Synopsis
A Merry Band of Murderers is more than a compilation of short mystery stories from some of the genre’s finest writers. It is also an exploration of music. Conceived by Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns, the collection is delightfully staged in two acts: first, a non-fiction discussion of short stories, mysteries, and music; and second, a compilation of delightfully musical short mysteries.
The first act opens with an essay by Bishop explaining the role of the short story in mystery writing and another essay by Bruns discussing writers who play, sing, and compose. Finally, Poisoned Pen Press’ publisher, Robert Rosenwald, explains the role of the small press in mystery publishing.
The second act is more whimsical. There are thirteen music-centered stories from authors Mary Anna Evans, Jim Fusilli, Bill Moody, Rupert Holmes, Rhys Bowen, John Lescroart, Nathan Walpole, Peter Robinson, Jeffery Deaver, Tom Cocoran, Val McDermid, and, of course, the editors themselves. Each story is accompanied by a short introduction, song lyrics, and an interview with the writer.
But no discussion of music and literature would be complete without samples of the music itself. The book is packaged with a music CD that is sure to add another level to the mysteries and satisfy our musical cravings. A one-of-a-kind collection. A Merry Band of Murderers is more than a compilation of short mystery stories from some of the genre’s finest writers. It is also an exploration of music. Conceived by Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns, the collection is delightfully staged in two acts: first, a non-fiction discussion of short stories, mysteries, and music; and second, a compilation of delightfully musical short mysteries.
The first act opens with an essay by Bishop explaining the role of the short story in mystery writing and another essay by Bruns discussing writers who play, sing, and compose. Finally, Poisoned Pen Press’ publisher, Robert Rosenwald, explains the role of the small press in mystery publishing.
The second act is more whimsical. There are thirteen music-centered stories from authors Mary Anna Evans, Jim Fusilli, Bill Moody, Rupert Holmes, Rhys Bowen, John Lescroart, Nathan Walpole, Peter Robinson, Jeffery Deaver, Tom Cocoran, Val McDermid, and, of course, the editors themselves. Each story is accompanied by a short introduction, song lyrics, and an interview with the writer.
But no discussion of music and literature would be complete without samples of the music itself. The book is packaged with a music CD that is sure to add another level to the mysteries and satisfy our musical cravings. A one-of-a-kind collection.
Review
""A Merry Band of Murderers contains short stories by some of the most prolific mystery and suspense writers in today's society. What is unique about these short stories is that they are all based on music and written by writers who have some music background. Some of the authors include: Jeffery Deaver, Val McDermid, Mary Anna Evans, and Tom Corcoran.As with all anthologies, some short stories are better than others, but all are worth reading. After each story, there is an interview with the author about their musical background, growing up, and where the short story idea came from. There is a CD that will be sold with A Merry Band of Murderers that contains songs for each story that each author had a hand in developing. The lyrics for the songs are included with the story that they match. This advanced reader copy of A Merry Band of Murderers did not contain the CD. This reader is hoping that when A Merry Band of Murderers is released, that the CD will be available .Overall, A Merry Band of Murderers is a great collection of short stories about murder and music.The Book"" -MyShelf.com
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