Way Past Dead - Softcover

Steven Womack

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747250014 ISBN 13: 9780747250012

Publisher: Headline Book Publishing, 1996

Synopsis

With his cash flow down to a slow drip, times are tight for Nashville gumshoe Harry James Denton. Things are tough all over Music City, U.S.A. And in some instances, they're murder, as Harry finds out the hard way when he lands a case he'd rather not touch.When rising country singer Rebecca Gibson is found viciously beaten to death in her home, a heap of damning evidence points straight to her ex-husband, Slim Gibson -- half of the struggling songwriting team with whom Harry shares office space and an occasional beer. Slim and Rebecca were last seen making beautiful music at a local club just hours before the killing. Yet while probing beneath the sweet harmony, Harry discovers the dark history of a marriage made somewhere south of heaven -- and delves into the cutthroat world of the C&W music business, where deceit, betrayal, passion, and vengeance are sung about . . . and ruthlessly performed."A rising star among the current crop of American novelists." -- Nashville BannerFrom the Paperback edition.

About this title

From the Publisher

Steven Womack came into my life unexpectedly here at Ballantine when the cover of one of his books captured my interest. I met Harry James Denton, Womack's hero (a Nashville P.I.) , in WAY PAST DEAD and immediately wolfed down all his prior work as well as hounding his editor for the next manuscripts whenever they are scheduled to appear. Steve is that most wonderful of writers: original! His characters jump off the pages and engulf me in their stories...the arrival of a new Womack is an occasion of enormous pleasure for me and for all his fans here at Ballantine.

--Tanya Thompson

From Booklist

Former Nashville police reporter turned private investigator Harry James Denton has problems: his cash flow isn't flowing, his girlfriend is among many held hostage by a fanatic religious group, and his pal from down the hall, songwriter Slim Gibson, is in jail for murder. It seems Slim's ex-wife but current singing partner, Rebecca, was found beaten "way past dead" shortly after a gig with Slim, whose car was seen leaving Rebecca's driveway. Slim had plenty of motive--including the fact that Rebecca's considerable portion of their songwriting catalog reverts to Slim upon her death--but there are plenty of other suspects lurking on the fringes of the Nashville music crowd. This third Denton mystery is a little jewel. Denton is a Rockford-like private eye who'd like to avoid danger but has just enough integrity to follow his cases through to the end. Toss him into the colorful Nashville musical milieu, and you get a mystery in which the mournful wail of a pedal steel guitar represents death as well as heartbreak. Wes Lukowsky

Edition details

• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0747250014
• ISBN 13: 9780747250012
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 410