Southern Ghost
Authors: Carolyn G. Hart
PRAISE FOR CAROLYN HART’S
SOUTHERN GHOST:
“This month’s class act is Carolyn G. Hart’s
Southern Ghost.
”
—
The Washington Times
“A fine mystery … Cunningly plotted and contains revelations in the first third of the novel so surprising that the momentum could carry the most disinterested reader racing to the end. But
Southern Ghost
is much more than a clever mystery.”
—
Mostly Murder
“There are plenty of spooky trails to follow and no shortage of wit and humour.”
—
The Globe and Mail
, Toronto
“If you like your mysteries suspenseful, with clues strewn everywhere, you’ll love this one.”
—
The Sunday Oklahoman
“A special mystery. Read it and experience a Southern haunting.”
—
Nashville Banner
“A true modern-day Gothic … The Darling duo is as winning as ever, and the book contains a marvelous bonus.”
—
The Sun
, Baltimore
“Carolyn G. Hart’s large following will likely hail this latest Darling caper as—what else?—simply darling.”
—
The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Fascinating.”
—
Orlando Sentinel
“You’d have to be made of stone not to like the Darlings. … Mystery buffs will have fun with the family tree and the maps involved here. Shades of Ellery Queen!”
—
Advocate and Greenwich Time
PRAISE FOR AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR CAROLYN G. HART AND
DEATH ON DEMAND
“Irresistible! Expertly written. Hart drops big names from the mystery world like murderers drop clues, and it’s all great fun. The plotting is classic perfection. Annie and Max are the most endearing new pair of sleuths since Tommy and Tuppence. More, please!”
—Nancy Pickard, author of
I.O.U.
A LITTLE CLASS ON MURDER
“A classy mystery with … more twists than a Low Country river … Hart’s mysteries give us some much-needed entertainment. I’ll look forward to the next one.”
—
Mystery Scene
“Mystery readers will find this series a delight. Hart is on to a good thing.”
—
The Drood Review of Mystery
“Hart has a light touch with her characters, a fresh heroine in Annie, and a delightfully different setting.”
—
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
DEADLY VALENTINE
“Carolyn G. Hart is the new shining star in the mystery galaxy. …
Deadly Valentine
[is a] marvelously plotted mystery.”
—
The Clarion-Ledger
, Jackson, Mississippi
“Ms. Hart is on target once again with
Deadly Valentine.
Annie and Max are … one of the most charming and intelligent teams in fiction.”
—
Mostly Murder
MORE PRAISE FOR CAROLYN HART:
THE CHRISTIE CAPER
“Hart … exuberantly celebrates the centenary of Agatha Christie’s birth with a clever plot and an array of puzzles for readers.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Christie fans should love the trivia that fills this book. This is a great mystery with a terrific twist.”
—
Mystery Books
“Carolyn Hart has constructed a puzzle for mystery buffs, a classic whodunit, and a loving homage to Agatha Christie—and put them into one book. All this and witty dialogue, believable relationships and an unpredictable ending, too.”
—
Mystery News
“Carolyn Hart’s … book … provides a clever, intricately plotted story, as well as a lovely romp through the mystery world.”
—
Mostly Murder
“Agatha Christie devotees will be enchanted with
The Christie Caper
, as will mystery fans who relish a wickedly clever plot sprinkled with gentle wit and beguiling characters. Carolyn G. Hart has written a marvelous tribute to her mentor.”
—Joan Hess, author of
Death by the Light of the Moon
“A sharp and witty examination of what can happen when fans of each type of mystery confront one another …
The Christie Caper
is the best entry yet in Ms. Hart’s pleasurable series; eminently logical and meticulously plotted, it does justice to the Mistress of Mystery herself.”
—
The Sun
, Baltimore
Bantam Books by Carolyn G. Hart
Death on Demand Mysteries
D
EATH ON
D
EMAND
D
ESIGN FOR
M
URDER
S
OMETHING
W
ICKED
H
ONEYMOON WITH
M
URDER
A L
ITTLE
C
LASS ON
M
URDER
D
EADLY
V
ALENTINE
T
HE
C
HRISTIE
C
APER
S
OUTHERN
G
HOST
H
INT
J
ULEP
M
URDER
Henrie O Mysteries
D
EAD
M
AN’S
I
SLAND
S
CANDAL IN
F
AIR
H
AVEN
In love and gratitude to my wonderful agent,
Deborah C. Schneider
Had he lived to be an old man, Ross Tarrant’s face, stripped of every vestige of youth and joy, would have looked much as it did in that last hour: brooding pain-filled eyes deep-sunken, grayish skin stretched taut over prominent cheekbones, finely chiseled lips pressed hard to prevent a telltale tremor.
Slumped wearily in the battered old morris chair, a man’s chair in a man’s retreat, he stared at the pistol, horror flickering in his eyes like firelight against a night sky.
The sound of the motor reached him first, then the crunch of tires against the oyster shells.
The door was locked.
But it was no ultimate defense.
Ross knew that.
As the throb of the engine died and a car door slammed, Ross reached for the gun.
“Ross.” A commanding voice. A voice he knew from childhood, from crisp winter mornings when the men zigzagged across a field and lifted shotguns to fire at the flushed quail.
The gun was heavy. So heavy. Ross willed away the unsteadiness of his hand.
He was Ross Tarrant.
His mouth twisted bitterly.
Perhaps not an officer and a gentleman.
But he was Ross Tarrant, and he would not shirk his duty.
At the first knock on the door, the gun roared.
Sybil Chastain Giacomo would always catch men’s glances and inflame their senses. Especially when the unmistakable light burned in her eyes and she moved sensually, a woman clearly hungering for a man.