Townies, Cronies and Hayseeds II (Beneath the Surface) by Cherie White November 18, 2023 ISBN 978-1-304-96028-3 Imprint: Lulu.com Copyright © 2023 Cherie White Six years after The Thomasville Conspiracy, the question remains. Is there even more to the story behind the town corruption and bullying of innocent townspeople? Another former Thomasvillian and bullied girl, Brielle Bennett Markowitz has a similar but different story to that of Shannon Crook McGregor (now Bledsoe) in the first Townies, Cronies, and Hayseeds episode. Brielle’s story begins with the separation from her abusive husband in California, a return home to Thomasville and the beginning of a new life with her three daughters and her Tennessee relatives. It centers on the human predator/prey dynamic and the use of bullying, harassment, and lawfare against those on the wrong side of the local establishment. When the Bennett and Bledsoe families finally come together and discover that the roots of the bullying and corruption in Thomasville run much deeper, the story ends in an explosive climax that exposes yet more town secrets and lands the Bennett’s and the Bledsoe’s in a life-threatening rescue and race against time. “What lurks beneath the surface of the bullying and corruption in my own town?” and “Could those things happen here?” will be questions readers will be compelled to ask themselves.