Category Archives: Series

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

Ann B. Ross. The Miss Julia Novels.

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind. New York: William Morrow, 1999.
Miss Julia Takes Over. New York: Viking, 2001.
Miss Julia Throws a Wedding. New York: Viking, 2002.
Miss Julia Hits the Road. New York: Viking, 2003.
Miss Julia Meets Her Match. New York: Viking, 2004.
Miss Julia’s School of Beauty. New York: Viking, 2005.
Miss Julia Stands Her Ground. New York: Viking, 2006.
Miss Julia Strikes Back. New York: Viking, 2007.
Miss Julia Paints the Town. New York: Viking, 2008.
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods. New York: Viking, 2009.
Miss Julia Renews Her Vows. New York: Viking, 2010
Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle. New York: Viking, 2011.
Miss Julia to the Rescue. New York: Viking, 2012.
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble. New York: Viking, 2013.
Miss Julia’s Marvelous Makeover. New York: Viking, 2014.

“Miss Julia” is Mrs. Wesley Lloyd Springer (later Mrs. Sam Murdock) of Abbotsville, N.C., a fictional small town probably based on Hendersonville. Miss Julia is a proper Southern lady with a fierce independent streak who does not hesitate to speak her mind. Each book finds Miss Julia embroiled in some new scandal or adventure and reveals, in the interactions between her and the colorful residents of the town, the warm-hearted kindness underneath Miss Julia’s feisty exterior.

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Filed under Henderson, Humor, Mountains, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Ross, Ann B., Series

Tagged as Beach reads, Senior citizens, Widows

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Sarah Shaber. The Professor Simon Shaw Mysteries.

Simon Said. New York: St. Martin’s, 1997.
Snipe Hunt. New York: St. Martin’s, 2000.
The Fugitive King. New York: St. Martin’s, 2002.
The Bug Funeral. New York: St. Martin’s, 2004.
Shell Game. New York: St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2007.

Simon Shaw is a professor of history at historic (but fictional) Kenan College in downtown Raleigh. Dr. Shaw’s specialty is historical anthropology, and this leads to his being called into action in each novel to investigate a long-unsolved crime. Although Simon lives and works in contemporary Raleigh, his adventures often take him to other parts of the state. In Snipe Hunt Simon digs into North Carolina’s maritime history while on vacation at the Outer Banks, while in The Fugitive King he looks into a crime in his hometown of Boone.

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Filed under Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Series, Shaber, Sarah, Wake

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Kathy Reichs. The Temperance Brennan Novels.

Deja Dead. New York: Scribner, 1997.
Death du Jour. New York: Scribner, 1999.
Deadly Decisions. New York: Scribner, 2000.
Fatal Voyage. New York: Scribner, 2001.
Grave Secrets. New York: Scribner, 2002.
Bare Bones. New York: Scribner, 2003.
Monday Mourning. New York: Scribner, 2004.
Cross Bones. New York: Scribner, 2005.
Break No Bones. New York: Scribner, 2006.
Bones to Ashes. New York: Scribner, 2007.
Devil Bones. New York: Scribner, 2008.
206 Bones. New York: Scribner, 2009.
Spider Bones. New York: Scribner, 2010.
Flash and Bones. New York: Scribner, 2011.
Bones Are Forever. New York: Scribner, 2012.
Bones of the Lost. New York: Scribner, 2013.
Bones Never Lie. New York: Bantam Books, 2014

Dr. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between Charlotte, N.C. and Quebec. In each of these novels her job calls her to the scene of a mysterious murder and she has to rely on both her technical expertise and old-fashioned detective work to unravel the usually complicated story behind the crime. Reichs writes with authority – she is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and appears regularly as an expert witness in criminal trials. Most of these novels include scenes set in Charlotte, which Dr. Brennan describes as “a poster child for multiple personality disorder, the Sybil of cities.” This series and its author are the inspiration for the television show Bones.

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Filed under Mecklenburg, Mystery, Novels in Series, Reichs, Kathy, Series

Tagged as Movies & TV

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Michael Phillips. The Shenandoah Sisters.

Angels Watching Over Me. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2003.
A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2003.
The Color of Your Skin Ain’t the Color of Your Heart. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2004.
Together Is All We Need. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2004.

Two young women from very different backgrounds must rely on each other in order to survive in the turbulent times following the Civil War in fictional Shenandoah County, N.C. Mayme Jukes is a former slave whose family members were killed by Confederate soldiers. Katie Clairborne is the last person left on the once majestic Rosewood plantation. In these novels, the girls usually face danger and emerge with a deeper understanding of race, friendship, and their Christian faith.

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Filed under Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Phillips, Michael, Religious/Inspirational, Series

Tagged as Farming, Race relations, Reconstruction, Slavery

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Katy Munger. The Casey Jones Novels.

Legwork. New York: Avon, 1997.
Out of Time. New York: Avon, 1998.
Money to Burn. New York: Avon, 1999.
Bad to the Bone. New York: Avon, 2000.
Better off Dead. New York: Avon, 2001.
Bad Moon on the Rise. LaVergne, TN: Thalia Press, 2009.

Casey Jones is a sassy, irreverent Durham-based detective. Due to a previous record she can’t get a private investigator’s license, so Jones operates with forged credentials, careful to keep just ahead of the law. All of the novels are set in North Carolina’s Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), and Jones frequents many familiar places in Durham. In her description of the series, Munger promises that the novels all feature elements of classic hardboiled detective stories: “cussing, chasing, rescues, gun fights, drinking and sex.”

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Filed under Durham, Munger, Katy, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Series

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Joan Medlicott. The Covington Novels.

The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love. New York: St. Martins Press, 2000.
The Gardens of Covington. New York: St. Martins Press, 2001.
From the Heart of Covington. New York: St. Martins Press, 2002.
The Spirit of Covington. New York: Atria, 2003.
At Home in Covington. New York: Atria, 2004.
Two Days after the Wedding. New York: Pocket Books, 2006
An Unexpected Family. New York: Pocket Books, 2007.
Promises of Change. New York: Pocket Books, 2009.
A Blue and Gray Christmas. New York: Pocket Books, 2009.

Grace Singleton, Hannah Parrish, and Amelia Declose, described as women “of a certain age,” were finding life a little listless in the Pennsylvania boardinghouse where they lived. When one of them inherited a run-down farmhouse in Covington, N.C., the three women jumped at the chance for change and adventure. In each of the novels the women explore the lively town of Covington while they battle illness, welcome their children and other visitors, and meet the challenges of caring for a rambling old house. Covington is a fictional town in the North Carolina mountains, not far from Mars Hill.

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Filed under Medlicott, Joan, Mountains, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Series

Tagged as Beach reads, Recipes, Senior citizens, Widows

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Margaret Maron. The Judge Deborah Knott Mysteries.

Bootlegger’s Daughter. New York: Mysterious Press, 1992.
Southern Discomfort. New York: Mysterious Pres, 1993.
Shooting at Loons. New York: Mysterious Press, 1994.
Up Jumps the Devil. New York: Mysterious Press, 1996.
Killer Market. New York: Mysterious Press, 1997.
Home Fires. New York: Mysterious Press, 1998.
Storm Track. New York: Mysterious Press, 2000.
Uncommon Clay. New York: Warner Books, 2001.
Slow Dollar. New York: Mysterious Press, 2002.
High Country Fall. New York: Warner Books, 2004.
Rituals of the Season. New York: Warner Books, 2005.
Winter’s Child. Mysterious Press, 2006.
Hard Row. Warner Books, 2007.
Death’s Half Acre. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2008.
Sand Sharks. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009.
Christmas Mourning. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2010.
Three-Day Town. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2011.
The Buzzard Table. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2012.
Designated Daughters. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2014.

These popular mysteries feature Deborah Knott, a District Court Judge in fictional Colleton County, N.C., which is located “a few miles southeast of Raleigh.” In each novel Judge Knott is forced to step out from behind the bench to pursue a local mystery on her own. The setting is especially important in these books. Colleton County still has working tobacco farms, and yet is bordered by the sprawling, increasingly urban Research Triangle. Deborah Knott, her large family, and the residents of the county are often caught in the clash between North Carolina’s high-tech future and its traditional, agrarian past. The series stays fresh with the introduction of 21st century topics such terrorism and pesticide contamination, but many readers eagerly await each new novel in the series to read about Deborah’s relationship with her new husband Dwight and his son Cal. As a bonus to longtime Maron fans, two most recent books have included Sigrid Harald, the main character in Maron’s first mystery series.

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Filed under Maron, Margaret, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Series

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Michael Malone. The Justin and Cuddy Novels.

Uncivil Seasons. New York: Delacorte Press, 1983.
Time’s Witness. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989.
First Lady. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 2001.

Justin Savile V and Cuddy Mangum and police officers in the fictional town of Hillston, N.C., a small college town described as “A Bright Star in the Flag of the New South.” All of these novels are filled with funny observations about Hillston and its citizens and provide an honest look at the continuing clash between contemporary southerners and the traditions and ideals of the Old South.

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Filed under Malone, Michael, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Series

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Toni L.P. Kelner. The Laura Fleming Mysteries.

Down Home Murder. New York: Kensington, 1993.
Dead Ringer. New York: Kensington, 1994.
Trouble Looking for a Place to Happen. New York: Kensington, 1995.
Country Comes to Town. New York: Kensington, 1996.
Tight as a Tick. New York: Kensington, 1998.
Death of a Damn Yankee. New York: Kensington, 1999.
Mad as the Dickens. New York: Kensington, 2001.
Wed and Buried. New York: Kensington, 2003.

Laura Fleming is a computer programmer living in Boston with her husband, a Shakespeare professor at a local college. In nearly all of these novels (with the exception of Country Comes to Town) Laura travels to her hometown of Byerly, N.C., a fictional town in the western part of the state, and when she does, trouble breaks out. Time after time Laura’s amateur detective skills are called into play as she gets to the bottom of a murder. In between chasing criminals, Laura introduces her husband to the South. Kelner describes Byerly as “based on my memories and knowledge of Southern mill towns like Granite Falls, Conover, and Dudley Shoals. If it were real, it would be near Hickory, NC, with its own exit off Highway 321.”

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Filed under Catawba, Kelner, Toni L. P., Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Series

Tagged as Mill towns

by Jenny McElroy | · 9:58 am

Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene. The Sharyn Howard Mysteries.

Last Dance. New York: Avalon Books, 1999.
One Last Goodbye. New York: Avalon Books, 2000.
The Last to Remember. New York: Avalon Books, 2001.
Until Our Last Embrace. New York: Avalon Books, 2001.
For the Last Time. New York: Avalon Books, 2002.
Dreams Don’t Last. New York: Avalon Books, 2002.
Last Fires Burning. New York: Avalon Books, 2003.
Glory’s Last Victim. New York: Avalon Books, 2004.
Last Rites. New York: Avalon Books, 2004.
Last One Down. New York: Avalon Books, 2005.
Before the Last Lap. New York: Avalon Books, 2005.
The First Shall Be the Last. New York: Avalon Books, 2007.

Sharyn Howard is the sheriff in fictional Diamond Springs, N.C., a picturesque town in the Uwharrie Mountains. In each novel, Sharyn is on the case of a local murder that bears an eerie resemblance to, and usually proves to be connected to, a long-unsolved crime.

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Filed under Lavene, Jim and Joyce, Montgomery, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Series

Tagged as Policewomen

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