The shocking story of the turn-of-the-century Atlanta Ripper and six other notorious cases from the dark side of Georgia’s capital city. Throughout 1911, Georgia’s Gate City was terrorized by a serial killer whose gruesome murders mirrored those of London’s Jack the Ripper. Only Atlanta’s Ripper claimed nearly three times as many victims—African American servant girls who, week by week, fell prey to the mysterious slasher. Like Jack, he was never found. His killing spree was just one in a century of appalling Atlanta crimes that would make national headlines. This chilling volume also includes the story of thirteen-year-old factory worker Mary Phagan, whose brutal slaying led to one of the most infamous trials in Georgia history. Journalist Corinna Underwood also explores the facts behind what came to be known as the Atlanta Child Murders and the conviction of perpetrator Wayne Williams; as well as the inexplicable vanishing of newlywed, Mary Shotwell Little. Still being investigated after forty years, the case of the “disappearing bride” haunts Atlanta to this day.
Midnight Atlanta is the stunning new novel in the award-nominated, critically acclaimed Darktown series, and sees a newspaper editor murdered against the backdrop of Rosa Parks' protest and Martin Luther King Jnr's emergence. Atlanta, 1956. When Arthur Bishop, editor of Atlanta's leading black newspaper, is killed in his office, cop-turned-journalist Tommy Smith finds himself in the crosshairs of the racist cops he's been trying to avoid. To clear his name, he needs to learn more about the dangerous story Bishop had been working on. Meanwhile, Smith's ex-partner Lucius Boggs and white sergeant Joe McInnis - the only white cop in the black precinct - find themselves caught between meddling federal agents, racist detectives, and Communist activists as they try to solve the murder. With a young Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr making headlines of his own, and tensions in the city growing, Boggs and Smith find themselves back on the same side in a hunt for the truth that will put them both at risk. PRAISE FOR THE DARKTOWN SERIES 'A brilliant blending of crime, mystery, and American history. Terrific entertainment' Stephen King 'Superb' Ken Follett 'Magnificent and shocking' Sunday Times 'Written with a ferocious passion that'll knock the wind out of you' New York Times
A lawyer on the edge. A victim that many wanted dead. A haunting beauty who threatens everything.Sara Barton's kitchen floor is soaked with her own blood.But when the arrest of the leading suspect brings the wrong woman to prosecutor Chance Meridian's door, his life and the case teeter on the brink of disaster.The ensuing battle in an Atlanta courtroom pits Chance against the mentor who trained him how to win. The death toll rises. And the most important trial of Chance's life ... may be his last.Masterful, fast-paced, and full of suspense, The Murder of Sara Barton is a debut mystery that packs a climactic punch.
In 1948, responding to orders from on high, the Atlanta Police Department is forced to hire its first black officers, including war veterans Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith. The newly minted policemen are met with deep hostility by their white peers; they arent allowed to arrest white suspects, drive squad cars, or set foot in the police headquarters. But they carry guns, and they must bring law enforcement to a deeply mistrustful community. When black a woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up dead, Boggs and Smith take up the investigation on their own, as no one else seems to care. Their findings set them up against a brutal cop, Dunlow, who has long run the neighborhood as his own, and his partner, Rakestraw, a young progressive who may or may not be willing to make allies across color lines. Among shady moonshiners, duplicitous madams, crooked lawmen, and the constant restrictions of Jim Crow, Boggs and Smith will risk their new jobs, and their lives, while navigating a dangerous world--a world on the cusp of great change. --
Georgia Center for the Book has chosen Atlanta Noir as one of 2018's Books All Georgians Should Read! Kenji Jasper's "A Moment of Clarity at the Waffle House" nominated for a 2018 Edgar Award for Best Short Story! "Atlanta has its share, maybe more than its share, of prosperity. But wealth is no safeguard against peril...Creepy as well as dark, grim in outlook...Hints of the supernatural may make these tales...appealing to lovers of ghost stories." --Kirkus Reviews "These stories, most of them by relative unknowns, offer plenty of human interest...All the tales have a Southern feel." --Publishers Weekly "Jones, author of Leaving Atlanta, returns to the South via Akashic's ever-growing city anthology series. The collection features stories from an impressive roster of talent including Jim Grimsley, Sheri Joseph, Gillian Royes, Anthony Grooms and David James Poissant. The 14 selections each take place in different Atlanta neighborhood." --Atlanta-Journal Constitution "Now comes Atlanta Noir, an anthology that masterfully blends a chorus of voices, both familiar and new, from every corner of Atlanta...The magic of Atlanta Noir is readily apparent, starting with the introduction Jones pens. It doesn’t rest solely upon the breadth of writers but on how their words, stories and references are so Atlanta--so very particular, so very familiar and so very readily, for those who know the city, nostalgic. And for those who don’t? The sense of place it captures inspires a desire to get to know Atlanta and its stories." --ArtsATL Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. This much-anticipated and long-overdue installment in Akashic's Noir Series reveals many sides of Atlanta known only to its residents. Brand-new stories by: Tananarive Due, Kenji Jasper, Tayari Jones, Dallas Hudgens, Jim Grimsley, Brandon Massey, Jennifer Harlow, Sheri Joseph, Alesia Parker, Gillian Royes, Anthony Grooms, John Holman, Daniel Black, and David James Poissant. From the introduction by Tayari Jones: Atlanta itself is a crime scene. After all, Georgia was founded as a de facto penal colony and in 1864, Sherman burned the city to the ground. We might argue about whether the arson was the crime or the response to the crime, but this is indisputable: Atlanta is a city sewn from the ashes and everything that grows here is at once fertilized and corrupted by the past... These stories do not necessarily conform to the traditional expectations of noir...However, they all share the quality of exposing the rot underneath the scent of magnolia and pine. Noir, in my opinion, is more a question of tone than content. The moral universe of the story is as significant as the physical space. Noir is a realm where the good guys seldom win; perhaps they hardly exist at all. Few bad deeds go unrewarded, and good intentions are not the road to hell, but are hell itself...Welcome to Atlanta Noir. Come sit on the veranda, or the terrace of a high-rise condo. Pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, and fortify it with a slug of bourbon. Put your feet up. Enjoy these stories, and watch your back.
Modern-day Georgia. The state Supreme Court celebrates the opening of its new courthouse, but the Chief Justice—shot dead in his chambers—is late to the party. Enter ex-lawyer Chance Meridian. Pressed into service by an offer he cannot refuse, Chance launches the search for the bold killer. But dirty politics is part of Atlanta’s DNA. The town is full of secrets—secrets too damning to see the light of sunshine. And if Chance cannot crack the case and fast, the next murder on the court’s docket ... could be his own. A standalone follow-up to the best-selling The Murder of Sara Barton, Death to the Chief is a thrilling legal mystery that oozes with intrigue and suspense.
Hit whodunit writer Victoria Rienzi is getting back to her roots by working at her family’s Italian restaurant. But now in between plating pasta and pouring vino, she’ll have to find the secret ingredient in a murder.... When Victoria takes a break from penning her popular mystery series and moves back to the Jersey shore, she imagines sun, sand, and scents of fresh basil and simmering marinara sauce at the family restaurant, the Casa Lido. But her nonna’s recipes aren’t the only things getting stirred up in this Italian kitchen. Their small town is up in arms over plans to film a new reality TV show, and when Victoria serves the show’s pushy producer his last meal, the Casa Lido staff finds itself embroiled in a murder investigation. Victoria wants to find the real killer, but there are as many suspects as tomatoes in her nonna’s garden. Now she’ll have to heat up her sleuthing skills quickly…before someone else gets a plateful of murder. First in a new series! RECIPES INCLUDED!
You Are A Click Away From Discovering The Chilling Stories Of The Over 30 Black Children And Young Adults Murdered In Atlanta In 1979-1981 That Have Left The Families Of The Victims And The World At Large Still Wondering Who Was Truly Responsible For The Murders! July 25th 1979 After the buzzer signaling the end of their game sounded, Q, Teddy and other members of their team gather to shake hands, and the assembly breaks up. Q leaves the Boys' Club and starts walking home. As he nears the intersection, his friend Randy Joe Heast shouts out to him, while standing next to his car across the street. "Hey, man. Where you heading?" "Home," said Q. "Well. I can get you closer. I'm heading to the movies to meet up with a friend" "Thanks." Q crosses the street and joins Heath, and moments later, they drive off. The car pulls up near a bus stop and Q gets out.... Three days later, Louis Evans' (Q's mother) panic is uncontainable. She has not seen Q since July 25th. She has already called every one of his friends but no one knows where he is. Perhaps it's because the police are yet to identify two bodies of two dead children who had been discovered in Niskey Lake Road, and they need several more weeks. Q and Teddy are the two bodies. They had been the first two victims of a serial killer! And for the next 2 years (in the period between 1979 and 1981), more than 30 black children and young adults would die under mysterious circumstances that would later be commonly referred to as 'Atlanta child murders", leaving families heartbroken and still seeking answers, even to-date on who was really responsible for the murders. I know you are wondering... Why has the mystery never been fully solved? What were the lapses? What did the police do in handling the investigations? Who was the prime suspect and how were they 'caught'? What was the evidence? Was anybody jailed for the murders? Why were they interested in kids? Who were the victims and how did they meet their untimely death? If you're the type that likes your stories silent, mysterious and spine-chilling, then this true crime stories blockbuster is what your nerves have desperately been looking for. Given its delicate structure, and a style that epitomize suspense, drama and action at its finest, I'd advise you to put aside your current read for this one. This book features: The stories of the victims from the time they disappeared to the time their lifeless bodies were discovered How investigations were done How the murders were all connected Who was found responsible for the murders and how he was found responsible for two of the murders Why nobody was charged for most of the murders yet the cases were closed How the cases were reinstated several times years later and how they were closed again Why the world believes there was more to the murders than what came up during the prosecution Why most people believe that the police did a shoddy job And much more Even if you are not much into serial killer stories, you will love this one! Get your copy today and join me in uncovering this strange child murder mystery! Click Buy Now With 1-Click or Buy Now to get started!
From the author of the Oprah's Book Club Selection An American Marriage, here is a beautifully evocative novel that proves why Tayari Jones is "one of the most important voices of her generation" (Essence). It was the end of summer, a summer during the two-year nightmare in which Atlanta's African-American children were vanishing and twenty-nine would be found murdered by 1982. Here fifth-grade classmates Tasha Baxter, Rodney Green, and Octavia Harrison will discover back-to-school means facing everyday challenges in a new world of safety lessons, terrified parents, and constant fear. The moving story of their struggle to grow up-and survive- shimmers with the piercing, ineffable quality of childhood, as it captures all the hurts and little wins, the all-too-sudden changes, and the merciless, outside forces that can sweep the young into adulthood and forever shape their lives. PRAISE FOR TAYARI JONES "Tayari Jones is blessed with vision to see through to the surprising and devastating truths at the heart of ordinary lives, strength to wrest those truths free, and a gift of language to lay it all out, compelling and clear." -- Michael Chabon "Tayari Jones has emerged as one of the most important voices of her generation." -- Essence "One of America's finest writers." -- Nylon.com "Tayari Jones is a wonderful storyteller." -- Ploughsharesspan
