best southern gothic crime novels

Eve Thompson found herself waking up in the bed of S City's most eligible bachelor with his arm around her waist, but she only had her mother's words in her mind. "Make sure nobody finds out you're disguised as your sister," she told her, looking at the fake birthmark drawn with makeup on her remaining daughter's face. "You have to get Mr. Charlie to marry you, everything we have depends on it!" said she. It was a shame, for the man beside him closely resembled the man she'd lost many years ago. Anthony Charlie's favor with women was notoriously hard to gain, but in a drunken stupor, he crawled under the sheets with the woman beside her, enticed by the memory of someone he'd lost long ago that this woman resembled. However, she never had a birthmark. It could never be her. Was their encounter coincidental? What would their hidden past reveal!? Join Eve Thompson on her exciting journey of courtship and political espionage as she steps into the shoes of her twin sister's now-abandoned life and tries to save her family by winning the heart of the mysterious bachelor, Anthony Charlie!

After the nuclear war, the world was controlled by twenty mega-corporations that established a global government. Governed by AI, it judged everything. Gao Xin, who had only wished to live a peaceful life, inexplicably became a scapegoat for the elite and, unable to pay the imprisonment fee, was sentenced to ten years of exile on Crime Prison Island! On this island, there were no laws, no constraints, the only order being the numerous game arenas set up by the officials. The criminals could only participate like racehorses for the entertainment of the elite. Yet, on this prison island filled with Radiation, cyborgs, and many powerful villains, Gao Xin had no strength, no talent, and no background—like a sheep thrown into a crocodile pool, no different from being on death row. How could an ordinary person like him survive under the oppression of the strong, the geniuses, and the wicked? Unless in this world, there was a path, a path that allowed even the weakest to continuously break their shackles.

Luo Fei is a rookie police officer but has a system that can empower him with different abilities of animals including dogs' sense of smell through gene fusion. When helping a lady to find her cat, he smells a stench from the neighboring apartment's balcony. It smells like... the stench of a rotting corpse!

I’m an international, multiple award-winning author with a passion for the voices in my head. As a singer, songwriter, independent filmmaker and improv teacher and performer, my life has always been about creating and sharing what I create with others. Now that my dream to write for a living is a reality, with over a hundred titles in happy publication and no end in sight, I live in beautiful Prince Edward Island, Canada, with my giant cats, pug overlord and overlady and my Gypsy Vanner gelding, Fynn. ***WORLD'S BEST STORY2014*** Her mom's a witch. Her dad's a demon. And she just wants to be ordinary. I batted at the curl of smoke drifting off the tip of my candle and tried not to sneeze. My heavy velvet cloak fell in oppressive, suffocating folds in the closed space of the ceremony chamber, the cowl trapping the annoying bits of puff I missed. I hated the way my eyes burned and teared, an almost constant distraction. Not that I didn't welcome the distraction, to be honest. Anything to take my mind from what went on around me. Being part of a demon raising is way less exciting than it sounds. Sydlynn Hayle's teen life couldn't be more complicated. Trying to please her coven is all a fantasy while the adventure of starting over in a new town and fending off a bully cheerleader who hates her are just the beginning of her troubles. What to do when delicious football hero Brad Peters--boyfriend of her cheer nemesis--shows interest? If only the darkly yummy witch, Quaid Moromond, didn't make it so difficult for her to focus on fitting in with the normal kids despite her paranormal, witchcraft laced home life. Add to that her crazy grandmother's constant escapes driving her family to the brink and Syd's between a rock and a coven site. Forced to take on power she doesn't want to protect a coven who blames her for everything, only she can save her family's magic. If her family's distrust doesn't destroy her first.

In a world where the chosen one has defeated the demon lord and brought peace to the realm, now 500 years have passed since the demon's defeat. Aetheria, the world, appears peaceful, but is it truly so?

The gods exist. The Supernatural is real. But poor foolish Mortals can never pierce through the Truth hidden by the Veil. They say Ignorance is Bliss. But for Adam, such Bliss woven by a lie is worthless. In his opinion, Ignorance may be Bliss but --- Knowledge is power. This was the truest fact; something Adam built his empire around. ---- He wasn’t always this rich. He wasn’t always this powerful. There was a time he too struggled to earn enough for the treatment of his sick and dying mother. But one day, on a Halloween night, his life was forever changed. His eyes were opened to a completely new Reality. The truth that was hidden from the eyes of all normal humans. An entirely different world, rules, and society exist just in front of us. Follow Adam, as he uncovers the Truth about his identity, the power in his blood, and his adventures as he rises to the throne that is rightfully his. To attain his goal, he will not hesitate. He will even become the God of Crime if that is necessary. --------- The story will be moderately slow-paced during the First four volumes as I set Adam in the world and slowly develop the world-building and Adam starts to adapt to the new reality. I know it might not be to the taste of everyone, but I believe it's worth it. We discover the world together with Adam and how he will grow from someone who knew absolutely nothing about the supernatural world to being someone no one can ignore. This will be a long road and I would be happy if you are willing to walk this road with me. ---- (Alternative title: Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin) [ Tags ]: Mature| Grimdark | Gore |Netori | Harem | Milf | Young & Mature | Supernatural |Action | Gang War | Criminal Empire | System | Gigolo | Handsome MC | Weak to Strong MC | Antihero| Neutral good to Lawful Neutral Evil. | Showbiz | Psychic | ****** ) ----- Disclaimer: The cover picture is AI made and is the art for Adam as [Magician] Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HikaruGenji Discord: https://discord.gg/3v2xvhvD6j My other work Son of The Hero King: https://www.webnovel.com/book/son-of-the-hero-king_24153504605334705

Um dia simples se transformou em um mal-entendido que mudou a vida de James Bellini para sempre e o enviou por um caminho trilhado apenas por aqueles que definem a era da máfia. Um caminho cheio de corpos, com sangue pintando as estradas por onde ele pisava... com uma reviravolta... ele está apenas fingindo. Ele estava no lugar errado na hora errada e, do nada, tornou-se o Don da família Bellini, a temida figura do submundo que governa a todos. Uma posição que testa sua sanidade, sua moralidade e o último resquício de humanidade que resta nele... e talvez, apenas talvez, o caminho à frente transformará a atuação, o fingimento, em algo sombrio... algo que o empurrará para o abismo, onde tudo o que ele encontrará é a morte.

Un simple jour s'est transformé en un malentendu qui a changé la vie de Jacques Bellini à jamais et l'a envoyé sur un chemin emprunté uniquement par ceux qui définissent l'ère de la mafia. Un chemin jonché de cadavres, avec du sang peignant les routes où il a marché... avec un rebondissement... il ne fait que semblant. Il était au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment, et de nulle part, il est devenu le Don de la famille Bellini, la figure redoutée du monde souterrain qui règne sur tout le monde. Une position qui met à l'épreuve sa santé mentale, sa moralité, et le dernier lambeau d'humanité qui lui reste... et peut-être, juste peut-être, que le chemin à venir transformera ce jeu d'acteur, cette prétention, en quelque chose de sombre... quelque chose qui le poussera vers l'abîme, où tout ce qu'il trouve est la mort.

A simple day turned into a misunderstanding that changed James Bellini’s life forever and sent him down a path walked only by those who define the era of the mafia. A path filled with bodies, with blood painting the roads where he stepped… with a twist… he is just pretending. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and out of nowhere, he became the Don of the Bellini family, the feared underworld figure who rules over everybody. A position that tests his sanity, his morality, and the last shred of humanity left in him… and maybe, just maybe, the road ahead will turn the acting, the pretending, into something dark… something that will push him to the abyss, where all he finds is death.

Reborn in the United States in 1995, with all the web novels he has read in his head. Let's see how he uses online literature to skew America's bestseller rankings and become a popular cultural master like Stan Lee. In the 20th century, what is the largest IP in Hollywood? It's comics and web novels! Netflix? It's nothing without online literature! Disney's CEO later claims.