Author Jessica R. Patch looked no farther than Memphis and her DeSoto County home to narrate the story of a cold-case serial killer stalking the FBI agent who hunts him.

Dunbarton Drive. Fogg Road. Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken on Goodman Road in Southaven. Patch’s local readers will recognize the places in her fictional account.

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Of all the zillions of detailed decisions an author must make, how did Patch elect to use these DeSoto County spots as the backdrop to her first psychological thriller?

Well, she used to live on Fogg Road early in her marriage. And as for the restaurant?

“I love Gus’s fried chicken,” said the 46-year-old author, resting her arms on a checkerboard table at the rustic-styled building of the eatery. “Maybe I wanted chicken that day.”

OK, so, sometimes the choices aren’t steeped in high-minded purposes, but Patch’s penetrating curiosity for the psychology behind crime and other feats of passion works for her.

There’s some history of a successful author coming out of DeSoto County. John Grisham was an attorney from Southaven and a state legislator in the 1980s when he scrapped those occupations and turned to writing his best-selling novels beginning with “A Time To Kill.”

Patch is already a successful author, having penned 15 books published by Love Inspired, Harlequin’s inspirational adult fiction imprint. “Her Darkest Secret” – a reference to a big thing the FBI agent is hiding – is Patch’s first trade-length novel, a much larger work at 349 pages.

“Her Darkest Secret” came out last month.

Don’t expect steamy love scenes in her shorter works nor savage descriptions of blood, brains or brawn in her latest book. Love Inspired requires a Christian worldview and wholesome values, puts emotional intimacy over sexual desire and allows no graphic violence.

And that fits Patch perfectly.

Patch wanted to be a missionary. She went to Central Bible College in Missouri for just that purpose. She ended up with a husband. At 19, she moved with him to Horn Lake.

She eventually leaned into her storytelling roots and the fascination for the who-done-it. They were seeded in childhood while raised by a mother who read suspense.

“Really the beginning is Scooby-Doo,” Patch said. “I loved mysteries, and then, of course, I read Nancy Drew. And I read everything my mother had.”

Patch’s first writer’s conference was in 2011. She pitched an idea to an agent, Rachel Kent, who still represents her. Patch writes five, sometimes six, days a week. She finished the first draft of “Her Darkest Secret” in three months.

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“Not every book goes that fast,” Patch said. “It had been percolating for a while.”

Ideas may come from seemingly irrelevant places.

The inspiration for the serial killer’s moniker, the Nursery Rhyme Killer, or “Rhyme,” in the book came from her beloved grandmother’s telling of nursery rhymes to Patch every night she stayed with her. The killer uses a succession of nursery rhymes to help stage crime scenes.

Other ideas are filtered by an FBI friend and others in law enforcement to determine if the fictional account is believable and accurate on procedures.

DeSoto County assistant district attorney Luke Williamson is one of Patch’s go-to people. His wife is a friend of Patch’s and a huge fan of her work.

“She’s always been concerned with authenticity and accuracy,” Williamson said of the author. “Realism is really important to her.”

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And even though Patch’s books are fictional with made-up details, authentic writing can help inform everyday life, the prosecutor said. In his work, he sees citizens regularly surprised by the ways they can become victimized.

“Even though it is fiction and sometimes very inventive, it can put people on notice to see the danger that may be present,” Williamson said.

There is an eternal true-life application that Patch shoots for, however, and it’s pumped full of mystery.

“I feel like today, most people have ‘their truth,’ but there is the truth,” Patch said.

She is speaking of a faith in Christ and its application to guide a life inside the obstacles and circumstances that confront and frustrate each individual personally.

At every turn of the plot, Patch hopes readers will see themselves, their struggles, and the concealed yet knowable God who uses every means, including stories, to reach his creation.

“So much about the Lord is still mysterious,” Patch said. “I think we’re made to seek God, and there is a mystery lover in all of us.”

‘I want my books to show children ... their voices do matter’

As for any desire to achieve the acclaim of the other Southaven author, Patch isn’t going that far. But she also wouldn’t turn down an encouraging word from Grisham.

“I think I’ll be happy just being me and whatever that might bring, but I wouldn’t say no to Mr. Grisham endorsing one of my books,” she said.

(Are you reading this, John Grisham?)

“For me,” Patch said, “it’s about writing books readers will love for generations to come.”

Patch’s books are available at Amazon and Walmart. To learn more, visit www.jessicarpatch.com.