In a mountainous region of Southwestern Virginia where poverty and hardship were an everyday part of life, there lived a family with the last name of Hill. The Hill children grew up without the benefit of a mother, but under the very watchful eyes of a humble but somewhat roguish father. In spite of many hardships and almost impossible living conditions, most of the children grew up to be proud and respectable citizens of Washington County. That is all except one, and his name was William. William started life under the close scrutiny and support of his loving sister Alice, but after her death in a tragic accident, his life was changed forever. He became tortured by dreams of death and ghostly images which ultimately led to his running away from home at the tender age of twelve. Thus began a long and even more tragic journey of paranoia and mystery that ended when he was twenty-five. William's journey took him from rural Virginia, through the Carolinas and further South, where he left murder and mayhem as his calling card. World War II was his only means of escape from capture for his hideous crimes, but he ultimately met his well deserved end at the hands of a nearly helpless old woman. He changed many lives and families forever but in the end he received his just rewards.

MIRIAM: A Tale of Pole Moor and the Greenfield Hills links the protagonists to The Burn Platts, an area above Slaithwaite near Pole Moor where a group of Romanys or Gypsies lived around the time of an incident which took place, in 1832, at the Moorcock Inn, on the edge of the bleak moorland above Greenfield near Saddleworth. It was at this remote pub that the landlord and his gamekeeper son were violently murdered. The Burnplatters were described by MR. G. S. Philips in 1848 as a group of savages "living in log huts thatched with sods, and paying neither rent nor taxes. They were a community to themselves, and had their own wild laws and government. They were the terror likewise of all wayfarers, and it was dangerous for any man to go amongst them alone." It includes substantial portions of dialect spoken at that time in the area when Greenfield was still part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The author has attempted to reproduce this phonetically using the conventional alphabet. He is not always consistent in the way the dialect is transcribed though this in itself illustrates the nature of dialect.

This fiction presents a thrilling murder mystery connecting the lead characters to The Burn Platts, an area above Slaithwaite near Pole Moor where some Romanies lived around the time of an incident that occurred in 1832, at the Moorcock Inn, on the border of the bleak moorland above Greenfield near Saddleworth. At this isolated pub, the landlord and his gamekeeper son were brutally murdered. This quest to find the murders is worth reading. The gripping plot, memorable characters, and unique writing style make this work enjoyable. This work includes significant portions of the dialect used at that time in the region when Greenfield was a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. The local Saddleworth author, D. F. E. Sykes, has tried to reproduce this phonetically using the traditional alphabet. This work is a must-read for anyone curious about this dialect and, of course, all the murder mystery lovers.

Gripping tales of fantasy, mystery, and horror set in the piney woods of East Texas.

'Perlycross: A Tale of the Western Hills' is a mystery-romance novel by R.D. Blackmore set in the year 1835 in the parish of Perlycross, a village in a valley of the Blackdown Range. The Rev. Philip Penniloe, the curate-in-charge, is loved by all, including Sir Thomas Waldron, the chief landowner in the parish. When the grand old church of Perlycross is found wanting and needs a thousand pounds to be repaired, the parish struggles to come up with the funds. Farmer John, the senior churchwarden, agrees to put down a hundred pounds, which inspires his colleague, Frank Farrant, to find fifty. As the community rallies to raise the necessary funds, Mr. Penniloe wonders whether the glory of God is the true motive behind their actions.