Stories that take place in the South (of the United States – not France!) have always lingered on bookshelves like Spanish moss (neither moss nor Spanish, it turns out) on an oak tree. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, arguably the top huntin’ dog of southern crime fiction, set the tone and every so often the South has a literary moment that like Atlanta rises from the ashes to reclaim its place on best seller lists.
In 1994, the seductive and chilling non-fiction book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” by John Berendt captured readers imaginations and sent tourists flocking to Savannah, Georgia to suffer through the oppressive humidity and snack on pralines and cheese straws for a chance to experience some of the southern charm they had encountered in its pages.
2018’s “Where the Crawdads Sing” sold eighteen million copies, spawned a movie, and had readers dreaming of a life in the swamps of North Carolina. Never mind the alligators and mosquitos.
Now the South is having another moment. This one, however, didn’t come from a book. It came from a television show. Season Three of HBO’s “The White Lotus” with its drawling, Duke alumni, North Carolinian Ratliff Family, reignited interest in the South. Like some kind of autopsy of alien bodies found in Peru, the dissection of the Ratliff’s and their other-worldly ways, has people looking below the Mason-Dixon line to find the fun they may have been missing out on.
SOME REQUIREMENTS FOR A SOUTHERN BOOK
What elements make a southern book, well, southern? Location, of course, is at the top of the list. Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia (the state, as they say, that looks down on all the others). Some would also include Florida. And, okay, some people, mostly Missourians, argue for Missouri. It’s probably the whole Mark Twain thing. Maybe everyone just wants to be a southerner these days.
In addition to the proper location, southern books also often explore issues of racism and poverty. The region’s long and complicated history with both provide endless inspiration. On a lighter note, novels often also include one or more of the following elements: Sweet Tea, Mint Juleps, barbeque, biscuits, Chick-fil-A (you’re welcome America), grits, college football (as they say in the south – it’s not a sport, it’s a religion), and someone saying “bless your heart” or “y’all” at least once.
After you’ve watched “White Lotus” and hit the drive thru at Chick-fil-A, pour yourself a cool glass of sweet tea, and sit under a ceiling fan on your screened porch (or in your Manhattan apartment – it’s sure to be hot and humid there, too) as you read one of these recent or upcoming novels that take place in the southland.
Emily Carpenter – Gothictown
Welcome to gentle Juliana, where you can have it all…if you pay the price.
From the publisher: When Covid kills her restaurant in New York, Billie Hope and her family take the north Georgia town of Juliana up on its offer of a house for $100. Ultimately, however, you get what you pay for and in this case it’s mystery and murder in an idyllic small town that’s not what it seems.
It’s a southern Gothic thriller that had me checking the map to see if the picturesque, creepy Juliana really exists. (It doesn’t. Mercifully. But I had to check twice.)
Sara Koffi – While We Were Burning
Parasite meets Such a Fun Age in a scorching debut that is as heartbreaking as it is thrilling, examining the intersection of race, class, and female friendship, and the devastating consequences of everyday actions.
From the publisher: After her best friend’s mysterious death, Elizabeth Smith’s picture-perfect life in the Memphis suburbs has spiraled out of control—so much so that she hires a personal assistant to keep her on track. Composed and elegant, Brianna is exactly who she needs and slides so neatly into Elizabeth’s life, almost like she belonged there from the start. Soon, the assistant Elizabeth hired to distract her from her obsession with her friend’s death is the same person working with her to uncover the truth behind it.
Memphis is a classic Southern city that doesn’t get explored nearly enough in literature. There’s more to it than Elvis, and Koffi’s debut novel offers us a welcome glimpse.
Caroline Cleveland – When Cicadas Cry
John Grisham meets Harper Lee in this stunning debut by a South Carolina attorney. Zach Stander, a lawyer with a past, and Addie Stone, his indomitable detective and lover, find themselves entangled in secrets, lies, and murder in a small Southern town.
From the publisher: A white woman has been bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tenson, this is not only a murder case, but a powder keg.
Oak trees filled with Spanish moss? Check. (One’s even on the cover.) Fun southern nicknames? Check. (There’s a guy called Gator! What more could you want?) This novel captures the current, modern South Carolina but stays true to the state’s swampy roots.
S.A. COSBY – King of Ashes
A son returning home.
A dangerous debt.
Secrets about to ignite . . . and a family consumed by flames.
From the publisher: Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family’s crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident. When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals.
And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything.
The king of Southern Noir checks off both Georgia and Virginia for his #1 Best Selling Crime Thriller inspired by The Godfather.
Karin Slaughter – We Are All Guilty Here
Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.
From the publisher: When two teenage girls vanish, a town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home. But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did. Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?
The New York Times best-selling author of the Will Trent series returns to Georgia, this time to the fictional small town of North Falls.
John Grisham – The Widow
(October 21, 2025)
#1 New York Times bestselling author John Grisham is the acclaimed master of the legal thriller. Now, he’s back with his first-ever whodunit, even more suspenseful than his courtroom dramas, as a small-time lawyer accused of murder races to find the real killer to clear his name.
From the Publisher: Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it. Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.
Grisham’s southern credentials are impeccable. Born in Arkansas, schooled in Mississippi (where he was even a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives), he now resides in Charlottesville. His crime credentials are legion. Now a whodunit? Well, that makes me happy as a clam at high tide.
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