Sunday, January 23, 2022

Eight top mysteries with southern swampy settings

Stacy Willingham, worked as a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies before deciding to write fiction full time. She earned her BA in Magazine Journalism from the University of Georgia and MFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art & Design.

Her new novel is A Flicker in the Dark.

At CrimeReads Willingham tagged eight mysteries that feature Southern settings, including:
The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

While there are no literal swamps in Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season, this book deserves a place on the list for a multitude of reasons. Caren Gray manages operations on Belle Vie, a Louisiana plantation where her own ancestors once worked cutting cane. Within the first few pages, a dead body is found on the plantation grounds, juxtaposing a modern day crime with one that occurred decades earlier. This story is so much more than a mystery: it’s an honest exploration of politics, race relations and the complexities of the American South’s shameful history, all while drawing parallels to the modern-day experience many still face today. It is an at-times heart-wrenching but important read.
Read about another mystery on the list.

The Cutting Season is among Karen Dietrich's eight top red herrings in contemporary crime literature, T. Marie Vandelly's top ten suspenseful horror novels featuring housebound terrors and Wil Medearis's seven favorite novels that explore real estate swindles.

--Marshal Zeringue