Even forty years after the civil rights movement, the transition from son and grandson of Klansmen to field secretary of SNCC seems quite a journey. In the early 1960s, when Bob Zellner’s professors and classmates at a small church school in Alabama thought he was crazy for even wanting to do research on civil rights, it was nothing short of remarkable. Now, in his long-awaited memoir, Zellner tells how one white Alabamian joined ranks with the black students who were sitting-in, marching, fighting, and sometimes dying to challenge the Southern “way of life” he had been raised on but rejected. Decades later, he is still protesting on behalf of social change and equal rights. Fortunately, he took the time, with co-author Constance Curry, to write down his memories and reflections. He was in all the campaigns and was close to all the major figures. He was beaten, arrested, and reviled by some but admired and revered by others. The Wrong Side of Murder Creek, winner of the 2009 Lillian Smith Book Award, is Bob Zellner’s larger-than-life story, and it was worth waiting for.

On a chilly evening in fall of 1966, Annie Jean Barnes left her home in East Brewton, Alabama, to spend time at a secluded fishing camp owned by a local doctor. Less than forty-eight hours later she was hospitalized--beaten and abused. Within a week, she was dead. And, it would seem, willfully forgotten by the citizens of Brewton--the more prosperous area on the west side of Murder Creek--who soon came to refer to the fate of Jean Barnes as an "unfortunate incident."The 2003 publication of Suzanne Hudson's novel In a Temple of Trees raised the ghost of Annie Jean. Present at Hudson's premiere book signing in Brewton, Joe Formichella met Barnes' surviving children and became moved to tell the story in full. Who was culpable for their mother's death? The town physician who owned the camp? The authorities who mishandled the subsequent investigation? Had there been a cover-up? With so much evidence either contradictory or mysteriously missing, was there now any way to bring anyone to justice?Formichella, in seeking those answers, found instead a larger question: What would justice mean for a community built as though it were a functioning social model for certain principals set down in the deeply flawed Alabama state constitution--a document penned in 1901 by wealthy land-owners and politicians, seeking to keep the riff-raff at bay? Systems of justice, in Alabama, and throughout America, should be designed to protect precisely those citizens too poor to wield any kind of influence. This is the story of a breakdown in that system, a clarion call for its correction, and a ray of hope for those who have waited too long for the answer to the simple question: Who Beat Annie Barnes?"Murder Creek is an astounding story told powerfully and proudly. The unfolding facts pull the reader like a rip tide. I soon found myself engulfed in the quagmire of this real-life mystery story that wouldn't let go." -- Wayne Greenhaw, coauthor of The Thunder of Angels: The Montgomery Bus Boycott and the People Who Broke the Back of Jim Crow.Murder Creek was a national Forward Magazine and IPPY true-crime book of the year finalist.

2020 Silver Falchion Award Finalist for Mystery When journalism student Eve investigates a 20-year-old cold case, she begins to unravel a small town’s darkest secrets… What exactly happened the night Lacey Walken went missing at Murder Creek? College student Eve Sawyer senses something disturbing at Murder Creek—the site named for infamous murders committed centuries earlier and where Lacey Walken went missing. Twenty years ago, Lacey disappeared without a trace … except for her bloody scarf tangled in fallen branches at the muddy water’s edge. Drawn to this cold case, Eve goes back to investigate and write a report for her journalism class. As she discovers a small town’s long-buried dark secrets, the pieces of the puzzle come together: the legacy of a man, the fate of a beautiful woman, and the lives that changed forever. But someone wants Eve to stop—someone with everything to lose. If Eve’s not careful, she could be next. ** Audiobook available ***Look for Eve Sawyer Mystery, Book 2 - "Murder at Lolly Beach" -available on January 1, 2021

In 1963, Daisy Zick was stabbed twenty-seven times at her home in Battle Creek, Michigan—and locals are still talking about the unsolved case today. On a bitterly cold morning in January 1963, Daisy Zick was brutally murdered in her Battle Creek, Michigan, home. No fewer than three witnesses caught a glimpse of the killer, yet today, it remains one of the state’s most sensational unsolved crimes. The act of pure savagery rocked the community, as well as the Kellogg Company where Zick worked. Here, Blaine Pardoe offers a detailed chronicle of this shocking and mysterious crime. With long-sealed police files and interviews with the surviving investigators, the true story of the investigation can finally be told. Who were the key suspects? What evidence do the police still have on this cold case more than fifty years later? Just how close did this murder come to being solved? Is the killer still alive? These questions and more are masterfully brought to the forefront for true crime fans and armchair detectives.

The stunning true story of a murder that rocked the Mississippi Delta and forever shaped one author’s life and perception of home. “Mix together a bloody murder in a privileged white family, a false accusation against a Black man, a suspicious town, a sensational trial with colorful lawyers, and a punishment that didn’t fit the crime, and you have the best of southern gothic fiction. But the very best part is that the story is true.” —John Grisham In 1948, in the most stubbornly Dixiefied corner of the Jim Crow south, society matron Idella Thompson was viciously murdered in her own home: stabbed at least 150 times and left facedown in one of the bathrooms. Her daughter, Ruth Dickins, was the only other person in the house. She told authorities a Black man she didn’t recognize had fled the scene, but no evidence of the man's presence was uncovered. When Dickins herself was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, the community exploded. Petitions pleading for her release were drafted, signed, and circulated, and after only six years, the governor of Mississippi granted Ruth Dickins an indefinite suspension of her sentence and she was set free. In Deer Creek Drive, Beverly Lowry—who was ten at the time of the murder and lived mere miles from the Thompsons’ home—tells a story of white privilege that still has ramifications today, and reflects on the brutal crime, its aftermath, and the ways it clarified her own upbringing in Mississippi.

Joe cautiously walked toward the woman, keeping his gun pointed at her the whole time. As he crept up to the porch, he saw a man slumped over. His face was covered with blood. On a cold winter night in a heavily wooded rural area in southern Mississippi, a man was brutally murdered while he casually sat on his porch smoking a cigarette. News of this act of violence sent shockwaves throughout the small country community, especially as friends of the murdered man learn the shocking truth about the identify of the number-one suspect.Murder on Murder Creek Roadis a suspenseful crime novel that follows the accused murderer, Priscilla Legendre, as she tries to remember what happened that fateful night. Priscilla will need the help of friends and estranged husband, Paul, as well as a private investigator to seek out clues and solve the mystery. Author Patricia Daspit looks into the heart of a troubled woman, struggling with her present circumstances as well as the demons from her past. If you love crime novels, you won't want to miss Murder on Murder Creek Road a complex, intriguing murder mystery that unfolds along the Gulf Coast of both Mississippi and Louisiana. This is a tantalizing, spellbinding plot that contains many twists and turns before finally revealing what really happened that night on Murder Creek Road.

Book #14 in the Award-Winning Raine Stockton Dog Mystery SeriesRaine Stockton knows dogs, not kids. Nonetheless, she is supremely confident in her ability to take care her fiancé's ten year old daughter, Melanie, for a week while he is out of town. After all, how hard could it be?But things get complicated when Raine and her golden retriever, Cisco, rescue a dog who is locked in a hot car in a remote Smoky Mountain park... and subsequently discover the owner of that car drowned in the creek only a few dozen yards away. Was it an accident, or was it murder?Raine is certain that she recognizes the abandoned dog from her puppy training class six years ago. Mere months later, the dog, along with his three-year-old owner, disappeared from the child's bedroom during the night and were never seen again. Now the dog is back, and Raine is convinced his reappearance might hold the key to the truth about the missing child. The problem is that no one believes her.While Raine tries to unravel the mystery of the abandoned dog's past-and a six-year-old missing child case-her ex-husband, criminal investigator Buck Lawson, opens an investigation into the death of the man in whose car the dog was found. He soon finds himself involved in another cold case, one that leads him from an apparent serial killer in Florida to a murder in his own hometown.The one thing that ties the two cases together is the dog whose shadowy history opens the door to questions better left unasked, and whose answers may prove to be deadly. But when lives are in danger, it is up to Raine and Cisco to track down the truth, even though it means risking someone she loves.

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel A Time Best Mystery and Thriller Book of All Time The “gripping... page-turner” (Time) hitting all the best of summer reading lists, Miracle Creek is perfect for book clubs and fans of Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng How far will you go to protect your family? Will you keep their secrets? Ignore their lies? In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident. A powerful showdown unfolds as the story moves across characters who are all maybe keeping secrets, hiding betrayals. Chapter by chapter, we shift alliances and gather evidence: Was it the careless mother of a patient? Was it the owners, hoping to cash in on a big insurance payment and send their daughter to college? Could it have been a protester, trying to prove the treatment isn’t safe? “A stunning debut about parents, children and the unwavering hope of a better life, even when all hope seems lost" (Washington Post), Miracle Creek uncovers the worst prejudice and best intentions, tense rivalries and the challenges of parenting a child with special needs. It’s “a quick-paced murder mystery that plumbs the power and perils of community” (O Magazine) as it carefully pieces together the tense atmosphere of a courtroom drama and the complexities of life as an immigrant family. Drawing on the author’s own experiences as a Korean-American, former trial lawyer, and mother of a “miracle submarine” patient, this is a novel steeped in suspense and igniting discussion. Recommended by Erin Morgenstern, Jean Kwok, Jennifer Weiner, Scott Turow, Laura Lippman, and more--Miracle Creek is a brave, moving debut from an unforgettable new voice.

A dead colleague isn't the best way to start a semester or a romance. Although Sheridan Hendley is not a sleuth, when her colleague is murdered she assists the Detective in gathering information. As Sheridan draws connections among the people in Adam's life, she realizes many women have a strong motive for murder. As information leaks out on Adam's exploits to college administration, she's charged with creating sexual harassment training. Slashed tires are the first indication that her curiosity and involvement in the investigation is making someone nervous. The murderer is afraid of what she might have found. In the meantime, as she works closely with the handsome detective, she hopes for romance in her future. Meet Sheridan Hendley and her friends in this first in a 5-book cozy mystery series.

On January 13, 1975, the enterprising community of Elizabethtown, Kentucky (a few miles from Fort Knox and the gold vault) was rocked with the news that one of their own, Peggy Rhodes--beloved housewife, mother, and grandmother--was killed when a bomb exploded in the family barn. An hour south along I-65 lies Bowling Green, a city known for small town values, a burgeoning industrial complex, the expanding Western Kentucky University campus, and as "Home of the Corvette". However, the city was also just one generation removed from earning the nickname "Little Chicago," a regional hotbed for car thefts, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution--and worse still--bombings and horrific murders. Murder on Youngers Creek Road is the true story of a murder-for-hire gone wrong that involves a well-known automobile dealer, two hit men hired to kill him, and a pair of high-profile business partners. The product of more than two years of research and interviews and writing, this book details one of the most complex murders of the decade and how it brought together two Kentucky towns in an unflattering way. It is a "tale of two cities" mired in the muck of greed, violence and murder, and of local efforts to bring the guilty parties to justice. In the end, both the innocent and the guilty would lose their lives. In the beginning investigators were baffled. Why would anyone want to kill a 57-year-old woman, who by all appearances did her part in community activities, loved her family and enjoyed her time playing bridge with friends? Two weeks into the New Year of 1975, a horrific explosion ripped through the body of Peggy Rhodes and her pet horse, Tony. Who could possibly have wanted her dead? On a cold dark January night, a sudden blast interrupted the stillness of freshly fallen snow and with it, the lives of several Kentucky families were changed forever....