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To catch the killer who eluded her detective grandfather fifty years ago, a true-crime podcaster must contend with outdated evidence, ulterior motives, and the dark family secrets that got in the way. True-crime podcaster Jess Keeler has returned to Deeton County, North Carolina, to pick up where her grandfather left off. Sheriff's Deputy Big Jim Ballard, her grandfather, was a respected detective--until it all came crashing down during a 1972 murder investigation. For Jim, solving the murders of two teens should have been the highlight of his already storied career. Instead, he battled his own mind, unsure where his hunches ended and the truth began. Working from her grandfather's disjointed notes, Jess is sure that she can finally put the cold case--and her family's shame--to rest. Enlisting the help of disgraced reporter Dan Decker, Jess soon discovers ugly truths about the first investigation, which was shaped by corruption, egos, and a family secret that may be the key to the crime. Told in a dual timeline that covers both investigations, Something Bad Wrong explores human folly, hubris, and how sometimes, to solve a crime, you have to find out who's covering it up.
"Reminds me of a young Quentin Tarantino. Pruitt is one of our best Southern fiction writers." —Bookreporter Meet Jack Jordan. He’s a smooth-talking con artist with a penchant for the fast life. He’s snuck into Lufkin, Texas, in the dead of night with little more than a beat-up Honda, a hollowed-out King James Bible full of cocaine, and enough emotional baggage to sink a steam ship. He’s charming, dedicated, and extremely paranoid. Summer Ashton, his partner-in-crime. She’s stuck by him through thick and thin, but lately her mind has begun to slip. They’ve told their fair share of lies and she’s having a devil of a time remembering what’s the truth. And recently, she’s been...
From one of the freshest voices of Southern noir comes a gritty crime story with plenty of Southern flavor and a world and characters you’ll be clawing for more of. The repercussions are felt across the American South when a pizza joint in sleepy Lake Castor, Virginia is robbed and the manager, Odie Shanks, is kidnapped. The kidnapping is the talk of the town, but it's what people don't know that threatens to rip asunder societal norms. Odie chases dreams of Hollywood stardom and an explosive social media presence while his partner in crime, Jake Armstrong, pursues his own vengeful agenda. In the meantime, corrupt and lazy Deputy Roy Rains has a hard-luck time of covering up the crime in order to preserve his way of life. And college student Melinda Kendall has hit the highway in a stolen ride with nothing but a .22 and limited options, on the run from her drug dealer boyfriend, the Mississippi State Police and the media, trying to escape some bad choices by making even more bad choices.
In the southern town of Lake Castor, the old mill closed, and jobs vanished. But Calvin Cantrell doesn’t care for those jobs anyway. Instead, he dreams of becoming a famous serial killer. When sleazy restauranteur Tom London hires Calvin to kill his ex-wife, Calvin’s dreams begin. And so do Lake Castor’s nightmares.
A collection of riveting, funny, and captivating southern fried crime stories from Eryk Pruitt, one of the best new crime fiction writers working today. Townies, and Other Tales of Southern Mischief collects, for the first time, Pruitt's short fiction in a single volume. The title story, "Townies," details what really happened one night, after hours, in a once popular East Texas sports bar, and the sinister revenge that would soon follow. "Knacker," the story of a Texan who finds himself homeless in Dublin, Ireland, and willing to sacrifice damn near anything to scratch together what remaining pride he may have lost. "Let's Be Awful" tells the story of a cocktail waitress who decides that, a...
Southern Gothic: New Tales of the South is an anthology like no other. Featuring over 15 stories and poems by new and veteran authors, the writing reflects a diverse range of Southern experience. From the post-Katrina New Orleans of Rose Yndigoyen’s “Long Gone Girls” and the deep-rooted family of Hardy Jones’ “Visitin’ Cormierville” to the racial tension of Eryk Pruitt’s “Them Riders” and Shane K. Bernard’s “The Phrenologist,” the anthology represents a new interpretation of the long-established Southern Gothic genre. Each story is paired with original art by Nathan Mark Phillips. Phillips’ images pull at the underside of the stories and bring a thoughtful level of interpretation to each work. Poking at the heart of Southern distinctiveness, these writers and artists make a bold statement about the south in the 21st century.
“She was in a fix alright and the only thing that would cure it was miles. Distance. Putting a lot of highway between her and her troubles.” Meet Melinda… a badass, .22-carrying college student battling a destructive meth addiction whilst on the run from her junkie boyfriend, campus drug dealer Sam Tuley. Melinda is no shining heroine, but she has little time to dwell on the sins of her past when miles of future lie ahead of her. In Further South by Eryk Pruitt, find out just why Melinda has hit the highway in a stolen ride with nothing but a gun and limited options. Twists and turns lace this bullet-sharp short that deals you characters and a world you’ll be clawing for more of. Pruitt dispenses a fresh insight into student drug culture in Further South, both the selling and the snorting, unveiling how it’s a cruel paradox of blissful escape and cloying prison.
Three linked crime novellas that follow working class antiheroes as they indulge in theft, murder, and lawless shenanigans. Ain’t no cops running things out this way. In “Mesa Boys,” Ronnie plots a haphazard heist with a twisted con man. In “The Feud,” tough-as-nails Rex lets his resentment for a local pot dealer cloud his judgement. And, in “Bar Burning,” a mysterious drifter goes toe-to-toe with his new lady’s psychotic ex-husband. Accidental Outlaws is a hellfire ride through working class America’s angsty underbelly. Praise for ACCIDENTAL OUTLAWS: “The hardest hitting rural noir I've read in ages, like a mule-kick in the teeth.” —CS DeWildt, author of Love You to ...
Crimespree Magazine Issue 67 features a special conversation between Lawrence Block with the late Bill Crider. Interviews include Michael Barson chatting with Max Allan Collins, who also talks about completing the work of Mickey Spillane, Kate Malmon talking with Steph Post, Richard Neer interviewed by Reed Farrel Coleman, and Elise Cooper has a Q&A with Karen Rose. Eryk Pruitt writes about Southern Crime Fiction, Jon Jordan on Action Comics at 80, with other articles by TR Ragan, Kristi Belcamino, and Chris Holm. There's new fiction by Andrew Riconda and J.D. Smith, and a comprehensive review of new books and DVDs round out a most exciting issue.
In Wear Your Home Like a Scar, Nik Korpon explores the catastrophic consequences of trying to start anew and reinvent yourself. A clandestine surgeon goes to extreme lengths when she’s torn between family loyalties. A con man tries to help his girlfriend escape her pimp, despite what the tarot cards tell her. A drifter hunts down the man who hung her out to dry with a cartel boss. A sicario has a crisis of faith when an old legend stalks him. From the streets of Baltimore to the comunas of Medellín, the Mexican Sierras to Texas border towns, Wear Your Home Like a Scar shows that no matter how deep you cut, you’ll never truly leave your home behind. Praise for the Stories by Nik Korpon: ...