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Mystified in Music City
by
Kristen Painter
magical realism in a Kindle edition that was published by Sugar Skull Books on October 17, 2023 and has 260 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Blood Rights, Flesh and Blood, Bad Blood, Out for Blood, Last Blood, House of the Rising Sun, City of Eternal Night, Garden of Dreams and Desires, Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, All Fired Up, "Prologue to The Vampire's Mail Order Bride", The Vampire's Mail Order Bride, The Werewolf Meets His Match, The Gargoyle Gets His Girl, The Professor Woos the Witch, The Vampire's Fake Fiancée, The Shifter Romances the Writer, "The Witch's Halloween Hero", The Dragon Finds Forever, The Vampire's Accidental Wife, The Reaper Rescues the Genie, The Detective Wins The Witch, The Vampire's Priceless Treasure, The Werewolf Dates the Deputy, "When Birdie Babysat Spider", Miss Frost Ices the Imp, Miss Frost Saves the Sandman, Miss Frost Cracks a Caper, Miss Frost Braves the Blizzard, "The Werewolf's Christmas Wish", The Vampire's Cursed Kiss, Her First Taste of Fire, The Trouble With Witches, Moody and the Beast, The Vampire's Sunny Sweetheart, Miss Frost Chills the Cheater, Lost in Las Vegas, Wrapped Up in Christmas, Sucks To Be Me, A Sky Full of Stars, Suck It Up Buttercup, The Forgettable Miss French, Sucker Punch, The Suck Stops Here, Nixed in New Orleans, Miss Frost Says I Do and Spider Too, The Witch's Christmas Catastrophe
Third in the Frost and Crowe magical realism series spun off from Painter’s Nocturne Falls series and revolving around Princess Jayne Frost and Consort Sinclair Crowe. The focus is on a murder in Nashville, Tennessee.
My Take
Painter is using first person dual protagonist point-of-view from Jayne’s and Sin’s perspectives, so we “know all” that they know *grin*.
That Sin is so sweet, taking such care of his pregnant Jayne. They’re looking forward to being parents . . . and trying to enjoy the couple-time they still have. Which makes it so much harder to deal with that third wheel who possesses Sin.
Do not read Mystified in Music City if you’re on a diet, ‘cause you won’t be able to resist the idea of all these Elvis-inspired foods. Oy. The Elvis sundae at The Stillery made my mouth water. If you are an Elvis fan, you’ll probably want to plan a trip to Nashville as well.
My biggest quibble is how slow Sin and Jayne are in considering all the possible perpetrators. Okay, yeah, another quibble is that Mystified in Music City felt flat, story-wise. Oh, I still enjoyed it. That Jayne’s appetite and constant intake of Dr Pepper, okay, so she makes me jealous. I miss mainlining my Coca Cola . . . Of course I also adore the cats; they do make me laugh. That Painter must have cats of her own, lol.
Dang, Painter makes a good point about everyone in Nashville being talented.
There is a lot going on as Jayne and Sin investigate this cold case, but it’s mostly them being tourists, eating, the day-to-day of a pregnant woman, and dealing with the exhaustion of being possessed.
The Story
As part of Jayne and Sin’s royal tour, they’re driving to Nashville to visit the Santa’s Workshop. Luckily, or not, they have time to play tourist and check out all things Elvis.
If only Sin hadn’t touched Elvis’ Cadillac . . . a necromancer can only take so much.
The Characters
Jayne Frost, a winter elf, is Jack Frost’s daughter and his heir. She’s married to (and pregnant by) Sinclair “Sin” Crowe, a powerful necromancer who used to run a doughnut shop in Nocturne Falls. Sin is a big Elvis Presley fan. Spider and Sugar are Jayne’s and Sin’s talking cats. I’d, I’d kinda like to hear my cats talk . . .
Santa Claus is Jayne’s uncle Kris; his Saint Nick Slide is a magical ability Jayne inherited. Santa’s Workshops are toy stores spread throughout the US. In Nashville, Ronald Silversteen is the manager.
Aunt Zinnia is Sin’s aunt, and she’s dating Alfie Turks, a lounge singer in Las Vegas who works at a local cat rescue. Birdie, a werewolf, is the police dispatcher in Nocturne Falls who is brilliant on the computer. She’s still dating Jack Van Zant. Her nephew, Hank, is the sheriff.
Nashville, Tennessee
Chad Montgomery, a.k.a. Big Elvis, had been an Elvis tribute artist — a tribute artist is way different from an impersonator — who was murdered three years ago. The North Forty is owned by Glen Hewitt where Chad had a regular gig. Bethann Grimes, a waitress, had been Chad’s beloved. Slim Jenkins had been Chad’s agent at A1 Talent; Dolly is Slim’s receptionist. LeClaire Tillis is the president of Chad’s fan club and a music teacher who plays the piano at church and works as a session musician. Johnny Lee Dixon is an Elvis impersonator and was Chad’s closest competition.
Music City KOA is the campground where Jayne and Sin will park the RV. Shelby is the waitress at the campground’s diner.
Lucinda Knolls, a werewolf, is the chief of police in Nashville, and she’s friends with Hank Merrow, the werewolf sheriff in Nocturne Falls. Stubbs and Shipley are police officers; Detective Amet Chopra, a cobra shifter, is thrilled to finally close that cold case.
Stan is a waiter at The Stillery. Country Confections makes a Dr Pepper fudge. Red Hots is a barbecue place. Oh, I wanna eat at Mama Del’s, a fabulous sounding Italian restaurant. That Mick, a waiter there, sounds terrific. Bearnice (wonder if she’s a bear shifter . . .) is part of the audience at North Forty. Three years ago, Edna Fitzimmons had been Johnny Lee’s neighbor.
Archie Tingle is the retired winter elf who took over Sin’s bakery and Mummy’s is a diner in Nocturne Falls.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a black background framing a vague shape of Chad’s skull in all kinds of blues to pinkish white bubbles, his head arched back as he sings into the silver microphone. At the top is the series info in a deep colonial blue. The title is below that in white. At the bottom is an info blurb with the author’s name below that; both are in white.
The title is too true, for all of Nashville is Mystified in Music City.
