WHEN CICADAS CRY by Caroline Cleveland - Spotlight

In this stunning debut by South Carolina attorney @CarolineCleveland, a lawyer with a past, and  his indomitable detective and lover, find themselves entangled in secrets, lies, and murder in a small Southern town. #WHENCICADASCRY (UnionSquare&Co.) is a suspenseful thriller that will give you a front row seat into the judicial system.

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?

Caroline Cleveland is the founding partner of the law firm, Cleveland & Conley, LLC, where she represents private and public employers, including law enforcement. A native South Carolinian, she inevitably writes from a Southern perspective. She gravitates -- both as a writer and a reader -- toward mystery and suspense, and she cannot resist a character with a dark secret.

Caroline lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, David.