Joe Lee, a native of Starkville and a graduate of Mississippi State University, will sign copies of his new suspense thriller, Director’s Cut (Dogwood Press, 2014), at Bay Books on Saturday, April 11 at 5 p.m.

“Director’s Cut is the fifth volume of my Oakdale suspense series that began with Judgment Day,” Lee said. “Oakdale is a fictional small town in north Mississippi with more than its share of crime, old money, crazy people and folks way up in each other’s business. This book introduces a new protagonist, Tripp Kelly, a well-liked and admired professor of film study at the local university. There’s one big problem: he’s a serial killer.”

Writing in The Clarion Ledger, J.C. Patterson said of Director’s Cut, “Hitchcock-style treachery . . . a fast and fun read.” Mississippi journalist Sid Salter has compared Lee’s work to that of best-selling novelist Carl Hiassen.

Lee is the Owner and Editor-in-chief of Dogwood Press, a small but traditional publishing company headquartered in Brandon. Dogwood Press has published fellow Mississippi authors Randy Pierce of Leakesville, Valerie Winn of Gautier, John M. Floyd of Brandon, Jim Ritchie of Canton, Mike Windham of Brookhaven, and Barbie Bassett of Madison.

“I tell people that Oakdale is half an hour from real-life Tupelo and resembles towns like Ripley, Pontotoc and New Albany in terms of size,” Lee said. “I truly love visiting with folks in our state’s independent bookstores – that’s where you meet some really voracious readers – and I always look forward to visiting the Coast.”

Call Bay Books at 228-463-2688 to reserve signed copies of Director’s Cut and any of Lee’s novels.