Dead Man Blues - by S D House (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

Two grisly murders. A disgraced former mayor. A tranquil town on the verge.

This gripping historical crime novel set in the South pulls the past into the present, perfect for fans of Attica Locke and Wiley Cash.

Dave Hendricks was once a respected man in Shady Grove, a tiny town on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. But after his wife leaves him for his best friend, he also loses his job, and his reputation is left in shambles. With nothing but his houseboat and his dog left, he's working odd jobs and listening to the blues. But when murder strikes their peaceful town, Dave finds himself compelled to team up with Sheriff Victor Burns, the man who betrayed him and took his wife, to find the killer.

Two bodies are found on Cedar Lake, and both murders strike fear in the tight-knit community. Old friends and foes are drawn back into Hendricks's life in the investigation, and he's forced to finally come to terms with what is and what was--or see justice die in the process.

Powerful and intriguing at every turn, Dead Man Blues asserts S. D. House as a knife-sharp voice in the crime genre.

Review Quotes

Praise for Dead Man Blues
"[A] solid 1950s-set whodunit . . . taut suspense . . . a page-turner."
--Publishers Weekly

"Enraptures from murderous start to satisfying finish."
--Smoky Mountain Living

"A nail-biting whodunit . . . fueled by taut relationships between its layered, dynamic, and utterly human characters."
--Chapter 16

"In Dead Man Blues, sins of the past have a way of resurfacing. Add in an unforgettable cast, a riveting murder investigation, and a richly complex portrait of the small-town South, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. S.D. House will be your new favorite mystery writer."
--Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of The Frame-Up

"Not only a solid page-turner of a crime novel, but an intimate view into mid-century rural life. Everybody knows everybody, their secrets, their histories, and their loyalties. House is a wonderful writer and Dead Man Blues will keep you guessing until the end."
--Chris Offutt, author of the Mick Hardin series

About the Author

S. D. House is the pen name of New York Times bestselling author Silas House, who is the author of seven novels, including his most recent, Lark Ascending, which was a Booklist Editors' Choice and is the winner of the 2023 Southern Book Prize and the 2023 Nautilus Book Award. In 2022 he was the recipient of the Duggins Prize, the largest award for an LGBTQ writer in the nation. In 2023 he was inducted as the Poet Laureate of Kentucky for 2023-2025 and became a Grammy finalist. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, Garden & Gun, and The New York Times. House teaches at Berea College and at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Creative Writing.