A Merry Band of Murderers: An Original Mystery Anthology of Songs and Stories » (Unabridged)

Claudia Bishop (Mary Stanton) is the author of more than 30 novels. She also writes for television. Born in Florida, she grew up in Japan and Hawaii. She divides her time between a small home in West Palm Beach and a goat farm in Upstate New York.

Don Bruns is a mystery writer and songwriter, dividing his time between Ohio, and Florida. Bruns writes from experience about the gritty underworld of the entertainment industry, having traveled as a road musician for eight years. Bruns travels "whenever I get the chance." He also enjoys oil painting and his artwork hangs (he claims) in a lot of people's basement closets.

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 staged in two acts: first, a non-fiction discussion of short stories, mysteries, and music; and second, a compilation of 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.

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 Walpow, Peter Robinson, Jeffery Deaver, Tom Corcoran , Val McDermid, and, of course, the editors themselves. Each story is accompanied by a short introduction, song lyrics, and an interview with the writer.

The book is packaged with a music CD with recordings by the authors. A one-of-a-kind collection.

Publishers Weekly

This anthology of 13 stories includes a few hits, but on the whole, the volume strikes many a false note. Each mini-mystery somehow involves music; Val McDermid's story, for example, riffs on "The Long Black Veil," the song made famous by Johnny Cash. Rupert Holmes's clever tale "Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil" features a man who believes his iPod talks to him, and Claudia Bishop's droll "The Melancholy Danish" turns on a production of Hamlet. But lackluster stories like Bill Moody's "File Under Jazz," about a jazz artist's murder, and John Lescroart's "Something out There," about a young woman who finds love with a cop, dominate the book. The interviews with each author and introductory essays by Bishop (A Dinner to Die For), Bruns (Barbados Heat) and the publisher pad this anthology based on a gimmick cleverer in conception than execution. A companion CD of original songs provides the soundtrack. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.