First a few animals–cattle and then pigs–were savagely killed by an unknown assailant. The people in the town of Doe Springs assumed the assailant was a wild animal, the kind that live in the nearby mountains.  Then people started to die in the same manner, and the townsfolk begin to fear that a human–or superhuman–killer is in their midst. Ivy Cole knows that they’re right, because she’s that killer.  Ivy is a werewolf, but she has the power to control herself, and she attacks only people who she thinks deserve to die.  But soon Ivy’s world is turned upside down when people close to her begin to die, and it’s clear that she’s not the only murderer in Doe Springs. Ivy needs to find that other killer before Sheriff Gloria Hubbard and an outside expert find out about her powers.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 25th, 2009 under 2000-, 2005, Farago, Gina, Horror, Mountains, Mystery, Novels Set in Fictional Places.
Comments: none

Victoria Porter has a knack for always finding her way into an undesirable situation.  In fact she yearns for them.  Being a maiden at twenty-three in 1746, Victoria has given up on finding a suitable mate and now searches for any man willing to cure her boredom.  During an escapade with a drunken sailor Victoria’s older brother, Jeremiah, dies from a bullet to the back as he tries to prevent Victoria from defiling her honor.  Victoria finds herself alone and suicidal from guilt until Jeremiah’s ghost comes to save her yet again. With Jeremiah’s guidance she begins a quest to find their missing brother. Victoria soon finds herself washed up on a shore after being thrown from a ship during a terrible storm.  Alone and frightened once again, she is rescued by a mysterious man with demons of his own and from a time that is not hers.

Colt MacKenzie is desperate to write another bestselling horror novel in 2007.  He heads to Ocracoke Island in search of his newest topic: The Cult of Teach.  While Colt immerses himself in the legend of The Cult and its obsession over Blackbeard’s Chalice, he comes to the rescue of a strange woman who soon turns his world upside down.

Through the chalice Victoria and Colt discover that their destinies are intertwined and the couple is inevitably thrown into the world of The Cult.  At all costs Victoria and Colt must protect the chalice and reunite it with its rightful owner.  This is the only way to protect themselves and their destinies.

The Cult is the second book in Maddie James’ series The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under 2000-, 2008, Coast, Hyde, James, Maddie, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Suspense/Thriller.
Comments: none

The Curse is the first book in Maddie James’ series The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice.  The story begins in 1718 with Jack Porter in the mist of a mission to retrieve his wife, recently stolen by the pirate Edward Teach (Blackbeard).  Jack successfully fights off Blackbeard and escapes with his wife, Hannah.  His happiness is short-lived; Hannah dies a few days later in Jack’s arms.

Fast forward 300 years to Claire Winslow enjoying a quite, secluded vacation on Ocracoke Island.  When Claire is visited by a mysterious, intoxicating man this vacation quickly turns into an adventure she never expected.  Claire finds herself inexplicably obsessed with her nightly visitor and begins to question whether he is real or fantasy.  Eventually she realizes that her phantom lover is really her husband from a lifetime past, Jack Porter. Thus Claire and Jack embark on a destiny-altering, time-traveling journey to find a chalice constructed of Blackbeard’s skull.  The chalice is their only way of ending the curse leveled by Blackbeard that threatens to keep them apart for eternity.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under 2000-, 2007, Coast, Historical, Hyde, James, Maddie, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Suspense/Thriller.
Comments: none

Webster (Web) Daniels’ life is a little down in the dumps lately; everything, from his advertising job to his golf game is a bit off. When the newest hire at Hay/Biggs/Pender Advertising, Richards Thomas III, is about to land the huge $20 million account of Ichi-ban Golf, Web finds himself employing the help of a new found ‘friend’ and his special golf balls. Aristotle Mann recently joined Web’s country club as the new golf pro. Aristotle brings with him some unique teaching tools, most of all golf balls that assure the player a par for the course. Once the rivalry between Web and Richards inevitably boils over, everything is left to the outcome of a winner-takes-all game of golf. Web requests the assistance of Aristotle and his magic golf balls to tip the odds in his favor. Of course this type of golf ball does not come at a small price: Web soon learns just how much his win will cost. It seems this time the Devil stopped off in Charlotte on his way down to Georgia.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: July 2nd, 2009 under 2000-, 2008, Humor, Mecklenburg, Piedmont, Thompson, Wille.
Comments: none

The Charlotte and Triangle Coalitions of were-cheetahs do not get along. When the Charlotte group sabotages an amusement park ride, an innocent human woman and her three year-old niece are injured. In order to save the little girl, Triangle-based were-cheetah healer Rio Velasquez bites her and turns her into a shape-shifter.  The aunt, Sinclair, was already fighting for custody of the little girl, but now she finds herself caught in the middle of the were-cheetahs’ war and falling for the hunky Rio.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: June 29th, 2009 under 2000-, 2008, Colette, Marcia, Durham, Piedmont, Romance/Relationship, Science Fiction/Fantasy.
Comments: none

Jacob Crawley, leader of the Divine Path cult in Meridian, North Carolina, was an evil man who tormented six of the group’s children and prophesied that they would each be killed by the thing they feared the most.  Five years later epileptic Allison begins having seizure-induced visions of death and Harold–who was afraid of drowning–is found drowned in a tobacco field, far from any source of water.  Creepy!  The survivors, now teenagers, reunite to try to escape death.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: May 26th, 2009 under 2000-, 2008, Children & Young Adults, Fahy, Thomas, Horror, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places.
Comments: none

Reverend Adam Samuel is using his psychic powers to kill women and, perhaps, to endanger the whole world.  The FBI Special Crimes Unit, under Noah Bishop, tries to put a stop to Father Samuel’s villainy.  Bishop recruits Tessa Gray, an agent from a civilian organization, to pose as a vulnerable young widow who has inherited property next to Samuel’s mountain compound. Tessa has psychic powers, but she is a relatively inexperienced operative. When she arrives at Samuel’s compound, she finds herself surrounded by Samuel’s many fanatical and well-connected followers. Even when she joins forces with the local police chief (who also serves as the novel’s romantic interest), her chances for success look slim.  The back story on Reverend Samuel is horrific, but his crimes are just as troubling to contemplate. This is the second book in a planned trilogy; the first title was set chiefly in Georgia.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: March 8th, 2009 under 2000-, 2009, Hooper, Kay, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Suspense/Thriller.
Comments: none

Kenan’s acclaimed first novel is the story of an African American family in the fictional town of Tims Creek in rural eastern North Carolina. Horace Cross, the sixteen-year-old protagonist of the book, is haunted by what may be actual demons, while at the same time trying to come to terms with his homosexuality. He seeks advice and comfort from his older cousin James, a schoolteacher and preacher, who fears that other family members will have a hard time understanding. This richly written novel is told in several shifting voices and styles.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 1980-1989, 1989, Coastal Plain, Kenan, Randall, Novels Set in Fictional Places.
Comments: none

Lucas Jordan is a successful profiler for the FBI, using his psychic abilities to track down missing people. When a string of grisly murders hit Golden, N.C., a fictional mountain town, Lucas is called to the case. The psychopathic killer keeps Lucas guessing throughout the book, and raises the stakes when he turns his sights on people close to the detective.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2004, Hooper, Kay, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Suspense/Thriller.
Comments: none

Ford Newcombe, a successful mystery writer, has moved to the fictional mountain town of Cole Creek, North Carolina to investigate a series of mysterious deaths. He enlists the help of Jackie Maxwell, whose premonitions prove to be key to the case. As they dig deeper into the stories and myths, Ford and Jackie find that the devil himself may be behind the crimes.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2003, Deveraux, Jude, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none