Books - Katherine Burnette Author

Katherine’s 2025 thriller, Killing Her Sharply, is now available in print and eBook format

2025 Release

Killing Her Sharply

Burnette’s latest thriller is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and Kobo. Coming soon to Wild Hare Books and Angel Wings Bookstore in Oxford, NC.

When officers discover the severed head of a woman in a dumpster in the quaint town of Oxford, North Carolina, the case falls to Oxford Police Department detectives Bob Kelly and Antoine “Tony” Duval. The mismatched pair must work together to solve this gruesome crime. Bob, an experienced detective, fends for himself after his son overdoses, and his wife leaves him. Tony, recently transferred in from New Orleans to Oxford, routinely insults the crime scene techs and anyone within earshot. Bob and Tony quickly realize they’re hunting a psychopathic serial killer who loathes women lawyers.

With more gruesome finds of body parts, the FBI sends in Agent Augusta “Gus” Bullock and profiler Felix Fulcher. The agents, along with Lt Katie O’Connor and Sgt Walter Johnson from the Granville County Sheriff’s Office, ramp up the investigation searching for a suspect with expert knife skills and burning desire to cut up the women.

Despite these combined investigative forces, the community is paralyzed by fear. Tensions mount even further when the killer taunts the investigation team. Will they solve the case before the killer strikes again? Is it someone who is a stranger-or could it be someone hidden in plain sight behind a small-town smile?

“Intense, compelling thriller that will draw you in from the first page and hold you in its grip.” —Betty Fudge, author of Norm and Ginger Enter The Hidden, award-winning middle grade adventure

“Cleverly engineered, Killing Her Sharply, deputizes the reader and invites them to track a serial killer side-by-side with lead detectives, Bob and Tony, through an iconic small town the author knows like the back of her hand.” —David Payne, author of Barefoot to Avalon and Early From the Dance

“Killing Her Sharply is a gripping mystery from attorney author Katherine Burnette that blends psychological depth, sharp procedural detail, and heart-pounding suspense. Set in Oxford, North Carolina, the novel offers a vivid picture of the social contradictions and dread realities of contemporary life in the postindustrial South gleaned, no doubt from Burnette’s experience as a prosecutor. Killing Her Sharply’s detective protagonists, Bob and Tony are fascinating, relatable and contradictory in exactly the right ways. Readers will love following their investigation into this small town serial killer. If you’re like me, you won’t be able to put it down!” —Taylor Black, author of Style: A Queer Cosmology (NYU Press 2023)

Debut Novel

Judge's Waltz

Burnette’s debut legal suspense novel is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, N.C.

Federal Judge Patrick O’Shea is found swinging from his courtroom chandelier clad only in his robe. Everyone wanted him dead. FBI task force officer Katie O’Connor and her team work with the FBI and others to untangle the ever-growing lists of suspects including his estranged wife and judicial colleague. Small town attorney and former federal law clerk, Buck Davis, helps the court by identifying vengeful litigants and overseeing the law clerks during the turbulent time. Davis juggles his small town law practice with his budding romance with Katie, and rebuilding his relationship with his opioid addicted brother.

“In The Judge’s Waltz, author Katherine Burnette reinvents the notion of the Hanging Judge with a twist and a vengeance, taking readers on a rollicking mystery ride through a small-town South as achingly familiar as Maycomb or Mayberry, one where the ancient monsters have left the woods and taken up residence in the corridors of power. Sweet, funny and surprising.”—David Payne, author of Barefoot to Avalon and Ruin Creek

“I have been a fan of Burnette’s poetry and short stories, so I was eager to read JUDGE’S WALTZ. After reading her debut novel, I have to say, John Grisham, watch out! Burnette’s legal suspense is one of the best to come along in a long time. Burnette deftly depicts life in a small North Carolina town and its courthouse. Her richly drawn characters deliver a page-turning story of intrigue, betrayal, abandonment, and redemption. From a federal court judge to the bachelor lawyer’s faithful dog, the characters and story hooked me. I could not wait to turn the page and see what happened next.”

—Allegra Jordan, Author of Amazon best-seller THE END OF INNOCENCE

“Katherine Burnette brings her own considerable experience as an attorney and former prosecutor to this poignant and compelling mystery. Judge’s Waltz is rich with the charm and grit of ailing small towns like Oxford, North Carolina, and abounds with unforgettable characters. In a word: unputdownable.” —Naeem Murr, Author of The Perfect Man