Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024

Music City, sometimes known as Nashville, has a 200-year history indelibly intertwined with music. Folk, R&B, rock 'n' roll, bluegrass, jazz, C&W, disco, classical, the sounds of Nashville are woven into the heart and soul of the city. Every city has its dark side and Nashville is no exception. Music may soothe the savage beast, but when the piper falls the beast emerges from the shadows to murder the not-so-innocent and sow mayhem on the unsuspecting.

Indulge in twenty-four mesmerizing tales crafted by talented Bouchercon writers of mystery. These stories share a melody of music, murder, and mayhem: A gift given with strings attached, even to a cello, can backfire. Would you kill for that lucky break-kill to be the One? Do you recognize the murderous details hidden in that ballad's lyrics? When music and murder mix, will the past remain the past? Are the voices of the dead harmonizing in that hauntingly beautiful song? And more: stories of tailor-made revenge, the price of heckling, and the perils of being in a boy band.

Music lives forever, but while you're still here, enjoy these tales of revenge and retribution, murder and obsession, robbery and rock 'n' roll, stolen dreams and thwarted desires, the blues and a comeback at any cost, all inspired by Nashville's legacy of music.

With stories by the exceptional and amazing: Eric Beckstrom, Eric Beetner, Valerie (V.M.) Burns, Emily Carpenter, HC Chan, Michael Amos Cody, Tina deBellegarde, Mary Dutta, Michael Ferreter, Barry Fulton, Heather Graham, Rachel Howzell Hall and M.G. Hall, Sarah Zachrich Jeng, D.P. Lyle, Jenny Ramaley, Merrilee Robson, Peggy Rothschild, H.K. Slade, Clay Stafford, Kelli Stanley, JD Trafford, Mark Troy, Gabriel Valjan, and Erica Wright.

Critical Acclaim for Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem

"An anthology that gives an entirely new meaning to the phrase 'killer beat.' An exceptional work, and a grand homage to Music City, USA." -Joel W. Barrows, author of the Deep Cover thrillers

"Stories so rich in detail that it's like getting twenty-four novels for the price of one." -Stephen D. Rogers, crime fiction author

"Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem is a thoroughly enjoyable volume certain to top the charts with a platinum collection of 25 original crime fiction stories written by some of today's finest maestros of mystery." -Andrew McAleer, co-editor of Edgar & Shamus Go Golden, and author of the Henry von Stray mysteries

"Just as the 'Nashville sound' covers the range of human emotion, so do these stories-amusing, thrilling and heartbreaking. Like good country songs, you'll want to revisit them again and again." -R.J. Koreto, author of the Historic Homes series

"Music has a dark side. Yet it binds everything together. Nowhere is that truer than the country music capital of the world. And nowhere is that better illustrated than the stories of Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem." -Jim Winter, author of the Holland Bay series

"These stories of cheating hearts, hard times and heartache, all the country music classics, make this a killer anthology." -Elaine Viets, author of A Scarlet Death, an Angela Richman, Death Investigator mystery

"Tales of Music, Murder and Mayhem, the 2024 Bouchercon anthology, lives up to the promise of its title. The varied stories, all having a tie to Nashville, reflect the good and bad tales that provide the twang of country music." -Debra H. Goldstein, award-winning author