Deborah Adams Books In Order

Publication Order of Jesus Creek Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Anthologies

Deborah Adams is a bestselling mystery author from Tennessee best known for the “Jesus Creek Mystery” Series. While she wrote and published most of her novels in the 1990s, she is still actively writing on her blog. She writes about local green living and homeopathic awareness, which she has a passion for. In 1992 she published her first novel “All The Great Pretenders” which went on to become a critically acclaimed novel and the first of the “Jesus Creek Mysteries.” She took a long break from the series and wrote nothing since publishing All the Dirty Cowards in 2000 followed by All the Ice Cold Blood published in 2018. The Tennessee born Adams says that she was born to become a professional author the same way some were born to become architects. She has always loved writing and wrote her first book Adventures in Space as a fourth-grader. “All The Great Pretenders” was an Agatha Award-winning novel and since then Adams has earned her reputation as a talented author who writes compelling narratives with each novel she publishes. She has lectured at many events in the US such as the Appalachian Writers Conference, the Southern Festival of Books and the Midwest Mystery Conference among many others. Adams still lives in Tennessee in a small town named Jesus Creek and does not get much publicity except for her blog where she still writes.

Deborah Adams has a huge list of accomplishments but on her website, she is best known for her compassion. She blogs to bring attention to self-sufficiency and local support in a globalized society which she does with writer inspired insights and some fun. Her blogs include titles such as “30 food activism tips” or “Writers in their natural habitat how we think.” She also uses her blog to raise awareness for causes and advocate for victims. For instance, she does blog a lot about domestic violence including providing tips to abused persons on how to get help or get out of an abusive situation. However, her compassion does not stop there as she is also very active in her Jesus Creek local humane society. Whenever she can, she will post pictures of cats and dogs on her website hoping that some readers will adopt the pets that do not have a home. She is an empathetic woman, which is quite rare in the contemporary world. She does give without expecting to get anything back as all she wants to do is to bring awareness to issues she is passionate about. Whether it be from her personal life, her blog or from her books she is always looking to improve the world.

Deborah Adams who is a seventh-generation Tennessean writes her novels combining the traditions and the lore of the south. She also blends her a biting and mature wit with her exquisite observation of human nature to create highly satirical novels. She is an expert at mercilessly working on humor even as she gently tugs at the conscience of her readers. Her bibliography which includes her fiction that has been featured in literary magazines and anthologies has been multigene. Adams has written her novels in different genres and currently has a non-fiction work seven mystery books, and a short fiction that is largely a mystery novel that has been featured in several anthologies. In her debut novel “All The Great Pretenders,” Kate Yancy who is the innkeeper of the Twin Elms guest house suddenly has to deal with reporters after the disappearance of a rich girl. Combining a colorful psychic and a handful of eccentric guests it is a humorous and intriguing story. In the second novel “All The Crazy Winters,” Jesus Creek a soft-hearted librarian is murdered and Delia Cannon believes the case is connected to the arson of an antebellum house. But she may know too much which puts her in danger. “All The Dark Disguises” sees Kay Martin who is a purveyor of cosmetics, waitress and poet become an amateur sleuth when she becomes the target of a serial killer.

Deborah Adams’ “All The Great Pretenders” is the first of the Creek Mystery series. The lead in the novel is Kate Yancy, who is charged with running a very popular inn at Jesus Creek that belongs to the mayor who is also her absent brother. Twin Elms Inn had become a huge circus after an eccentric rich girl that had been a guest went missing. A psychic that had been contracted to locate her also went missing further complicating matters. Kate Yancy is used to dealing with all kinds of visitors but this is beyond her scope, Managing the inn means that she has had to deal with a religious fanatic cook, a beauty queen chambermaid and now a handful of journalists who want to get the juicy story from the horse’s mouth. Jesus Creek has never had this much excitement and combined with a Sesquicentennial celebration, it would seem the only thing they do not have is a murder mystery.

“All the Crazy Winters” is the story of Delia Cannon, a library/genealogist and Sarah Elizabeth Leach the daughter in law of Eliza Leach. At the opening of the novel Olive Host, the genealogist’s antebellum home goes down in a spectacular fire that completely razes it down. Before the small town of Jesus Creek can come to terms with the suspected arson attack, Estelle Carhart a softhearted librarian is found murdered in a grisly homicide. She is a kind-hearted soul that could not even impose fines for overdue books and nobody can figure out who would want to kill her. A library volunteer an amateur genealogist named Delia Cannot believes there is a connection between the arson and the homicide. But what she does not know is that she may just be right and is in too deep. Someone in the small quaint town now wants her out of the investigations business and the library for good.

Deborah Adams’s third novel in the Jesus Creek Mystery series “All the Dark Disguises” is a satisfying novel on the theme of domestic violence written in Southern Gothic. Janet Ayres is a young inexperienced nanny who came to Jesus Creek to take care of Ariel Leach, a two-month-old baby. The Leach household is also a safe house for abused women and Sarah Elizabeth the child’s mother is juggling a part-time job at the library, and volunteering as a telephone operator for domestic violence hotline. She is also dealing with a crazed mother in law and also has to attend university. The fact that her husband is not around just makes things harder for her. The small town of Jesus Creek is full of eccentric characters that would be comfortable in a TV sitcom. The characters include an old geezer who is working on documenting unidentified flying objects activity and a hippy who is obsessed with yoga.