Don Bruns Books In Order

Caribbean Mystery Books In Publication Order

  1. Jamaica Blue (2002)
  2. Barbados Heat (2003)
  3. South Beach Shakedown (2006)
  4. St. Barts Breakdown (2008)
  5. Bahama Burnout (2009)

Lessor and Moore Mystery Books In Publication Order

  1. Stuff to Die For (2006)
  2. Stuff Dreams Are Made Of (2008)
  3. Stuff to Spy For (2009)
  4. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff (2010)
  5. Too Much Stuff (2011)
  6. Hot Stuff (2012)
  7. Reel Stuff (2013)

Quentin Archer Mystery Books In Publication Order

  1. Casting Bones (2017)
  2. Thrill Kill (2018)
  3. No Second Chances (2018)

Anthologies In Publication Order

  1. A Merry Band of Murderers (2006)
  2. The Great Filling Station Holdup (2021)
  3. Christmas Cookies Mysteries (2021)

Caribbean Mystery Book Covers

Lessor and Moore Mystery Book Covers

Quentin Archer Mystery Book Covers

Anthologies Book Covers

Don Bruns Books Overview

Jamaica Blue

When successful and charming rock journalist Mick Sever goes to Jamaica to see the ‘next big thing’, a reggae/rap band with a flare for hypnotic beats and violent lyrics, he finds that there’s more than just sun, sand and music on the island of Jamaica. Danger, lies, sex and murder abound in the tropical paradise. Led by front man Derrick Lyman, a talented and captivating performer with a radical political message, the band seems set for instant stardom. But then a young girl is savagely murdered at an afterparty celebrating the band’s first American concert in Miami. Roland Johnson, the band’s security guard is caught, with a knife in his hand at the crime scene. Roland is arrested and charged with murder. For all involved the case is closed all except Mick Sever. Sever, a relentless and charming sleuth, isn’t convinced that the simple guard is the cold blooded killer everyone thinks he is. Stories of other murders and violence that follow the band lead Sever to believe there is more to the story than meets the eye. Threatened by the band, the police, and dangerous unknown assailants, Sever with the help of his beautiful and intelligent ex wife Ginny, is determined to learn the truth. In the world of music, with double deals, beautiful women and sexy sounds, nothing is as it seems. Set against the exotic backdrops of Florida and Jamaica, this is an edgy, atmospheric, edge of your seat mystery that will keep you guessing right up to the shocking ending.

Barbados Heat

Congressman Shapply, a former music insider who now leads the crusade against offensive lyrics in rap songs, is attacked and murdered in from of his Washington D.C. home. His son Nick is arrested and charged with murder. For veteran music journalist Mick Sever, covering this case is personal. Sever, best friend of the accused killer, believes his friend’s claims of innocence. With the help of an old flame, Mick must penetrate the bizarre Shapply family the icy matriarch Alicia, the disturbed daughter Amber and the religious brother in law to find the truth. The investigation will take Mick from the halls of the Capital to the beaches of Barbados. Threatened by unknown assailants and dangers at every turn, Mick becomes the hunted as killer turns the tables in a stunning climax.

South Beach Shakedown

From BOOKPAGE ‘A hearty welcome to musician turned novelist Don Bruns, whose South Beach Shakedown offers readers a high energy romp through the uncomfortably parallel worlds of the pop music industry and the criminal underbelly of Miami. Entertainment journalist Mick Sever owes his career to pop star Gideon Pike. Pike allowed Sever into his inner circle back when Sever was a fledgling reporter, and that entr e put Sever on the map. Fame went to Sever’s head not to mention his liver and his neural synapses as he lived in the shadow of the pop idol; his excesses cost him his marriage, and very nearly his career as well. Now Gideon Pike is in a jam, and through a mutual acquaintance Sever s ex wife, for whom Sever still carries an Olympic size torch he has summoned the writer to help bail him out. It will not be easy, though, for when Sever arrives in Miami, he finds that Gideon Pike has disappeared, and that Pike s compadres are dropping like flies. A Korean mobster adds a bit of Asian! spice to the dish, and Sever s ex, Ginny, supplies the sizzling heat. The banter, particularly between Sever and Ginny, is relaxed and believable, just what you d expect from old lovers who are still friends. With the relentlessly action packed South Beach Shakedown, Bruns has crafted what may be this season s quintessential suspense read.’ Someone is about to make a killing in the music industry.

Why would songwriting legend Gideon Pike mysteriously disappear just when he is about to turn his 30 year career into a multi million dollar profit?

Music columnist Mick Sever is back in Don Bruns third suspense masterpiece. This time he s looking for answers and his missing friend in the gritty backrooms of South Beach s biggest nightclubs, dodging suicide speedboats and running from sniper fire. What surfaces is how the major players in the music industry are not making the headlines, they re just pulling the strings that create them. Hit it right, and the royalties even someone else s can rake in millions for the rest of your life. The key is finding Gideon before Korean mobster Jimmy Shinn does. Jimmy is ready to cash in on the one secret that will bring Gideon to his knees and strip away what s left of his career, his fortune, and his life. Whoever gets to Gideon first will either save him or pull the trigger. The deadly race is on. Tami Brady, TMC Reviews ‘Gideon Pike goes missing. Nobody knows if the man killed his gay lover and fled, if he s hiding from the real killer, or if he s skipped town on one of his occasional trips that usually happen when Pike owes someone money. ‘Even after I read this book, I still wasn t sure whether I liked Gideon Pike or not. The guy seemed like such a sleaze at times, had so many secrets, and had layer upon layer of hidden lives that I wasn t really sure if I ever got to see the real man behind all the smoke and mirrors. Moreover, when finally faced with the complex realities and dynamic personality of the man, I wasn t sure how much of the made up situations and fantasies that Pike actually believed. ‘Despite this, or more likely because of these aspects, I couldn t seem to put this book down. I was so eager to figure out if Pike was still alive, who had committed the murders, and the real truth behind all the deceptions that I had to keep turning the pages.’ Cathy Yanda for Readers Views ‘This is not the first time these characters meet in one of Don Bruns books. You may not have met them before, but it will not take you long to become well acquainted with them. In this adventure, Mick Sever, an entertainment writer, teams up with his ex wife Ginny did I mention he is still in love with her? to solve the disappearance of Gideon Pike in South Miami Beach. While trying to locate the missing music icon, Gideon Pike, Ginny and Mick find themselves in more situations than you would find in a Jackie Chan movie. South Beach Shakedown is lean, fast paced and complex. There are murders, blackmail, dirty deeds, mobsters, near death misses, speedboats, a cast of interesting people and plenty of scantily clad women. If this book is not made into a movie, Bruce Willis will have certainly missed a great entertainment opportunity. ‘If you are looking for a book that will leave you with a great deal more knowledge than you already had, skip this one. However, if you are looking for a book that is absolutely a hoot to read and will leave you laughing and wanting more, you cannot miss with South Beach Shakedown. Once you finish, you will want to check out Don Bruns other books as well.’

St. Barts Breakdown

Rock and roll journalist Mick Sever is back with a new assignment: interview music legend Danny Murtz. Murtz’s walls are lined with platinum records, but his closet is full of skeletons. Known for producing an unbelievable string of hits, Murtz is also tied to a string of disappearances. Seems a number of Murtz’s romantic conquests have vanished into thin air. After his latest incident, Murtz conveniently retreats to his secluded St. Bart villa. Before Mick can hop a plane to the island, he’s nearly run down by a speeding car. Coincidence? Maybe, but hit maker Danny Murtz and near misses go hand in hand. After receiving anonymous threats, Murtz is convinced someone wants to bring him down. Even his longtime secretary Nancy, and attorney/manager/cleaner upper Harvey Schwartz are suspect. And that meddlesome Mick Sever is digging too deep. If Danny Murtz has his way, Mick will only need a one way ticket to paradise. Because if Mick isn’t careful, his next column will be an obituary his obituary. Sun, sand and a psychopath: it’s a deadly mix. Also available in hardcover: 978 1 933515 12 0

Bahama Burnout

For rock and roll writer Mick Sever, another story, another deadly island paradise is all in a day’s work. This time, Mick heads to Nassau, Bahamas, home of the legendary Highland Studio. Known for pumping out hits that burn up the charts, Highland is where the magic happens or rather, where the magic happened until a devastating fire destroyed the entire studio. No one knows how the fire started, who started it or whose body was found among the charred ruins. Sent to get the inside story on the opening of the new Highland Studio, Mick finds this is hardly the Phoenix rising out of the ashes story he expected. Some say the studio’s haunted, some say it’s cursed, but one thing is for sure: someone or something wants to stop the music. A smashed guitar and erased tracks send a subtle warning, but murder? That’s an entirely different tune. If Mick doesn’t act fast, Highland Studio, along with everything and everyone in its path, could go up in smoke. It’s not always better to burn out than to fade away.

Stuff to Die For

Best friends James Lessor and Skip Moore are hardly on the fast track. While James works as a line cook at Cap’n Crab, Skip spends his days selling or rather, attempting to sell security systems to people who a have no money, and b have nothing they care to protect. James and Skip aren’t upwardly mobile, but they’re about to get literally mobile when James spends a surprise inheritance on a white box truck. An investment in the future, he surmises, as these two are starting a business solely devoted to hauling other people’s stuff. But the fledgling business takes a shocking turn when James and Skip unload the contents of their first moving job and find some unexpected cargo a bloody human finger. James and Skip must scramble to stay one step ahead of the perpetrators of the gruesome crime in this witty, gritty mystery about big dreams, big ideas and big trouble. Instead of chasing the American dream, James and Skip will be running for their lives.

Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

While their last venture was hardly crowned with success, James Lessor and Skip Moore, and their white box truck are back. When Reverend Preston Cashdollar and his traveling tent revival come to town, James and Skip reinvent themselves as holy rollers.

But these two aren’t seeking salvation; they’re seeking the Almighty dollar. After all, Cashdollar’s prosperity gospel draws thousands of people with open minds and open wallets. With a few modifications to the truck, Less or Moore Catering is ready to roll, and the entrepreneurs are born again, intent on making a mint by selling meager meals to the hungry mas*ses.

Cashdollar may preach about seeing the light, but his organization has a dark side of greed, corruption, and murder. What in the name of all that is holy have James and Skip gotten themselves into? This meals on wheels venture is more like hell on wheels.

As James and Skip seek the truth, they’ll learn that the Stuff Dreams Are Made Of may be their worst nightmare. They’ll either need to keep the faith, or run like the devil.

Stuff to Spy For

Best friends James Lessor and Skip Moore are still stuck in dead-end jobs, still living in their ratty apartment in Carol City, Florida, and still dreaming of hitting the big time. It seems those dreams are finally within reach when James lands a job to install a state-of-the-art security system for Synco Systems. There’s a huge commission-and plenty of strings-attached. To collect on the cash, James will have to provide ‘additional services’ by assuming the role of pretend boyfriend of Sarah Crumbly, an employee who’s having an affair with Sandler Conroy, Synco’s married president.

When Sandler’s wife offers James a tidy sum for the dirty details about what’s going on at Synco, James and Skip resurrect their entrepreneurial dreams and go into the business of being spies. The spymobile-their beloved, rattletrap of a boxtruck-is on its last legs, and they’ll have to spend a small fortune on spy equipment, but there’s no business like spy business. In this spy game, James and Skip may be the ones who get played-or worse.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

It’s official: stumbling, bumbling James Lessor and Skip Moore are licensed private investigators. Now, that’s some scary stuff. It could take time to get Moore or Less investigations off the ground, so James takes a job with a traveling carnival show. But this show has a dubious reputation, having had a string of accidents and at least one death in the past year. When they’re hired to investigate what’s caused the carnival chaos, James and Skip set into motion a dizzying, roller coaster chain of events. After a terrifying trip on the Dragon Tail ride, a not so fun dust up in Freddy’s Fun House, and a host of threats, James and Skip realize they’ll get anything but cooperation from this cantankerous cast of carnies. But when a carnival worker is murdered, James and Skip will have to act fast because they might be next in line. For James and Skip, the only thing sweeter than the smell of corndogs and fried dough will be the sweet smell of success but in this case, ‘success’ means getting out alive. This investigation is going completely off the rails.

A Merry Band of Murderers

A Merry Band of Murderers is more than a compilation of short mystery stories from some of the genres finest writers. It is also an exploration of music. Conceived by Claudia Bishop and Don Bruns, the collection is staged in two acts: first, a non fiction discussion of short stories, mysteries, and music; and second, a compilation of musical short mysteries. The first act opens with an essay by Bishop explaining the role of the short story in mystery writing and another essay by Bruns discussing writers who play, sing, and compose. The second act is more whimsical. There are thirteen music centered stories from authors Mary Anna Evans, Jim Fusilli, Bill Moody, Rupert Holmes, Rhys Bowen, John Lescroart, Nathan Walpow, Peter Robinson, Jeffery Deaver, Tom Corcoran, Val McDermid, and, of course, the editors themselves. Each story is accompanied by a short introduction, song lyrics, and an interview with the writer. The book is packaged with a music CD with recordings by the authors. A one of a kind collection.

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