Maple Sugar Blues: A Music City Mystery

by Daniel Linden

By the award-winning author of The Content of Character and Aikido Anaconda, the author explores his love of good mysteries and guitars.

Nashville is full of guitar players and their guitars. And who loves a guitar more than a country singer? Mike Popadapoulos owns dozens of classics and collectibles and keeps them at the No-Name Bar just down the street from the First Church of Country Music. He owns the building and the bar and keeps it above water by working as a private investigator.

But when John Clark walked in looking for help he said what he always did, "Go buy another guitar, kid. I'm expensive."
Clark wasn't put off, though. "This guitar is special," he said.
And when Mike looked at the pictures he could see the young guy was right. It was very special - a Martin OM-42 with koa back and sides. So he made a deal to try and find the guitar for Clark. That deal would take him from the alleys and pawnshops of Nashville to the great white north and nearly get him killed. Fortunately Nashville's stars help out and sing a few songs at the bar and the tourists line up to hear them. From Big and Rich to Dwight Yoakam they get up on the stage willing to help out.

Mike does what he does best and the crew at the no-name bar help when they can, but there's a killer on the loose and Mike needs to hunt that killer down.

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2023

About the author

Daniel Linden Sensei is master instructor of Shoshin Aikido Dojo. Training in Martial Arts for over 40 years, Linden Sensei has been teaching Aikido for over 35 years. He is one of the most experienced teachers of aikido in th US and currently holds the rank of rokudan (6th Dan). Starting with Boxing in Chicaco in 1962, Linden Sensei also practiced Judo, Karate, and Wrestling. After serving the United States in South Viet Nam for the Navy, Linden Sensei began his study of Aikido in Chicago under Takahashi Sensei and later under Akira Tohei Sensei. Linden Sensei moved to Florida in 1975. There he opened his first Aikido dojo in Central Florida in Crescent City. In 1977 he moved to Denver, Colorado and founded the Rocky Mountain Aikikai, which is still in operation. Linden Sensei moved back to Florida in 1982 and taught Aikido at the University of Central Florida before founding Shoshin Aikido Dojo, Int. in Orlando. Sensei Linden has many interests that spill over into the teaching of his art. The dojo has a Luthiery Studio where he builds world class mandolins and guitars. His big Labrador Retriever, Gibson, sits outside the door watching. He plays guitar, mandolin, and violin for The Rocky Mountain Memory Show which plays music on local and national tours. He is an avid traveler along with his wife Laurie and has seen the Anatalyan Deserts, the High Himalaya and the Citys of Europe. In his career as a Security Specialist for the City of Olando he has been on special assignment to the F.B.I., Ogange County, The F.D.L.E. and has served often with the Presidential Detail of the United States Secret Service. Over the years Daniel Linden has taken advantage of the freedom to develop a unique approach to Aikido that also draws on his strong martial background. While embodying the principles of Aikido, he has found a fresh approach in explaining these principles to Westeners using non-Japanese terms. He has made this approach availabe to all Aikidoka through this book.