In the sleepy town of Monticello, Georgia, three women hold the reins of power at the local courthouse: Cassie Manson, the shrewd magistrate judge; Angelina Black, the cunning state court judge; and Louise Ambrose, the manipulative clerk of court. For years, they've been running a lucrative embezzlement scheme, skimming money from fines and fees. When the local Warrior for Citizen’s leader, Marne Petakis, threatens to expose their corruption, the trio hatches a sinister plot. They plan to frame Louise's husband for murder, hiring a local ne'er-do-well to do the dirty work. With fabricated evidence and perjured testimony, they're certain their scheme is foolproof. As the pressure mounts, the women's loyalties are tested and their secrets threaten to spill out in open court. Will their house of cards come tumbling down? Or will they succeed in sending an innocent man to prison to cover their tracks? This gripping legal thriller explores the dark underbelly of small-town justice, where those sworn to uphold the law are its worst offenders. It's a tale of greed, betrayal, and the high cost of keeping secrets in a place where everyone knows your name.
Mrs. Murphy digs into Virginia history—and gets her paws on a killer. The most popular citizen of Virginia has been dead for nearly 170 years. That hasn't stopped the good people of tiny Crozet, Virginia, from taking pride in every aspect of Thomas Jefferson's life. But when an archaeological dig of the slave quarters at Jefferson's home, Monticello, uncovers a shocking secret, emotions in Crozet run high—dangerously high. The stunning discovery at Monticello hints a hidden passions and age-old scandals. As postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and some of Crozet's Very Best People try to learn the identity of a centuries-old skeleton—and the reason behind the murder—Harry's tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy, and her canine and feline friends attempt to sniff out a modern-day killer. Mrs. Murphy and corgi Tee Tucker will stick their paws into the darker mysteries of human nature to solve murders old and new—before curiosity can kill the cat—and Harry Haristeen.
Curiosity just might be the death of Mrs. Murphy--and her human companion, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen. Small towns are like families: Everyone lives very close together. . .and everyone keeps secrets. Crozet, Virginia, is a typical small town-until its secrets explode into murder. Crozet's thirty-something post-mistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending divorce, and a bad habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. When Crozet's citizens start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each received a card with a tombstone on the front and the message "Wish you were here" on the back. Intent on protecting their human friend, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker begin to scent out clues. Meanwhile, Harry is conducting her own investigation, unaware her pets are one step ahead of her. If only Mrs. Murphy could alert her somehow, Harry could uncover the culprit before the murder occurs--and before Harry finds herself on the killer's mailing list.
A woman recounts her decades-long saga to bring her sister’s killer to justice in a harrowing true crime story of domestic abuse and family perseverance. From the moment it happened, Renee Fehr knew that Gregory Houser had murdered her sister Sheryl. Cruel, abusive, and increasingly violent, Greg had threatened to kill Sheryl if she tried to leave him. Yet Sheryl’s death was ruled a suicide. And for twenty-seven years after her death, Greg continued walked free. But Renee wouldn’t rest until he was convicted for murder. As the old saying goes, “the wheels of justice turn slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.” The Wheels of Justice is the story of a monstrous killer, a harrowing look at domestic violence, and an inspirational story of a family that wouldn’t quit until justice prevailed.
It takes a cat to write the purr-fect mystery— "People who love cats...have a friend in Rita Mae Brown," declares The New York Times Book Review. And nowhere is it more obvious than in this, her sixth deliciously witty foray into detective fiction written with the paws-on help of collaborator Sneaky Pie Brown, and starring that irrepressible crime-solving tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy. As the principal of St. Elizabeth's, an exclusive private school that caters to Crozet, Virginia's, best families, Roscoe Fletcher has proven himself to be a highly effective and vastly popular administrator. So when his obituary appears in the local paper, everyone in town is upset. Yet nothing compares to the shock they feel when they discover that Roscoe Fletcher isn't dead at all. Someone has stooped to putting a phony obituary in the newspaper. But is it a sick joke or a sinister warning? Only Mrs. Murphy, the canny tiger cat, senses the pure malice behind the act. And when a second false obit appears, this time of a Hollywood has-been who is Roscoe Fletcher's best friend, Mrs. Murphy invites her friends, the corgi Tee Tucker, and fat cat Pewter, to do a bit of sleuthing. It's obvious to this shrewd puss that two phony death notices add up to deadly trouble. And her theory is borne out when one of the men is fiendishly murdered. "Harry" Haristeen, in her position as Crozet's postmistress, is the first to hear all the theories on whodunit—starting with the man's jealous wife. Then a second bloody homicide follows, and a third. People are dropping like flies in Crozet and no one seems to know why. Fearlessly exploring all the places where humans never think to go, Mrs. Murphy manages to untangle the knots of passion, duplicity, and greed that have sent someone into a killing frenzy. Yet knowing the truth isn't enough. Mrs. Murphy must somehow lead Harry, her favorite human, down a trail that is perilous...to a killer who is deadly...and a climax that mystery lovers will relish.
Twilight at Monticello is something entirely new: an unprecedented and engrossing personal look at the intimate Jefferson in his final years that will change the way readers think about this true American icon. It was during these years–from his return to Monticello in 1809 after two terms as president until his death in 1826–that Jefferson’s idealism would be most severely, and heartbreakingly, tested. Based on new research and documents culled from the Library of Congress, the Virginia Historical Society, and other special collections, including hitherto unexamined letters from family, friends, and Monticello neighbors, Alan Pell Crawford paints an authoritative and deeply moving portrait of Thomas Jefferson as private citizen–the first original depiction of the man in more than a generation.
“As feline collaborators go, you couldn’t ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown, the canny tiger cat. . . . Solid storytelling.”—The New York Times Book Review The annual steeplechase races are the high point in the social calendar of the horse-mad Virginians of cozy Crozet. But when one of the jockeys is found murdered in the main barn, Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen finds herself in a desperate race of her own—to trap the killer. Luckily for her, she has an experienced ally: her sage tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy. Utilizing her feline genius to plumb the depths of human depravity, Mrs. Murphy finds herself on a trail that leads to the shocking truth behind the murder. But will her human companion catch on in time to beat the killer to the gruesome finish line? “The browns [Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie] once again blend plot, character, and atmosphere with plenty of wit and charm to create a delightful entertainment.”—Publishers Weekly
When Thomas Jefferson wrote his epitaph, he listed as his accomplishments his authorship of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia statute of religious freedom, and his founding of the University of Virginia. He did not mention his presidency or that he was second governor of the state of Virginia, in the most trying hours of the Revolution. Dumas Malone, author of the epic six-volume biography, wrote that the events of this time explain Jefferson's "character as a man of action in a serious emergency." Joseph Ellis, author of American Sphinx, focuses on other parts of Jefferson's life but wrote that his actions as governor "toughened him on the inside." It is this period, when Jefferson was literally tested under fire, that Michael Kranish illuminates in Flight from Monticello. Filled with vivid, precisely observed scenes, this book is a sweeping narrative of clashing armies--of spies, intrigue, desperate moments, and harrowing battles. The story opens with the first murmurs of resistance to Britain, as the colonies struggled under an onerous tax burden and colonial leaders--including Jefferson--fomented opposition to British rule. Kranish captures the tumultuous outbreak of war, the local politics behind Jefferson's actions in the Continental Congress (and his famous Declaration), and his rise to the governorship. Jefferson's life-long belief in the corrupting influence of a powerful executive led him to advocate for a weak governorship, one that lacked the necessary powers to raise an army. Thus, Virginia was woefully unprepared for the invading British troops who sailed up the James under the direction of a recently turned Benedict Arnold. Facing rag-tag resistance, the British force took the colony with very little trouble. The legislature fled the capital, and Jefferson himself narrowly eluded capture twice. Kranish describes Jefferson's many stumbles as he struggled to respond to the invasion, and along the way, the author paints an intimate portrait of Jefferson, illuminating his quiet conversations, his family turmoil, and his private hours at Monticello. "Jefferson's record was both remarkable and unsatisfactory, filled with contradictions," writes Kranish. As a revolutionary leader who felt he was unqualified to conduct a war, Jefferson never resolved those contradictions--but, as Kranish shows, he did learn lessons during those dark hours that served him all his life.
Historian and legal scholar Gordon-Reed presents this epic work that tells the story of the Hemingses, an American slave family and their close blood ties to Thomas Jefferson.
The moment Martha Jefferson discovers that a few drops of Negro blood course through her aristocratic veins, she knows she will do anything to keep this terrible secret from her politically ambitious husband, Thomas. When fire strikes Monticello, the resulting repairs to Thomas Jefferson's historic home reveal a human skeleton, and the questions begin. . . the "when" is easily discovered, but the "who" and the "why" weave a tantalizing mystery that is Monticello's dark secret. In this well-researched novel, which successfully melds historical fact with an intriguing 'what if', we are led back in time to the gripping tale of two women, Martha Jefferson and Betty Hemings, mother of infamous Sally Hemings, both forgotten threads in the rich tapestry of America's history. Nothing about them save their names has survived the centuries-- not a likeness nor a personal letter. We know both belonged to the same man, Thomas Jefferson, one through the vows of marriage and the other through the laws of slavery, and that both lived, dreamed and died in Virginia at a time in our new Nation when fact was more exciting than fiction. Now, we can finally know and understand them as they might have been.
