I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When Cicadas Cry
by Caroline Cleveland
Published by Union Square & Co. on May 7, 2024
Setting: South Carolina
Genres: Crime Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: Audible Audiobook, Audio CD, Kindle, Paperback
Source: the Publisher
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Nook
In this stunning debut by a South Carolina attorney, Zach Stander, a lawyer with a past, and Addie Stone, his indomitable detective and lover, find themselves entangled in secrets, lies, and murder in a small Southern town.
A high-profile murder case— A white woman has been bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tenson, this is not only a murder case, but a powder keg.
A haunting cold case— Two young women are murdered on quiet Edisto Beach, an hour southeast of Walterboro, and the killer disappears without a trace. Thirty-four years later the mystery remains unsolved. Could there be a connection to Stander's case?
A killer who's watching— Stander takes on Jenkins's defense, but he's up against a formidable solicitor with powerful allies. Worse, his client is hiding a bombshell secret. When Addie Stone reopens the cold case, she discovers more long-buried secrets in this small town. Would someone kill again to keep them?
Ideal for fans of mystery, suspense, and thrillers in the vein of Karin Slaughter's Pretty Girls and Stacy Willingham's A Flicker in the Dark, as well as for readers who followed the high-profile Murdaugh murder trial, held in the same small town as in When Cicadas Cry.
When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland is a masterpiece with a shocking plot twist.
Will Addie find the murderer and find happiness, or will she lose her life and dreams?
Some may think of Zach Stander as the main character, but I felt that Addie Stone was better suited as she is the investigator. Addie is also the one who connects the dots. But let’s not get ahead of the story.
Zach, with the help of Colleton, is trying to prove that Sam Jenkins didn’t kill Jessica Gadsden. At first, Addie helps out, but then it becomes apparent that she is in their way. So, Addie pulls some favors and goes to the local law enforcement to work on a cold case or two to keep her mind busy. She picks a 30-year-old double murder of two high school girls one summer night at the beach.
This is the first book I read by Ms. Cleveland. I truly enjoyed her writing style. She kept me guessing. I wrongly guessed whodunit. Actually, it completely caught me off guard. The way she transports me to the setting and keeps everything moving is marvelous. She adds the perfect amount of suspense.
My second favorite character was Colleton. He is funny. My favorite scene is him and his duck shoes with the suit and tie. I can totally see it. He is also a bit eccentric. Eli Jenkins is also among the top three. I think his loyalty to his grandson is fantastic. Eli is another of Ms. Cleveland’s incredible characters.
Five Stars
My rating for When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland is five stars. I highly recommend it to all crime thriller readers.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland.
Until the next time,
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About Caroline Cleveland
Caroline Cleveland credits growing up in the rural South and its quieter way of life for her lifelong passion for books and storytelling. As an adolescent, she devoured classics like Old Yeller and The Yearling, discovered Agatha Christie and Steven King in her teenage years, and, later, was mesmerized reading thrillers by authors including John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Karin Slaughter and Mary Kubica.
Her dedication to the written word led her to law school at the University of South Carolina, where she earned her degree in 1991. She is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in labor and employment law and is the senior partner at Cleveland & Conley, LLC, the firm she founded. Caroline’s practice for thirty years has been dedicated exclusively to employment law with an emphasis on public sector employers, including law enforcement and local governments. Many of her clients she has represented for more than two decades. Those years together forged a trust and turned those clients into friends who shared their personal insights, opening her mind—and her writing—to different ways of looking at the world.
Caroline draws on her rich and varied life experience working in the law for her writing. She elaborates, “Law school students are warned the first day that the law is a jealous mistress, and there is a reason for that. But I have always made time to read for pleasure. Eventually, it dawned on me that I, too, have entertaining and powerful stories to tell. As a writer, I gravitate toward mystery and suspense, as I cannot resist a character who has a dark secret or is wrestling with inner demons. I have lived in the South all my life, so my stories inevitably come from a Southern perspective, featuring deceptively peaceful small towns and strong, complex characters who rely on their Southern sense of values.”
Her debut novel, WHEN CICADAS CRY, about a high-profile murder case in a small South Carolina town rife with racial tension, will be published by Union Square & Co. on May 7, 2024.
Caroline Cleveland lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, David.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- Jenz 2024 Cloak and Dagger
- Jenz 2024 Goodreads RC
- Jenz 2024 Medical Examiner Mystery RC
- Jenz 2024 Mystery Marathon
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