Title: The Killer Chorus
Author: Jack Conlan
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Book Blurb:
The brutal murder of a music legend not only rocks the city of Nashville, it threatens to cost homicide Detective Jed Hatcher everything he has. With enemies in his department out of get him and his own secrets at risk, Hatcher has to push past his limits to find the killer. This page-turner has been devoured by thriller fans and crime fiction buffs, and was a Finalist in the 2024 National Indie Book Awards.
Excerpt:
Prologue
Henrietta “Bird” Tompkins concentrated on what her last thought should be before she was murdered. The time that Loretta Lynn gave her a Grammy Award was a good thought, she determined. A sufficiently happy thought that would have to do. Because, Bird Tompkins thought to herself, she was going to die tonight. The men in her house were determined to make sure of that. Considering that grim determination, Bird mused, it made sense for her to consider what should be in her mind when the final curtain descended.
She was called Bird because of old Charlie Harris. She could see him now in her mind’s eye: he was a pot-bellied grift of a man with his gray hair slicked into a razor-sharp part over his left eye and two bushy, mutton-chop sideburns shaved into fine points which seemed to cut into his cheeks. He had been the owner, proprietor and bartender of The Starlight Lounge in Jackson, Tennessee and he had been the first person to see Ronnie and Leanne’s oldest girl, just this side of seventeen, unleash her powerful voice on the public. He had watched the crowd be transported. “They flew to some other place, girl,” old Charlie had said, his characteristic leering placed momentarily to the side in respect for the damn-near holy thing he still could not believe he had observed, “you’re like a goddam bird up there.” And that was that. It had certainly sounded better than Henrietta, Bird had to admit.
Ezra was on the floor next to her and was struggling mightily against the plastic zip ties that were around his hands and feet. Stop it, she wanted to tell him, it’s over. Perhaps it was emblematic of their relationship: Ezra struggled, Bird accepted. While she had never been more terrified in her entire life, the fact that the situation seemed not only wholly beyond her control but also grinding to an inexorable conclusion gave her an odd sort of comfort. She had known when they walked in; she had seen the end from the way they held their faces.
They were talking in the other room, the men who would murder her. Not softly but not loud enough where she could hear. Goddamn them, Bird thought. She pushed it from her mind to try to focus on happy thoughts. The green rolling hill of wild grasses dotted by big purple irises that grew in front of a storybook red barn near where she had played in the creek as a girl. The sound of the first chord – full and glorious – wafting over the hushed crowd on the first hot July night that she played the Ryman Auditorium. The woman who held her heart. Miss Loretta smiling brightly at her as she walked towards the stage amid thundering applause.
Then everything went black.
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What’s your favorite thing about autumn:
I absolutely love watching the color of the leaves come out as the weather turns crisp. It is my favorite time of year by far.
What inspired you to write this story:
I’ve been a lawyer in criminal courtrooms my entire career. I wrote The Killer Chorus about the cops, lawyers, criminals, and witnesses I met along the way. I’ve always loved crime fiction and Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and James Lee Burke are my literary heroes. I wanted to add to their incredible art in my own humble way.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs September 1 – 30, 2024
Drawing will be held on October 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
Jack Conlan is a licensed attorney who has practiced in criminal courtrooms across Tennessee for twenty-five years as both a prosecutor and defense lawyer. He lives in Nashville with his family.
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