The black sheep of a prosperous Virginia family, Charles LeBlanc must elude the law while he investigates a mass murder at his family's annual reunion, during which he turns up the unsavory secrets kept by his kin. 25,000 first printing.

Set in Virginia in the 1980s, Tidewater Blood opens at the annual LeBlanc family celebration. Rich, pretentious, and proud, the LeBlancs operate a prosperous plantation and celebrate their heritage each year in grand old Southern fashion on the mansion's portico. But this year, the front of the mansion explodes and everyone on the portico is instantly killed. As the dust settles, all fingers point to embittered brother and ex-con Charles LeBlanc, who lives as a hermit outside town. When it seems he's going down on a murder rap, Charley flees to begin his own investigation. Charley must win the trust of one person after another--from his frat-boy lawyer to an old backwoods woman harboring a special hatred of the LeBlancs. Charley solves the crime moments before he faces imprisonment, but not before he learns long-hidden secrets about that illustrious LeBlanc blood. Crisp and cinematic, Tidewater Blood is a riveting and tightly constructed thriller. "A first rate, page-turning thriller." --George Garrett "Limpid and swift-moving, with a full complement of understated surprises: an exemplary presentation of the innocent man on the run for readers who want more texture then they can find in The Fugitive." --Kirkus Reviews "This is a gripping read." --Library Journal A MYSTERY GUILD SELECTION

"Over the past forty-five years, William Hoffman has written eleven novels, including the critically acclaimed Tidewater Blood, winner of the Dashiell Hammett award, and four short-fiction collections, the most recent being Doors - all of which have enjoyed a loyal and appreciative readership." "The Fictional World of William Hoffman provides readers with the first assessment of Hoffman's work. Including commentary and analysis from fellow writers as well as from established and emerging critics this collection of essays aims to deepen the appreciation of those already familiar with Hoffman and to introduce new readers to one of the South's most influential voices."--Jacket

The very best literary interviews from fifty years of scholarly inquiry

The idea of place--any place--remains one of our most basic yet slippery concepts. It is a space with boundaries whose limits may be definite or indefinite; it can be a real location or an abstract mental, spiritual, or imaginary construction. Casey Clabough’s thorough examination of the importance of place in southern literature examines the works of a wide range of authors, including Fred Chappell, George Garrett, William Hoffman, Julien Green, Kelly Cherry, David Huddle, and James Dickey. Clabough expands the definition of "here" beyond mere geography, offering nuanced readings that examine tradition and nostalgia and explore the existential nature of "place." Deeply concerned with literature as a form of emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic engagement with the local and the regional, Clabough considers the idea of place in a variety of ways: as both a physical and metaphorical location; as an important factor in shaping an individual, informing one of the ways the person perceives the world; and as a temporal as well as geographic construction. This fresh and useful contribution to the scholarship on southern literature explains how a text can open up new worlds for readers if they pay close enough attention to place.

Waves ripple outward from the Northlands… Where once water was scarce, it now springs from the ground, traversing over land to the sea in the west. Several moons after the breaking of the stone, life is finding new balance in the Northlands. Carin has made her home in Lahivar with Ryd and Sart, and there they watch in awe as the new river reshapes the very surface of the land around them. But far to the west, the wave of magic wrought by Carin snapping the first stone traveled fast and crashed into a whole new world—a bigger world, and one full of many kinds of power. A woman bereft of name and love. Another carrying the grief of an island on her shoulders. A herald. A seeker. A forgotten history. There is a moment at the exact instant the receding waters along the shores of the earth meet the force of the moons above and change direction. The sound races around the globe with the rush of a new kind of waves. The tide is turning, and it brings change to every land and people.