If you like your murders with a side of barbecued ribs, this one's for you. Part police procedural, part cozy, and pretty tasty, this detective story takes you into another world - the world of Southern barbecue and the festivals that celebrate it.

This book is not only a greater thriller, it is also a fun read. The characterizations and the interplay between the characters provide a story that is a pleasure to read. All the players are real people with strengths and weaknesses that provide strong emotio9ns in the reader Try it, you will be glad you did.

Loved the book! Characters were so funny and you could hear the southernness of their voices throughout the book. If you like mysteries and crime fiction, this is the book to read.

great story, excellent mystery, good guys are good, deliciously bad bad guys. The only thing that I didn't like about this book was that it overplayed the quaint Southern phrases. As a native of Tennessee, I can assure you that not everything we say is a quaint Southernism. Whole sentences, sometimes whole paragraphs, come out of our mouths as they would for someone from Boston or LA or Iowa, just slower and more musical. It got annoying, almost insulting. Aside from that, it was a really good book.

Intrigue, plenty of mystery, drama, suspense with utterly unpredictable plots twisting and turning throughout the book.
Plenty of humor and down to earth, funky, engaging and vivid characters.
Come on down for a real treat of “Memphis Ribs”.
Thank you to Net Gallery and Penguin Group for this eBook.
My opinion is my own.

This book is part of a set that is being reprinted by a different published, so while not new, it may seem new!

This is a fun romp through Memphis that will leaving you pining away for ribs and ribs and ribs! Anyone who had lived in a tourist city, knows what it is like when they descend for large festivals- it can be a boon, interesting, but sometimes not so nice. The humor in the book will have you chuckling (rob an atm, buy removing it? that's a new one!), and the convoluted Southern 6 degrees of separation will have you shaking your head (unless you are from the South, then you'll be nodding in appreciation). The result is a perfect mystery novel, full of Southern traits and food, that will leave you longing for fishing by the lake in lazy Summer heat, and wanting to read more of the J.W. Ragsdale series! . Take this one with you to the beach for an enjoyable read!

Book Review Memphis Ribs by Gerald Duff Book Review by Dawn Thomas

848 Pages Brash Books Mystery

The book opens with an unconventional robbery of an ATM. Instead of breaking into the machine, the robbers decide it would be better to take the whole machine. The men don’t know the machines can withstand major damage. The main character J.W. Ragsdale is a sergeant with the Memphis police department. He is last in his family to live in the area but he lost the family cotton farm. He has a girlfriend but isn’t sure she is the right one for him. There are mentions of his previous life with a wife and son but we don’t really know anything about them.

Aires Saxon is murdered. He is the patriarch of the Saxon family and owner of the Delta Pride BBQ franchise. Was it a home invasion or was it staged to look like one? The family members’ lives are imploding. Franklin is only interested in his next fix and is in over his head with the Bones Family gang. His sister Cameron is only interested in her current duties as the Maid of Cotton.

It is J.W. and his partner Tyrone’s responsibility to bring law and order to the land. Add a yankee that loves blues music, two gun totting brothers and a BBQ ribs master and you have a cast of colorful characters. This is a gritty book that takes place in and around Memphis and the Mississippi Delta. I had some difficulty with the language at times especially with the local dialect and slang. J.W. gets his man, or should I say men. The ending of the book was unpredictable and I was laughing out loud.

Set in Memphis this is a fun romp with food, culture and humor. Its a fun romp through Memphis culture and the mystery is well developed and enjoyable. The characters are true to the Southern city, the food descriptions will make you hungry. . A enjoyable mystery read !