A roundup of releases by local authors, perfect for the beach or your favorite book nook
Ahead of Her Time: The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head
by Nancy Thode (Evening Post Books, March 2025)
Lovers of Southern literature will want to read this biography by Ashley Hall graduate Nancy Thode on the fascinating life of her mother, Ann Head. The Beaufort author and creative writing teacher is remembered for “challenging societal norms and amplifying women’s struggles” and for mentoring a young Pat Conroy. In the introduction, Thode says of her mother, who died at 52 in 1968, “While adept at delving into the hearts and minds of her characters, she kept her own secrets close, both baffling and intriguing those who knew her.” Through research and transcriptions of her mother’s journals, Thode provides insight into her life and works of fiction—and how the two intertwined. Don’t skip the appendix, which includes Head’s writings, as well as never-before-published letters from Conroy.
Bright Little Girls
by Lorna Hollifield (Black Rose Writing, March 2025)
Summerville author and editor Lorna Hollifield delivers an intriguing Southern thriller that hooks readers from the outset and keeps them guessing through a series of startling plot twists. A mysterious narrator follows (or maybe stalks) 27-year-old Elaine Pangolin, an aspiring writer with obsessive-compulsive disorder, as she struggles to confront her connection to a brutal crime. She’s pulled in conflicting directions by intense feelings of guilt, obsession, and lust. Learning to accept her true self may be the only thing that can save her.
Into the Gray Zone
by Brad Taylor (HarperCollins, April 2025)
Veteran Special Forces operator Pike Logan uncovers a geopolitical scheme that has spiraled out of control in India in this latest pulse-pounding, military thriller from retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Brad Taylor, a New York Times best-selling author and Mount Pleasant resident. Since publishing his debut novel, One Rough Man, in 2011, Taylor has written 17 books inspired by his experiences as a special operations officer featuring Logan and his clandestine “Taskforce” unit.
Where the Rivers Merge
by Mary Alice Monroe (William Morrow, May 2025)
In New York Times best-selling author Mary Alice Monroe’s much-anticipated first historical fiction novel, fiercely independent Eliza is the 88-year-old matriarch relaying her childhood on her family’s Lowcountry estate, Mayfield, in the early 1900s. The narrative unfolds in dual timelines, revealing how Eliza’s deep connection to the natural world puts her in opposiiton to patriarchal traditions and members of her own family as she fights to preserve the land she loves.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
by Grady Hendrix (Penguin Random House, January 2025)
Holy City native and horror master Grady Hendrix debuts his latest anxiety-inducing, Southern Gothic tale, dipping into themes of female oppression and persecution, womanhood, and reproductive rights. Known for his 2014 novel Horrorstör, a playful parody of an IKEA-esque warehouse plagued by supernatural forces, and 2020’s The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Hendrix’s latest work follows 15-year-old Fern, a pregnant girl who becomes immersed in the occult after encountering a book about witchcraft.
