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Music City Murders: Harry James Denton, #1-6
WHETHER YOU CALL IT MUSIC CITY,
THE IT CITY, NASHVEGAS, OR CASHVILLE . . . . . . New York Times Notable Book author and Nashville native Steven Womack brings one of America’s most amazing cities to life in his action-packed, Edgar-award-winning Music City Murders series . Dive into the exciting, seamy, intriguing world of one of America’s most iconic cities and one of mystery’s most endearing series down-on-his-luck, ex-newspaper reporter Harry James Denton. “A deft, atmosphere-rich smart, funny, with a sense of wry heartbreak. Steven Womack’s Nashville stands out—it is a beautifully drawn backdrop”
—James Ellroy. New York Times best-selling author of L.A. Confidential
"In the overcrowded field of private eye fiction, Steven Womack stands head and shoulders above most of the herd."
— Val McDermid, best-selling Scottish crime writer of the Inspector Karen Pirie series
DEAD FOLKS' BLUES (Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner)
Newly licensed P.I. Harry James Denton nearly goes broke before his first case comes in. Unfortunately, it’s the last person he wants to see, his old girlfriend and the first woman to break his heart, Rachel Fletcher. Rachel’s married now, to a rich doctor who’s a compulsive gambler and cheater. When Harry starts investigating the doctor and the doctor winds up dead, Harry’s number one with a bullet on the suspect list.
TORCH TOWN BOOGIE (Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry James Denton is looking for another case—and he gets one when the magnificent mansion across the street from his apartment is consumed in a suspicious fire. The blaze has all the scorch marks of the East Nashville Arsonist, a phantom firebug whose burning desire seems to be driving gentrifiers out of Harry's funky, rundown neighborhood. This time, though, the modus operandi includes murder.
WAY PAST DEAD (Shamus Award Nominee)
When rising country music singer Rebecca Gibson is found beaten to death, a heap of damning evidence points to her ex-husband—and Harry's pal—Slim Gibson. Harry discovers the dark history of a marriage made somewhere south of Heaven, somewhere deep in the cutthroat heart of the country music business, where deceit, betrayal, passion and vengeance are not only sung about... they're lived and died.
NOBODY'S CHAIN LAYS STRAIGHT (Anthony Award Nominee and Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry explores the seamy, steamy underside of Music City’s sex trade when he’s hired to find Stacey Jameson, a rich, runaway, drug-addled teen. "Nobody's chain lays straight," a friend tells Harry. But Stacey's chain is especially twisted, with links that lead back to a family filled with secrets. Harry's been to the rodeo a few times before, but even he's not ready for what awaits him in the hard-core depths of a brutal Nashville night.
A MANUAL OF MURDER (Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee/Anthony Award Nominee/Shamus Award Winner)
The toast of Tennessee, author Robert Jefferson Reed, has made big bucks with his little book of folksy homilies like "Never Go To Bed Angry" and "Eat Your Vegetables." He should have added "Don't Commit Murder." For when Reed's wife hires P.I. Harry James Denton to catch her hubby in a tryst with a sexy secretary, Harry find the author of Life's Little Maintenance Manual strangled and drowned in his own hot tub... placing Harry at the top of the suspect list.
DIRTY MONEY (Shamus Award Nominee)
How did Nashville P.I. Harry James Denton wind up working as a maintenance man in the world's most famous whorehouse? The Feds made him a help smoke out a money-laundering operation secretly being run in Reno's notorious, legendary, legal cathouse, the Mustang Ranch. But it turns out to be a raw deal when one of the Mustang girls turns up murdered and Harry is, once again, the prime suspect.
THE IT CITY, NASHVEGAS, OR CASHVILLE . . . . . . New York Times Notable Book author and Nashville native Steven Womack brings one of America’s most amazing cities to life in his action-packed, Edgar-award-winning Music City Murders series . Dive into the exciting, seamy, intriguing world of one of America’s most iconic cities and one of mystery’s most endearing series down-on-his-luck, ex-newspaper reporter Harry James Denton. “A deft, atmosphere-rich smart, funny, with a sense of wry heartbreak. Steven Womack’s Nashville stands out—it is a beautifully drawn backdrop”
—James Ellroy. New York Times best-selling author of L.A. Confidential
"In the overcrowded field of private eye fiction, Steven Womack stands head and shoulders above most of the herd."
— Val McDermid, best-selling Scottish crime writer of the Inspector Karen Pirie series
DEAD FOLKS' BLUES (Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner)
Newly licensed P.I. Harry James Denton nearly goes broke before his first case comes in. Unfortunately, it’s the last person he wants to see, his old girlfriend and the first woman to break his heart, Rachel Fletcher. Rachel’s married now, to a rich doctor who’s a compulsive gambler and cheater. When Harry starts investigating the doctor and the doctor winds up dead, Harry’s number one with a bullet on the suspect list.
TORCH TOWN BOOGIE (Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry James Denton is looking for another case—and he gets one when the magnificent mansion across the street from his apartment is consumed in a suspicious fire. The blaze has all the scorch marks of the East Nashville Arsonist, a phantom firebug whose burning desire seems to be driving gentrifiers out of Harry's funky, rundown neighborhood. This time, though, the modus operandi includes murder.
WAY PAST DEAD (Shamus Award Nominee)
When rising country music singer Rebecca Gibson is found beaten to death, a heap of damning evidence points to her ex-husband—and Harry's pal—Slim Gibson. Harry discovers the dark history of a marriage made somewhere south of Heaven, somewhere deep in the cutthroat heart of the country music business, where deceit, betrayal, passion and vengeance are not only sung about... they're lived and died.
NOBODY'S CHAIN LAYS STRAIGHT (Anthony Award Nominee and Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry explores the seamy, steamy underside of Music City’s sex trade when he’s hired to find Stacey Jameson, a rich, runaway, drug-addled teen. "Nobody's chain lays straight," a friend tells Harry. But Stacey's chain is especially twisted, with links that lead back to a family filled with secrets. Harry's been to the rodeo a few times before, but even he's not ready for what awaits him in the hard-core depths of a brutal Nashville night.
A MANUAL OF MURDER (Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee/Anthony Award Nominee/Shamus Award Winner)
The toast of Tennessee, author Robert Jefferson Reed, has made big bucks with his little book of folksy homilies like "Never Go To Bed Angry" and "Eat Your Vegetables." He should have added "Don't Commit Murder." For when Reed's wife hires P.I. Harry James Denton to catch her hubby in a tryst with a sexy secretary, Harry find the author of Life's Little Maintenance Manual strangled and drowned in his own hot tub... placing Harry at the top of the suspect list.
DIRTY MONEY (Shamus Award Nominee)
How did Nashville P.I. Harry James Denton wind up working as a maintenance man in the world's most famous whorehouse? The Feds made him a help smoke out a money-laundering operation secretly being run in Reno's notorious, legendary, legal cathouse, the Mustang Ranch. But it turns out to be a raw deal when one of the Mustang girls turns up murdered and Harry is, once again, the prime suspect.
1335 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2021
About the author
Steven Womack
35 books43 followersWith the publication of his novel, FADE UP FROM BLACK: THE RETURN OF HARRY JAMES DENTON, Steven Womack brings back his award-winning MUSIC CITY MURDERS series, featuring P.I. Harry James Denton
Womack began his first novel when he was eighteen-years-old. A short eighteen years later, he finally sold one. His first published novel, MURPHY'S FAULT, was the only debut mystery on the 1990 New York Times Notable Book List. Since then, he has published ten more novels, winning both the Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as receiving multiple nominations for major mystery awards.
His Edgar and Shamus Award-winning Harry James Denton MUSIC CITY MURDERS series--DEAD FOLKS' BLUES, TORCH TOWN BOOGIE, WAY PAST DEAD, NOBODY'S CHAIN LAYS STRAIGHT, A MANUAL OF MURDER and DIRTY MONEY--has been republished by Spearhead Press.
A scriptwriter as well, Womack co-wrote the screenplays for PROUDHEART, which was nominated for the CableAce Award, and VOLCANO: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, an ABC television movie that was one of the most-watched television movies of the year.
Womack lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where for twenty-five years he anchored the screenwriting program at the Watkins Film School of Watkins College of Art. He also served five years as Chair of The Film School. When the college closed in May, 2020, he was the longest serving faculty member at the college.
A licensed pilot, Womack loves to fly and scuba dive in his spare time. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any spare time since 2001.
Visit his website at www.stevenwomack.com
Womack began his first novel when he was eighteen-years-old. A short eighteen years later, he finally sold one. His first published novel, MURPHY'S FAULT, was the only debut mystery on the 1990 New York Times Notable Book List. Since then, he has published ten more novels, winning both the Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as receiving multiple nominations for major mystery awards.
His Edgar and Shamus Award-winning Harry James Denton MUSIC CITY MURDERS series--DEAD FOLKS' BLUES, TORCH TOWN BOOGIE, WAY PAST DEAD, NOBODY'S CHAIN LAYS STRAIGHT, A MANUAL OF MURDER and DIRTY MONEY--has been republished by Spearhead Press.
A scriptwriter as well, Womack co-wrote the screenplays for PROUDHEART, which was nominated for the CableAce Award, and VOLCANO: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, an ABC television movie that was one of the most-watched television movies of the year.
Womack lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where for twenty-five years he anchored the screenwriting program at the Watkins Film School of Watkins College of Art. He also served five years as Chair of The Film School. When the college closed in May, 2020, he was the longest serving faculty member at the college.
A licensed pilot, Womack loves to fly and scuba dive in his spare time. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any spare time since 2001.
Visit his website at www.stevenwomack.com
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2022
I read all six books back to back
Enjoyed reading this series. Interesting characters and storyline...i did enjoy the continuation of the story and characters from book to book, but not a have to.
Enjoyed reading this series. Interesting characters and storyline...i did enjoy the continuation of the story and characters from book to book, but not a have to.
May 26, 2022
Good series
The only thing I didn't like is when Shadow died, I actually teared up reading that part and Lonnie's reaction, other than that great series. Hopefully I find more books.
The only thing I didn't like is when Shadow died, I actually teared up reading that part and Lonnie's reaction, other than that great series. Hopefully I find more books.
Currently Reading
March 8, 2023Kindle Unlimited
Individual novels are reviewed separately.
DEAD FOLKS' BLUES (Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner)
Newly licensed P.I. Harry James Denton nearly goes broke before his first case comes in. Unfortunately, it’s the last person he wants to see, his old girlfriend and the first woman to break his heart, Rachel Fletcher. Rachel’s married now, to a rich doctor who’s a compulsive gambler and cheater. When Harry starts investigating the doctor and the doctor winds up dead, Harry’s number one with a bullet on the suspect list.
TORCH TOWN BOOGIE (Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry James Denton is looking for another case—and he gets one when the magnificent mansion across the street from his apartment is consumed in a suspicious fire. The blaze has all the scorch marks of the East Nashville Arsonist, a phantom firebug whose burning desire seems to be driving gentrifiers out of Harry's funky, rundown neighborhood. This time, though, the modus operandi includes murder.
WAY PAST DEAD (Shamus Award Nominee)
When rising country music singer Rebecca Gibson is found beaten to death, a heap of damning evidence points to her ex-husband—and Harry's pal—Slim Gibson. Harry discovers the dark history of a marriage made somewhere south of Heaven, somewhere deep in the cutthroat heart of the country music business, where deceit, betrayal, passion and vengeance are not only sung about... they're lived and died.
NOBODY'S CHAIN LAYS STRAIGHT (Anthony Award Nominee and Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry explores the seamy, steamy underside of Music City’s sex trade when he’s hired to find Stacey Jameson, a rich, runaway, drug-addled teen. "Nobody's chain lays straight," a friend tells Harry. But Stacey's chain is especially twisted, with links that lead back to a family filled with secrets. Harry's been to the rodeo a few times before, but even he's not ready for what awaits him in the hard-core depths of a brutal Nashville night.
A MANUAL OF MURDER (Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee/Anthony Award Nominee/Shamus Award Winner)
The toast of Tennessee, author Robert Jefferson Reed, has made big bucks with his little book of folksy homilies like "Never Go To Bed Angry" and "Eat Your Vegetables." He should have added "Don't Commit Murder." For when Reed's wife hires P.I. Harry James Denton to catch her hubby in a tryst with a sexy secretary, Harry find the author of Life's Little Maintenance Manual strangled and drowned in his own hot tub... placing Harry at the top of the suspect list.
DIRTY MONEY (Shamus Award Nominee)
How did Nashville P.I. Harry James Denton wind up working as a maintenance man in the world's most famous whorehouse? The Feds made him a deal: help smoke out a money-laundering operation secretly being run in Reno's notorious, legendary, legal cathouse, the Mustang Ranch. But it turns out to be a raw deal when one of the Mustang girls turns up murdered and Harry is, once again, the prime suspect.
Individual novels are reviewed separately.
DEAD FOLKS' BLUES (Edgar Allan Poe Award Winner)
Newly licensed P.I. Harry James Denton nearly goes broke before his first case comes in. Unfortunately, it’s the last person he wants to see, his old girlfriend and the first woman to break his heart, Rachel Fletcher. Rachel’s married now, to a rich doctor who’s a compulsive gambler and cheater. When Harry starts investigating the doctor and the doctor winds up dead, Harry’s number one with a bullet on the suspect list.
TORCH TOWN BOOGIE (Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry James Denton is looking for another case—and he gets one when the magnificent mansion across the street from his apartment is consumed in a suspicious fire. The blaze has all the scorch marks of the East Nashville Arsonist, a phantom firebug whose burning desire seems to be driving gentrifiers out of Harry's funky, rundown neighborhood. This time, though, the modus operandi includes murder.
WAY PAST DEAD (Shamus Award Nominee)
When rising country music singer Rebecca Gibson is found beaten to death, a heap of damning evidence points to her ex-husband—and Harry's pal—Slim Gibson. Harry discovers the dark history of a marriage made somewhere south of Heaven, somewhere deep in the cutthroat heart of the country music business, where deceit, betrayal, passion and vengeance are not only sung about... they're lived and died.
NOBODY'S CHAIN LAYS STRAIGHT (Anthony Award Nominee and Shamus Award Nominee)
Harry explores the seamy, steamy underside of Music City’s sex trade when he’s hired to find Stacey Jameson, a rich, runaway, drug-addled teen. "Nobody's chain lays straight," a friend tells Harry. But Stacey's chain is especially twisted, with links that lead back to a family filled with secrets. Harry's been to the rodeo a few times before, but even he's not ready for what awaits him in the hard-core depths of a brutal Nashville night.
A MANUAL OF MURDER (Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee/Anthony Award Nominee/Shamus Award Winner)
The toast of Tennessee, author Robert Jefferson Reed, has made big bucks with his little book of folksy homilies like "Never Go To Bed Angry" and "Eat Your Vegetables." He should have added "Don't Commit Murder." For when Reed's wife hires P.I. Harry James Denton to catch her hubby in a tryst with a sexy secretary, Harry find the author of Life's Little Maintenance Manual strangled and drowned in his own hot tub... placing Harry at the top of the suspect list.
DIRTY MONEY (Shamus Award Nominee)
How did Nashville P.I. Harry James Denton wind up working as a maintenance man in the world's most famous whorehouse? The Feds made him a deal: help smoke out a money-laundering operation secretly being run in Reno's notorious, legendary, legal cathouse, the Mustang Ranch. But it turns out to be a raw deal when one of the Mustang girls turns up murdered and Harry is, once again, the prime suspect.
May 31, 2022
Five stars
This was a very entertaining mystery series. It was well.written with some curse words peppered in but not an excessive amount. The characters were believable and Harry was a charming rascal. It was amusing to go back in time from 2022 to 1996 and be reminded of the advancement of technology. Welcome to the world wide web! 😊
This kind of reminded me of Sam Spade type mysteries. If you like that type of mystery stories, then you will.probably enjoy this set of books.
This was a very entertaining mystery series. It was well.written with some curse words peppered in but not an excessive amount. The characters were believable and Harry was a charming rascal. It was amusing to go back in time from 2022 to 1996 and be reminded of the advancement of technology. Welcome to the world wide web! 😊
This kind of reminded me of Sam Spade type mysteries. If you like that type of mystery stories, then you will.probably enjoy this set of books.
March 31, 2024
I liked Harry from the beginning of the first book, and even though he didn't act very smart a few times, I thought as a character I'd probably enjoy knowing him. I loved that he had a good friend Lonnie who understood him almost without conversation.
Good storylines throughout, but dear editor, seriously, the reader would have to know Nashville and love cars and traffic to put up with page after page of the stuff. I just flipped and scanned, but really, who needs all that?
Good storylines throughout, but dear editor, seriously, the reader would have to know Nashville and love cars and traffic to put up with page after page of the stuff. I just flipped and scanned, but really, who needs all that?
October 4, 2022
Crazy-As-All-Get-Out Good
You'll never meet a character like Harry who gets into horrible, life-threatening trouble no matter where he goes. Amazingly enough he always manages to come out ahead and even brings the bad guys to justice. Laugh-out-loud beyond-bizzarre plots that'll keep you entertained right up until the end. A must read series.
You'll never meet a character like Harry who gets into horrible, life-threatening trouble no matter where he goes. Amazingly enough he always manages to come out ahead and even brings the bad guys to justice. Laugh-out-loud beyond-bizzarre plots that'll keep you entertained right up until the end. A must read series.
February 22, 2024
An enjoyable read
Prior to reading this collection, I read one of the Denton stories that involved his being very wealthy. I expected this collection to cover part of his life that explains all of that. It didn't, but I enjoyed this collection anyway.
Prior to reading this collection, I read one of the Denton stories that involved his being very wealthy. I expected this collection to cover part of his life that explains all of that. It didn't, but I enjoyed this collection anyway.
March 18, 2025
Lucky
Real!y liked this series. Once I started it I couldnt put it down.The main character was so hilarious and inept and lucky I stayed into the book uninterrupted by any other book until I had all of the first six read.
Real!y liked this series. Once I started it I couldnt put it down.The main character was so hilarious and inept and lucky I stayed into the book uninterrupted by any other book until I had all of the first six read.
July 20, 2022
Music city murders
I really liked reading These murders mysteries with all the trouble harry got into and still lived to tell about it and became a father and a pi job great reading
I really liked reading These murders mysteries with all the trouble harry got into and still lived to tell about it and became a father and a pi job great reading
September 12, 2022
An excellent series.
March 1, 2023
entertaining reads
Read books 1-6. Harry James Denton is the Man.
Love the characters and the stories. Great series.
Will watch for more.
Read books 1-6. Harry James Denton is the Man.
Love the characters and the stories. Great series.
Will watch for more.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews