Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns (ed), A Merry Band of Murderers

A Merry Band of Murderers

Edited by Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns

Poisoned Pen, Aug 2006, $24.95

ISBN 1590583019

This thirteen story anthology uses the gimmick of tying a mystery to a song. The tales are for the most fun, but only a couple would go platinum; "The Long Black Veil" by McDermid and "The Melancholy Danish" by Bishop. All thirteen authors are well known highly regarded writers; however, though their contributions are solid, these are not their best work as if most of the providers were straining to hit the right chords. Each tale ends with the lyrics (written by that writer as a solo or with an accompaniment) and short interviews of each author that are fascinating though admittedly only to die hard fans of that writer or reviewers needing a life like moi. Finally a companion CD of songs completes the ties between the music and the short stories. Overall this blending is a merry band of murder and music that will entertain readers with its creativity, but is not up to the quality of Stars: Original Stories Based On The Songs Of Janis Ian.

Harriet Klausner