Patricia Sprinkle

At a prestigious school for diplomats, some lessons are learned the hard way.The body of beautiful young bad girl Melanie Forbes--who delighted in making others the butt of her cruel jokes--is found wrapped in an Oriental rug in an unused basement storeroom of Chicago's elite school of diplomacy, the Markham institute.Sheila Travis, new administrative assistant to the president, has years of diplomatic experience behind her. Though unfamiliar with the protocol for dealing with a murder in one's new workplace, her nose for crime pulls Sheila--and her eccentric Aunt Mary--into the investigation.Another murder follows and Melanie's ex-boyfriend is charged with both crimes. But Sheila thinks the police might have nabbed the wrong man. She's convinced of it when the killer comes after her.

"Patricia Sprinkle is a modern master of the classic cozy mystery."--Nancy Pickard State bridge champ, Edie Whelan, may win card games, but the hand that life deals her isn't quiet as rosy. But she has her job at the library and her beautiful thousand-acre pecan grove-a stressful life, but an acceptable one. But then the pecan grove's foreman suddenly dies...and then Edie goes too-and not from natural causes. Now, county magistrate Mac Yarbrough is on the case to prove the foreman's son innocent of murder, and figure out who's got a card up their sleeve... "This series is a winner." --Tamar Myers "As Southern as Sunday fried chicken and sweet tea... Come for one visit and you'll always return." --Carolyn Hart "Sprinkle has a gift for developing a full, rich world."-Publisher's Weekly "Sprinkle entertains and enchants her readers. Her characters are so real you'll find yourself believing you grew up with them." -Christian Retailing "Sprinkle has a real eye for regional culture and traditions. . . . She tackles weighty subject matter with a steady hand and a reassuring touch."-Atlanta Journal Constitution "Sprinkle's characters are fantastic, her Southern settings shine, and her stories always mesmerize."-Roundtable Reviews

"Old family histories and...secrets, combined with smooth, suspenseful writing, make this a new series a reading pleasure " -Margaret Maron Katharine Murray is a typical Atlanta housewife, but she's far from ordinary. She's found a fascinating distraction from her empty nest in researching family history and genealogy. And it seems that she can put her genealogy-sleuth skills to work, helping her friend Dr. Flo Gadney, a retired professor, track down her own family tree. Their search takes them to an old graveyard on an island off the coast of Georgia-just as greedy local patriarch Burch Bayard is about to start building sparkly new McMansions all over the island-including the gravesite-a property scheme that would literally bury any local history. But as they hunt for clues to Flo's past, the two friends soon realize that the islanders are trying to keep Flo's connection to Bayard Island dead and buried along with her ancestors The mysterious murder of a combative local confirms their suspicions, forcing the women to embark on a dangerous chase to unravel the truth. Together, Katherine and Flo will dig up more than Georgia dirt, unearthing secrets to the island's history that could make the whole town crumble.

Long ago, the cozy southern town of Hopemore, Georgia fell on dark times after the murder of a little girl shook its easygoing citizens, sending one man to prison and changing the lives of two young boys forever. Years later, residents all settled back into their routines, the suicide of one of the town's most beloved teachers, Dwanye Evans, brings Hopemore's dark past back into the present. Southern lady, county magistrate and co-owner of the local nursery, MacLaren Yarbrough knows how to keep busy-and that's not even counting her rather large extended family-but now she's ready to add amateur sleuth to the list. It's not that she doubts the reasons the police give for Mr. Evans' suicide; she just can't help but wonder if someone drove him to it...In this sleepy Southern town where 'crime, ' is usually no harsher than a speeding ticket, McClaren may need to seek out the criminal herself if she plans to discoverthe hidden truth... "This series is a winner." -Tamar Myers "As Southern as Sunday fried chicken and sweet tea... Come for one visit and you'll always return." -Carolyn Hart

Sixty-something-year-old MacLaren Yarbrough has celebrated enough birthdays in her lifetime to think she's seen it all. But this year, at a birthday gala hosted in honor of her husband Joe Riddley, a mysterious murder is about to shake up the party. With a man lying dead in her house with a bullet in his head, MacLaren must track down the killer and clear her family name before the authorities wrap up their own investigation-all the while managing Yarbrough's Feed, Seed, and Nursery, tackling her newfound duties as the town magistrate, and caring for a spouse suffering from severe brain trauma. In a race against the clock, MacLaren must use her sweet-talk sleuthing to unravel the secrets of Hopemore, Georgia, because in a town with no strangers, a homicide is the strangest it gets. "Sprinkle has a gift for developing a full, rich world." -Publisher's Weekly "Sprinkle entertains and enchants her readers. Her characters are so real you'll find yourself believing you grew up with them." -Christian Retailing "Sprinkle has a real eye for regional culture and traditions. . . . She tackles weighty subject matter with a steady hand and a reassuring touch." -Atlanta Journal Constitution "Sprinkle's characters are fantastic, her Southern settings shine, and her stories always mesmerize." -Roundtable Reviews

Strike one is waking up to find a buffalo munching on her rose bushes. Strike two is walking outside to confront the beast, only to find out that it is owned is a past lover, Burlin Bullock, a man she never thought she' d see again. Strike three is the dead body that turns up shortly thereafter... When MacLaren's old college boyfriend comes to town on the heels of his son' s political campaign, Mac is ready to scram out of Hopemore faster than the family's gubernatorial buffalo mascot. But when a homeless Bullock campaign supporter winds up dead in this small southern town, MacLaren and her ex-boyfriend are suddenly thrust onto center stage together, and for all the wrong reasons. With the campaign trail gaining heat and Burlin Bullock's presence kicking up long-settled memories from her past, Mac must solve her way out of a scandal that threatens not only her marriage, but also her life... "Patricia Sprinkle takes the reader on a trip to the 'real' South, the South of family traditions, community customs, church-going, and craft, down-home politics. Reading it is like spending an afternoon in the porch swing on Aunt Dixie' s veranda. Fun and family values triumph in a delightful book."- JoAnna Carl, author of The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up "Sprinkle has a gift for developing a full, rich world." -Publisher's Weekly "Sprinkle entertains and enchants her readers. Her characters are so real you' ll find yourself believing you grew up with them." -Christian Retailing "Sprinkle has a real eye for regional culture and traditions. . . . She tackles weighty subject matter with a steady hand and a reassuring touch."-Atlanta Journal Constitution

MacLaren Yarbrough, county magistrate, business owner, wife, mother, and amateur sleuth is surprised when she finds an invitation to the elite Magnolia Ladies' Investment Club addressed to her. She is even more surprised when at her first meeting club president, Willena Kenan, is found brutally murdered on the bathroom floor during a coffee break. With everyone out of the room at the time, every club member is under suspicion, especially when police find a mysterious trench coat full of incriminating evidence. MacLaren will put her sleuthing to the test in this cozy southern mystery. "Patricia Sprinkle is a modern master of the classic cozy mystery."--Nancy Pickard "As Southern as Sunday fried chicken and sweet tea... Come for one visit and you'll always return."-Carolyn Hart "Sprinkle has a gift for developing a full, rich world." -Publisher's Weekly "Sprinkle entertains and enchants her readers. Her characters are so real you'll find yourself believing you grew up with them." -Christian Retailing "Sprinkle has a real eye for regional culture and traditions. . . . She tackles weighty subject matter with a steady hand and a reassuring touch."-Atlanta Journal Constitution "Sprinkle's characters are fantastic, her Southern settings shine, and her stories always mesmerize."-Roundtable Reviews

A contemporary novel of sisterhood, the South, and matters of the heart. Teensie MacAllester's two elder sisters consider her an insignificant appendage to their illustrious family. For fifteen years they have been delighted to let her care for their ailing relatives. After all, Teensie is both a nurse and a Friday's child, naturally loving and giving. As Teensie deferred her life, a dream sustained her: autocratic King MacAllester promised her the bulk of his estate. But when King's will is read it divides his property equally among his daughters. Teensie's share is scarcely enough to make a new start. Her sisters have a solution: Teensie can continue to serve as the family care-giver. But Teensie is determined to claim a life of her own. Throwing off the yoke of family expectations, Teensie sets in motion some surprising changes.

From a veteran writer new to the Accent list, a novel about four women who find strength and insight in each other. Mamie is facing an overwhelming secret. Margaret has lost her home. Billie can no longer care alone for her disabled daughter. And Maria is living with an untenable choice. When these four women come together to live on a drought-stricken Georgia farm, they must open their hearts, and share their burdens, before they can find the bounty that lies hidden in tough times, and once again see the glorious pattern of meaning in their lives.

Murder Strikes Deep in the Heart of Dixie A "do" in Jacksonville, Florida--among the right people--is a party where the bourbon flows, tuxes are required, and certain activities, like dropping dead, just aren't done. Unfortunately, at elegant Daphne L'Arken's do, someone commits the greatest social gaffe of all: murder. The police call it an accident, but Atlanta's premier amateur sleuth, Sheila Travis, feels certain that only homicide could have caused Daphne, the perfect hostess, to be so outr as to die at her own party. Sheila came to Florida with Crispin Montgomery to meet his blue-blooded family. Now she suspects one of them might be a cold-blooded killer. But who would want the svelte wife of a prominent doctor dead? His discarded first wife? The disgruntled stepson? The mysterious old friend? Or the shadowy figure who has crashed the party? When another body turns up in the St. Johns River, Sheila finds herself knee-deep in hot water and face-to-face with the icy possibility of being the next victim.

Katharine Murray's elegant Atlanta home has been viciously vandalized She's prepared to devote all her time to getting it back in tip-top shape--until she meets Bara Weidenauer. Once a picture-perfect socialite, Bara has fallen on some hard times. Her husband, Foley, has hightailed it out of their marriage, and she's convinced he'll try to take her for every penny she's got. While scouring her house for anything of value to hide from her greedy ex, Bara finds a box of military medals that once belonged to her father, a beloved war hero. Eager to know the story behind these precious trinkets, she enlists Katharine's help.But as Katharine digs deeper into Weidenauer family history, she discovers that everything Bara believed about her father may have been a lie. And when Foley is found shot to death, Bara's world turns to complete chaos. It's up to Katharine to expose this family's secrets from the past and the present . . . or the future will be very grim indeed.

Summer in Job's Corner meant big trees, cool grass, and sweltering afternoons stretching endlessly under the Southern sun. Those were the days without plastic, microwaves, television, or air conditioning, a time when clocks ticked comfortingly in the night and a cool breeze was a gift. But as the long sultry summer of 1949 comes to an end, events will transform this sleepy Southern crossroads. After losing her mother to polio, eleven-year-old Carley Marshall comes to Job's Corner to make a new start, along with her Aunt Kate and Uncle Stephen Whitfield and her cousins Abby and John. The family is welcomed warmly by this small North Carolina community as Stephen takes up the post of pastor to Bethel Church, a Presbyterian congregation. But their welcome begins to wear thin and covert criticism runs rampant as Stephen challenges age-old beliefs and traditions. As Job's Corner confronts national struggles for civil rights, coal strikes, and hysteria over Communism, Stephen's voice of reason gets lost in the growing hostility of a vocal minority. Though this quintessential Southern community seems to be filled with people who are the salt of the earth, secrets and lies are hidden beneath the easy-going surface-and the truth must be revealed before an innocent man is convicted of murder. With the dawning of a new decade, Carley learns to face her own family secrets. And discovers that we all must make the journey to truth alone. "The story lures readers along as the pieces fall into place. The characters are steeped in reality, drawn convincingly and full of the surprises inherent in ordinary people. The story should provoke some interesting discussion about situations that are as real today as they were then." --School Library Journal "Readers will enjoy Sprinkle's memorable cast of characters and unexpected plot twists, and be challenged by her message of racial equality." --Publishers Weekly

The exciting sequel to THE REMEMBER BOX. Poised at the edge of a mystifying adult world, twelve-year-old Carley grapples with complexities she doesn't understand. Why the prickly tension between the beautiful divorcee, Maddie Raeburn, and the school principal, Jerry Donaldson? What lies behind the sudden and disturbing change in behavior of Grace, Uncle Stephen and Aunt Kate's maid? How did Emily, Maddie's sister-in-law, acquire her broken jaw and bruised face? As the web of circumstances, relationships, and faith that surrounds her grows increasingly intricate, Carley makes a shocking discovery at the gully on the town's outskirts, and a longstanding mystery suddenly becomes something much more sinister. One very ugly skeleton has popped out of someone's closet. But whose? The futures of innocent people hand in the balance as Job's Corner digs to get at the root of its deepest, darkest secret of all. "Sprinkle is adept at crafting memorable settings that feel historically authentic ... the writing is superb ... there's plenty of redemption and hope laced throughout ..." --Publishers Weekly

With grown-up kids and a husband always on the road, Katharine Murray's nest would be empty if it weren't for her Aunt Lucy--until the elderly woman dies. Now Katharine's saddled with her Aunt's worldly belongings--mostly knickknacks destined for the dumpster. But there's a priceless Celtic necklace among the dross--and a diary written in German, neither of which Katharine's ever seen before.Determined to find out where these objects came from, Katharine unwittingly discovers a branch of her family tree she never knew existed--namely Aunt Lucy's brother Carter, murdered more than fifty years ago after a mysterious trip to Austria. And when Lucy's artifacts are stolen, and the main suspect turns up dead, Katharine realizes she must solve a burglary and two unsolved homicides separated by a half-century . . . before more than her family secrets end up dead and buried.