South Carolina attorney/author/southern storyteller Caroline Cleveland delivers a dazzling debut legal thriller, WHEN CICADAS CRY. The past collides with the present when a white lawyer defends an accused innocent black man of murdering a white woman in this southern town.

A WINNER out of the gate from a new voice in Southern fiction.

*AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook narrated by 🎧 Adam Barr for a stellar performance for all voices! Impressive, my Favorite Southern/Legal/Debut and Favorite Audio/Narrator for May (and top audio and books of 2024). I highly recommend the audiobook and will be looking for more audiobooks by Barr! (and books, of course, by Cleveland)

Back to the book:

PRESENT: Set in the small southern town of Walterboro, South Carolina, there is a high-profile murder case. A white woman has been brutally murdered with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road.

In a racially fueled town with tensions already, they immediately arrest Sam Jenkins, a professional young black man, when he was found assisting the victim.

White lawyer Zach Stander is attempting to pick up the pieces of his law career after he represented the wrong client. He needs a big case and a big win. As part of his payback to society, he has taken on pro-bono cases.

His love and business partner, Addie Stone, is an ex-cop and private investigator. She is his biggest cheerleader and supporter. (loved her) and enjoyed the ending.

When Zach receives the phone call from Eli to represent his accountant grandson, Sam (black), who has been arrested for murder, he takes on the case. The town is quick to want to send him to prison due to his color and the death of a white woman; however, Zach, Eli, Addie, and Colleton think he is innocent, and now they need to prove it. A jury trial coming up with some powerful players.

He and Addie are house-sitting in the area, so they will not have to drive back and forth. But little does he suspect the danger they are in with this high-profile racial case. With all the pressure of the case and his past, there are tensions between Zach and Addie. He needs a win.

Then he finds out Sam is hiding a secret related to the case and is blindsided. Colleton Burns, a retired and experienced lawyer, is also ready to help Zach, which leaves Addie out of it.

PAST: In the meantime, Addie does not have much to do with Zach being tied up with the case, so she takes on some pro-bono work at the Sheriff's office, helping with cold cases. She picks up a file of a cold case of two murdered young women in Edisto Beach from over thirty years ago.

Edisto Beach, SC (barrier island): Thirty-four years earlier.
A haunting case that was never solved. Edisto Beach is only an hour southeast of Walterboro, and the killer disappeared without a trace. Now Addie is immersed in the case, and the closer she gets, the more danger she is in.

Could there be a connection to the present case? A killer is watching. Now, they must prove the cases are connected and find the real killer before it is too late. The town's long-buried secrets are unraveling and closer to the surface than anyone may suspect.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

WHEN CICADAS CRY checks all the boxes for me as a lover of legal thrillers set in the South! What a fantastic cast of main characters and supporting ones. I knew I would love it the minute I read the summary description, and it exceeded all expectations.

Fully immersive, smart, absorbing, and chilling, this debut author knows her way around the courtroom and the legal system. As a lawyer from the area, she developed the cast of characters fully and brought them to life on the page amidst the racial tensions of past and present timelines. Action-packed, a compelling storyline and thought-provoking themes. Movie-worthy and an ideal book for book clubs and further discussions.

WHEN CICADAS CRY is a spectacular debut, rich in history, time, place, and character. If you enjoyed David Baldacci's most recent legal crime thriller, A Calamity of Souls, you must read Caroline Cleveland's dazzling debut!

If this is a debut, I cannot wait to see what comes next! Please let there be a sequel. I love Addie and Zach together and would love (please) to see them working together on more cases in the future. They are too good to end.

Attorneys always make the best authors. I enjoyed the author's note and highly recommend this gem for fans of Southern legal thrillers. Cleveland has been added to my favorite author list. For fans of John Grisham, David Baldacci, Greg Iles, Stacy Willingham, and Karen Slaughter (all favorites).

In addition, if you followed the high-profile Murdaugh murder trial, it was held in the same small town as When Cicadas Cry. I also recommend reading, Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders by John Glatt.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for introducing this author and narrator and the ALC for an honest review. I also purchased the paperback copy. (I wish it came in hardcover format for my home library.)

I hoped to get the e-book ARC, but it is still pending in NetGalley to ensure I spelled the names properly since I listened to the audio. Guess I cannot be greedy.

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Pub Date: May 7, 2024
My Rating: 5 Stars +
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This reminded me of a modern telling of To Kill A Mockingbird. In 2017 a black man is accused and charged of killing a white woman in a small town in South Carolina. Little does anyone know, this murder is connected to a couple of other murders from 1983. Slowly the pieces start coming together and the real killer is revealed.

I listened to the audio version and Adam Barr did an amazing job. There is quite a bit of dialogue from many different characters and he voices each one different, southern accents, female pitches, everything was perfect.

Thank you NetGalley, Caroline Cleveland, Adam Barr, and Dreamscape Media for this advanced copy!

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel. As the author states in her note, "Fiction, at its best, reflects life." and she did this beautifully. This is a great Southern legal thriller with a relevant plot (racial tension), twists, and likable characters. The audiobook narration was excellent! Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscapes Media for an ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A sensational debut novel from Caroline Cleveland.
This Southern legal thriller is full of secrets, lies and racial injustice that kept me engaged from beginning to end. The storyline is fantastic, detailing a high profile murder case which is intricately woven together with a double homicide that took place over 30 years ago. With gripping plot twists and very relevant themes, When Cicadas Cry is a novel that I highly recommend.

The audio narration from Adam Barr is superb. He eloquently brings to life the wonderful array of characters regardless of the gender, age, race or personality. The author has written some great dialogue - often witty and sarcastic - and the narrator makes this a really enjoyable listening experience.

Thank you to the audio publisher, Dreamscape Media, for an advance audio copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great legal drama and I really enjoyed the multiple crimes there were being investigated as it added more to the story overall. This was gripping and intense at points, especially since we heard from the murderer during the book.

South Carolina - A white woman is bludgeoned to death with an altar cross at a rural church. A black man, covered in her blood, is by her body. Racial tensions are already high in this area. Zach Stander, an attorney, takes on this case with the help of his girlfriend Addie Stone, who is a detective. Race, power, money, and a cold case all play a role in this story.

I was hooked from the beginning of this book and listened to it in a day! Don't miss the Author's Note at the end!

My thanks to Net Galley ad Dreamscapes Media for an advanced copy of this audio book.

🎧 audiobook review: When Cicadas Cry - Caroline Cleveland
📈 overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🫢 twist gasp level: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
…

If you’re a fan of legal thrillers, add this to your reading list immediately!

This debut legal thriller by Caroline Cleveland is everything I love in a southern legal drama and then some. It has mystery, heart, and even humor at times. I can’t believe I haven’t seen more people talking about it.

The majority of the book is written in third person with a few chapters sprinkled here and there written from the perspective of the murderer. There is a small cast, but Cleveland did a great job constructing the killer’s perspective to give the audience enough information to have a few suspects, but not enough to make it an obvious choice. I had one person in mind for most of the book, only to realize I was wrong.

It’s evident that Cleveland has a strong background in law by the way the cases were written and the players involved disclosed information. It was all very well done with few, if any, plot holes.

It’s rare for me to find a thriller that has many likable characters. I truly fell in love with almost all of them. Without spoiling anything, I can say my favorite was Addie because I always love reading about a strong, intelligent female lead. She really made the book, in my opinion.

This one would be good to read or to listen as an audiobook. I listened to the audiobook and struggled a bit with the narrator sounding robotic in the beginning. He did eventually even out or I just got used to him.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 | Format: Audiobook

An excellent debut! Reads like a fun mystery told through the perspectives of key players in any crime story: the defense attorney, the private investigator, and the actual killer of course. While I found the twists and turns very predictable, it was an enjoyable read regardless and one that also does a great job at tackling tougher all-too-real subjects.

Thank you to Caroline Cleveland, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Caroline Cleveland writes a terrific debut Southern legal thriller set in small town Waltboro, South Carolina in 2017 that I listened to on audio, approximately 8 hours and 40 minutes long, narrated by Adam Barr whom I was initially dubious about but grew to love quickly as he delivered the drama with all the tension and suspense and the different distinct characters with ease. Lawyer Zach Stander is picking up the pieces after his career to a huge knock with the wrong client, but his confidence is still low, his love and partner is Addie Stone, ex-police who is now his private investigator. His life is set to change big time when he takes a phone call from Eli, who wants him to represent his hardworking accountant grandson, Sam Jenkins, who been arrested for murder, he was covered in blood at the crime scene, a remote church.

Sam is black, and the case immediately becomes high profile case with escalating tensions dividing the town along racial lines, elements that bring with it harrowing dangers with so many assuming Sam's guilt, and some are looking for violent vengeance. Zach has his hands full in trying to do his best for Sam, a client with a secret just waiting to explode, so he is more than happy when the retired and experienced lawyer, Colleton Burns, offers his services and makes an impact almost immediately. This leaves Addie being pushed out, and she turns her focus and energies in working for the Sheriff's office on a decades long cold case of 2 murdered young women. However, it turns out this cold case is to have chilling connections with the present, but how?

As Cleveland, states at the end of the novel, when she writes of what inspired her work, explaining and talking of how contemporary events and themes went on to inform the narrative, lending it a relevance that she had not initially anticipated. I love a legal thriller, and this is a good one that I became totally immersed in, with its Southern location, where it is hard to escape the issue of race, it all comes vividly alive with the rich descriptions and the wide cast of distinct characters. One of the hardest things in this was having to accept the fate of Eli's marvellous dog, Buck. I can definitely recommend this for fans of Southern crime and mystery genres and lovers of legal thrillers, the audio is particularly wonderful. Many thanks to Dreamscape Media for an ALC.

I love a good "whodunnit" and this definitely delivered. And the fact that this is a DEBUT novel?! Amazing.

The feel like the tone of the book was more like an older style (think To Kill a Mockingbird), but it took place in modern day - if that makes sense? I had to remind myself several times that this was not taking place in the 50's and that this was 2017. I didn't mind it. I think the writing style fit the narrative.

That being said, the audiobook was FANTASTIC. Adam Barr has an incredibly nice voice to listen to and narrated the story perfectly. I love his accents.

This was a great, easy read and very enjoyable. I still can't believe this was a debut novel. It was SO good. I look forward to reading more of Ms. Cleveland's work!

Oh my goodness! Debut novel When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland was so good - rich with description and twists, great pace. A white woman is bludgeoned to death with an altar cross in a church in rural South Carolina. Racial tensions are already high, but a Black man was found kneeling over her, covered in blood. Zach Stander is a passionate, but haunted defense attorney and with the help of his girlfriend, Addie, who is an excellent investigator, hopes to prove his client's innocence. There are ties to a cold case over 30 years ago, and the book gains momentum as the story unfolds.

I typically am not a fan of courtroom drama, but this was done so well. I am suprused that this is a debut novel and cannot wait to read more! I LOVED this book and would highly recommend the audiobook version - Adam Barr did a fabulous job as narrator, especially considering there was a hidden narrator in the multiple POV book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This book feels like a nirmsl murder mystery type of story, but the further you dive in, the bigger the picture you start to see. This book had a chokehold on me. The racial tensions had me feeling uncomfortable and hoping that all pull be right in the end.

A murder mystery reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird & Where the Crawdads Sing.

The narrator, Adam Barr, did a great job.

Zach Stander is a criminal defense attorney that recently tanked his career. He receives a call in the middle of the night from a man named Elijah who is asking for his help to defend his grandson, Sam, who is black and been accused of murdering a white woman.

The legal aspects as well as character development both had me invested in the book. Overall, I really enjoyed it

Thank you to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the advanced audio of this book.

🎧 Audio Arc Review 🎧

When Cicadas Cry
Caroline Cleveland
Dreamscape Media
Narration: Adam Barr
Pub. May 7, 2024

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Cicadas Cry follows the fictional high-profile murder of a white woman found bludgeoned to death with a wooden cross inside a Walterboro church. The main suspect is Sam Jenkins, a Black man. He was the only one at the scene of the crime, found covered in blood after calling the cops. He claims he’s innocent, but his alibi is iffy.

It’s not until Charleston attorney Zach Stander and his girlfriend, detective Addie Stone, get involved that we discover this crime goes deeper than one unholy night. It cuts all the way back to a thirty-four-year-old cold case and the murders of two young women on Edisto Beach whose killer has never been found.

" 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐝, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 "

The cry of a Cicada is thought to be a symbol of change and transformation.

I love a good Southern legal thriller, and Caroline Cleveland penned an amazing, thoroughly gripping one. Her characterization of the people in Lowcountry, especially the "good Ole boys," provides a vivid and engaging depection of the societal norms of the times.

The way she navigates the complex themes of race, justice, and societal tention in the context of a murder mystery is truly commendable. And Adam Barr was an exceptional voice for the whole cast!

Caroline Cleveland, a Charleston attorney, shines a light on white supremacy and the disparities within the legal system in this fantastic debut novel, and I swear I will read everything she writes in the future.

Highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5

Thank you to Netgalley and Caroline Cleveland for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

I was completely engaged in this story from beginning to end. If you're a fan of S.A. Cosby, this book is for you. It's a touching mystery and has you rooting for Sam throughout even though he's accused of a heinous crime with an unexpected ending!

Zach Stander is rebuilding his career. He was a top criminal defense attorney, but his one of his clients and his greed destroyed it all. He receives a middle of the night call- Elijah's grandson, who is black, was arrested for a white woman's murder. Zach's instinct tells him that Sam is innocent, but Sam is also hiding things. He hopes this case can revive his career and he can save Sam from conviction.

I loved the setting, I loved the legal aspect, the racial conflict was done well. What I didn't like was how Zach treated Addie. <spoiler> The completely cutting her out of the case bothered me. I get how it was needed for her to resurrect the cold case, but I still didn't like it. The more relationship stuff- marriage, babies, etc... was more realistic. But the other just didn't feel right to me. </spoiler>

Overall, I was very pleased with this book by a debut author. I'll definitely keep my eye out for future publications.

The audiobook is narrated by Adam Barr. No complaints. I listened at 1.5.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

30-some years ago two young women are killed and the crime is unsolved. Today, a white woman is viciously bludgeoned and an African American man who found her is accused and on trial for her murder. Zach and Addie are an engaged couple, with Zach representing the accused man, and Addie investigating the cold case.

Great story, with a really interesting twist at the end, but man, I wish the two investigations had equal billing or were run more cohesively. It felt a bit disjointed. The whole book you're seeing a Black man accused of killing a white woman, and the tension this brings up is palpable. But there are also these powerful people in town, good ol' boys with good ol' money, menacing and dangerous, who could steer the entire trial where they want it to go. The two characters with the most interesting personalities are the accused man's father Eli, and the older Black attorney helping Zach with the trial. I could've read a book about just them. How they help one another also muddied the waters. Clearly the cold case and the present murder are connected because of all the attention paid to both investigations, and a lot of the same names showing up, but it either needed more fleshing out on both sides or more editing, or something.

I took issue with an aspect of the trial that may or may not be what happens in South Carolina. I do not know of a murder trial based on circumstantial evidence being pushed through by the prosecution as fast as possible, with labs in, including DNA, phone records sorted, death penalty on the table, investigation complete, in a matter of days. That's not how it works here, and if it does in SC, good for them, but holy cow, that is grossly unrealistic here.

All in all, solid book, good for book discussions, kind of brutal, a lot meandering and criss-crossing, but I'm glad I read it.

When Cicadas Cry written by Caroline Cleveland and narrated by Adam Barr was an incredible listen. I was utterly captivated by the elegant narrative and well-written dialogue in this suspenseful Southern legal thriller.

Based in a small town in North Carolina, Sam Jenkins is an accountant that finds a white woman battered to death in a church with a cross. She reaches out in her last breaths, trying to fight off who she thinks is her attacker, yet stops when she realises it is not, and passes away, leaving a bloodied Sam, with scratchmarks and no alibi. The story centres around the racial inequalities and injustices in the region past and present and is crafted artfully in conjuction with two murders decades prior, with a very different motive. Are they connected? In a small religios community steeped in a long history of racial tension and land disputes, is there an ulterior motive? The story in this book is certainly not as cut and dried as it first appears

Adam Barr did an incredible job on this narration, across personality, gender and age with such proficiency and cadence. A really enjoyable experience and utterly immersive

I cannot believe that this is a debut novel as it has such talent, skilled storytelling and relatable characters as believable as a real-life crime documentary. Written in multiple povs, it is easy to follow and each character has a definitive rhetoric. Don't read the authors note until the end as there is a very specific element throughout the book which is nothing short of genius. This is one thriller where i had it so very wrong and that is the best type!

The writing style is impactful. There were points in this book that absolutely broke my heart. That is alll I will say on that as I am getting a lump in my throat as I think of them.

Collerton and Elijah were perhaps my favourite characters due to the nuances between them and the fact that Eli was a sleeping giant and utterly bad*ss! Buford was an enjoyable villain/ anti-hero.

At times I felt as if Addie (an ex-cop and Zach's partner) was added in as she was always left out of the main action, but it makes so much sense when she starts to explore cold-cases. Cleveland weaves an intricate web of storylines, almost invisible but so very strong!

As for our MC's Zach and Sam, Sam's character development was much stronger, and so well crafted, absolutely on point for a man who has been charged with a crime he did not commit. I feel that We are going to see more from Zach and Addie in the future, as there is enough room for this couple to go much further! (and I am absolutely here for it)

I really wish I could do this book the justice it deserves. It is absolutely incredible, so enjoyable, heart-stopping, thrilling and utterly breathtaking. Absolutely going to get the PPB as the audiobook was outstanding

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Caroline Cleveland and narrator Adam Barr for this outstanding ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

If this book were a TikTok sound, it would be the “This is a work of art” one. I can’t get over the fact that this is Caroline Cleveland’s debut novel. Ma’am, we will need more stories from you, please (pretty please). This book is my new favorite southern legal suspense! I have consumed podcasts and live court TV about the Murdoch trials. (They were wild..and played out more like fiction than truth) This book was the perfect bookend to the couple-year fascination. It takes place in the same area of the beautiful low country.

A white woman is murdered in a church, and the police arrest a black man for the crime. He was found standing over her body with blood all over him. When Zach Stander, a Charleston lawyer, and Addie Stone, his detective and romantic partner, come to town to defend Sam, the man arrested for murder, they start unraveling not just the current case but one from the past. Are the two cases connected? Can they be solved before they run out of town?

Adam Barr does a great job narrating; an excellent choice for this story.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC…I am so excited to hop on the Caroline Cleveland hype train from the start!

When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland
Narrated by Adam Barr

It's 2017 South Carolina and attorney, Zach Stander, is still picking up the pieces of a stellar start to his career, which blew up when he got entangled with the wrong client. He lost just about everything but Addie Stone, who started out as his practice's detective but is now also his partner in every way. Addie has his back, she knows him, trusts him, and loves him although Zach knows she won't wait around forever for Zach to gain his mental and emotional feet while he struggles to build up his attorney practice and confidence, again.

When a young black man, Sam Jenkins, is found covered in blood at a tiny church in rural Walterboro, South Carolina, Sam's grandfather contacts Zach to defend Sam. This is, by far, the biggest case Zach's had since his downfall and he can't turn it down. Zach and Addie head to Walterboro to take on Sam's case although Addie is dismayed as she is sidelined since Zach doesn't need her help with this case.

Addie's not going to sit around twiddling her thumbs so she hires on to investigate cold cases for the sheriff's department. Who'd know that the cold case she picks would have trails leading to the present day case Zach is defending. There is court room action, detective work, lawyer-y pow wows, and an increasing tension between Zach and Addie coming from several directions. Throw in racial tensions, some red herrings, and a shifty, conniving anonymous antagonist whose POV is extremely creepy and no one can rest easy. At the same time, friends are made and bad jokes are told. I especially enjoyed the camaraderie among the older men who mentor Zach in life while he tries to turn his life around. Adam Barr does a very good job with the narration which needed a special touch so as not to give away the anonymous antagonist.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.