Deep South Dead

Hunter Jones Mystery #1

by Charlotte Moore

Looking for peace and quiet to write a novel, Hunter Jones left Atlanta for a job at a weekly newspaper in Merchantsville, Georgia, a town so small that everybody knows everybody else's business. She quickly discovers that gossip travels faster than the press can run, and she's a bit of an outsider looking in until she goes to a grand old mansion for an interview with the president of the historical society, only to find that a murderer got there first. Now, if she can only get Sheriff Sam Bailey to take her hunches seriously...

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Suspense, Southern, Fiction

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 17, 2013

Reviews

[R.B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not from the south, nor from the U.S, so there probably were cultural references I missed. Do people there really talk like this?
There was a constant gossipy feel, people who kept talking about everyone or asking about everyone. Usually it's just the protagonist in these kind of stories that draws people to talk, but everyone talks in here and a lot. Scene changes and dialogues are often not clearly defined, so you don't know who is talking or if they're still in the same situation.

Normally when a cozy mystery is written in third person, it still only focus on the protagonist and the people around them. This book not only is in third person but it take turns focusing on different characters, we actually see all the investigation from the sheriff's and his deputy's side.
I found the change of POV annoying, it didn't only deliver personal thoughts about a certain situation but it described whole backgrounds of several characters. The mystery itself felt weak, especially after you got past all those people talking. I skipped quite a bit because after reading halfway through I couldn't stand it anymore, it was either skipping parts or give up.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quirky, fun read. Small town life where everyone knows everyone else and all their history and their business. In the meantime, there is a murder/mystery to solve, with a little romance in there as well. The murder/mystery was quite clever. I loved all the characters. They were very entertaining. Yes, I read the comments previous readers had made about the editing issues; however, it did not detract in anyway from the story. As I stated, it was a fun read.

[Beckie Burnham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who love the South, know that small towns are the best of places to live, or at least be from. Everyone knows everyone else and the welcome is always warm. But in Charlotte Moore’s first book in the Hunter Jones series, Deep South Dead, murder is right next door. Filled with regular, albeit quirky, characters, Moore manages to capture the down home feel while creating a mystery that will have you guessing until the end.

Hunter Jones is a young, big city reporter who moves to the slower-paced Merchantsville, Georgia, to write her novel. She thinks that working for the local weekly will afford her the time to spend pursuing her dream. But not one, but two murders get her investigative juices flowing and she is on the case. Sheriff Sam Bailey, the best looking sheriff in Georgia, begrudgingly accepts her help. They along with other colorful characters add sass and spice to this cozy mystery.

My church book club, Page Turners, had the honor of visiting with Charlotte last night. She shared stories from her days as a small town features writer of the local paper, as well as her venture in writing novels. She also filled us in on the process of publishing in the ebook format. My group loved her book. One member stated that she appreciated that Deep South Dead did not include scared-to-go-to-sleep images while still providing an entertaining mystery. Another member liked that the book was easy to read, providing an escape from the stress of real life. I liked that the characters could be my neighbors, although Charlotte assured us they were not! Deep South Dead was a thoroughly Southern novel — eccentric and colorful characters, small town feel and a definite Southern twang.

Charlotte has written two more books in the series and is at work on book 4. I’m looking forward to reading more in the adventures of Hunter Jones.

(Please note: there is some mild profanity.)

[Kathy Kirkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this story so well that this was my second time reading it! Having read some others in this series just confirms that this is a well written and very believable series. The plot is filled with plenty of intrigue and red herrings to keep you guessing whodunit right up to the very end of the story.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hunter Jones is a reporter at the weekly newspaper in Merchantsville, Georgia. She goes to interview the president of the historical society concerning the saving of the old Conservatory School only to find her dead.

[Barbara Renaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Read

I enjoyed the book a lot but there are a lot of typos, grammar and punctuation errors. There are also sentences that don’t make any sense at all. If you can get past those, it’s a good story.

[bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story pretty good and even the shifting POV works, but it needs polish, because it is a punctuation nightmare.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have been four stars, but the horrid editing stole one. Really, it's a good story and mystery, but if I saw one more backwards quotation mark, I was going to scream.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good storyline, good character development, excellent world building...but horrible editing.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story but had to dock stars for the lack of editing.

[Denise Zendel · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Amazon: “Hunter Jones takes a job at a weekly newspaper in Merchantsville, Georgia, and quickly learns that in small towns gossip travels faster than the press can run. She's a bit of an outsider looking in until she goes to a grand old mansion for an interview with the president of the historical society, only to find that a murderer got there first. Now, if she can only get the best looking sheriff in Georgia, Sam Bailey, to take her hunches seriously.”

I enjoyed this first entry in this series. I have a particular fondness for small town newspaper reporters, having been one back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I thought the parts in the newsroom were a little thin, but at least bore some relation to real life. The mystery part held my interest throughout, and I liked getting to know the characters. I thought the balance of potential romance to mystery and “regular” life was well done. I liked this enough that I bought the second one when I finished the first one.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. Good mystery without being grisly. Very light romance (the focus of the book is on solving the murder, along with the small southern town atmosphere and characters--not on the almost romance) There were some missing words here and there, but they didn't distract me. I would read more of this series.

[Diane Puckett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Liked the mystery, was not a sitting in the edge of your seat but good read just the same. Try it

[Linda Testerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of twists and turns.

This book had me going back and forth thinking it was this person and then that person. It was a great mystery. One of the best!

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fast paced mystery. I enjoyed the read and might even get the next book in the series. I gave it 4 stars, as I felt it rambled sometimes and there were so many characters that felt at times like filer. At the same time I enjoyed how the author tied it all together in the end.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this easy to read little book, and its characters. My only real complaint is the God-awful job of editing in the Kindle version.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good Southern mystery, which reminded me somewhat of Margaret Maron's Deborah Knott series. The story is well-written and well-conceived, and the characters are developed nicely.

The reason I gave this book only three stars is the editing. There are too many instances of missing words, using the wrong tense or using the wrong form of a word. It is very annoying to have to re-read a sentence several times to try to figure out what the author intended to say.

The other proof reading mistake I have noticed, and it occurs in every book in the series, is that a character is called by the wrong name. Several times in the series, a character is called by two last names interchangeably.

I would love to see these books republished after being re-edited by a professional. Despite the irritating mistakes, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historic Preservation in a Mystery?

After starting a historic preservation program at my university over thirty years ago, I thought I would never see a novel centered a fight to preserve a historic neighborhood. Of course I'm on the side of the good guys, and if I lived down there I would join the campaign. I hope they win, but the developers returned to start their petition campaign again, and I am not sure all the petitions they recovered will be released until after the jury trial ends. I hope to find out when I start reading the next book in the series. I am also going to spend some time on Google maps to see what I can discover about the locale.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky small town characters...good mystery...but way too many typo's/dropped words.

[C. Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder mysteries are not my usual genre, but Deep South Dead was an excellent read! The Southern culture is exact. The characters are subtly but very well developed drawing the reader into the story from the start. The pace is steady and gripping. There are hints that seem to lead nowhere until the end and the end is superb. This is a real page turner!

I highly recommend this book.

[Lisa Crowe smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting and funny book. A reminder of what it was like to grow in a very small south Ga town over similar to Merchantsville. Great read Miss Charlotte who grow up in that same small town!!!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lively little book about Middle Georgia. It was fun having familiar places used fictitiously. The story has been e plainer in other reviews so suffice it to say I enjoyed the story. The mystery was good. The romance predictable.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Loved the characters, loved the mystery. felt like I was there in town with them. hoping that the author makes this a series. please, please, please!

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, surprise ending.

[Yvonne Baumann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

This was a good story about not only the town people but the murders as well. keeps you guessing about who did it.

[Sonya Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

A few typos, but I would love to read more with this cast of characters. Really would like to see what happens with Hunter and Sam!

[Fran Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good easy read

I enjoy murder mysteries and this held my interest right to the end. I would recommend this for other people who enjoy mysteries.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good

[Jeanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to get back to this book. I was enjoying it but got sidetracked by arcs. Now I have to remember to track it down on my Kindle.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a really hard time getting into this book.