Hotel California

Hotel California consists of entertaining and chilling stories from eight different mystery authors. The book starts off strong with New Kid in Town by Andrew Child. I love the selection of authors, they each did a wonderful job with their stories. If you are looking for your next mystery/thriller, I definitely recommend this book. There’s something here for everyone. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent short stories by an impressive array of writers. This smorgasbord of mystery, thriller stories has something for everyone.

Stylishly written and fiendishly conceived these delicious stories perfectly reflect the rather loopy world into which our daily grind has been thrown into over the last two years. Hysteria, fear, paranoia, lies, deceit and lots of
murderous shenanigans are comingling smoothly with lots evil intents and ruthless carelessness...
An unforgettable cast of characters, some dazzling verbal pyrotechnics and lots of adrenaline-fueled moments managed to definitely convince me that the talented wordsmiths responsible for this terrific collection had a wonderful time putting it together...
Go ahead and enjoy this wonderful feat whitout any moderation whatsoever👍

Many thanks to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for this unexpected jewel!

A set of short high octane crime short stories by some of the greats in fiction writing today. The Reacher short is spectacular. Must read.

Wonderful short stories from a diverse group of authors. There's something for everyone in this feast of mystery and thriller stories. I really enjoyed this and recommend that people go out and purchase a copy on May 17, 2022. Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this advanced copy.

Entertaining, gripping, or even downright spine-tingling stories from eight different authors, all well versed in their craft and bringing their own special abilities to this project. Hotel California is bound to have something for every taste

Now, I’m not usually one for short stories, but I wanted to read Hotel California because Jennifer Graeser Dornbush wrote one of them! I really enjoyed her book The Coroner so I was excited to read more of her work.

I’m happy to say Hotel California did not disappoint! It was definitely entertaining and had a little bit of everything for you mystery lovers! Paranormal, action, politics, a cold case, a hit man, you name it! I feel like there is something for everyone here.

There were two stand-out stories to me in this one. Hotel California by Jennifer … no surprise there!! This story centered around a social media influencer and a creeptastic stay at Chateau Cambria.

My other favorite was Try and Love Again by Amanda Flower. This one was about a private investigator who looks into a 20 year old murder in a small island community.

Shorty story and/or mystery lovers… you should consider adding this to your tbr!

I loved this! This is very entertaining. I love a good mystery thriller read and even better was that there are eight of those here. Short and chilling, each different flavor set to the tune of Eagles' song titles. Very clever.

Thanks for the copy!

*3.5*

This was an anthology of 8 stories of murder and mayhem. Some of the stories were not my favorite but one thing all of them had in common was murder and blood! Oh and yes, all the story titles are song titles by The Eagles. Which was a nice little touch. A few of my favorites ....

Wasted Time by John Gilstrap – One of my favorites. Liked the shared secret among the brothers and the re-uncovering, had a nice little plot twister.

Pretty Maids All in a Row by Heather Graham – Loved the mystery tying into the title. Creative and kept me intrigued!

Also it says this is book 1 of The Music and Murder Mystery Series. I hope that means they are making more and I'm wondering what band they'll pick next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hotel California



What a book!  Murder, mystery and mayhem! 8 short stories make up Hotel California.  I believe there is a story for everyone.   



My favorite was Pretty Maids All in a Row by Heather Graham a creepy New Orleans murder mystery.  It gave off creepy vibes from the jump.



Do yourself a favor and check out this book.  Loved the Eagles song story titles as well!  Book is out 7/12



Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this anthology of eight crime stories, the reader is introduced to a quite wide cast that includes multiple hitmen and detectives, a senator, an influencer - and a whole bunch of victims.

I don't read many anthologies, but I do make an exception for ones consisting of crime stories. I think the mystery genre is one of the most diverse when it comes to the way authors explore its common tropes. Hotel California's central theme is that each story is inspired by a song by The Eagles, with some more closely aligning to the songs than others.

I'm not familiar with most of the authors in this anthology, so it was fun for me to be introduced to them through these short stories. The tone of the stories ranges from noir to semi-cozy to surreal, providing enough variety that at least a couple of stories will appeal to each reader's particular sensibilities.

I most enjoyed Reed Farrel Coleman's Victim of Love and Amanda Flower's Try and Love Again. The former tells the tale of a down-trodden man whose role in life is altered by the influence of a Siamese cat mask, while the latter is about a private eye who is charged with investigating a twenty-year-old cold case on a small island in Michigan.

This collection of short stories by eight talented mystery writers does not disappoint. Each story has a well developed plot and interesting character. I read a lot of short stories, and most collections have one or two that you MUST red, and one or two that I tell people they can skip, but you will want to read each and every one in this collection. There isn't a predetermined theme to this collection, but the common element is entertaining mystery. The final story, which lends its name to the collection, is a fun play on the popular song and provides a satisfying ending to the collection. Enjoy! Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

But they just can't kill the beast
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Eight deliciously talented mystery authors have lent their skills of crafting murder and suspense to this collection of gripping short stories. Each of these eight provocative tales is designed to entertain and mystify—and maybe even chill you to your core. Get lost in the wild imaginations of such New York Times bestselling writers as Andrew Child, Heather Graham, Reed Farrel Coleman, and John Gilstrap, plus authors Rick Bleiweiss, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, Amanda Flower, and Don Bruns.
•••
I grew up listening to the Eagles, and Hotel California is one of my all time favorite songs. As soon as I saw the title, I knew this book was for me. Each story goes back to an Eagle’s song-using the title and lyrics within the story.
New Kid in Town and Life in the Fast Lane were very quick paced and action packed-great for fans of Jack Reacher. I’m not a big fan of action packed thriller mystery detective. I want ghost story thrillers. These two were probably my least favorite of the stories.
•••
Wasted Time, Try and Love Again and Pretty Maids All In A Row, picked up the chiller-thriller mentality I was looking for. Pretty Maids, gave us New Orleans vibes while Try Love Again took place at Put-in-Bay - which is near where I grew up. Always a treat reading about a place you have been.
•••
The Last Resort and Hotel California really won my heart over. The Last Resort gave me, dare I say, Verity ending vibes? Anyone who loves the Eagles song Hotel California, will love this story.

A gripping, adrenaline fuelled, and highly entertaining anthology of short stories by eight interesting authors.
I knew some of them and some were new, I was fascinated by how some of the known author were able to write story very different from their usual ones.
It's entertaining and all the stories are at high level.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Sometimes, you just can’t kill the beast.

This short story collection was AMAZING! The first two stories kind of drug for me but from ‘Wasted Time’ to the very end it was hit after hit. I want to focus on my favorite story from the collection and that was ‘Hotel California’ by miss Jennifer Graeser Dornbush. Holy CRAP! If you know and love the song by The Eagles, you are going to LOVE this story! The modern twists to this short story are phenomenal, the way that Jennifer’s mind interpreted the song and she put into these words is mind blowing. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I went into this story but I was not disappointed. This story was a solid five stars for me, I’m absolutely impressed.

Some honorable mentions: Victim of Love by Reed Farrel Coleman, Pretty Maids all in a Row by Heather Graham, Try and Love Again by Amanda Flower and The Last Resort by Rick Bleiweiss

This book has eight short stories by well know authors like Heather Graham. These stories are unique as they each stem from an Eagles song that ties to the storyline.

Quick easy reads - keep you thinking and loving the creativity of the idea behind the book