Juliette’s picture-perfect life—complete with a handsome, unsuspecting husband—the more she yearns for revenge…and satisfaction. Her growing obsession fuels her rage, burning away her complacency. What will be left of her after it flames out?
Chancing Hope
Lisa Slater - 2018
If only Kerwyn could apply those same qualities to his relationship with the vibrant Mable Conner, who just happens to be his long-time childhood best friend. Haunted by the pain his father endures at the loss of his mother, Kerwyn feels determined to not make the same mistakes. He decided to set her free a long time ago, but can he? Should he? Mable Conner has big dreams, but growing up is hard, and life is demanding big changes. Desperately in love with her best friend, Kerwyn, how does she get him to sees her as the woman she is becoming, and not the little girl he grew up with? Also, wants to be a singer more than anything, and she’s got the voice and spirit to make it happen. With the right opportunity, anything could happen. But would leaving to sing mean leaving Kerwyn? Does he even care if she stays or goes? When mysterious, loner Devin Hill, begins interfering, the changes quickly become an eerily, unstoppable force. To Kerwyn, Devin could be a dangerous threat. To Mable, Devin could be an opportunity. The changes they encounter may not be what either of them had expected. They both may just be left to Chancing Hope. Max Van Zile, editor with Editing for Authors, writes about Chancing Hope, “Chancing Hope is one of my favorite books I’ve done working for this company.” Regarding a miscreant character, Mr. Van Zile writes, “He ends up becoming the single best and most memorable villain in any Editing for Authors book I’ve worked on.” Chancing Hope is a very coming of age, heart felt novel with emotional twists.
Deadly Webs: The Beginning Book 0
James Hunt - 2017
Her teachers love her, and her single parent mother always knows her twelve year-old daughter will make the right decisions. But when Mallory goes missing, her mother calls Seattle PD for help. Detective Chase Grant, and his partner, piece together the evidence to find the girl before time runs out.
A Spirited Manor
Kate Danley - 2013
A house with secrets. And an invitation to a seance... When Clara O'Hare's husband passed away, she felt her life was over. But when she moves into a new home to escape the memories, she discovers that the veil between life and death is very thin indeed. Desperate to find answers, she attends a seance in a remote country home surrounded by a colorful cast of strangers. But something sinister has decided to make itself known. It will be up to her and the dashing young medium, Wesley Lowenherz, to find out what the spirits of the manor are dying to tell them. Laced with gothic romance and paranormal mystery, A Spirited Manor is book one in the O'Hare House Mystery penny dreadful series.
Murder By Design: ...a young girl dreams of topping haute couture!
Mary Jane Forbes - 2011
Lack of money is a high hurdle. Living with her grandfather, and working as a casino barmaid, she saves her tips to take classes in Seattle. With her eye to one day having her own clothing label, the redhead, keeps her eye on the prize, leaving men smitten with her beauty in her wake—a preacher, an American Indian law student, and a NY fashion designer. It isn’t until a newspaper reporter appears on her door step that she pauses to take a second look. But reporter Skip Hunter has no time for women. He is driven to become a N.Y. Times best-selling mystery writer using his reporting of crime on the streets of Seattle as fodder. Will the New York designer who borrows Gillianne’s sketches end her dream? Will a heist of a billion dollars worth of gold bullion give the reporter his big break? Will the intersection of their lives drive the pair into each other’s arms? Or, will their life plans, force them apart?
Strangeville (The Complete Trilogy)
Kenneth Tingle - 2013
The story is a dark comedy about a suicidal young man named John Campbell who, after a failed suicide attempt, heads to Virginia to visit an aunt he hasn’t seen in ten years. But his rental car runs out of gas deep in the mountains. When he decides to walk in the middle of the night, he winds up in a town that is isolated from the rest of the world—Strangeville. Unable to leave, he meets an assortment of loveable oddball characters—the beautiful Delilah, Klemm Johnson, Clarissa Puddworthy, Biff Flannigan, Jeboriah Varmint, Cleetus McChoparooski, and others.
This Secret Thing
Marybeth Mayhew Whalen - 2020
Out of protection. Out of fear. Everyone has a reason to lie.Everyone in Raleigh, North Carolina, is talking about Norah Ramsey, the single mother accused of being a suburban madam. But Norah’s not the only one keeping secrets.After her mother’s arrest, Norah’s teenage daughter, Violet, is devastated and alone. She has no one to turn to until her grandmother Polly arrives. Polly, long estranged from Norah, is running from her own troubles. Down the street, Bess, once Norah’s best friend, desperately tries to hide secrets while Casey, Bess’s daughter, flees college after a traumatic event, only to find that home isn’t the safe haven she expected. And Nico, the detective who has doggedly pursued Norah Ramsey in hopes that she will lead him to his missing brother, is drawn further into these women’s lives while facing his own domestic disturbance.Scandal has brought each of them to a crossroads. Now, as they delve into Norah’s secrets, they must come to terms with secrets of their own—ones that still have the power to hurt or to heal.
The High Life of Simone St. Lo
F.E. Arliss - 2019
At twenty-five, Simone Martin secretly inherits the title ‘Countess of St. Lo’! Along with this entry into the peerage, kept secret from her deeply troubled family, comes an ancient estate in France, complete with a constantly crumbling castle, a slice of fly-fishing paradise, a few acres of lousy orchards and an array of colorful staff that keep her on her toes. With wild-spirits, high hopes and the aid of her ferocious French paternal-grandmother and down to earth farm-family roots, this young woman takes on kooky French society, murderous neighbors and an odd batch of neurotically inclined villagers. Taking help from what could be dubious sources, Simone’s plan to turn her Euro-sucking legacy into a thoroughly modern, money-making machine will need a marketing-miracle and an assortment of divine interventions.
Fowl Play
P. Bodi - 2016
All of her customers and their pets are like family. It had been a typical day at Pet Palace. Leah was going to meet some friends for dinner where she suddenly finds out one her customers had been found dead at home. Was it from natural causes or could it have been murder?
Books, Beads and Baubles
Mary J. Hicks - 2014
As a service and convenience for their customers, Bertie set up a 'read-n-return' section in the book area. Customers can check out books for free, and return the books when they've finished reading them. Books are disappearing, but no one is checking them out at the front register as customer are supposed to do. What's happening to the books? As Wanda noted, 'they aren't leaving the store under their own steam that's for sure!' The sisters live in a small town; their customers are good people who help each other, they care for their neighbors and they'd never do harm on purpose. Can the two elderly sisters solve the mystery…?