Blood Country

A Nashville Sideman Mystery

Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
354 Pages
Reviewed on 02/22/2011
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Nashville native Dan Jewell may know only a few chords on his old Silvertone dreadnought, but he and his wife Joyce once cut a demo of songs in the famous Woodland Studio, where artists from Robert Plant to Roy Acuff have recorded. He grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry, and is also a fan of film noir and mystery novels. Before he began writing, Jewell enjoyed a successful career as a college professor and dean.

Jewell now has two books available in his Nashville Mystery series, Blood Country and Dream Country. Both mysteries unfold against the backdrop of the country music industry in Nashville, Tennessee.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne Boiling for Readers' Favorite

The setting is Nashville, Tennessee, home to country music legends. Joe Rose dreams of being a guitar star. Until his dream comes true, he works as a private investigator. His ex-wife Patty begged him to help her friend Roxanne. She wanted to leave her husband, renown Vern Hamlin, but he didn't want to let her go. Apparently Vern was impressed with Joe. After receiving a mysterious letter, Vern hires Joe to investigate the murder of his father, King Hamlin. The murder of the legendary country singer took place 20 years previously. Rose interviews several characters including, Monk, Hamli's ex-wife, the Professor, and stepmother.

The King left a large estate. Vern has a problem with both drugs and alcohol. His uncle does not want the murder investigated; he thinks it will upset Vern and increase his substance abuse. Jessica Apple is Vern's assistant. While she thinks solving the murder will bring closure to Vern, she does not like Joe and wants him off the case.

Blood Country is a brilliant mystery by author Dan Jewell. The complex plot is well paced with just the right amount of action. Jewell included enough twists and turns to keep the reader turning pages. There was more than a tad of humor in the plot. The characters are well-developed and multidimensional. Fans of suspense and mystery will not want to miss Blood Country by Dan Jewell. This is one of those special books that you'll read more than once.

Erinwald

5.0 out of 5 stars The Seamy Side of Music Row, February 26, 2011
By Erinwald - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blood Country: A Nashville Sideman Mystery (Kindle Edition)
The country music scene in Nashville comes brilliantly to life with Dan Jewell's new novel, Blood Country, which will captivate mystery fans and country music lovers alike. Fast paced and cleverly plotted, Jewell draws the reader in by his introduction of memorable characters, first and foremost, "sideman" cum private detective Joe Rose, as well as the man who hires him, still popular country music star Vern Hamlin, though not at the top of his form. With relentless logic, Rose untangles fact from subterfuge using his sleuthing skills and knowledge of the industry to solve the mystery. Blood Country will satisfy mystery lovers as a nifty Nashville detective novel.

RebeccasReads

4.0 out of 5 stars A country mystery, March 9, 2011
By RebeccasReads.com "Rebecca's Reads" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blood Country: A Nashville Sideman Mystery (Paperback)

Reviewed by Kam Aures for Rebecca's Reads (03/11)

Dan Jewell's "Blood Country: A Nashville Sideman Mystery" begins in January in Nashville. Joe Rose, guitarist and private investigator, receives a call from his ex-wife Patty Hill, an Associate Math Professor at Vanderbilt. Patty had just been talking to her friend Roxanne Hamlin, a country singer, on the phone. Roxanne is trying to leave her husband Vern, also famous in the country music industry, but Vern is not allowing her to leave. Roxanne doesn't want to involve the police so Patty thinks that Joe may be a good choice to help out.

The domestic situation actually turns into a job opportunity for Joe as he ends up being hired by Vern for a different matter. Vern had received a letter from an anonymous source regarding his father's murder which happened twenty years prior. In the letter, it is suggested that the man who was accused of killing Vern's father was not actually the person who committed the crime. So, Joe is sent to investigate and to try to unearth the truth as to who killed King Hamlin.

Jewell does a wonderful job with character development. The individuals we are introduced to throughout the novel are very memorable and intriguing people. The story itself is fast-paced and has many twists and turns. I recommend "Blood Country: A Nashville Sideman Mystery" for those who enjoy mystery and suspense, particularly those who are also fans of country music as there is quite the focus on the Nashville music scene. I am sure we will see more "Nashville Sideman" mysteries from Dan Jewell in the future.

Lynnette Phillips

5.0 out of 5 stars entertaining detective mystery with an intricate plot and complex cast of characters, February 12, 2011
By Lynnette Phillips - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blood Country: A Nashville Sideman Mystery (Kindle Edition)
Dan Jewell has written an entertaining detective mystery with an intricate plot and complex cast of characters and delivered it to us via Outskirts Press. This gripping novel was just released January 31, 2011 and is bound to become one of those rare books you just can't seem to put down!

Guitarist Joe Rose works as a sideman in the music industry but to make a living he has a day job. His business card reads "Sideman Investigations, Put Someone on Your Side". Country music star, Vern Hamlin, hires him to look into the 20 year-old murder of his father. Twenty years is a long time but Joe finds no shortage of suspects or lack for questions to ask them.

As Joe begins his investigation that list of suspects doesn't seem to include the name of the man who was accused and died. There is though the Desert Storm vet, Vern's promiscuous stepmother, now married to a TV evangelist and his Uncle Claude, also known as C. C., who is CEO of Hamlin Enterprises which includes Vern's Great Axe Music. C.C. has even hired a violent scoundrel of a PI to keep Joe from getting to the truth. Oh, we mustn't ignore Allen, C.C.'s longtime `friend' and doer of dirty deeds or Allen's father, police Chief Taggert. Vern's ex-wife, country star Roxanne Hamlin and his assistant, Jessica Apple, add their own brand of confusion to the entire plot.