Most Popular Books by Sharyn McCrumb

Four brothers gather at their family''s mountain farm to build a coffin for their dying father, Randall Stargill. Once he passes, they face the dilemma of whether to keep or sell the land that has been in their faimily since 1790. Land is more than a place to the people of the southern mountains--land is who they are. For Nora Bonesteel, Appalachian wise woman and a former sweetheart to the father whose death poses a different problem: the small box that she must bury with him. When the Stargills open the box and find the bones of a child, Sheriff Spencer Arrowood becomes involved. And when Nora then refuses to reveal where she got the bones or to who they belonged, the mountain descends into disarray, and a long history of secrets and tensions begins to unravel. In a style both lyrical and gorgeously detailed, with a narrative that flows from Native American lore and the frontier tales of Daniel Boone up to the sharpest and keenly realized landscapes of Appalachia today, The Rosewood Casket is a hauntingly beautiful elegy on the loss of the land, a tragedy repeated many times in the history of Appalachia--Back cover.

The Dale Earnhardt Memorial Pilgrimage is the last trip Judge Bekasu Holifield would have chosen for her vacation. But this year it''s her sister Justine''s turn to make their plans, and soon Bekasu''s boarding a silver cruise bus for a tour of Southern stock car speedways with Justine, their cousin Cayle, and a group of strangers--all of whose lives have somehow been touched by the legendary racer they never met. . . For Shane McKee, the tour is a chance to get married at the speedway with his hero there in spirit. New York stockbroker Terence Palmer has made the trip to honor his only link with the father he never knew. Rev. Bill Knight, whose hobby is medieval pilgrimages, agrees to chaperone a dying child--and finds himself on a strangely familiar journey of faith and devotion. Bekasu begins connecting with her fellow travelers in unexpected ways. But she''s not the only one. As the bus rolls down an uncertain road, prayers will be answered, secrets will be revealed, bonds will be forged, and no one will leave this journey of self-discovery quite the same. "One of McCrumb''s finer achievements." --Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News "A wild ride! Sharyn McCrumb has done it again." --Ward Burton, winner of the Daytona 500

“Sharyn McCrumb transforms mystery into astonishing literature.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer Forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson gets a chance to revel in the rites of the old country at the annual Glencoe Mountain Games, the Scottish festival where several hundred like-minded Americans celebrate their ancestors'' folkways. But the innocent ethnic fair is cursed when the loathed Colin Campbell is found murdered. Then a second murder silences everyone''s bagpipes for good. Enter Elizabeth, who make short work of her search for motive and murderer. “I had a great time at Sharyn McCrumb''s inimitable version of the Highland games.”—Charlotte MacLeod

Literary works honoring the role of women and quilting in history—from Harriet Beecher Stowe, Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Walker, Sharyn McCrumb, and others. This collection of stories, plays, poems, and songs featuring the making of quilts—written from 1845 to the present, mainly by American women—documents women''s literary history. Featuring the work of Bobbie Ann Mason, Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Walker, Sharyn McCrumb, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Marge Piercy, Adrienne Rich, and many others, Quilt Stories is a colorful literary album of stories, poems, and plays that celebrate quilting as a pattern in women''s history. These stories—grouped under the themes of memory, courtship, struggle, mystery, and wisdom—reflect the importance of quilting in the lives of American women, not only as a practical craft and a creative outlet, but also as an integral part of the social community. "The 28 works included in Quilt Stories restore to women a part of their history and their sense of community, an important service in a present time in which quilting has perhaps become a more private and individual art, though it still serves widely as a medium for social exchange and cooperative endeavor." —Appalachian Quarterly "Macheski has pieced together a variety of literary fabrics into a unique design which represents women''s struggle for identity in a masculine world." —Benton, Arkansas Courier "Each writing shares a glimpse of what quilting means to those people who practice the art and how it helps us to see, remember, learn, know and express our feelings." —Quilt World "An innovative approach to writing the history of women." —Northwest Ohio Quarterly

Edgar Award winner Sharyn McCrumb brings you her sixth Elizabeh MacPherson mystery novel. The unsinkable Elizabeth is on tour of England''s most famous murder sites, when Rowan Rover, the group leader, is quietly asked to commit murder. He does, of course, but not without misgivings--not the least of which is having Elizabeth MacPherson, canny observer and all-around murder spoiler, on his tail... "Sharyn McCrunb is definitely a rising star in the New Golden Age of mystery fiction. I look forward to reading her for a long time to come." Elizabeth Peters

A sci-fi convention gets a dose of true crime in this Edgar Award-winning mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of the Ballad novels. When Virginia Tech professor James Owen Mega wrote a fictional account of his real-life research, he hardly expected it to get published. But when a publisher changed the title of his novel to Bimbos of the Death Sun, James—under the pen name Jay Omega—becomes an overnight sci-fi star. Invited to the annual fan convention Rubicon, James is both a fish out of water and a Guest of Honor among the Trekkies and sword-wielding cosplayers. But he''s not the only VIP at the overrun hotel. Revered fantasy author Appin Dungannon never misses a Rubicon—or a chance to belittle his legions of devotees. But when Dungannon turns up dead, police wonder if a die-hard fan finally turned to murder. As the list of suspects grows and hucksters hunt for the victim''s autograph, James devises an ingenious way to catch a killer.

"In an earlier life, McCrumb must have been a balladeer, singing of restless spirits, star-crossed lovers, and the consoling beauty of nature. . . . The overall effect is spellbinding." --The Washington Post Bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb is "a born storyteller" (Mary Higgins Clark) who astonishes readers and reviewers with the power and scope of her talent, prompting the San Diego Union-Tribune to declare: "There is no one quite like her among present-day writers. No one better, either." Foggy Mountain Breakdown, the first-ever collection of Sharyn McCrumb''s short fiction, is a literary quilting of old and new, humorous and heartfelt, offering award-winning works--and two stories never before published, contrasting mountain childhoods past and present. Chilling tales of suspense alternate with evocative character portraits and compelling narratives that embrace the southern Appalachian locales and themes of McCrumb''s acclaimed Ballad Novels. Within this cornucopia of two dozen stories, Old Rattler, a mountain healer, skirmishes with a serial killer . . . Princess Di investigates long-kept secrets within the House of Windsor . . . A reincarnated murder victim seeks delicious revenge . . . And while honeymooning in the bridegroom''s ancestral hilltop homeplace, two newlyweds harbor second thoughts. The author''s perfect-pitch ear for dialogue and ability to illuminate the dark side of human nature merge with her brilliant artistry to make Foggy Mountain Breakdown a virtuoso collection for devotees of Sharyn McCrumb--and for the legion of new readers who will find themselves caught under her spell.

The ghost of a murdered pioneer woman wanders the Appalachian hills, searching for a way home. But others, including a city-bred scholar and an escaped killer, also roam these hills, each undertaking a very personal journey. When their paths cross, a long-hidden mystery is revealed, and with it a secret that will rock the Appalachians to their very core.

Forge Books is proud to present an amazing collection of novellas, compiled by New York Times bestselling author Ed McBain. Transgressions is a quintessential classic of never-before-published tales from today''s very best novelists. Featuring: "Walking Around Money" by Donald E. Westlake: The master of the comic mystery is back with an all-new novella featuring hapless crook John Dortmunder, who gets involved in a crime that supposedly no one will ever know happened. Naturally, when something it too good to be true, it usually is, and Dortmunder is going to get to the bottom of this caper before he''s left holding the bag. "Hostages" by Anne Perry: The bestselling historical mystery author has written a tale of beautiful yet still savage Ireland today. In their eternal struggle for freedom, there is about to be a changing of the guard in the Irish Republican Army. Yet for some, old habits-and honor-still die hard, even at gunpoint. "The Corn Maiden" by Joyce Carol Oates: When a fourteen-year-old girl is abducted in a small New York town, the crime starts a spiral of destruction and despair as only this master of psychological suspense could write it. "Archibald Lawless, Anarchist at Large: Walking the Line" by Walter Mosley: Felix Orlean is a New York City journalism student who needs a job to cover his rent. An ad in the paper leads him to Archibald Lawless, and a descent into a shadow world where no one and nothing is as it first seems. "The Resurrection Man" by Sharyn McCrumb: During America''s first century, doctors used any means necessary to advance their craft-including dissecting corpses. Sharyn McCrumb brings the South of the 1850s to life in this story of a man who is assigned to dig up bodies to help those that are still alive. "Merely Hate" by Ed McBain: When a string of Muslim cabdrivers are killed, and the evidence points to another ethnic group, the detectives of the 87th Precinct must hunt down a killer before the city explodes in violence. "The Things They Left Behind" by Stephen King: In the wake of the worst disaster on American soil, one man is coming to terms with the aftermath of the Twin Towers--when he begins finding the things they left behind. "The Ransome Women" by John Farris: A young and beautiful starving artist is looking to catch a break when her idol, the reclusive portraitist John Ransome offers her a lucrative year-long modeling contract. But how long will her excitement last when she discovers the fate shared by all Ransome''s past subjects? "Forever" by Jeffery Deaver: Talbot Simms is an unusual cop-he''s a statistician with the Westbrook County Sheriff Department. When two wealthy couples in the county commit suicide one right after the other, he thinks that it isn''t suicide-it''s murder, and he''s going to find how who was behind it, and how the did it. "Keller''s Adjustment" by Lawrence Block: Everyone''s favorite hit man is back in MWA Grand Master Lawrence Block''s novella, where the philosophical Keller deals out philosophy and murder on a meandering road trip from one end of the America to the other. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Literary Tour de Force: Murder, Media Frenzy, and Mountain Magic in Depression-Era Virginia "Ms. McCrumb writes with quiet fire and maybe a little mountain magic. . . . She plucks the mysteries from people''s lives and works these dark narrative threads into Appalachian legends older than the hills. Like every true storyteller, she has the Sight."—The New York Times Book Review In 1935, a beautiful young schoolteacher is accused of murdering her coal-miner father in a Virginia mountain community. National journalists descend on Wise County, intent upon exonerating the defendant and stereotyping the mountain community to satisfy their Depression-era readers. But local cub reporter Carl Jennings writes what he sees: an ordinary town and a defendant who is probably guilty. The Devil Amongst the Lawyers resonates with the present: an economic depression, a deadly Japanese earthquake, the rise of political fanatics, and a media culture turning news stories into soap operas for the masses. This literary mystery continues the Ballard saga by examining social issues that go well beyond the fate of one defendant. It is a testament to Sharyn McCrumb''s lyrical and poetic writing about the mountain South.

New York Times bestsellers Sharyn McCrumb, Joyce Carol Oates, and Anne Perry each provided a brand-new, never-before-published tale for this unique collection of stories edited by New York Times bestselling author and mystery legend Ed McBain. "The Resurrection Man" by Sharyn McCrumb: During America''s first century, doctors used any means necessary to advance their craft—including dissecting corpses. Sharyn McCrumb brings the South of the 1850s to life in this story of a man who is assigned to dig up bodies to help those that are still alive. "The Corn Maiden" by Joyce Carol Oates: When a twelve-year-old girl is abducted in a small New York town, the crime starts a spiral of destruction and despair as only this master of psychological suspense could write it. "Hostages" by Anne Perry: The bestselling historical mystery author has written a tale of beautiful yet still savage Ireland today. In their eternal struggle for freedom, there is about to be a changing of the guard in the Irish Republican Army. Yet for some, old habits—and honor—still die hard, even at gunpoint.

The New York Times Bestseller Set in the Appalachian wilderness and blending legends and folklore with high suspense, this stellar novel, The Ballad of Frankie Silver, is considered one of McCrumb''s crowning achievements. In 1833 Frankie Silver was an eighteen-year-old girl convicted of murder in Burke County, North Carolina. Through a detailed investigation, the local sheriff, and soon all the townsfolk, discover reason to question her guilt---but the wheels of justice were mercilessly unstoppable, and she was hanged. Now, more than a century later, another woman is convicted of murder in the lush hills of Tennessee. Her life is in the hands of Spencer Arrowood, a man who begins to discover that the convictions of these two women have deep and haunting parallels. Although Frankie''s fate cannot be changed, there is still time to alter the fate of another innocent woman. In a voice that could only be Sharyn McCrumb''s, the worlds of these two murders, these two women, intersect in this densely plotted and lyrical novel—and characters, generations, and history are breathlessly painted against an Appalachian canvas.

When forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson becomes the official P.I. for her brother Bill''s fledgling Virginia law firm, she quickly takes on two complex cases. Eleanor Royden, a perfect lawyer''s wife for twenty years, has shot her ex-husband and his wife in cold blood. And Donna Jean Morgan is implicated in the death of her Bible-thumping bigamist husband. Bill''s feminist firebrand partner, A. P. Hill, does her damnedest for Eleanor, an abused wife in denial, and Bill gallantly defends Donna Jean. Meanwhile, Elizabeth''s forensic expertise, including her special knowledge of poisons, gives her the most challenging case of her career. . . .

From the New York Times bestselling author of Prayers the Devil Answers and The Ballad of Tom Dooley, a “fascinating historical fiction novel you won’t be able to put down” (Bustle) based on one of the strangest murder trials in American history—the case of the Greenbrier Ghost. Lakin, West Virginia, 1930: Following a suicide attempt and consigned to a segregated insane asylum, attorney James P.D. Gardner finds himself under the care of Dr. James Boozer. Testing a new talking cure for insanity, Boozer encourages his elderly patient to share his experiences as the first black attorney to practice law in 19th-century West Virginia. His memorable case: defending a white man on trial for the murder of his young bride—a case that the prosecution based on the testimony of a ghost. Greenbrier, West Virginia, 1897: Beautiful, willful Zona Heaster has always lived in the mountains. Despite her mother’s misgivings, Zona marries the handsome Erasmus Trout Shue, Greenbrier’s newest resident and blacksmith. Her mother learns of her daughter’s death weeks later. A month after the funeral, Zona’s mother makes a chilling claim to the county prosecutor: her daughter was murdered, and she was told this by none other than Zona’s ghost... With her unique and “real knack for crafting full-bodied characters and using folklore to construct compelling plots” (Booklist), Sharyn McCrumb effortlessly demonstrates her place among the finest Southern writers at work today.

The book that started it all for Edgar Award winner Sharyn McCrumb''s widely acclaimed series featuring amateur sleuth Elizabeth MacPherson. When delicate Eileen Chandler is set to marry, her family fears the man is a fortune hunter. Thank goodness, Eileen''s cousin Elizabeth MacPherson comes early for support. Unfortunately, Elizabeth also has some detecting to do, as a dead body is found, and none of the wedding party is above suspicion.... "A good deal of suspense...McCrumb writes with a sharp-pointed pen." LOS ANGELES TIMES

Elizabeth MacPherson returns from England just in time to become involved in a case involving stolen Confederate gold.

In Depression-era Appalachia, a desperate sheriff’s widow takes on her late husband’s job and discovers that a prayer the devil answers comes at a terrible price. The year is 1936 and society provides no safety net for newly widowed Ellie Robbins, a woman in a small mountain town who suddenly has to support her family on her own. She’s not trained to be a teacher or a nurse, the only respectable careers for a woman. So in order to care for her children, Ellie takes the only job available: that of her late husband, the sheriff. Ellie has long proven that she can handle herself, and her role as sheriff is largely symbolic. Yet the wariness of her male subordinates and the townspeople is palpable. Soon, as dark secrets come to light, Ellie is forced to grapple with the tenuous ties she shares with a convicted killer and the small-town superstitions that have plagued her for years. When a condemned killer is sentenced to death for his crime, her opportunity to do so presents itself in a way she never expected. There’s one task that only a sheriff can carry out: the execution of a convicted prisoner. Atmospheric and suspenseful, Prayers the Devil Answers is rich with the same masterful attention to historical detail and captivating folklore that you cherished in McCrumb’s renowned Ballad novels. Her luscious writing brings her unforgettable characters to life with the “pure poetry” (The New York Times Book Review) that defines her astounding novels. Prayers the Devil Answers is a mesmerizing depiction of one woman’s tenacity and strength in even the most harrowing of circumstances.

A vibrant new edition of a classic McCrumb -- published the same season as her new hardcover, The Ballad of Frankie SilverMcCrumb draws you close, makes you care, leaves you with the sense, sought for in most fiction, that what has gone on has been not invention but experience recaptured. -- Los Angeles TimesA masterful tale of suspense ... This fine novel is the product of a gifted and accomplished writer. -- Steven Womack Nashville Banner