Where to Start: The Avery Andrews Mystery Series
If you are new to Cathy Pickens, the best place to begin is with her signature cozy mystery series starring attorney-sleuth Avery Andrews. Set in the fictional town of Dacus, South Carolina, the series blends small-town quirky humor with authentic legal procedurals, drawing directly from Pickens’s real-life career as a trial attorney. Readers should start with the debut novel, Southern Fried (re-released as Murder at Luna Lake), to understand Avery’s background and her decision to leave a high-powered Charlotte law firm to return to her roots.
In 2023, UK publisher Joffe Books acquired the rights to the series, rebranding the original five Southern Fried Mysteries as the Blue Ridge Mountain Cozy Mysteries. The books were re-released under new titles and fresh cover art. The stories themselves remain unchanged, but keeping track of the dual titles is essential when hunting down physical copies or purchasing e-books.
The Avery Andrews Reading Order (Chronological & Publication Order)
The fiction series follows a strict chronological order. It is highly recommended to read them sequentially to watch Avery build her local practice and navigate ongoing relationship dynamics with Dacus residents.
- Book 1: Southern Fried (2004) / Murder at Luna Lake (2023)
Avery Andrews leaves her corporate law job in Charlotte, North Carolina, and returns to Dacus, South Carolina. Before she can settle in, she must defend her cousin, who is accused of murder, while unraveling a decades-old local disappearance. This debut won the 2003 Malice Domestic/St. Martin's Minotaur Award for Best New Traditional Mystery. - Book 2: Done Gone Wrong (2005) / Murder at Folly Beach Creek (2023)
Avery deals with a complicated class-action pharmaceutical lawsuit that takes her out of Dacus and down to the historic streets of Charleston, South Carolina. She soon finds herself balancing corporate greed, local politics, and a sudden death. - Book 3: Hog Wild (2007) / Murder at Golden Cove Forest (2023)
Back in Dacus, Avery takes on a quirky case involving an environmental battle over an abandoned mine. The mystery deepens with a missing pet pig and a corpse discovered in the mine, forcing Avery to dig into local land disputes. - Book 4: Hush My Mouth (2008) / Murder at Moody Springs Lookout (2023)
A skeleton is discovered trapped inside a chimney, reopening cold cases and family rivalries. Avery must piece together town gossip and historical land deeds to find out who was silenced years ago. - Book 5: Can't Never Tell (2009) / Murder at Bow Falls (2023)
A local fire leads to arson and murder charges against a vulnerable woman. Avery steps up to defend her, fighting against small-town prejudice, gossip, and dangerous family secrets that threaten to consume Dacus.
Cathy Pickens’s Regional True Crime (Non-Fiction)
In addition to her crime fiction, Cathy Pickens is a dedicated historian of crime in the American South. Her non-fiction collections detail historical true crime cases across North and South Carolina. These books can be read in any order, depending on which region interests you most. They are published by The History Press and are written with an attorney’s eye for detail, focusing on historical context and forensics rather than sensationalism.
- Charlotte True Crime Stories (2019): Explores the dark side of the Queen City, covering historical cases from early poisonings to high-profile modern trials.
- True Crime Stories of Eastern North Carolina (2020): Covers coastal mysteries, historical outlaws, and intriguing courtroom dramas from the eastern counties.
- Triangle True Crime Stories (2021): Examines notable cases from the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill region.
- True Crime Stories of Upstate South Carolina (2022): Explores historical crimes close to Pickens's childhood home in the Upcountry.
- True Crime Stories of Western North Carolina (2022): Examines mountain mysteries and historical cases from the Appalachian region of the state.
- True Crime Stories of the South Carolina Midlands (2024): Highlights cases from the central region of South Carolina, including Columbia and its surrounding counties.
- True Crime Stories of the Triad (2024): Documents historical and modern offenses in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point.
- True Crime Stories of the Lowcountry (2025): Investigates regional crimes and historical mysteries along the South Carolina coast and islands.
What to Know Before You Start: Reading Caveats
The "Haunted America" Series Discrepancy
When searching online databases for Cathy Pickens, readers will often see her credited with a massive list of hundreds of titles under the "Haunted America" series (such as Haunted Provincetown or Haunted Austin). This is a metadata error. Haunted America is a collaborative, ongoing regional folklore series published by The History Press, featuring contributions from dozens of different writers. Cathy Pickens only wrote one book in this series: Charleston Mysteries: Ghostly Haunts in the Holy City (2007). The other hundreds of titles in that series were written by other regional experts and should not be attributed to her.
Anthologies and Creativity Guides
For readers who want to read everything Pickens has published, she also contributed to the anthology Writes of Passage (2014), which gathers essays and advice on the writing craft. Outside of mystery and crime, she published a guide to unleashing personal creativity titled CREATE! Developing Your Own Creative Process, drawing on the workshops she conducts for aspiring writers.