The most recommended country music books

Who picked these books? Meet our 111 experts.

111 authors created a book list connected to country music, and here are their favorite country music books.
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Book cover of Stag Party: A Blanco Country Mystery

Kathleen Kaska Author Of Murder at the Arlington

From Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Humor writer Marathon runner Passionate environmentalist Dog lover Happy wife

Kathleen's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Kathleen Kaska Why did Kathleen love this book?

I write what I love to read; my favorite genre is humorous mysteries. Ben Rehderā€™s Blanco County mystery series are lighthearted, laugh-out-loud reads.

In Stag Party, Rehderā€™s protagonists, game warden John Marlin and county sheriff Bobby Garza, investigate the murder of a feisty 102-year-old inventor/rancher whose new discovery has others in Blanco County scrambling for a piece of the pie.

Billy Don Craddock and buddy Red Oā€™Brien, the countyā€™s blundering but loveable rednecks, are here again to muck up the investigation and add their own twists to the plot. Add the reality TV family, the Endicotts, and youā€™ve got another Duck Dynasty adventure complete with Texas-style eccentric characters. 

By Ben Rehder,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stag Party as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When the 102-year-old inventor of an amazing new hunting product is murdered, the clues point toward the Endicotts, a controversial reality-show family. Did one of the members do something desperate to claim the invention as their own and boost their waning popularity? Blanco County game warden John Marlin intends to find out, if he can prevent his best friend from having a deadly run-in with the prime suspect. Stag Party is the eighth novel in Ben Rehderā€™s hilarious Blanco County mystery series.


Book cover of The Deep End

M. E. Bakos Author Of Fatal Flip

From my list on quirky character-driven mystery authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write cozy mysteries about a house flipper turned sleuth in fictional Crocus Heights, Minnesota. My father was a carpenter, and I was his helper. My childhood was spent on a farm, with the biggest event of the week being a trip to the local library, where I checked out seven books. I would prop my library book in front of my school book and read in class whenever I could. My favorites were mysteries, and later romances, and now cozy mysteries, which combine a bit of both. I am always fascinated by people and their motivations, and that is what I enjoy in all the authors I recommend.

M.'s book list on quirky character-driven mystery authors

M. E. Bakos Why did M. love this book?

I love Mulhernā€™s references to the 70s and a snooty country club entourage. I love the way she describes men and whether they live inside or outside of the lines, capturing their quirks perfectly. I love the depiction of a simpler time of life with no cell phones or the internet, where everything felt more personal and connected.

By Julie Mulhern,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Deep End as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

INTRIGUING PLOT, FASCINATING CHARACTERS... "Part mystery, part women's fiction, part poetry, Mulhern's debut, The Deep End, will draw you in with the first sentence and entrance you until the last. An engaging whodunit that kept me guessing until the end!" - Tracy Weber, Author of the Downward Dog Mysteries Sub-Genre Keywords: Humorous Mystery, Historical Mystery, Whodunnit, Amateur Sleuth, Women Sleuths Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband's mistress tends to ruin a woman's day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life. It's 1974 and Ellison Russell's life revolves around her daughter and her art. She's longā€¦


Book cover of Killer Music

Barbara Hinske Author Of Guiding Emily

From Barbara's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Home goods is my happy place Happy ending addict Downton Abbeyā€™s biggest fan Wife Mother

Barbara's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Barbara Hinske Why did Barbara love this book?

I love a good mystery, and this first in the series from Tammy L. Grace is a favorite of mine. Full of twists and turns, with suspects around every corner, it also has characters who pulled me in and made me care about them.

The main character is a lawyer-turned-private detective named Coop, who has a humorous snark about him. Coopā€™s loyal golden retriever is always by his side. His Aunt Camille provides a roof over his head on her huge estate and keeps him well-fed with all her southern cooking.

The food descriptions will have your mouth watering. The quirky supporting cast of characters gets involved in Coopā€™s cases (whether he wants them to or not), and together, they solve what seems to be an unsolvable murder.

This is a fast-paced mystery that kept me guessing until the end and made me want to continue the series.

By Tammy L. Grace,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Killer Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A murdered music mogul. A high-and-mighty widow. To take down a killer, heā€™ll shake Nashville to its knees.

***Gold Medal Mystery Winner in the Global eBook Awards***

When private detective Cooper ā€œCoopā€ Harrington meets record label mogul Grayson Taylor at a swank gathering of country music artists and politicians he never imagines heā€™ll be investigating his brutal murder less than twenty-four hours later.

The suspects are plentiful. More than a handful of people could have wanted him dead. Retained by Taylorā€™s widow, Coop works alongside his best friend and Chief of Detectives, Ben Mason. The investigation leads Coop and Benā€¦


Book cover of The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen

Rose Prendeville Author Of Lady Len and the Mysterious Mac

From Rose's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Librarian Caledonophile Stargazer Science nerd History buff

Rose's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Rose Prendeville Why did Rose love this book?

Described as Bridgerton meets Poldark, what more do you need, honestly? Everything about it was perfect.

I loved Joss Doomsday as the capable but vulnerable hero carrying his entire family on his back, and Gareth, the unexpected noble with a lifetime of daddy issues, was his perfect counter-balance. The story was delightful and mysterious, heartfelt and engaging, but most of all, the writing hooked meā€”the words. I can only describe it as delicious.

The dialogue was so on point I couldnā€™t help reading the whole thing aloud to myself. I was transfixed and never wanted it to end. Itā€™s rare for me to auto-buy anything, but I clicked pre-order on book 2 minutes after finishing book 1, and my goodness, I hope we get a book 3. 

By KJ Charles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bridgerton meets Poldark in this sweeping Regency romance of smugglers, adventure, mystery, and life-changing love from celebrated author KJ Charles.

Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming man in a London molly house, he falls head over heels-until everything goes wrong and he's left alone again. Then Gareth's father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn't know.

The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty placeā€¦


Book cover of Evil Woman

Judy Alter Author Of Saving Irene: A Culinary Mystery

From my list on outrageous cozy mysteries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a lifelong fan of cozy mysteries, starting with Nancy Drew. Although I have written primarily about women of the 19th-century American West, I always longed to write mysteries. The Irene in Chicago Culinary Mysteries is my fourth series but the first outrageous one. The books combine my love of all things culinary (Iā€™ve even written cookbooks) and my love of Chicago, my hometown. What makes them outrageous? Ireneā€™s diva-like deceptions and Hennyā€™s snarky commentary.

Judy's book list on outrageous cozy mysteries

Judy Alter Why did Judy love this book?

In this fourteenth book in the Country Club Murders series, Ellison Russell returns from a long honeymoon to find an older woman has been murdered in her bed. With a new husband, her mother in the hospital (targeted by the murderer?), her difficult sister as a houseguest, one too many animals, and a full social calendar, Ellison canā€™t catch a break. Ellison is smart and funny, and sheā€™s found herself a new, inappropriate, and wonderful husband. The spoof of the 1980s country club society is spot on.

By Julie Mulhern,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Evil Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Ellison Russell Jones returns from her honeymoon, sheā€™s ready for a restful summer.

But while she was away, an older woman was murdered in her bed. And the police have questions only Ellison and her friends can answer.

She gets to be a sleuth. A real one! But with a new husband, her mother in the hospital (targeted by the murderer?), her sister as a house guest, one too many animals, and a full social calendar, Ellison canā€™t catch a break, much less a killer.

Sheā€™d better focus, or she may be the next victim.


Book cover of Hearse and Buggy

Amy Lillard Author Of Kappy King and the Puppy Kaper

From my list on cozy mysteries set in Amish Country.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never dreamed I would write books about the Amish, and now I have over thirty to my credit. In researching my books, I have fallen in love with the varied culture the Amish represent. Iā€™m a romance writer at heart, and sort of fell backward into writing mysteries. And Iā€™m so thankful I did! What I love the most is how the cultures (ours and theirs) must work together (or not, depending on the people in the story) to solve the crime. Trouble sets many more obstacles than a regular mystery. More denial that someone could be guilty. 

Amy's book list on cozy mysteries set in Amish Country

Amy Lillard Why did Amy love this book?

First of all, I love a good pun! What a title! And itā€™s perfect for the book. (In fact, the whole series has the best pun titles I think Iā€™ve ever seen.) But they say I canā€™t judge a book by its title or cover. However, it is the first thing that gets me going.

Next for this book is the great mix of Amish, English (non-Amish), and shunned ex-Amish souls all milling around together. Such varied characters make for a rich story with lots of interesting (and sometimes humorous) interactions.

Cultures collide despite the fact thereā€™s a murder to be solvedā€”a shop to run, a romance to be saved, and perhaps another one blossoming. 

By Laura Bradford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hearse and Buggy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The simple life gets complicated when death comes calling in the first novel in the national bestselling Amish Mystery series.

Claire Weatherly has fled a high-stress lifestyle for a slower pace-in Amish country: Heavenly, Pennsylvania. She only planned a short visit but instead found herself opening an Amish specialty shop, Heavenly Treasures, and settling in.Claire loves her new home, and she's slowly making friends among the locals, including Esther, a young Amish woman who works in the shop. So when the store's former owner,the unlikable Walter Snow, is murdered, and the man Esther is sweet on becomes a suspect, Claireā€¦


Book cover of A Quiet Life in the Country

Emily J. Edwards Author Of Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man

From my list on mysteries set in the perfect time and place.

Why am I passionate about this?

Of course, every mystery needs a perfect crime, but what about the perfect setting? Iā€™m fascinated by how authors manipulate time and place to add to the heightened emotions of their murders, thefts, blackmail, and frauds. Itā€™s the juxtaposition of truth and fantasyā€”what we believe times were like and how they actually wereā€”that makes setting such an essential detail of every whodunnit. Doing research on my own novel, I wrenched apart the facts and fictions of Post-War America, and grew even more ravenous for mysteries that leveraged their settings for the utmost entertainment. 

Emily's book list on mysteries set in the perfect time and place

Emily J. Edwards Why did Emily love this book?

Try as I might, I canā€™t get into Marple. But T.E. Kinseyā€™s Lady Hardcastle series, beginning with the debut A Quiet Life in The Country turns the cozy genre on its head. In this case, the dithering, older busybody is Lady Emily Hardcastle, with her trusty ladiesā€™ maid, Florence Armstrong. As the book and series progress, we find that neither woman is quite the helpless Edwardian female the neighbors believe. Come for the murder mystery and stay for theā€¦ knife throwing? 

By T E Kinsey,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked A Quiet Life in the Country as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Lady Emily Hardcastle is an eccentric widow with a secret past. Florence Armstrong, her maid and confidante, is an expert in martial arts. The year is 1908 and they've just moved from London to the country, hoping for a quiet life.

But it is not long before Lady Hardcastle is forced out of her self-imposed retirement. There's a dead body in the woods, and the police are on the wrong scent. Lady Hardcastle makes some enquiries of her own, and it seems she knows a surprising amount about crime investigation...

As Lady Hardcastle and Flo delve deeper into rural rivalriesā€¦


Book cover of Stag Party: A Blanco Country Mystery
Book cover of The Deep End
Book cover of Killer Music

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