• Hammer Spade and the Case of the Missing Husband. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing, 2006.
• Hammer Spade and the Diamond Smugglers. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing Co., 2006.
• Hammer Spade and the Merchants of Death. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing Co., 2007.
• Hammer Spade and the Ring of Fire. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing Co., 2007.
• Hammer Spade and the Midnight Treader. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing Co., 2008.
• Hammer Spade and the Long Shooter. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing Co., 2009.
• Hammer Spade and the Inca Curse. Timberlake, NC: Righter Publishing Co., 2009.

I can’t help but like a series that came about, in part, from a librarian’s suggestion.  Dorothy Hodder, one of the great librarians at New Hanover County Public Library, suggested to A. B. Alston, already the author of two thrillers, that he put more intrigue into his books.  This led Mr. Alston to start a story with a private detective as the main character. The story became a novel that began this series.

Hammer Spade is a detective and bail bondsman living in Durham, North Carolina. Like many fictional private detectives, his office is in a seedy part of town and his personal life is bleak.  The first novel in the series introduces Hammer; his love interest Alonia Lockheart; Shidee Callaway, who is Hammer’s streetwise assistant; and several members of Alonia’s interesting family.  These characters reappear in later novels where they are joined by Hammer’s friends, Dave Quigley and Jack Kane.  Kane, like Hammer, is a Desert Storm veteran.

Each novel opens in North Carolina, as Hammer is asked to handle a case, but the action often shifts to other–and far more exotic–locales. South Africa, Russia, Kuwait, and Brazil are just some of the places that Hammer’s cases take him.  Only the books with a full North Carolina setting have individual entries in this blog.

Posted: November 24th, 2009 under Alston, E. B., Durham, Mystery, Novels in Series, Piedmont, Series.
Comments: 1

• Southern Fatality. New York: St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2007.
• Southern Poison. New York: St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2008.
• Southern Peril. New York: Minotaur Books, 2009.

Jersey Barnes was a Marine MP and a government anti-terrorism agent.  After leaving government service, she moved back to Wilmington to open up her own security firm.  When even that feels like too much, Jersey decides to retire to the less stressful life of being a pub owner.  Running a pub, marrying her boyfriend, it’s called settling down.  It sounds good, but Jersey is a sociable gal and everyone from her boyfriend to family friends to the federal government wants Jersey to handle just one more case.  These cases involve everything from kidnapping to blackmail to computer crimes to drug dealing–and murder.  Jersey can handle what the bad guys send her way, but family and friends are another story.  Jersey’s pill-trading, poker playing dad, his girlfriend, Fran, a computer-hacker neighbor, and Jersey’s hunky business partner, Ox, complicate her life and add humor and energy to these mysteries.  Wilmington itself is a character in the books, and fans of the city will recognize familiar places.

Posted: November 10th, 2009 under Coast, Mystery, New Hanover, Novels in Series, Ocean, T. Lynn, Series.
Comments: none

• Blackman’s Coffin. Scottsdale, AZ: Poisoned Pen Press, 2008.
• The Fitzgerald Ruse. Scottsdale, AZ: Poisoned Pen Press, 2009.

In the first book in this series, Sam Blackman is a wounded Iraq War veteran who comes to Asheville for rehabilitation.  A job offer from the head of a local security firm provides him with a new career path, even though his employer dies before Sam’s first day on the job.  Sam teams up, professionally and personally, with the dead woman’s sister and together Sam and Nakayla Robertson investigate routine and not-so-routine occurrences in Asheville and the surrounding area.

Asheville’s literary past has figured in the first two novels, and each book is rich in local history and culture.  This series nicely weaves the city’s interesting past with contemporary elements such as Sam’s military service in Iraq.

Posted: November 9th, 2009 under Buncombe, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Series, deCastrique, Mark.
Comments: none

• The Curse. Edgewater, FL: Resplendence Publishing, 2007.
• The Cult. Edgewater, FL: Resplendence Publishing, 2008.

Maddie James builds this series on the fierce history of the pirate Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and the continuing interest in pirate lore.  The novels move back and forth between the 1700s and the present and feature bits of history, mayhem, the supernatural, and star-crossed lovers.

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under Coast, Historical, James, Maddie, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Series.
Comments: 1

• Appalachian Paradise.  Boone, NC: High County Publishers, 2002.
• Emeralds in the Snow.  Boone, NC: High County Publishers, 2004.
• Murder at Blue Falls: The Horse Found the Body.  Boone, NC: High County Publishers, 2006.
• Perfect for Framing.  Boone, NC: High County Publishers, 2008.

Maggie Bishop’s action-packed novels are all set in the North Carolina mountains and feature an unforgettable cast of characters.  In her contemporary novels, you’ll find mystery, nature, camping, hiking, skiing, and always a little romance.  The novels are centered around four cousins – Wes, Lucky, Tucker, and Grady.  Bishop’s first two novels feature Wes and Lucky and take place in and around Boone and Appalachian State University while her later two novels take place in Banner Elk and Lees-McRae College.

Posted: August 28th, 2009 under Bishop, Maggie, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Series, Watauga.
Comments: none

• Gentle’s Holler.  New York: Viking, 2005.
• Louisiana’s Song.  New York: Viking, 2007.
• Jessie’s Mountain.  New York: Viking, 2008.

Set in the mountains of North Carolina during the early 1960s, the books in the Maggie Valley trilogy follow the Weems family as they go through life in a small valley town in Haywood County.  Jessie and Tom Weems have ten children, with unique talents and personalities.  The books are narrated by Livy Two, their second oldest daughter who is twelve years old and full of moxie.  Livy Two writes her own songs, plays the guitar, and generally takes after her father.  Mountain music and song lyrics are included in many of the chapters, creatively explaining how Livy Two sees the relationships between family members and describing their way of life.  The Weems family is also joined by the cantankerous Grandma Horace and an affable pet dog, Uncle Hazard.  While nothing ever seems to be easy for the Weems family, their ties stay strong as they experience financial problems, health problems, and a major accident.  The novels explore the relationships among all the Weems children, but pay particular attention to three of the Weems daughters – Livy Two, Louise, and Jitters – as they come into their own.

Posted: August 25th, 2009 under Children & Young Adults, Haywood, Madden, Kerry, Mountains, Novels in Series, Series.
Comments: 1

• Raleigh’s Eden. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1940.
• Men of Albemarle. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1942.
• Lusty Wind for Carolina. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1944.
• Toil of the Brave. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1946.
• Roanoke Hundred. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1948.
• Bennett’s Welcome. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1950.
• Queen’s Gift. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1952.
• The Scotswoman. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1955.
• The Wind in the Forest. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1957.
• Cormorant’s Brood. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1959.
• Wicked Lady. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1962.
• Rogue’s Harbor. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1964.

This is the series that gave many people, including a lot of native North Carolinians, their ideas about the early history of North Carolina.  Ms. Fletcher was a diligent researcher whose novels include many factual details, even as she spun romantic tales of exploration, colonization, and the struggle for independence from England.  The period of exploration and early colonization are covered in Roanoke Hundred, Bennett’s Welcome, and Rogue’s Harbor.  The early eighteenth century is the setting for Men of Albemarle, Lusty Wind for Carolina, and Cormorant’s Brood.  The run-up to the American Revolution is treated in Raleigh’s Eden, The Wind in the Forest, and The Scotswoman, while the war itself is the background for Toil of the Brave and Wicked Lady. Queen’s Gift is set in the period immediately after the colonies have gained their independence.  Although more recent historical novels display a less romanticized view of the past, Ms. Fletcher’s novels remain a good choice for readers seeking an entertaining and educational presentation of the early eras of our state’s history.

Posted: August 21st, 2009 under Coast, Fletcher, Inglis, Historical, Novels in Series, Series.
Comments: none

• A Perilous Proposal. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2005.
• The Soldier’s Lady. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2006.
• Never Too Late. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2007.
• Miss Katie’s Rosewood. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2007.

In the Carolina Cousins books, the follow-up series to the Shenandoah Sisters books, cousins and best friends Katie and Mayme are still together, but the early years of Reconstruction are hard for the girls. They face both the normal difficulties of growing up and the many troubles of their time. Throughout the series, the girls face adversity–often related to race–and new characters who arrive at Rosewood become part of the family. The themes of friendship, forgiveness, determination, and faith run throughout the books.

Posted: February 9th, 2009 under Historical, Mystery, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Novels in Series, Phillips, Michael, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship, Series.
Comments: 2

• Glory Be! New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2007.
• Gone to Glory. New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2007.
• Grits and Glory. New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2008.
• Season of Glory. New York: Steeple Hill Books, 2008.

Glory is a delightful little North Carolina town. The main street is still intact, there is a lovely bed-and-breakfast, church is important, and the people are nice. Despite all of this, the town has more than its share of secrets and murders. In each volume in this cozy mystery series, a murder happens and an innocent person comes under suspicion. As the murder investigation unfolds, some uncomfortable secrets from the past emerge, but in the end a deserving soul finds romance and justice is done.

Posted: February 6th, 2009 under Benrey, Janet and Ron, Mystery, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Novels in Series, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship, Series.
Comments: none

• Elia W. Peattie. Azalea, the Story of a Girl in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Chicago: Reilly & Britton, 1912.
• Elia W. Peattie. Annie Laurie and Azalea. Chicago: Reilly & Britton, 1913.
• Elia W. Peattie. Azalea’s Silver Web. Chicago: Reilly & Britton, 1915.

These novels follow the life of a young girl, Azalea. When Azalea’s mother dies, the traveling show that Azalea’s mother belonged to leaves Azalea with a mountain family. Over the course of the novels, Azalea becomes part of the McBirney family and learns about the good and the bad in the mountain community. In the final book in the series, Azalea, now a young woman, is presented with an opportunity to leave her mountain home.

Posted: January 5th, 2009 under Children & Young Adults, Mountains, Novels in Series, Novels to Read Online, Peattie, Elia W., Series.
Comments: none