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.