Picked by Weezie and Bebe Mysteries fans

Here are 4 books that Weezie and Bebe Mysteries fans have personally recommended once you finish the Weezie and Bebe Mysteries series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of The PMS Outlaws

Wesley Browne Author Of Hillbilly Hustle

From my list on crime books set in contemporary Appalachia.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve practiced criminal law in Appalachian Kentucky as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor—not at the same time—for twenty five years. I can tell what’s genuine from what’s contrived in no time flat. Sometimes I can suspend my disbelief, but usually I can’t, so I lean toward books that get the details and intricacies right. If you’re looking for some modern Appalachian crime tales told by people who know how to a tell a story and know how to get the details of the place right, this list is for you. 

Wesley's book list on crime books set in contemporary Appalachia

Wesley Browne Why Wesley loves this book

I love this one because it’s funny. Every so often, I need something witty and maybe a little offbeat, but with a crime element, and this does the trick.

Elmore Leonard’s Raylan Givens stories set in Kentucky also fit that bill, but Leonard was an outsider writing about a foreign place he researched, and sometimes those seams show. I like McCrumb because she knows the landscape personally.

By Sharyn McCrumb ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The PMS Outlaws as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bestselling author Sharyn McCrumb, internationally acclaimed for the "quiet fire"* of her Appalachian Ballad novels, clearly has a dark side--a wicked, sardonic wit that has prompted critics to compare her to Jane Austen and Jonathan Swift.

Readers and reviewers alike also have lauded Ms. McCrumb for her inspired chronicles of forensic anthropologist Elizabeth MacPherson. In her newest tale in the MacPherson saga, McCrumb examines society's fascination with beauty--and the deceptiveness of outer appearances. Elizabeth herself, hospitalized for depression over her missing husband, learns that insanity liberates one from polite hypocrisy, enabling a "crazy lady" to remark: "Anorexia is not a…


Book cover of Them Bones

Susie Black Author Of Death by Dreidel

From my list on mysteries with ghost characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a humorous cozy mystery author, apparitions as characters are critically important members of my cast. I have introduced two ghosts—the dead wife and young daughter of one of the men in my protagonist’s life as continuing characters in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. They serve as an important yet hysterically funny bridge that connects the main character’s past to her present life and creates an extra layer of conflict in her relationship with the widower and where she wants it to go.  

Susie's book list on mysteries with ghost characters

Susie Black Why Susie loves this book

Unwed, broke, and over thirty, Mississippi native Sarah Booth Delaney may live on the family plantation, but take it from me; she’s no Scarlett O’Hara. And if the not-so-Southern Belle didn’t already have enough to contend with, she’s being haunted by the wise-cracking ghost of her great-great-grandmother’s nanny, who never misses an opportunity to remind her of the mess her life has become.

I burst out laughing when the irreverent ghost scolded Sarah Booth, saying her biological clock was ticking and she better start birthing babies before her eggs got too old and dried up! If you’re like me and love a sassy ghost poking fun at an unladylike sleuth, then this is the book for you.

By Carolyn Haines ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Them Bones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Sarah Booth Delaney, an unconventional Southern belle whose knack for uncovering the truth is about to make her the hottest detective in Zinnia, Mississippi . . . if it doesn't make her the deadest.

No self-respecting lady would allow herself to end up in Sarah Booth’s situation. Unwed, unemployed, and over thirty, she’s flat broke and about to lose the family plantation. Not to mention being haunted by the ghost of her great-great-grandmother’s nanny, who never misses an opportunity to remind her of her sorry state—or to suggest a plan of action, like ransoming her friend’s prize pooch to…


Book cover of Double Whammy

Larissa Reinhart Author Of Portrait of a Dead Guy

From my list on southern humorous mysteries to make you snort.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first editor informed me I was a mystery writer and my first mystery conference categorized me as a Southern humorous mystery writer. I didn’t intend to write Southern humorous mysteries but find the world-view of my characters and the world they live in quite comical and southern (my characters and I live in Georgia). I also abhor crime, so the dead bodies that keep appearing in my stories need to be dealt with lightly. I’m happy to be a Wall Street Journal bestselling and international award-winning author with eighteen books and counting in three series, Cherry Tucker Mysteries, Maizie Albright Star Detectives, and Finley Goodhart Crime Capers. 

Larissa's book list on southern humorous mysteries to make you snort

Larissa Reinhart Why Larissa loves this book

Casinos often bring to mind noirish characters set in stories riddled with vice and violence. The Davis Way Crime Capers are riddled with serpentine plots exploding with quirky characters in hilarious situations. Set in a Biloxi, Mississippi, casino with a smart, edgy heroine hired as a security expert, Davis Way is constantly embroiled in saving the casino, its employees, and her small-town friends and family from more disasters than a tornado in a trailer park. Archer’s distinct voice brings humor to the pages of a byzantine mystery that puts her heroine through the wringer. Likable, smart, and sassy, I thoroughly loved Davis Way from Pine Apple, Alabama. The other characters are engaging and the plot is superbly crafted. Double Whammy is the first book in the series and my favorite.

By Gretchen Archer ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Double Whammy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Funny & wonderful & human. It gets the Stephanie Plum seal of approval." (Janet Evanovich)

Davis Way thinks she's hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex-husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth, and it does not set her free - in fact, it lands her in the pokey. 

Buried under a mistaken identity, her hot streak runs cold until her…


Book cover of Skinny Dip

Eve Gaal Author Of The Happy War

From my list on adventure books that will make you forget reality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a survivor. Whether flaming engines on a plane, a hurricane, or breast cancer, I have made many unusual journeys. The way I see it, I am also a writer, and God keeps giving me material for my adventure novels. Of course, I’m also a reader and could fill this page with more than five recommendations. Hopefully, you’ll want to read one of these awesome books. I guarantee they will make you escape reality.

Eve's book list on adventure books that will make you forget reality

Eve Gaal Why Eve loves this book

I love any book written by Carl Hiaasen for the simple fact that he’s not boring, and of course, his writing, though somewhat politically incorrect, makes me laugh. I can forget about everything when reading one of his books.

In this novel, there’s a twist that the bad guy doesn’t think about when he pushes his wife off a cruise ship. The book is seriously hilarious. If you want to disappear into some Floridian madness, you’ll want to read this book.

By Carl Hiaasen ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Skinny Dip as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Joey Perrone is a woman with a mission. She's just been pushed overboard from a cruise liner by Chaz, her scumbag husband, and survived to tell the tale. But rather than reporting him to the police, she decides to stay dead and - with a little help from her friends and a few of Chaz's enemies - instead of getting mad, she's going to get even.

Filled with a host of endearingly offbeat characters, and a narrative that is hilarious, romantic and thought-provoking by turns, Skinny Dip takes us on a journey through the warped politics of Southern Florida and…