Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys

D. M. S. Fick, Camcat Books (APR 11) Hardcover $26.95 (288pp) 978-0-7443-0881-5

In D. M. S. Fick’s cozy mystery novel Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys, a country music festival is the stage for an unsettling murder.

Lewis is a hardworking country musician who’s striving toward his band’s big break. Fate turns in their favor with an offer to play at the nation’s largest country music festival. The day before he’s due to perform, though, the love of Lewis’s life, who’s also weaseled her way into the festival, leaves him. It seems she was using him for his industry connections; now, she no longer needs sweet Lewis by her side.

The festival grounds feature a walk of fame with cement hand prints celebrating some of its most iconic performers. Lewis’s boorish manager is made the newest addition to this display: he’s found dead, with his head buried in the cement. After their altercation the day before, Lewis is the prime suspect. He enlists the help of his band mates and the loyal festival staff to find the real killer before someone else is murdered or Lewis takes the blame.

The book’s heroes are Lewis and his band mates; they’re depicted in a warm, inviting fashion, with their endearing traits highlighted. There are indications that some of them may capable of murder, too, but few had the motivations or opportunity to take their manager out. They secure audience investment—and hope in their innocence. A secondary story line concerning a missing brooch results in some surprises; it also leads into the book’s powerful ending.

Lewis Sinclair and the Gentlemen Cowboys is a charming mystery novel in which lovable musicians and a country festival staff race to solve a murder.