BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: January 20, 2026
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Publisher: Girl Friday Press
Page Count: 370
Format: Paperback, eBook
ISBN: 978-1-967510-70-2 (PB), 978-1-967510-71-9 (eBook)
Price: $19.95 USD (PB); $9.99 USD (eBook)
ABOUT THE BOOK
A highly regarded surgeon has gone missing. Will the search for her whereabouts tear a community apart?
Dr. Janie O’Connor’s disappearance from her Savannah estate, Rose Dhu, has shocked the town to its core. Her former fiancé, Phillip Carruthers—once the most eligible bachelor in coastal Georgia and the playboy son of Savannah’s most powerful billionaire family—is the prime suspect. Phillip maintains his innocence and seems to have an airtight alibi, and the case has local police stumped. But Detective Frank Winger, who has his own personal connection to Janie’s family, is determined to discover what happened . . . as long as false witnesses, evidence tampering, and ghosts from his past don’t get in the way.
When back-door dealings and long-forgotten enemies reveal themselves, will Frank be able to distinguish fact from fiction to figure out what happened to Janie? Or will her whereabouts stay shrouded in the shadows of Savannah’s live oaks?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Murphy is a native of Savannah, Georgia. He’s worked as a fast-food worker, marine biologist, orderly, ordained minister, and renowned gastroenterologist, his current “day job.” When he’s not healing the sick, he writes anything he can—newspaper columns, short stories, magazine articles, and textbook chapters. Rose Dhu is his third novel.
TIMELY TIE-INS
2025
December
- National Crime Junkie Day – 18
2026
January
- National Law Enforcement Day – 9
- Anniversary of the release of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (bestselling book also taking place in Savannah) – January 13, 1994
- Publication Date – 20
February
- International Book Giving Day
- Library Lovers Day – 14
March
- National Physician’s Week – 25-31
PRAISE
“Rose Dhu—as we expect in the best mystery novels—rivets our attention from the opening chapter to its stunning conclusion, but equally impressive is how Savannah itself becomes a character. We see the city’s grandeur but also the corruption and class consciousness hidden beneath. Memorable characters, moral complexity, and perfect pacing makes this novel worth of a wide and appreciative audience. Bravo!”
—Ron Rash, author of The Caretaker (A book of the year selection from The New Yorker)
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- The theme of truth versus perception seems key. What do you hope readers take away about how communities construct—or conceal—truth?
- As a Savannah local, an ordained minister, writer, and doctor, what would you say continues to inspire you day after day in your role as a member of the community?
- This is your third novel—are they connected in any way? How does Rose Dhu play into the mystique of Savannah?
- What is your favorite part about writing crime fiction?
- Are you a fan of crime shows? If so, is there a show in particular that served as inspiration for Rose Dhu?
- What message—or lingering feeling—do you hope readers are left with after the final page?

BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99