When Cicadas Cry - by Caroline Cleveland (Paperback)

About the Book

A young white woman has been bludgeoned to death in a rural church on Cicada Road, just outside the small town of Walterboro, South Carolina--a state that has been roiling with racial tenson since the shooting of an unarmed Black man by a white police officer. Sam Jenkins, who is Black, was found covered in blood and kneeling over her. Zach Stander, a down-and-out lawyer, is convinced to take Sam's case by his detective girlfriend, Addie, while the local solicitor prosecuting the case wields the power of an influential family. And then there's the mysterious cold-case of teen girls murdered on a nearby beach--is there a connection, and will Addie and Zach put the pieces together in time?

Book Synopsis

John Grisham meets Harper Lee 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 tension, 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.

Review Quotes

"This appealing whodunit foreshadows further success in intelligently created and skillfully rendered crime fiction."
- Richmond Times Dispatch--Richmond Times Dispatch

About the Author

Caroline Cleveland is a labor and employment lawyer. A native South Carolinian, Caroline grew up in the Lowcountry and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991. This is her first novel.