Award-winning author Wanda Morris returns with a powerful, haunting thriller following a lawyer who after the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United States today. Deena Wood’s life has fallen apart in the aftermath of losing her beloved mother, her marriage, and her prestigious job at an Atlanta law firm. She needs what the Geechee people of coastal Georgia call a “dayclean,” a fresh start. She returns to her childhood home in Brunswick, Georgia, to heal. But her return is anything but the respite she thought it might be. To make peace with all her loss, she often drives through the city. One day, she unwittingly finds herself on the oceanfront property of a loner widower who is fighting to keep land that has been in his family since the end of the Civil War. He threatens her and warns her to never return. But shortly after, he disappears, and his very expensive property is quickly put up for sale. Curious about what has happened to the man, Deena digs into his disappearance and finds a family legacy at risk. What starts out as a bit of curious snooping, turns into a deadly game of illegal land grabs and property redevelopment in poor and rural communities with dark and powerful forces at work. Without realizing it, Deena finds herself caught up in a nightmarish scheme that threatens her community and her family. She’ll need help and finds it in a close but unlikely source because she knows she must do whatever it takes to stop the sinister forces at play before she becomes their next target. "A legal mystery layered with a ghost story boasts a propulsive plot and lively, engaging characters." - Kirkus Reviews "Narrators Joniece Abbott-Pratt and Lynnette R. Freeman alternate reading chapters, with each offering equally superb performances.... A complex, atmospheric mystery that will keep listeners engaged, searching for clues, and thinking about the plight of others." - Library Journal (starred review) on What You Leave Behind (audio) "With deep characterizations, local lore, and a sympathetic heroine, this is another feather in Morris’s cap." - Library Journal on What You Leave Behind "It takes a deft writer to craft a suspenseful page-turner ostensibly about real estate, but [Morris] proves up to the task in her third novel.... Morris has created her own beguiling form of magical realism as a chorus of Geechee-Gullah ancestors narrates each chapter in their patois to numinous effect, and benevolent haints lend a helping hand in crime-solving. It is a lyrical document of a vibrant culture as well as an exposé of real-life shady business practices." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution “The award-winning Morris skillfully sculpts the myriad three-dimensional characters in What You Leave Behind , especially Deena and her family. She gracefully weaves in the issues of heirs’ property rights and the Gullah-Geechee culture in a solid, thought-provoking, timely plot.” - Florida Sun-Sentinel “Morris nimbly balances character and plot, anchoring the mystery’s big questions in the emotional lives of Deena and her fellow Brunswick residents. This entertains as much as it enlightens.” - Publishers Weekly “Morris displays an astonishing mastery of multiple literary forms. At this story’s core is a solid mystery, intricately embroidered with characters who seem to jump off the page. She also excels at weaving in elements of the paranormal and inexplicable, like an oddly benevolent Shirley Jackson. This tale is ominous at first, full blown at the finish…. Not to be missed.”  - Booklist (starred review) "[An] exceptional mystery." - Washington Post on What You Leave Behind “In What You Leave Behind , Morris expertly weaves together a beautifully soulful mystery rooted in history. This is a story that reminds us of how the past, present and future intertwine to inform and guide our lives. Drenched in folklore and compelling to the final page, this book stirs the connection between our ancestors and ourselves, calling us to action.“ - Erin E. Adams, author of Jackal " What You Leave Behind is a masterfully crafted story about grief, family, community, and multi-generational injustices. It’s also a phenomenal crime novel. One of the best legal thriller writers since John Grisham, Wanda Morris keeps getting better and better.”  - Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of Find Me "Morris ( Anywhere You Run ) returns with a tense and topical legal thriller...Morris nimbly balances character and plot, anchoring the mystery’s big questions in the emotional lives of Deena and her fellow Brunswick residents. This entertains as much as it enlightens." - Publishers Weekly "A beautifully balanced novel that includes a foray into the world of the Gullah-Geechee people, the experience of grief, and the uncovering of a land grab, all wrapped up in an edge-of-the-sea