2006 News Archive

A Severed Head In a Flower Bed Is Not a Good Way to Start Your Day

AUGUSTA, Georgia —William Rawlings, Jr., has penned his fourth novel, titled Crossword, which is set for release in September 2007. Rawlings is the author of The Lazard Legacy, The Rutherford Cipher and the award-winning novel The Tate Revenge, Crossword is a follow-up to the 2004 hit thriller, The Rutherford Cipher, which weaves a tale about the fabled lost Confederate gold and a top-secret nuclear weapons facility at the Savannah River Site.

In Crossword, Matt Rutherford finds himself unwillingly drawn into the investigation of the death of a man whose head is found in a flower bed, and the murder of his houseguest. Matt soon finds his own life is in danger. A disk containing several cryptic crossword puzzles is the key to solving the murder and saving Matt’s life.
“With The Rutherford Cipher, William Rawlings stakes his claim as one of the leading practitioners of what might be called the ‘southern thriller.’ From Civil War history and forensic medicine to modern cryptography and nuclear physics, the sweep of Rawlings’ story is impressive; his range is wide, but with impeccable authority and impressive invention. The Rutherford Cipher is a great story deftly told,” said St. John Flynn, host of “Cover to Cover” on Georgia Public Radio. Crossword again showcases Rawlings’ diverse range of interests and authority and his ability to create a fictional, but plausible, story.

Rawlings’ work The Tate Revenge was recently awarded the 2005 Golden Eye Literary Prize which is given in honor of the literary legend and Georgia-born novelist Carson McCullers and named for McCullers’ Reflections in a Golden Eye. The award is given to authors of novels of unusually compelling dramatic quality, social relevance and extraordinary literary merit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
William Rawlings Jr., award-winning author of The Tate Revenge, The Lazard Legacy and The Rutherford Cipher, is a lifelong resident of Sandersville, Georgia, where he practices medicine, runs a travel agency, grows pine trees, restores old buildings, develops new properties and keeps busy writing books and articles on world travel.

For more information, contact Renee Conaway at (706) 738-0354
or publicity@harborhousebooks.com.