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Lowcountry Bribe (Caroline Slade Mystery Series #1)

by C. Hope Clark (Goodreads Author)

4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 · rating details · 162 ratings · 63 reviews

A bribe, threats, a dead employee, a high-level investigation and a sinister hog farmer: Lowcountry Ag Department manager Carolina Slade is a bean-counting civil servant in hot water. She better dig up the truth before it kills her.

"Jesse drew me by my stretched sleeve to the truck bed, my face barely a foot from the nearest body. “There’s ten thousand dollars in it for y...more

Paperback, first, 272 pages

Published January 31st 2012 by Bell Bridge Books

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May 09, 2013 Elizabeth Ducie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hope Clark stole my weekend recently!

I’ve followed Hope Clark’s writing journey with interest for a few years now and like many of her newsletter readers, was delighted when she firstly got an agent and then when she found a publisher for Lowcountry Bribe. I bought the book because I thought it was the right thing to do, rather than because I particularly wanted to read it; but I’m so glad I did.

Lowcountry Bribe tells the story of a Department of Agriculture county manager who tries to play it s...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Valerie rated it 5 of 5 stars

REVIEW, LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE

Written by C. Hope Clark, Lowcountry Bribe isn't just any novel by a modern woman for modern women. It has a strong woman as the main character who has struggles with marriage, family, and career that many women can relate to. If you are a reader looking for pages of titillating romance scenes, you will not find them here. If however you enjoy a good mystery, love, romance, and a realistic view of how our emotions entangle the messy parts of our lives, keep us from maint...more REVIEW, LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE

Written by C. Hope Clark, Lowcountry Bribe isn't just any novel by a modern woman for modern women. It has a strong woman as the main character who has struggles with marriage, family, and career that many women can relate to. If you are a reader looking for pages of titillating romance scenes, you will not find them here. If however you enjoy a good mystery, love, romance, and a realistic view of how our emotions entangle the messy parts of our lives, keep us from maintaining control, and potentially make us less or more than we can be, you will enjoy this book.
Carolina Slade Bridges chooses to go by her maiden name, Slade. Her husband and two children, while not the center to the main conflict, affect the progression of the story. As the relationships with her family members confuse Slade's relationships at work and unexpectedly enter the conflict.
The story begins with finding her supervisor's dead body after an apparent suicide. Back-story shows another supervisor disappeared a few weeks earlier. Now, Slade moves into the position of County Manager, United States Department of Agriculture, Charleston County, South Carolina, which is a responsibility she takes seriously. She believes it is important to help farmers secure low interest government loans to make it through hard times, unpredictable disasters, and the difficulty of farming in the landscape of that part of the state.
Most of this story takes place in rural Charleston County, South Carolina. Slade's office of the Department of Agriculture, Slade's home, and the marshes and farmland are the main backdrop for Lowcountry Bribe. The reader gets a feel for the autumn, the character's dress and lives, and the vegetation. Readers who are northerners may be surprised at the description of cool temperatures. Readers also hear the drawl of the farmer's language and experience their way of life, their culture. The landscape and people are integral parts of the story.
When Slade receives a bribe, she is shocked and confused. Slade, wanting to perform her job competently, in the interests of the farmers, and according to government regulations, wrestles with herself about the next action to take. Does she report the bribe? Who does she trust with the information? The reader has a gut feeling about who might behind the bribe from the beginning of the story. Doubt is cast, however, as other evidence points in other directions.
Her husband Allen accuses Slade of being too ambitious and enjoying her career too much. Slade chooses to ignore Allen’s discouragement. She decides instead to keep her career moving forward, her conscience clear, and her reputation clean, which means she has to report the bribe. An investigation ensues.
The story structure is like searching for a document in every conceivable place, needing it before a deadline, looking in those same places over and over, and finally finding it where you looked several times already, but running five minutes late. There is tension, frustration, release, and more tension.
The plot moves along briskly. Investigators Wayne Largo and Eddie Childress play key roles in the investigation, the increasing conflict, and helping Slade to close the investigation. It seems almost as if the criminal will be caught early and the story will be over when things go terribly wrong; the attempt at getting a confession is snagged, and investigators have to leave the scene for a time. The chase scenes build up the tension; the possibility of a new love relationship makes the reader pull for Slade. Danger to her family makes Slade fight harder.
Slade turns to her friend who works the same job in a different county. Her friend and mentor fulfills the archetypal role of the wise sage. Clark shows this role does not have to be filled by a man, a religious figure, or a person many years senior to the main character. Savannah (Savvy) is down to earth - both loving and forceful. She knows just what to do to help Slade find calm and focus, but there is nothing mystical about her approach. She is the best friend who gives encouragement, watches the children, and pours the drinks.
No Superman comes to rescue Slade. Because of her independence, she wouldn't have it that way. In fact, Slade often pushes people away with negativity, frustration, anger, and self-reliance. No superhero is required. Slade can do this.
Because Slade tells the story from her first person point of view, the reader must stay alert to distinguish between narration and Slade's internal thoughts. It can be a difficult read at times. Sometimes it is necessary to read a passage again. Once the reader recognizes when Slade is talking to the reader or thinking through circumstances, she can fully immerse herself in the story and connect with it emotionally.
Many women today face similar problems in their work and professional lives. Lowcountry Bribe, based in reality, can give women encouragement and hope. The struggles Slade faces offer a picture that life is full of struggles. No matter how hard people try to avoid trouble, it finds them. Slade overcomes that trouble, but her work and family relationships are changed. Slade herself is not the same person anymore. The important people in Slade's life give her more respect.
Slade agonized over whether or not to report the bribe. There were many times after she did that she regretted the decision. Danger came too close to home. Most women struggle with the decisions they make. For example, most women wrestle with the decision whether or not to have a job or career after having children. No matter which choice she makes, a woman is not sure she made the right one.
We all find that change is a given in life. It changes us. The change in Lowcountry Bribe comes on like a flood with the potential to drown Slade. Slade comes out stronger than ever. Slade also wrestles throughout about how she behaves toward other people. Guilt feelings plague all of us. No one conducts herself admirably at all times. Critical decisions and crucial events tend to upset our life balance. We must learn to forgive ourselves, accept change, and determine to become stronger.
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Dec 25, 2012 Douglas Cook rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, romance

This was a good fast read. I really like the main character - Sloan - and hope to see her in another mystery. Great ending :)

CHAPTER 1 O-positive primer wasn’t quite the color I had in mind for the small office, but Lucas Sherwood hadn’t given the decor a second thought when he blew out the left side of his head with a .45. As the county manager, I identified Lucas’ body for the cops, and gave the poor man a quick moment of silence with thoughts to a higher power that he be let through the pearl...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Stacie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

Lowcountry Bribe by C. Hope Clark is a gut-wrenching, nail-biting suspense novel that will leave you on edge until the very end.

Synopsis:

Threats, a missing boss, a very dead co-worker, a high-level investigation and a sinister hog farmer: Lowcountry Ag Department manager Carolina Slade is a bean-counting civil servant in hot water.

Carolina Slade is a by-the-book county manager for the Department of Agriculture—a civil servant who coordinates federal loans for farmers in the coastal Lowcountry o...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Skip Maloney rated it 5 of 5 stars

First person narration is tricky business. To begin with, you forfeit the ability to view actions from multiple points of view. You cannot, for example, write about a lurking intruder, hidden behind the drapes, if your narrator doesn't know he (or she) is there, so you don't get to apply that sort of impending disaster feel to a scene. Many authors opt to italicize the script of scenes at which their first-person narrator is not present. Some don't even bother, switching between third person an...more First person narration is tricky business. To begin with, you forfeit the ability to view actions from multiple points of view. You cannot, for example, write about a lurking intruder, hidden behind the drapes, if your narrator doesn't know he (or she) is there, so you don't get to apply that sort of impending disaster feel to a scene. Many authors opt to italicize the script of scenes at which their first-person narrator is not present. Some don't even bother, switching between third person and first person narration without blinking an eye; hedging their multiple-points-of-view bets, as it were.
The other, arguably more significant issue with first-person narration is the necessity for a fully-realized character, with which a reading audience really wants to spend time. Readers have to like a first-person narrator right from the start. They can withhold judgement on third-person characters, because it will take a while for them to sort out who's who, what's what, and where their loyalties are going to be placed. You have to hit the ground running with characters talking right at you, employing the "I" pronoun every minute or so.
All this by way of explaining that a new character on the scene - one Carolina Slade, appearing in her debut novel, Lowcountry Bribe, by C. Hope Clark - is just such a fully realized character and from her opening sentence - "O-positive primer wasn't quite the color I had in mind for the small office, but Lucas Sherwood hadn't given the decor a second thought when he blew out the left side of his head with a .45." - it is very clear that you're in for a ride, and you better buckle up.
The genre is mystery, although at first glance, you find yourself wondering how a County Manager for the US Department of Agriculture qualifies as any sort of first-person narrator for such a thing. She's not a detective, by any means. She's not a bounty hunter and she isn't a crook. The first inkling you get that there is, as they say, "something rotten in Denmark" (Charleston County, SC actually) is, of course, the above-mentioned Lucas Sherwood's suicide. But that's over and done, and then, before you're even out of Chapter 1, a hog farmer offers her the titled lowcountry bribe. Even then, you might think, what's the big deal? Lady bean counter picks up the phone, reports the bribe, someone comes down on the farmer like a ton of bricks and you're back home in time for the 11 o'clock news.
You find soon enough that it isn't going to be that simple. And it isn't until the closing pages, that you learn everything about those opening chapter, seemingly unconnected events. Like most good mysteries, a good deal of what's about to unfold is the result of events that have occurred before the opening sentence. The characters become involved in the consequences, and it's up to those characters (and us, dear readers) to try and figure it all out before someone gets killed. Oftentimes (think Agatha Christie), someone does. In Lowcountry Bribe, it's more about the possibility of murder, and the almost daily threat of it that drops into Carolina Slade's life like a monster-in-law with three suitcases.
Author Clark puts pedal to the metal and keeps things moving at a steady clip. Before you're out of that first chapter, you're attuned to a lot of her sensibilities about everything from interoffice politics, questionable fashion, and the romantic inclinations of an aromatic hog farmer, who seems intent on directing conversation in directions other than the terms of his farm loan. You get to like her. You begin to trust her instincts; sharing some of them. But above all, you start listening intently, and if you pick this novel up for the first time just after dinner, you're likely to find yourself staying up way past your bedtime to find out what's going to happen next.
Clark brings 25 years of experience with the US Department of Agriculture to bear on the character of Carolina Slade, and the 'ins and outs' of USDA business. Slade's 'voice' is assured, which helps a lot, but beyond that, there is, too, a strong sense of separation. Knowing Clark personally, having met her, I didn't get the sense that she tried to put herself into the story. What she did was create a unique character, who happens to share selected aspects of her own personal history, but is, in every way, her own woman. Not easy to do, especially when first-person narration is selected. It requires diligence to keep your 'self' out of the way.
As that guy from the Gentleman's Warehouse says in his television commercials (paraphrasing), "You're gonna like (Slade), I guarantee it." And if you discover the same sense of camaraderie that I did, you'll be tapping your foot, awaiting publication of Book Two in the Carolina Slade mystery series.

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Jun 07, 2012 Bob Mustin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I claim to be a Southern writer, but I’ve found a lot of modern Southern writing in the past was either boring, not well developed, or affectatious. But with the advent of small publishers, the great trove of Southern writers that have gone begging for recognition are seeing the light of day.

One such is Hope Clark, and I admit to having read this book faster than most – so I could find out what was on the next page - after page. The story: Carolina Slade is a middle manager in the Department of...more

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May 19, 2012 Cindy Huff rated it 4 of 5 stars

Low Country Bribe is the debut novel of C Hope Clark. Book one in the Carolina Slade Mysteries set in South Carolina in the midst of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bureaucracy. Carolina Slade loves her job with the bureau and has worked hard to achieve manager. Her job seems routine enough until a hog farmer offers her a bribe. Ever vigilante to play by the rules, she reports Jessie Rawlings bribe. Before she can step back and take a breath, Senior Special Agent Wayne Largo from the Inspec...more

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May 07, 2012 Sue rated it 4 of 5 stars

I know C. Hope Clark as the Funds for Writers lady. I had no idea she spent many years working for the Department of Agriculture in South Carolina, which gave her the background for this book, which she bills as the first in the Carolina Slade mystery series. If the USDA is really this crooked, God help us all, but we’ll assume this is fiction. It’s a good yarn. Slade handles loans for farmers. When one of them offers her a bribe for a deal on the abandoned Williams Ranch, she’s not sure what to...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Malcolm rated it 5 of 5 stars

Authors often ask "What if" when they have an idea for a plot. When C. Hope Clark first thought about a civil servant at the Department of Agriculture reporting an attempted bribe by a farmer, she must have asked "what's the worst that can possibly happen?"

Carolina Slade (and you don't call her "Carolina" unless you're her mother) is a USDA official who plays by the rules. While others might have overlooked hog farmer Jesse Rawlings' offer of a bribe in hopes he would never bring up the matter a...more Authors often ask "What if" when they have an idea for a plot. When C. Hope Clark first thought about a civil servant at the Department of Agriculture reporting an attempted bribe by a farmer, she must have asked "what's the worst that can possibly happen?"

Carolina Slade (and you don't call her "Carolina" unless you're her mother) is a USDA official who plays by the rules. While others might have overlooked hog farmer Jesse Rawlings' offer of a bribe in hopes he would never bring up the matter again, Slade tells her superiors. After that, the dust never settles.

C . Hope Clark's protagonist in the dazzling debut mystery/thriller "Lowcountry Bribe," is a Charleston County manager who coordinates federal loans and their repayment by farmers. When she leaves her desk, it's to inspect a farm, not to carry a gun and catch bad guys. Yet, as a Cooperating Individual (CI) she has no choice but to help agents Wayne Largo and Eddie Childress prove Rawlings tried to bribe her.

The case is getting a lot of attention from Atlanta. Slade wonders why. Perhaps there's more to the bribe than she knows, a greater level of fraud that might implicate her former boss who disappeared last year or a co-worker who shot himself in the office last week. Slade can't even be sure Largo and Childress aren't investigating her. A supposedly easy "Get Jesse to repeat what he said Friday" turns into a dangerous crash course in crisis management where the stakes are much higher than missed loan payment or a reprimand from the boss.

Some publishers would have categorized "Lowcountry Bribe" as a mystery/thriller/romance because the novel includes romantic elements as well as Slade's feelings of approach/avoid, trust/distrust insofar as agent Largo and his motives are concerned. Regardless of the book's official genre(s), the danger and intrigue Slade is drawn into are industrial strength, requiring a CI who is tough enough to view blood on an office wall as "O-positive primer," savvy enough to think like a federal agent and experienced enough to apply humor and sarcasm to methods and practices that don't measure up to her high standards.

Clark knows the territory. She lives in South Carolina, has a degree in agriculture, has worked with the USDA for 25 years, and is married to a former federal agent. This information appears on the novel's back cover. By the time readers finish the novel and find out the worst that can possibly happen, they will have discovered that Clark also knows the territory of deftly plotted fiction, realistic dialogue and place settings, and how to tell a story that burns like a stiff drink with a touch of sugar.

Clark is now writing the next novel in the Carolina Slade Mystery Series. For readers who like great storytelling, that’s the best that can possibly happen.(less)

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Mar 10, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Any reader who loves a well-crafted mystery and strong, independent women as protags

Recommended to Sharon by: I've had the pleasure to know the author.

Rules were absolute; that’s the way she was raised. If she followed the rules, she’d be just fine…

Uh-uh, honey. Not this time. Not for Carolina Slade, County Manager, United States Department of Agriculture. Slade's professional life has blitzed from the structured normalcy of bailing out farmers with federal loans to head-spinning chaos faster than a filibustering politician can shout “pork barrel spending.” From the splatter of employee Lucas Sherwood’s O-positive blood on his office wall—an...more Rules were absolute; that’s the way she was raised. If she followed the rules, she’d be just fine…

Uh-uh, honey. Not this time. Not for Carolina Slade, County Manager, United States Department of Agriculture. Slade's professional life has blitzed from the structured normalcy of bailing out farmers with federal loans to head-spinning chaos faster than a filibustering politician can shout “pork barrel spending.” From the splatter of employee Lucas Sherwood’s O-positive blood on his office wall—an apparent suicide—to pig farmer Jesse Rawlings with his unabashed bribe to gain possession of an adjacent farm, author C. Hope Clark will have readers fretting over and cheering for her gutsy protagonist in LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE.

Doesn’t sound like enough conflict for you die-hard mystery devotees yet? Turn another page. With the deftness of an all-star hitter, Ms. Clark brings in the bickering, grudge-holding, soon-to-be-ex husband and a couple of gotta love’ em kids inching their way into puberty.

Oh, and let’s not discount Senior Special Agent Wayne Largo, who arrives in his white Impala toting a big Smith and Wesson .357 and even bigger government credentials. Did I say white Impala? Dark hair, broad shoulders, trim waist? A drawl that has Georgia peaches dropping from the trees?

Yep. That’s him. Sigh.

Murder, kidnapping, edge-of-your-seat mayhem and sizzling romance done Southern style, C. Hope Clark’s debut novel packs it all into 272 pages. And then some. This author drops readers straight into the story’s heart with her wonderfully painted visuals of the South Carolina coast, her smart and snappy dialogue, in-depth characterizations, and infinite plot twists and turns. Protagonist Slade loses ground and gains it back again and again in LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE, but she never stops trying—and she never loses the stranglehold on integrity that’s helped her succeed in a man’s world. In a word, she's likeable. (I guess that’s two words.)

This is a good one, folks. I’d tout LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE as a page-turner, but readers will recognize this after the first chapter. I’m giving Ms. Clark’s effort five sterling stars, and you can bet I’ll be watching eagerly for the second installment in her Carolina Slade mystery series. Maybe a third installment, a fourth?(less)

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May 14, 2013 Warren Thurston rated it 5 of 5 stars

Carolina Slade is a hard working mom who finds herself snared in a web of distrust. As the County Manager, United States Department of Agriculture in Charleston County, South Carolina, she arranges government loans for hard pressed farmers. Not all of those farmers are happy to have the government poking around in their private affairs. Some are outright hostile to any government officer who comes onto their property.

When Lucas Sherwood blew his brains out with his own pistol in his office, Slad...more Carolina Slade is a hard working mom who finds herself snared in a web of distrust. As the County Manager, United States Department of Agriculture in Charleston County, South Carolina, she arranges government loans for hard pressed farmers. Not all of those farmers are happy to have the government poking around in their private affairs. Some are outright hostile to any government officer who comes onto their property.

When Lucas Sherwood blew his brains out with his own pistol in his office, Slade’s world began to wobble. Her thoughts drifted back to Mickey Wilder, one year prior to Lucas’ suicide, Mickey went out on a job and never came back. Slade wonders if the two deaths are connected. Her moment of contemplation is interrupted by a visit to her office by the Rawlings brothers.

Hog farmers, the Rawlings brothers, are always in arrears with their loan payments. Ren Rawling, the eldest is intellectually impaired but relatively harmless. Jesse, the younger sibling is a powder keg ready to explode. Jesse displays the arrogance and hostility of a man with a chip on his shoulder. He feels the government is a hindrance to his life style, a burden he can do without. Hence he does all in his power to place blocks in the way the government wants him to do business.

Slade, as she prefers to be called, feels uneasy around Jesse. She didn’t like the sleazy way his gaze continually undressed her. Her apprehension with the man rises to new heights when Jesse offers her a bribe to look the other way regarding his loan arrears. Rejecting his offer, Slade did not foresee what a terrible part Jesse would soon play in her life.

Home life for Slade was as traumatic as her work place. Her husband didn’t respect her, and they fought continually. His drinking and temper tantrums placed her under constant threat of violence. She feared for her two children as well as herself, and longed to find solace from the barrage of abuse.

Head office’s reaction to the report of Jesse’s bribe, took Slade by surprise . She found herself under suspicion for manufacturing the accusation to suit her own ambitions. Wayne Largo, Senior Special Agent from the Inspector General’s office in Atlanta, is assigned to investigate Slade’s case.

Irritated by Largo’s attitude towards her, Slade soon finds herself attracted to him. This attraction grows as Largo and herself become engrossed in unraveling the puzzle that surrounds Jesse Rawling. Slade finds herself becoming more reliant, yet at the same time frustrated with Largo. Pressure at home and work keeps progressing until it explodes in the worse way possible for a mum. Her children are placed in extreme danger by Jesse, which brings her relationship with Largo into conflict as well.

C. Hope Clark has penned a fast paced thriller that grabs the reader from start to finish. In today’s world of publishing, both for self-published and traditionally published authors, the “Telling” style of writing is prevalent. “Telling” is a lazy cop out by writers and makes for dull reading. C. Hope Clark is not guilty in this department, her writing sparkles in the “Showing” style, which creates full body characters that readers can empathize with.

Readers who seek a novel worthy of the word quality, need go no further than “Lowcountry Bribe”. It’s a book that shows C. Hope Clark is at the height of her literary powers. This is a novel well worth reading and I highly recommend it to lovers of the thriller genre.

Warren Thurston - Playwright
www.fivedollarplays.com
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May 05, 2012 Zoë rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries

I read a lot of mysteries, and I really enjoyed this one. There were a few things which were rather fresh and new about the mystery format here. Imagine a version of Paretsky's VI Warshawski or Cornwell's Scarpetta, but with the narrative set in South Carolina and the heroine having a Southern twist. I also liked the fact that unlike many hard-boiled heroines, Slade has children to protect. This complicates the narrative and creates new sources of tension.

The plot concerning a bribe begins in q...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Stephen Scarbrough rated it 5 of 5 stars

I never imagined being interested in a novel about agriculture. So glad I look the time to look because once I started this book, I could not put it down. C. Hope Clark introduces a bold, cheeky agricultural manager, Slade, who helps farmers keep their businesses. When offered a bribe by a farmer, she tries to do the right thing by reporting it to the proper authorities. The thriller is set up so that you can easily see how it could happen and once things being spiraling out of control, you can'...more

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May 26, 2012 Jenan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having subscribed to the author's FUNDS FOR WRITERS e-zine for years, I'd followed Clark and the tweaking and marketing of this mystery. I did not know what to expect, having only read the ezine previously, but was anxious to support her.

Set in the Charleston, SC, the protagonist, Carolina Slade, is an agricultural agent struggling with a failing marriage. Facing a bribe from a farmer she serves, Slade must battle corruption and danger to save herself and her children.

As is typical in mysteries,...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Janet rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Mystery lovers

Warning: Do not attempt to read a few pages of this book with your morning coffee. You will become so engrossed that it will make you late to work!

There are more twists and turns in "Lowcountry Bribe" than there are switchbacks and hairpin turns on Rocky Mountain highways. Clark lays out a gripping mystery full of Southern charm and redneck seediness as the female protagonist, Carolina Slade, sinks deeper and deeper into a quagmire of conspiracy, shady land deals, kidnapping, murder and more...a...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Valley Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars

(As posted to Amazon by Valley Brown)

Hope Clark, the wit and wisdom behind the highly acclaimed site
"Funds For Writers," gives us an earthy glimpse into what we
all thought was a mundane world of government forms and livestock
management. Pulling from her personal stint in an identical job,
Ms. Clark brings an eclectic mix of characters into full,
believable focus, and delivers a lush image of the sultry
Lowcountry landscape, where people hide secrets that are as thick
as flies at a Fourth of J...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Glen Allison rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started Lowcountry Bribe thinking it was a cozy. (I write action/suspense stuff. Cozies don't usually grab my attention.)

However ... BAM! Carolina Slade hides no flaws and pulls no punches on her way to bringing down a bad guy. Okay, there was a little romantic suspense and some kissing along the way. (I sounded like the kid on PRINCESS BRIDE just then, didn't I?) For my taste, it was tiny bit slow in the middle - and it's probably because of my male ADD - but the layers of conflict pulled me...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Bonna Hardy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Being from the south I was thrilled to receive this book through first-reads.

I really enjoyed the way this book was written. How it was narrated. I think though one of the only things I really didn't like was...well...to be honest the main character (Slade) was kind of stupid.

Maybe that's just me. I didn't NOT like her I just didn't think she was very good at "solving" anything. She just sort of fluttered about and whined about things.

Also there were more than a few times the spelling of 'Jesse'...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Eularee Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone

Loved it! Although I did figure out the twist in the end, the book had me going up until the last few chapters. Great storytelling and the characters ran vividly through the pages and my imagination. Clark is an excellent story teller and provided a wonderful Carolina flavor and backdrop for the story. I was swatting the mosquitoes as I sipped on my sweet tea, swallowing every country witticism and the slow easy drawl of the southern language as I turned the page. This was my first e-book and I...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Jodi Sway rated it 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely LOVE C. Hope Clark's first novel in her new series. Her main character, Carolina Slade, is gutsy, no nonsense, and all about doing what has to be done. Dry, on-point humor is peppered in all the right places. Hope makes the settings throughout South Carolina come to life, weaving in all the senses, making you feel you're there with Slade as she fights to find out...I don't want to give too much away. This mystery hits all the notes of suspense, and is a page-turner from beginning to...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Zada rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, mystery, i-own, southern-flair

Amazing debut from C. Hope Clark!

The story's main character, Carolina Slade, is a woman I would love to call a personal friend. She's a down-to-earth, no nonsense sort of gal from the southern US who works in the agricultural department. The plot's suspenseful twists begin with a bribe from a local farmer. Mystery isn't the only ingredient in this book; add in some humor and romance as well.

Wonderful writing + intriguing story + realistic characters = can't put this book down!

I am impatiently wa...more

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May 24, 2012 Rebecca Gernon rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've subscribed to Hope's Funds for Witers newsletters for years. Just learned that like me she is a MENSA and retired Fed...and a good writer to boot. The story kept my attention, hated to put it down to cook supper. Carolina Slade, is a great characer. Hope some of her other characters return in future novels. Would love to see a little more detail on what goes on in her office. Think she'll be needin' some additional staff. Worth the time and money spent to read this mystery. NOthing offensiv...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Glenn Walker rated it 5 of 5 stars

LOWCOUNTRY BRIBE by C. Hope Clark has the best opening line I have read in quite some time: "O-positive primer wasn't quite the color I had in mind for the small office, but Lucas Sherwood hadn't given the décor a second thought when he blew out the left side of his head with a .45." I was hooked.

Hope's descriptions don't end with that beautiful Tarantino-esque opening. In what sounds at first like the last thing I would ever read - an agricultural mystery in the Deep South - Hope delivers fast...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Jayne Bowers rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just when you think you've figured it out and that all is well, Clark throws another surprise or two into the mystery. While the novel doesn't have a fairy tale, happily ever after ending, the ending is believable, and the reader comes away knowing that Slade is one tough gal whose life can only get better.

As a South Carolinian, I've often driven the two lane roads of the low country. Now, I'll see roadside scenery in a totally different light and wonder what secrets lurk there.

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Dec 28, 2012 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars

I began reading this book about an unhappily married woman and after about 100 pages I was wondering why I had even started it. Then I remembered. The author had been compared to Flannary O'Connor. Let me tell you that there is no comparison unless you say that both authors had protagonists that were difficult to like. I finished the book with no enthusiasm and was simply glad when it ended. 'Nuf said.

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Oct 30, 2012 J.P. Choquette rated it 3 of 5 stars

I would give this book a 3.5 if possible. The author did a great job with her main character and it was obvious that a lot of her personal experience went into the formation of the character's job and the setting. There were some very exciting pieces toward the end. I wished that the excitment had built faster in the beginning. A very strong writer--dialogue was great.

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Jan 05, 2013 Lori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, kindle

With a main character who is a county manager who makes local agricultural loans, this does not sound like an exciting start to a mystery. I could not put this book down. The setting is Charleston County, South Carolina. All the characters are intriguing and difficult to trust. Even farmers are not what they seem. I will look for more books from C. Hope Clark.

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May 30, 2012 Judy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hope Clark's Lowcountry Bribe keeps you racing through pages as you live through Caroline Slade's fight for justice, then her job, her children and finally her own life. Slade is a character you will love for her integrity and bravery as she finds it hard to trust anyone. Read it...super.

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Aug 20, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

This mystery has a surprising protagonist. She is an Agricultural Agent. What starts out to be a minor disagreement with a disgruntled farmer leads into much more serious problems. The story becomes more exciting as it goes and the ending is a surprise. I recommend it as a fun read.

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Jun 14, 2012 Kelley rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a Kindle freebie that I wholeheartedly admit I downloaded solely because it is set in my fabulous home state of South Carolina! LOL. But, I really enjoyed it. Its not the type of book I typically read but it moved quickly and got me reading again which I had been slack about.

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About C. Hope Clark

C. Hope Clark was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University and 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture to include awards for her management, all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina...more C. Hope Clark was born and reared in the South, from Mississippi to South Carolina with a few stints in Alabama and Georgia. The granddaughter of a Mississippi cotton farmer, Hope holds a B.S. in Agriculture with honors from Clemson University and 25 years’ experience with the U. S. Department of Agriculture to include awards for her management, all of which enable her to talk the talk of Carolina Slade, the protagonist in most of her novels. Her love of writing, however, carried her up the ranks to the ability to retire young, and she left USDA to pen her stories and freelance.

Lowcountry Bribe‘s opening chapter took first place in the Phillip Mangelsdorf Award, third place in Alabama Writer’s Conclave Competition and honorable mention in The Writing Show Chapter Competition as judged by bestselling mystery author C. J. Box. The chapter also made top three finalist status of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense sponsored by Romance Writers of America. The novel enjoyed semi-finalist status (top 100 out of 10,000) in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. The book went on to win the 2012 Silver Falchion Award for Crime Fiction and the 2013 EPIC E-book Award for Best Mystery.

Hope is married to a 30-year veteran of federal law enforcement, a Senior Special Agent, now a contract investigator. They met on a bribery investigation within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the basis for the opening scene to Lowcountry Bribe. Hope and her special agent live on the rural banks of Lake Murray outside of Chapin, South Carolina, forever spinning tales on their back porch, bourbon and coke in hand, when not tending a loveable flock of Orpington and Dominiquer hens.

She also currently manages FundsforWriters.com, a weekly newsletter service she founded that reaches almost 40,000 writers to include university professors, professional journalists and published mystery authors. Writer’s Digest has recognized the site in its annual 101 Best Web Sites for Writers for 13 years.

She’s published in The Writer Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Chicken Soup, Next Step Magazine, College Bound Teen, Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), TURF Magazine, Landscape Management and other trade and online publications. She speaks at several writers’ conferences a year. Hope is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, SC Friends of the Library, EPIC and MENSA.(less)

More about C. Hope Clark...

Books by C. Hope Clark

The Shy Writer: An Introvert's Guide to Writing Success

Tidewater Murder (Carolina Slade Mystery Series, #2)

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Lowcountry Bribe (Caroline Slade Mystery Series #1)

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