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A feast for lovers of contemporary crime fiction, this stellar collection of 25 stories, all written by members of CWA and embracing a theme of music, is both a must read and a rare and captivating treat.

With stories reaching broadly across the crime genre, including procedural police investigations, terrifying suspense-driven murders, moody atmospheric historical dramas, an inside look at the psychopathic mind, challenging puzzles, and thwarted love stories, there is something here for all crime-fiction tastes.

For this reader, reading the collection presented here was very reminiscent of early days racing through the pages of new and quickly much-thumbed editions of Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines. Many of the stories invoke a twinge of nostalgia, harkening back to memories of albums on vinyl, playlists, early jazz clubs, and evocative settings ranging from the 50s and the 80s.

With stories providing touches of Hercules Poirot, a definite tinge of Sherlock Holmes, and lots of good-old British DIs, there are twists, creepy terrors, and plenty of clues and red herrings to keep a reader guessing long into the night.

Some favorite stories from this collection include:

• Be Prepared – Abi Silver: Set in 1982 and narrated by an observant and clever fourteen year old, all bets are off when a seemingly normal Brownie/Cub Scout camping trip goes terribly wrong.

• The Melody of Murder – Antony M Brown : An entertaining puzzle involving a series of horrific theatrical crimes, painstakingly staged to replicate gruesome past record covers of popular artists.

• Taxi! – Chris Simm: A riveting suspenseful drama told in dual voice – first, the POV of a young female taxi passenger, and second, a serial-murderer eager to finish off his next victim.

• The Sound and the Fury – Dea Parkin: An angry musical soundtrack sets the tone for a violent and terrifying confrontation.

My stop today on the @randomttours #blogtour for #MusicoftheNight edited by #MartinEdwards @flametreepress

A great big thank you to the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts provided are my own.