Josh Pachter – författare

Murder, kidnapping, robbery, smuggling, industrial sabotage and international terrorism -- Mahboob Chaudri, a Pakistani native working as a police officer in the Middle Eastern island emirate of Bahrain, tackles all these crimes and more...and solves them with a charming mixture of logic, wisdom, wit, and heart.

From 1984 to 1986, seven short Chaudri stories by Josh Pachter appeared in the pages of Ellery Queen''s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock''s Mystery Magazine, and three more were later published in other places. In his classic anthology, "The Ethnic Detectives," noted author/critic Bill Pronzini called Chaudri "one of crime fiction''s most delightful new detectives," and the Chaudri stories have been reprinted in several "Year''s Best" collections and other anthologies.

In The Mahboob Chaudri Mystery MEGAPACK™ (published in paperback as "The Tree of Life"), all 10 of the Chaudri stories are gathered together in a single volume for the first time, complete with a new introduction and new afterwords for each story by the author.

A gripping anthology of twenty-five tales of crime, revenge, and murder by twenty-seven authors, each inspired by the music of Joni Mitchell.

Anthony Award Nominee for Best Anthology/Collection of 2021

Joni Mitchell is one of the most important singer-songwriters, not only of her generation, but also in the history of popular music. With seventeen studio albums, she has won eleven Grammys and multiple lifetime achievement awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. She even earned a Top Ten ranking on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.” Her music has touched the lives of millions.

In The Beat of Black Wings, twenty-seven accomplished crime writers pay tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell with short stories inspired by songs spanning all of her studio albums, from 1968’s Song to a Seagull to 2007’s Shine.

Each tale takes you on a journey through a dark world inhabited by a diverse group of troubled souls and tortured hearts. A national guardsman makes a detour on his way to lay two fallen comrades to rest in “River,” winner of the 2021 Derringer Award for Best Short Story. In “Dog Eat Dog,” nominated for the ITW Thriller Award and the Macavity Award for Best Short Story, a tycoon’s young wife contemplates her freedom. In “Marcie,” a woman struggles with pain and regret after a breakup. A wife sends letters to her imprisoned husband in “Both Sides, Now.” A music professor plots a murder in “Big Yellow Taxi.” A deluded homeless man arms himself against a strange threat in “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire.” 

This collection includes stories by Donna Andrews, Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, Edith Maxwell, Elaine Viets, and husband-and-wife team Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski.

Hitting the charts only once isn''t just unfortunate...it''s a crime.

Over the decades, tons of musical artists and groups have had a hit song that has lived on long after the tune topped the charts and is often looked upon fondly for decades to come. For some musicians, this may be the only the song they''re ever known for and they fade into obscurity soon thereafter. These are affectionately known as "one-hit wonders," and are much celebrated by fans and music publications, particularly on September 25th each year on One-Hit Wonder Day.

12 of today''s best short story authors have taken their favorite one-hit wonders and reimagined them as the influence for some pretty heinous crimes. (I Just) Died in Your Arms features a decades-spanning collection of immediately recognizable hit songs turned into stories from the amazing talents of Vinnie Hansen, Jeanne DuBois, Josh Pachter, J.M. Taylor, Christine Verstraete, Sandra Murphy, Joseph S. Walker, Wendy Harrison, Bev Vincent, Leone Ciporin, Adam Gorgoni and Barb Goffman.