Category Archives: Series

by Jenny McElroy | May 23, 2008 · 2:01 pm

Joyce and Jim Lavene. The Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries.

Pretty Poison. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2005.
Fruit of the Poisoned Tree. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2006.
Poisoned Petals. New York: Berkley, 2007.
Perfect Poison. New York: Berkley Publishing, 2008.
A Corpse for Yew. New York: Berkley Prime Crime, 2009.

Peggy Lee is the owner of The Potting Shed, a gardening shop in center-city Charlotte. She also happens to be a botanist with a particular interest in poisonous plants and a penchant for getting involved in murder investigations. In each of these cozy mysteries, Peggy lends her expertise to the Charlotte Police Department during a different growing season and the authors include plant information and a gardening journal in each book.

Comments Off on Joyce and Jim Lavene. The Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries.

Filed under Lavene, Jim and Joyce, Mecklenburg, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Series

by Jenny McElroy | April 14, 2008 · 11:34 am

J.D. Rhoades. The Jack Keller Thrillers.

The Devil’s Right Hand. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
Good Day in Hell. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2006.
Safe and Sound. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2007.

Jack Keller, a veteran of the first Gulf War, still experiences violent flashbacks and other symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, but he has found a job that suits him. As a bounty-hunter for H&H, a Fayetteville-based bail bonds company, he earns his paycheck tracking down fugitives. In each book, Keller not only tangles with bail jumpers on the lam, but also gets drawn into stopping murderers and kidnappers. The series also features Keller’s boss–the reclusive but beautiful Angela–and local sheriff’s deputy Marie Jones.

Comments Off on J.D. Rhoades. The Jack Keller Thrillers.

Filed under Coastal Plain, Cumberland, Novels in Series, Rhoades, J.D., Series, Suspense/Thriller

Tagged as Policewomen, Veterans

by Jenny McElroy | · 11:34 am

B.J. Mountford. The Roberta “Bert” Lenehan Mysteries.

Sea-Born Women. Winston-Salem, N.C. : John F. Blair, 2002.
Bloodlines of Shackleford Banks. Winston-Salem, N.C. : John F. Blair, 2004.

Roberta “Bert” Lenehan came to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to volunteer for the Park Service, a job that she believed will be a peaceful influence on her life. Instead, in each book Bert finds herself at the center of a mystery with roots in the coast’s distant past. Like her main character, author BJ Mountford has worked as a National Park Service volunteer on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and she currently lives in Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

Comments Off on B.J. Mountford. The Roberta “Bert” Lenehan Mysteries.

Filed under Coast, Mountford, B. J., Mystery, Novels in Series, Series

by Jenny McElroy | · 11:33 am

Vicki Lane. The Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries.

Signs in the Blood. New York: Bantam Dell, 2005.
Art’s Blood. New York: Bantam Dell, 2006.
Old Wounds. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007.
In a Dark Season. New York: Dell, 2008.
Under the Skin. New York: Bantam, 2011.

Elizabeth Goodweather runs a small herb and flower farm in the fictional mountain town of Ridley Branch, N.C. At the opening of the first book in the series, she has recently been widowed and, with both of her children moved away, she feels a little lonely and bored. The boredom quickly vanishes when she’s dragged into a local mystery. In each of the following novels Elizabeth investigates missing persons, stolen items, and murders, all of which relate to the clash of old and new in the North Carolina mountains. Much like her heroine, author Vicki Lane lives on a farm in the North Carolina mountains.

Comments Off on Vicki Lane. The Elizabeth Goodweather Appalachian Mysteries.

Filed under Lane, Vicki, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Series

Tagged as Farming, Widows

by Jenny McElroy | · 11:33 am

P.T. Deutermann. The Cam Richter Novels.

The Cat Dancers. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.
Spider Mountain. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2007.
The Moonpool. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008.
The Nightwalkers. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009.

At the start of the series Cam Richter is a Lieutenant in the Manceford County, N.C. Sheriff’s Office, but he later starts a new, supposedly less stressful, career as a private investigator. No matter which hat he wears, however, Richter gets thrown into dangerous situations as he tracks down thieves, arsonists, murderers, drug manufacturers, and other criminal bad guys in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

5 Comments

Filed under Deutermann, Peter T., Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Series

by Jenny McElroy | · 11:33 am

Wanda Canada. The Carroll Davenport Mysteries.

Island Murders. Wilmington, N.C.: Coastal Carolina Press, 2001.
Cape Fear Murders. Wilmington, N.C.: Coastal Carolina Press, 2003.

Carroll Davenport is a Wilmington developer, but after she is falsely accused of murder she starts investigating crimes on the side. With the help of the protective Sheriff Stan Council and Ben Satterwhite, an FBI agent and possible love interest, Carroll chases criminals all over Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach

14 Comments

Filed under Canada, Wanda, Coast, Mystery, Novels in Series, Series

Tagged as FBI

by Jenny McElroy | · 11:32 am

Sallie Bissell. The Mary Crow Thrillers.

In the Forest of Harm. New York: Bantam Books, 2001.
A Darker Justice. New York: Bantam Books, 2002.
Call the Devil by His Oldest Name. New York: Bantam Dell, 2004.
Legacy of Masks. New York: Bantam Books, 2005.
Music of Ghosts. Woodbury, MN: Midnight Ink, 2013.
Deadliest of Sins. Woodbury, MN: Midnight Ink, 2014.

Mary Crow, a half-Cherokee lawyer from the fictional mountain town of Little Jump Off, NC, is an up and coming Assistant District Attorney in Atlanta when this series begins. In each book in the series, Mary finds herself in the Appalachian Mountains dealing with crimes and mysteries, as well as issues from her past, her family, and the community where she grew up. Although all of the books in this series do take place in the Appalachian Mountains, the 3rd book in the series, Call the Devil by His Oldest Name, actually takes place on the Tennessee side of the border.

Comments Off on Sallie Bissell. The Mary Crow Thrillers.

Filed under Bissell, Sallie, Mountains, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Series, Suspense/Thriller

Tagged as Cherokees

by Jenny McElroy | · 11:32 am

Mark de Castrique. The “Buryin'” Barry Clayton Mysteries

Dangerous Undertaking. Scottsdale, AZ : Poisoned Pen Press, 2003.
Grave Undertaking. Scottsdale, AZ : Poisoned Pen Press, 2004.
Foolish Undertaking. Scottsdale, AZ : Poisoned Pen Press, 2006.
Final Undertaking. Scottsdale, AZ : Poisoned Pen Press, 2007.
Fatal Undertaking. Scottsdale, AZ: Poisoned pen Press, 2010.

With his father suffering from Alzheimer’s, Barry Clayton leaves the Charlotte, N.C. police force and heads home to Gainesboro, a fictional town in the North Carolina mountains. His plan is to help his mother and Uncle Wayne with the family-run funeral home, but his plan quickly goes awry when he is shot presiding over the funeral of a local woman. From this point forward, Barry uses both his mortuary and his investigative skills to help solve local crimes. The series also features Barry’s friend and the local police chief, Tommy Lee Wadkins, and his girlfriend, Dr. Susan Miller.

Comments Off on Mark de Castrique. The “Buryin'” Barry Clayton Mysteries

Filed under deCastrique, Mark, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Series

by Jenny McElroy | March 25, 2008 · 9:49 am

Diana Gabaldon. The Outlander Series.

Drums of Autumn. New York: Delacorte, 1997.
The Fiery Cross. New York: Delacorte, 2001.
A Breath of Snow and Ashes. New York: Delacorte, 2005.
An Echo in the Bone. New York: Delacorte, 2009.

These novels in the popular Outlander series picks up the story of 20th-century time-traveler Claire Randall and her 18th-century Scottish husband Jamie Fraser as they continue their adventures in the American colonies. Largely set in the colony of North Carolina in the 1760s and 1770s, Claire and Jamie must navigate through the political tensions leading up to the American Revolution, and the war itself, with the added twist that they know the outcome of the coming war. Rich in historical description, humor, and romance, these books add four more tales to the saga of the Frasers.

1 Comment

Filed under Gabaldon, Diana, Historical, Novels in Series, Series

Tagged as Quakers, Revolutionary War, Time travel

by Jenny McElroy | March 13, 2008 · 9:58 am

William R. Trotter. “Pride” Civil War Novels.

The Sands of Pride. New York: Avalon, 2002.
The Fires of Pride. New York: Carrol & Graf, 2003.

In these two novels, Trotter dramatizes many of the important events and individuals in coastal North Carolina during the Civil War. The Sands of Pride is set in Wilmington during 1861 to 1863 when the port city was the center of Confederate blockade-running efforts. The Fires of Pride continues the story through the end of the war, with a long section on the Union assault on Fort Fisher. Trotter is able to trace several narratives throughout the chaos of battle, with many of his characters based on actual people. Trotter is also the author of a multi-volume history of the Civil War in North Carolina, and can be counted in these novels to provide accurate depictions of events, and careful attention to historic detail.

Comments Off on William R. Trotter. “Pride” Civil War Novels.

Filed under Coast, Historical, New Hanover, Novels in Series, Series, Trotter, William R.

Tagged as Civil War

Category Archives: Series

Tags

Archives