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The Great Filling Station Holdup: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett is one of the great contemporary singer/songwriters, and it’s hard to imagine a citizen of Planet Earth unfamiliar with such classic hits as “Margaritaville.” Jimmy has also written novels, children’s books, memoirs, and a stage musical based on Herman Wouk’s Don’t Stop the Carnival , and his family-friendly concerts almost always sell out to audiences comprised of a mix of dedicated Parrotheads, casual fans, and newbies.
In The Great Filling Station Holdup , editor Josh Pachter presents sixteen short crime stories by sixteen popular and up-and-coming crime writers, each story based on a song from one of the twenty-nine studio albums Jimmy has released over the last half century, from Leigh Lundin’s take on “Truckstop Salvation” (which appeared on Jimmy’s first LP, 1970’s Down to Earth ) to M.E. Browning’s interpretation of “Einstein Was a Surfer” (from 2013’s Songs from St. Somewhere ).
If you love Jimmy’s music or crime fiction or both, you’ll love The Great Filling Station Holdup . Mix yourself a boat drink, ask Alexa to put on a buffet of Buffett tunes, kick back, and enjoy!
Table of Contents
Introduction by Josh Pachter
Down to Earth (1970)
“Truckstop Salvation” by Leigh Lundin
A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973)
“The Great Filling Station Holdup” by Josh Pachter
A1A (1974)
“A Pirate Looks at Forty” by Rick Ollerman
Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977)
“Tampico Trauma” by Michael Bracken
Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978)
“Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Don Bruns
Volcano (1979)
“Volcano” by Alison McMahan
Coconut Telegraph (1981)
“Incommunicado” by Bruce Robert Coffin
Somewhere Over China (1981)
“If I Could Just Get It On Paper” by Lissa Marie Redmond
One Particular Harbour (1983)
“We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About” by Elaine Viets
Riddles in the Sand (1984)
“Who’s the Blonde Stranger?” by Robert J. Randisi
Last Mango in Paris (1985)
“Everybody’s on the Run” by Laura Oles
Hot Water (1988)
“Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)” by Isabella Maldonado
Off to See the Lizard (1989)
“The Pascagoula Run” by Jeffery Hess
Don’t Stop the Carnival (1998)
“Public Relations” by Neil Plakcy
Beach House on the Moon (1999)
“Spending Money” by John M. Floyd
Songs From St. Somewhere (2013)
“Einstein Was a Surfer” by M.E. Browning
In The Great Filling Station Holdup , editor Josh Pachter presents sixteen short crime stories by sixteen popular and up-and-coming crime writers, each story based on a song from one of the twenty-nine studio albums Jimmy has released over the last half century, from Leigh Lundin’s take on “Truckstop Salvation” (which appeared on Jimmy’s first LP, 1970’s Down to Earth ) to M.E. Browning’s interpretation of “Einstein Was a Surfer” (from 2013’s Songs from St. Somewhere ).
If you love Jimmy’s music or crime fiction or both, you’ll love The Great Filling Station Holdup . Mix yourself a boat drink, ask Alexa to put on a buffet of Buffett tunes, kick back, and enjoy!
Table of Contents
Introduction by Josh Pachter
Down to Earth (1970)
“Truckstop Salvation” by Leigh Lundin
A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973)
“The Great Filling Station Holdup” by Josh Pachter
A1A (1974)
“A Pirate Looks at Forty” by Rick Ollerman
Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977)
“Tampico Trauma” by Michael Bracken
Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978)
“Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Don Bruns
Volcano (1979)
“Volcano” by Alison McMahan
Coconut Telegraph (1981)
“Incommunicado” by Bruce Robert Coffin
Somewhere Over China (1981)
“If I Could Just Get It On Paper” by Lissa Marie Redmond
One Particular Harbour (1983)
“We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About” by Elaine Viets
Riddles in the Sand (1984)
“Who’s the Blonde Stranger?” by Robert J. Randisi
Last Mango in Paris (1985)
“Everybody’s on the Run” by Laura Oles
Hot Water (1988)
“Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)” by Isabella Maldonado
Off to See the Lizard (1989)
“The Pascagoula Run” by Jeffery Hess
Don’t Stop the Carnival (1998)
“Public Relations” by Neil Plakcy
Beach House on the Moon (1999)
“Spending Money” by John M. Floyd
Songs From St. Somewhere (2013)
“Einstein Was a Surfer” by M.E. Browning
274 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2021
50 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Josh Pachter
116 books28 followersJOSH PACHTER is a writer, editor and translator. More than a hundred and twenty of his short crime stories have appeared in EQMM, AHMM, and many other periodicals, anthologies, and year’s-best collections. THE TREE OF LIFE (Wildside Press, 2015) collected all ten of his Mahboob Chaudri stories. His 2023 novel DUTCH THREAT was named a finalist for the Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity awards. FIRST WEEK FREE AT THE ROOMY TOILET, his first chapter book for younger readers, was published in 2024 and was a finalist for the Agatha Award in the Best Childrens/YA Mystery category.
He is the editor of many anthologies, including:
• FRIEND OF THE DEVIL: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD (Down and Out, 2024)
• HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF THE BEATLES (Down and Out, 2023)
• THE BEAT OF BLACK WINGS: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF JONI MITCHELL (Untreed Reads, 2020)
• THE MISADVENTURES OF NERO WOLFE (Mysterious Press, 2020)
• THE MAN WHO READ MYSTERIES: THE SHORT FICTION OF WILLIAM BRITTAIN (Crippen & Landru, 2018)
• THE MAN WHO SOLVED MYSTERIES: MORE SHORT FICTION BY WILLIAM BRITTAIN (Crippen & Landru, 2022)
• PARANOIA BLUES: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF PAUL SIMON (Down and Out Books, 2022).
He also co-edited AMSTERDAM NOIR (Akashic Books, 2019), THE MISADVENTURES OF ELLERY QUEEN (Wildside Press, 2018), AND THE FURTHER MISADVENTURES OF ELLERY QUEEN (Wildside Press, 2020), and co-wrote (with the legendary Ellery Queen) THE ADVENTURES OF THE PUZZLE CLUB (Crippen & Landru, 2022).
Coming in 2025:
• EVERY DAY A LITTLE DEATH: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM (Level Best)
• CRYIN' SHAME: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF LYLE LOVETT (Down and Out)
He is the editor of many anthologies, including:
• FRIEND OF THE DEVIL: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD (Down and Out, 2024)
• HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF THE BEATLES (Down and Out, 2023)
• THE BEAT OF BLACK WINGS: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF JONI MITCHELL (Untreed Reads, 2020)
• THE MISADVENTURES OF NERO WOLFE (Mysterious Press, 2020)
• THE MAN WHO READ MYSTERIES: THE SHORT FICTION OF WILLIAM BRITTAIN (Crippen & Landru, 2018)
• THE MAN WHO SOLVED MYSTERIES: MORE SHORT FICTION BY WILLIAM BRITTAIN (Crippen & Landru, 2022)
• PARANOIA BLUES: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF PAUL SIMON (Down and Out Books, 2022).
He also co-edited AMSTERDAM NOIR (Akashic Books, 2019), THE MISADVENTURES OF ELLERY QUEEN (Wildside Press, 2018), AND THE FURTHER MISADVENTURES OF ELLERY QUEEN (Wildside Press, 2020), and co-wrote (with the legendary Ellery Queen) THE ADVENTURES OF THE PUZZLE CLUB (Crippen & Landru, 2022).
Coming in 2025:
• EVERY DAY A LITTLE DEATH: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM (Level Best)
• CRYIN' SHAME: CRIME FICTION INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF LYLE LOVETT (Down and Out)
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 10, 2021
If you judge Jimmy Buffett by his music alone, leaving aside the heavily branded Parrothead lifestyle blathersphere, you’d come up with a solid journeyman career punctuated by a handful of highlights rooted in a storyteller’s sensibility and a soft heart for sad-sack middle-aged men lost at sea, metaphorically or otherwise. (And the younger women they occasionally annoy and torment.)
That summary seems to apply with equal alacrity to THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett, edited by Josh Pachter. There are few “hit singles” here, but few that are close, and every story here goes down as smoothly as a shot of Caribbean rum, or well, any given Jimmy Buffett deep album track. Buffett, despite his goofy party-host persona, is never anything less than a stone professional, and so is every writer contributing to this anthology. Nothing’s phoned in here, on the Coconut Telegraph or otherwise.
My favorites in this solid collection include:
— Michael Bracken’s “Tampico Trauma,” a great colorful sin-in-the-sun tale that has my second-favorite story opener: “Sometimes the worm at the bottom of a tequila bottle is the only protein a man needs to see himself through the night.”
— Bruce Robert Coffin’s “Incommunicado.” It’s a bold choice to shift this story to the Southwest desert, but it works, as what starts off as stone noir goes off the temporal tracks into something infinitely more terrifying.
— Lissa Marie Redmond’s “If I Could Just Get It On Paper.” Set in a Key West bar, this story somehow balances an ultra-twisty plot with a wide and well-developed cast of colorful characters AND a neat spin on the locked-room mystery.
— Elaine Viets’ “We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About.” This cheerfully over-the-top tale has a zesty zaniness that, beneath the surface, earnestly depicts an average American couple’s relatable financial struggle.
— Robert J. Randisi’s “Who’s The Blond Stranger?” wins the prize for most double-crosses in a collection that’s full of crazy reversals of allegiance. Reads like a modern-day Day Keene story.
— Jeffery Hess’ “The Pascagoula Run” feels, of all the stories in this collection, the most authentically rooted in place. It also contains my first-favorite first line: ““Highway 90 stretched out like the black tongue of the devil himself, and we raced that red Jaguar straight into his mouth at a hundred miles an hour.” (Also my favorite final line: “Win or lose, I was no longer headed into the mouth of Satan, but was setting out across the wild meridian as the captain of my own ship. That’s what I was born for.”)
— John M. Floyd’s “Spending Money” contains my favorite kind of noir character: the loser who thinks he’s a winner because he looks like one, and has been coasting on his looks all his life.
— M.E. Browning’s “Einstein Was A Surfer” is a neat blend of cyber-thriller and beach noir, with the most emotionally engaging (i.e., enraging) of the bunch in this collection full of villains who deserve to be sent to rock bottom.
My one quibble with THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP has nothing to do with the quality of its writing. It’s the arbitrary nature of the story assignments. Rather than doing the usual thing, which is to let each writer choose the song from an artist’s oeuvre thar most speaks to them on a first-come, first-served basis, editor Pachter decided to have each writer pick one song each from a different Jimmy Buffett album.
It’s fine to change things up, but I submit Buffett’s best work — and his noir-iest work — came from his early albums of the 1970s, when he was just another street musician busking for Coppertone handouts and not a billionaire a million times over purveying lifestyle-brand fantasies to the upper-middle-class condo-commando set. I would have loved to have seen stories spun off of great lost-soul songs like “The Ballad of Spider John” or “The Peanut Butter Conspiracy” or “The Wino and I Know” or “Woman on Caroline Street” or “Cuban Crime of Passion” or … well, you get the idea.
That said, it cannot be argued that every writer put their full tacklebox of talents to work on the songs they got, and each is a fully imagined world of its own. As one of Redmond’s characters put it: “This is the Conch Republic, my dear, not Florida. Long as we don’t make waves, the local authorities ignore us.” Ignore the rules all you like, but don’t ignore THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP.
That summary seems to apply with equal alacrity to THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett, edited by Josh Pachter. There are few “hit singles” here, but few that are close, and every story here goes down as smoothly as a shot of Caribbean rum, or well, any given Jimmy Buffett deep album track. Buffett, despite his goofy party-host persona, is never anything less than a stone professional, and so is every writer contributing to this anthology. Nothing’s phoned in here, on the Coconut Telegraph or otherwise.
My favorites in this solid collection include:
— Michael Bracken’s “Tampico Trauma,” a great colorful sin-in-the-sun tale that has my second-favorite story opener: “Sometimes the worm at the bottom of a tequila bottle is the only protein a man needs to see himself through the night.”
— Bruce Robert Coffin’s “Incommunicado.” It’s a bold choice to shift this story to the Southwest desert, but it works, as what starts off as stone noir goes off the temporal tracks into something infinitely more terrifying.
— Lissa Marie Redmond’s “If I Could Just Get It On Paper.” Set in a Key West bar, this story somehow balances an ultra-twisty plot with a wide and well-developed cast of colorful characters AND a neat spin on the locked-room mystery.
— Elaine Viets’ “We Are The People Our Parents Warned Us About.” This cheerfully over-the-top tale has a zesty zaniness that, beneath the surface, earnestly depicts an average American couple’s relatable financial struggle.
— Robert J. Randisi’s “Who’s The Blond Stranger?” wins the prize for most double-crosses in a collection that’s full of crazy reversals of allegiance. Reads like a modern-day Day Keene story.
— Jeffery Hess’ “The Pascagoula Run” feels, of all the stories in this collection, the most authentically rooted in place. It also contains my first-favorite first line: ““Highway 90 stretched out like the black tongue of the devil himself, and we raced that red Jaguar straight into his mouth at a hundred miles an hour.” (Also my favorite final line: “Win or lose, I was no longer headed into the mouth of Satan, but was setting out across the wild meridian as the captain of my own ship. That’s what I was born for.”)
— John M. Floyd’s “Spending Money” contains my favorite kind of noir character: the loser who thinks he’s a winner because he looks like one, and has been coasting on his looks all his life.
— M.E. Browning’s “Einstein Was A Surfer” is a neat blend of cyber-thriller and beach noir, with the most emotionally engaging (i.e., enraging) of the bunch in this collection full of villains who deserve to be sent to rock bottom.
My one quibble with THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP has nothing to do with the quality of its writing. It’s the arbitrary nature of the story assignments. Rather than doing the usual thing, which is to let each writer choose the song from an artist’s oeuvre thar most speaks to them on a first-come, first-served basis, editor Pachter decided to have each writer pick one song each from a different Jimmy Buffett album.
It’s fine to change things up, but I submit Buffett’s best work — and his noir-iest work — came from his early albums of the 1970s, when he was just another street musician busking for Coppertone handouts and not a billionaire a million times over purveying lifestyle-brand fantasies to the upper-middle-class condo-commando set. I would have loved to have seen stories spun off of great lost-soul songs like “The Ballad of Spider John” or “The Peanut Butter Conspiracy” or “The Wino and I Know” or “Woman on Caroline Street” or “Cuban Crime of Passion” or … well, you get the idea.
That said, it cannot be argued that every writer put their full tacklebox of talents to work on the songs they got, and each is a fully imagined world of its own. As one of Redmond’s characters put it: “This is the Conch Republic, my dear, not Florida. Long as we don’t make waves, the local authorities ignore us.” Ignore the rules all you like, but don’t ignore THE GREAT FILLING STATION HOLDUP.
March 26, 2021
I enjoyed the variety of stories, authors inspired by song, but free to develop themes, characters, and locales in a virtual trip in mostly warmer regions, as I wait for spring weather and Covid vaccine and the resumption of real life. There are lessons here, consequences of bad decisions, some payback, some rewards gained by nearly “crossing the line” but not quite, and humor. ;-) I knew Elaine Viets would provide some leavening humor, but was surprised into a wicked smile by a pun at the very end of the book. I would never include spoilers, because figuring things out is half the fun. I do recommend listening to the songs, and there is a playlist on Spotify, I’ve been told. Have fun, stay safe. <3
June 23, 2021
For me, this anthology was fun short story reading with an introduction to some great crime fiction writers I’d never heard of. Quite a few of the stories include clever, unexpected twists with “Smart Woman in a Real Short Skirt,” “If I Could Just Get It on Paper,” “Incommunicado,” and “Spending Money” being especially memorable.
Although I’m very familiar with Jimmy Buffett’s top billboard songs, I’ve never owned any of his albums or attended a concert (not a Parrothead), and I’d never heard of most of the songs the stories were based on. So, first listening to the story’s song origin was important to understand some of the allusions, names, and plot points. Besides being entertained, I felt like I learned a lot about the Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville culture....from a crime writer’s perspective.
It was an enjoyable, interesting ride and perfect way to start my summer reading.
Although I’m very familiar with Jimmy Buffett’s top billboard songs, I’ve never owned any of his albums or attended a concert (not a Parrothead), and I’d never heard of most of the songs the stories were based on. So, first listening to the story’s song origin was important to understand some of the allusions, names, and plot points. Besides being entertained, I felt like I learned a lot about the Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville culture....from a crime writer’s perspective.
It was an enjoyable, interesting ride and perfect way to start my summer reading.
February 24, 2021
Great idea for a book title each short story from a Jimmy Buffett song title.
Some of the stories are better than others Truck stop salvation, and Smart Woman in a Really Short Skirt, were both great. And some stories also stick to the storyline or loosely to what the song is about
Pascagoula Run and Who’s the Blonde Stranger.
Anyway a fun easy read.
Some of the stories are better than others Truck stop salvation, and Smart Woman in a Really Short Skirt, were both great. And some stories also stick to the storyline or loosely to what the song is about
Pascagoula Run and Who’s the Blonde Stranger.
Anyway a fun easy read.
November 26, 2021
This mystery/ crime anthology is based on the songs of Jimmy Buffett and each writer took great pains to weave the elements of those songs into the fabric of these creative stories. The book is entertaining and enjoyable whether or not you are familiar with Buffett's music.
December 15, 2021
So much fun!
September 29, 2024
Stories based on Jimmy Buffet tunes by various authors. I read this book because I follow the author Lissa Marie Redmond and I enjoyed her story very much. I also liked a few others while I didn't care for some. The stories varied quite a bit but it was a good way to read different authors, see their style, see if you wanted to read more by them....or not. As far as being inspired by Jimmy Buffet tunes that was a far stretch in some stories. But they stand alone. Maybe if you're a "parrot head" you would see more Buffet inspired writing in it than I did but they're worth a read anyway.
November 2, 2022
Lots of interesting short reads!
May 27, 2023
Short stories based on the titles of Jimmy Buffett songs- entertaining.
August 9, 2025
As with all anthologies, not all stories are equal. Three or four I really enjoyed, the rest were good and luckily I found no stinkers!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews