Book Review: Murder on Music Row by Stuart Dill (2011)

Synopsis: Judd Nix just got the break of a lifetime. After serving as an intern, he has been hired to be part of a team managing country music's latest superstar, Ripley Graham. In addition to a steady paycheck and meeting celebrities, he is getting the opportunity to learn about the industry from his boss, Simon Stills and the attractive Megan Olsen.

Things take a sour turn, however, when both Judd and Simon are struck by bullets presumed to have been meant for Ripley, leaving Simon in critical condition and clinging to life. Was the attempt the result of stalled negotiations, a revenge plot from a recently fired recording studio head or was there another motive? As the investigation takes place it becomes clear multiple lives are at risk.

Review: As I previously mentioned, my last trip to the library was made without any clear idea what books I wanted to check out. As a result of that, I wound up choosing them at random and that included Murder on Music Row, which I picked primarily because I was intrigued by a murder mystery written by a veteran music insider drawing from personal experience.

I finished reading the book last night and, while not quite my cup of tea, thought it was still a decent read. 

The mystery itself is a solid one. I had a good idea about the motive even before the trigger was pulled and was able to correctly guess who was responsible for the shooting right after it happened. However, the book did do a good job trying to throw me off the scent, to the point there were times I did find myself having some doubts about my suspect and wondering if the motive was just a red herring, even though I can honestly say I didn't ever change my mind.

The author also does a decent job adding some depth to the characters and making them seem real. This made it easier to feel concern for them when their lives were in danger and even, to some extent, feel a bit of empathy for the killer, at least until they showed just how unhinged they really were.

Heck, I even found myself getting invested in the relationship between Judd and Megan; despite thinking it might be a bit inappropriate considering they were coworkers and she was his boss. That's not something that happens often.

My only real complaint about the book is it did seem drawn out at times, especially when it came to the dozens of celebrity names that were dropped throughout even though none of them had anything to do with the story. To be fair, it wasn't a ton of filler and, most of the time, there was something being mentioned in the same chapter that did have some importance to it. It just felt like the book could have gotten to the main plot a little quicker had it cut some of the unimportant stuff out.

Final Opinion: There are times when the book feels like a who's who of country music catalog and there are some lengthy conversations that could easily be edited out without having an impact on the story. However, it is an entertaining mystery with a couple twists and a suspenseful ending, so I think it is still worth recommending.

My Grade: B

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Here are some reviews of other murder mysteries:

Book Review: Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (1956)

Book Review: The Case of the Daring Decoy by Erle Stanley Gardner (1957)

Book Review: Fourth and Wrong by Sean Patrick Little (2021)

Book Review: The Bones of Bascom Hall by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden (2024)