Fender Benders
Fender Benders won The Lefty Award for Best Humorous Novel of 2001.
Eddie Long plans to be a country music star but he's stuck touring the college frat circuit. But after his nagging wife apparently dies at the hands of a serial killer, Eddie writes the best song of his life and it goes straight to number one.
Eddie's friend, freelance writer Jimmy Rogers, senses a great opportunity and sets out to write the life story of Nashville's newest sensation. But Jimmy's research unearths some troubling facts about the death of Eddie's wife, facts that could ruin Eddie's burgeoning career -- while making Jimmy a star of the publishing world.
Throw in a beautiful and opportunistic country radio DJ, a pair of wily record producers, and a naive young singer-songwriter, and the stage is set. Everybody plans to make a killing -- one way or another. It's murder on Music Row, where things don't always turn out as planned.
Think of it as “A Star is Born” crossed with “Fargo,” set in Nashville.
"[Fitzhugh's] facility and wit (and his taste for the perverse) put him in a league with Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard. He's a honky-tonk O. Henry, or a Damon Runyon of the sour-beer circuit." -- New York Times Book Review
"Wickedly, irredeemably funny. Wise beyond words and music. Bill Fitzhugh has nailed the truest depiction of Nashville since Hank went to Jesus." -- Kinky Friedman
"Sharp, sassy, read-in-one-sitting, laugh-out-loud literature." -- Publishers Weekly
"A satisfying murder mystery and spoof of life in the country music industry. Fender Benders has a delightfully vicious spirit." -- USA Today
"Finger-pickin' good!" -- People
"A lighthearted spin on a despearte tale -- just like the best country songs. A-" -- Entertainment Weekly
"More fun than a bucket of drunk squirrels. It's a mystery, a comedy, and an insider's guide to the Nashville music scene."
-- Christopher Moore
"Bill Fitzhugh is the only mystery writer I have ever really loved and Fender Benders in just one of the reasons." Jill Conner Browne, author of The Sweet Potato Queens series
Bill Fitzhugh is the author of eight novels. He loves the sound of mandolins, slide guitars, and banjos. He's fond of barbeque, okra, and fried catfish. He's been to the Grand Ole Opry and likes all kinds of country music. He even wrote a book with Brooks and Dunn. His biggest regret is that he's never owned a proper pick up truck. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two dogs, and a cat, all of whom like to sing along.