'When Cicadas Cry' A Gripping Murder Mystery

Debut Novel From Charleston Attorney Caroline Cleveland Is a Definite Page Turner

Jeff Walker,  Entertainment Writer

With a young white man shooting nine innocent black church members in downtown Charleston in 2015, followed by an off the rails white North Charleston police officer killing an African American motorist, racial tensions were flying high in the low country of South Carolina.

Less than two years later, when a young white woman from a prominent Walterboro family is found dead in a predominantly black Baptist church, and the lone suspect is a young local black man, the divide between the races only grows wider, especially in a small town. cleveland1

While the former scenario is fictional, it makes for an incredible read in 'When Cicadas Cry', a gripping debut thriller from Caroline Cleveland. A respected employment lawyer by day and a Walterboro native herself, Cleveland weaves an intriguing crime novel ripe with a half dozen main characters and another half dozen to fill 300 plus pages.

What would possess Sam Jenkins, a likeable 24 year old with an entrepreneurial spirit to bludgeon to death the equally engaging Jessie Gadsden with an altar cross. Covered in blood at the crime scene with visible scratches, and no witnesses, the authorities were certain Jenkins was the killer, even though he placed the 911 call.

Needing a career legal boost, could Charleston attorney Zach Stander be Sam's judicial savior, giving his practice a shot in the arm? Would help from veteran Walterboro lawyer Colleton Burns provide any additional credence to the defense? With legal teams lining up on both sides, many imagined this was an open and shut case. It didn't help that pre-trial motions were becoming a media frenzy.

To stay closer to the case and all those involved, Zach and his fiancee Addie Stone temporarily set up camp in Walterboro, a move that could prove fatal. A steadfast private investigator, Addie was of little use to Zach and Colleton, but found interest in re-opening a 34 year old unsolved double murder on Edisto Island, ruffling a few feathers to several connected to the case.

Surprisingly, could the cold case have any connection to Jessie's murder? Any chance the Edisto killer was still be lurking about? Just how many locals are keeping secrets from 1983 and 2017? And who has the most to lose in this rural South Carolina town?

cleveland2Although Caroline Cleveland doesn't practice defense law, an accredited lawyer for over three decades, she has no doubt experienced enough in her profession, and that along with her creative mind has offered up a clever whodunit with a handful of possible outcomes in 'When Cicadas Cry'. That's a bonus to readers who prefer to be kept in the dark until the very end. My gut instinct is Cleveland will have a flourishing career as a crime novelist.

For more on Caroline Cleveland and 'When Cicadas Cry' visit her website at https://carolineclevelandauthor.com/ or discover the book through Charleston's preferred book store Buxton's Books  https://www.buxtonbooks.com/