About the Author
Moving from the linear world of practicing law into the creative realm of storytelling has been a revealing transition.
Lawyer turned author, Cynthia is inspired by life's trials and the growing desire to discover what's next.
CL Tolbert grew up on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, a culturally rich, beachy stretch of land with some of the best sunsets in the country. Early in her career she taught children with learning disabilities before moving on to law school. She spent most of her legal career working as defense counsel to large corporations and traveled throughout the country as regional and national counsel. She also had the unique opportunity of teaching third-year law students in a clinical program at a law school in New Orleans where she ran the Homelessness Law Clinic and learned, first hand, about poverty in that city. The experiences and impressions she has collected from the past forty years contribute to the stories she writes today.
After winning the Georgia State Bar Association’s fiction writing contest in 2010 for a short story entitled Out From Silence, she devoted more time to writing. Retiring after thirty years of practicing law she developed the winning short story into a full scale novel by the same name. A new manuscript entitled The Redemption is currently in development. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and schnauzer Yoda, and visits her two children and three grandchildren as often as possible.
Out From Silence and The Redemption are the first two mysteries in the Emma Thornton series.
Featured Books
"A budding storyteller with curated characters waiting to be revealed in narratives yet to be told, Cynthia’s early recognition is setting the stage for what’s next. Future accolades expected."
Winner, Georgia Bar Journal Fiction Writing Contest | 2010
Fiction Writing Contest Scholarship, Il Chiostro Writing Workshop | Italy 2010
AVAILABLE NOW!
SANCTUARY:
A THORNTON MYSTERY
Emma Thornton is back in Sanctuary, C. L. Tolbert's third novel in the Thornton Mystery Series. This time, she's agreed to represent a former client accused of killing the leader of a suspicious cult in New Orleans.
James Crosby, the charismatic leader of the Japaprajnas, is found dead one late afternoon, his body draped over an iron fence in the courtyard of the nineteenth-century house where he and several cult members work and live. Although they initially presumed the fall was an accident, police investigators quickly discover that James received a lethal dose of a drug before he was pushed from his office balcony.
The next day the police discover a syringe and a substantial amount of the drug which killed James in Stacey Robert's bedroom. The nineteen-year-old cult member is brought in for questioning, which leads to her arrest. Emma, who had represented Stacey when she was a sixteen-year-old runaway, agrees to take the case. Convinced that she is innocent, Emma begins an investigation into the cult and its members. Emma's questions uncover dangerous secrets, illicit activities, and the exploitation of innocent victims. Emma's suspicions lead her to the killer's trail and the case's final resolution.
PRAISE FOR SANCTUARY
““Brace yourself. Deadly personalities, hidden agendas, and long-buried secrets threaten law professor Emma Thornton, after she agrees to defend a terrified young woman accused of murdering the charismatic leader of an oppressive cult. The dark heart of New Orleans has never felt so dangerous.”
Roger Johns, award-winning author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries
“The lies stack up as fast as bodies in this latest thriller from C.L. Tolbert. Law professor Emma Thornton returns as the tenacious and fearless defender of New Orleans’ downtrodden. An enthralling mystery, Sanctuary explores the seedy underbelly of the Big Easy.”
Bruce Robert Coffin, award-winning author of the Detective Byron Mysteries
“A shady religion, shadowy deals, and twisted family relationships come together in the atmospheric world of New Orleans to create a captivating mystery. Emma Thornton is an attorney with a heart of gold.”
Liz Milliron, Author of The Laurel Highlands Mysteries and The Homefront Mysteries
“Sanctuary explores the seedy side of the French Quarter complete with cults and drugs as Attorney Emma Thornton races to clear the name of a young runaway. Author C.L. Tolbert takes the reader along on a heart-pounding journey into the dark underbelly of New Orleans.”
Annette Dashofy, USA Today Bestselling Author of the Zoe Chambers Mysteries
OUT FROM SILENCE:
A THORNTON MYSTERY
C.L. Tolbert's Debut Book in the Thornton Mystery Series. Set in the fictional town of Jonesburg, GA, Emma Thornton, law student and clerk for a local attorney is asked to help defend Adam, a young deaf man accused of killing his girlfriend. The investigation sets her on a dangerous path which nearly costs her her life and forces Adam out of his world of silence.
PRAISE FOR OUT FROM SILENCE
“Out From Silence is a solid debut loaded with menace, memorable characters, and dangerous secrets––a brooding mystery rooted deep in the Southern tradition. C L Tolbert is a talented newcomer to the crime fiction tribe.”
Roger Johns, award-winning author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries
"Cynthia Tolbert follows in the footsteps of legendary southern author Margaret Maron with her haunting debut, OUT FROM SILENCE, a beautifully drawn mystery that explores the duality of evil and kindness in a small Georgia town."
Ellen Byron, Agatha Winner, Best Contemporary Novel, Cajun Country Mysteries, USA Today Bestselling Series, Humorous Lefty Awards, The Catering Hall Mysteries
THE REDEMPTION:
A THORNTON MYSTERY
Emma Thornton is back in The Redemption, C.L. Tolbert’s second novel in the Thornton Mystery Series. When two men are murdered one muggy September night in a New Orleans housing project, an eye witness identifies only one suspect - Louis Bishop- a homeless sixteen-year old. When they take on the case, Emma and her students discover a tangle of corruption, intrigue, and more.