In this work of “docufiction,” Naumoff explores the tragic 1991 fire at a chicken plant in Hamlet, N.C. in which many workers died when they were locked into the building, unable to escape from the flames. Naumoff engages many of the broader themes of the tragedy, looking at the struggles of the small town in a changing economy, and examining the complicated relationships between the employers and employees.
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Comments Off on Lawrence Naumoff. A Southern Tragedy, in Crimson and Yellow. Winston-Salem: Zuckerman Cannon, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Docufiction, Naumoff, Laurence, Richmond
This funny, touching novel is a modern-day retelling of the Canterbury Tales, following a group of unlikely friends on the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Pilgrimage. The “Number Three Pilgrims” travel to several of the sites of prominent victories of the late NASCAR legend and North Carolina native. In the course of their journey they visit Piedmont North Carolina, “the land of textile mills and furniture factories, of tobacco fields and hog farms — and race tracks.” At stops at the Richard Petty museum in Randolph County, the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, and the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, the pilgrims find solace and inspiration in the life and legacy of Earnhardt.
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Comments Off on Sharyn McCrumb. St. Dale. New York: Kensington, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, McCrumb, Sharyn, Piedmont
Peggy Lee, a botanist and owner of a garden shop in Charlotte, N.C., comes to work one day to find one of the richest men in town sprawled across her plants with his head bashed in. The police nab a homeless man for the crime, but Peggy doesn’t think he did it. The problem is, if she finds evidence to free the current suspect, then the next most likely killer is one of Peggy’s employees, whom she’s sure had nothing to do with the murder. Peggy dives into the investigation, digging through the dead man’s past in search of a possible killer. As she combs through the evidence, she’s assisted by a younger man who may prove to be more than a friend.
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Comments Off on Joyce Lavene and Jim Lavene. Pretty Poison. New York: Penguin, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Lavene, Jim and Joyce, Mecklenburg, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont
Elizabeth Goodweather runs a small herb and flower farm in the fictional mountain town of Ridley Branch, N.C. Recently widowed, and with both of her children moved away, Elizabeth is feeling a little lonely and bored, but that quickly changes when she’s dragged into a local mystery. When a neighbor’s son is found dead, the police determine it was an accident, but the boy’s mother isn’t convinced. As Elizabeth pursues the case, she digs up evidence of a long ago crime that is suspiciously similar to the current mysterious death.
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Comments Off on Vicki Lane. Signs in the Blood. New York: Dell, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Buncombe, Lane, Vicki, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places
Pro golfer Cassie Burdette has a lot to do when she arrives in Pinehurst, N.C., site of both her best friend’s wedding and a prestigious golf tournament. Her on-again off-again boyfriend Mike Callahan is in town, too, and it looks like she’ll be seeing plenty of him as he’s a member of the wedding party and her partner in the tournament. As if that wasn’t enough to worry about, there are a serious of murders in town, which may be linked to the mysterious disappearance of the father of the bride. Burdette is quickly on the case.
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Miami detective Charlotte Monroe takes off for the mountains of western North Carolina in pursuit of her daughter, who has run off with the man at number eight on the FBI’s most wanted list. Charlotte and her husband quickly become entangled in a mystery that has its roots in the history of the region, and seems to be tied to the fate of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
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Comments Off on James W. Hall. Forests of the Night. New York: St. Martin’s, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Coast, Hall, James W., Mountains, Mystery, Piedmont, Romance/Relationship
The mayoral election in the fictional Piedmont town of Ashewood Falls has the whole town astir. Everything was proceeding smoothly in the decidedly quirky town until a bowling alley argument led to the entry of a new candidate in the race. Incumbent Johnston “Birddog” Farley is faced with an unexpected challenge from Purdie Mae Pearce, the “fried chicken queen.” As befits as modern election, this one is filled with scandal. There are allegations of adultery, suspicions of electoral fraud, and a bevy of special interest groups clamoring for attention.
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Comments Off on Jonathan Farlow. Brouhaha. Boone, N.C.: Parkway Publishers, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Farlow, Jonathan, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont
Carrie Parker, the eight-year-old narrator of this novel, does not have an easy life. She and her sister Emma live in a poor family in Toast, N.C. Their father has recently passed away and their new stepfather is abusive to both girls, becoming especially violent when drunk. Carrie’s mother sees the problems, but can’t afford to leave, and the girls are left with seemingly nowhere else to turn.
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Comments Off on Elizabeth Flock. Me & Emma. Mira Books, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Flock, Elizabeth, Surry
When two murderers are released on a technicality, the citizens of fictional Manceford County, N.C. are irate. Some of them are so mad that they’re taking justice into their own hands. A gruesome video surfaces, showing the execution of one of the killers, and officer Cam Richter has to find the vigilantes before they kill again. Richter tracks them into the mountains of western North Carolina, home of the elusive eastern mountain lion.
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Comments Off on Peter T. Deutermann. Cat Dancers. New York: St. Martin’s, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Deutermann, Peter T., Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Novels Set in Fictional Places
Andrew Thomas is hiding out in Alaska, framed for a crime he didn’t commit. But he can’t lay low forever. When people close to him start disappearing and there is a killing spree in his home town of Davidson, N.C., Thomas is forced out of hiding, certain that one of his old enemies is on the loose. Thomas returns to North Carolina and chases the bad guys all the way to a dramatic showdown on Ocracoke Island.
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Comments Off on Blake Crouch, Locked Doors. New York: St. Martin’s, 2005.
Filed under 2000-2009, 2005, Crouch, Blake, Hyde, Mystery
