Cover Reveal | Versed in Murder by Jo A. Hiestand #mystery #coverreveal #coverlove #newrelease
- N. N. Light
- Jun 27
- 6 min read
Who’s ready for a cover reveal? Prolific mystery author Jo A. Hiestand is here to reveal the cover for her upcoming release, Versed in Murder. If your favorite genre is mystery or British mystery, you’re going to want to check out this cover reveal.
Drumroll please…
Isn’t the cover amazing?
Scroll down to read an exclusive excerpt and preorder your copy today.
Title: Versed In Murder
Author: Jo A. Hiestand
Genre: Mystery
Book Blurb:
Bluegrass band Moorland Grass is on the verge of turning pro and hitting the music world like a cymbal crash. But the death of their fiddler, Dylan Ingram, has thrown a sour note into the band's future as well as thrown the lads' working relationships off-key. Now, one year after the murder, former police detective Michael McLaren is asked to investigate.
As McLaren pokes into the case, he hears about sharp words and flat expectations, and gets an earful of anger—some coming from the band members, some from Dylan's family. And there's that strange black car that attempts to run McLaren off the road...or worse.
The case comes together with help of a piece of music. But the finale nearly decomposes one night in a desperate run across the moor—and threatens to take McLaren along in that fade out.
Excerpt
Jamie leaned forward slightly and took a breath. He looked as though he were about to launch into a lengthy recitation. The fire snapped before he said, "Uh, Mike."
"Yeah?" A hint of wariness crept into McLaren's tone.
"Speaking of music and murder..."
McLaren eyed his friend, wondering what was coming.
"You didn't really know my mate, Dylan Ingram, did you?"
"Not really. Just enough to say hi to, but the few times we chatted I liked him. Why? Something going on with him?"
"Not what you're envisioning, I suspect."
"I wasn't envisioning anything, but you have a reason for mentioning him."
Jamie nodded and cleared his throat. "I, uh... Well, I'm just wondering if you would do Dylan's family and his bluegrass band a favor by looking into his death. The police said it was murder."
The room fell quiet except for the taps of sleet sporadically pelting the outside of the windows. Inside, nothing stirred but the flames licking the logs in the grate, and the lazy play of shadows on the floor. The dance was mesmerizing to watch, and McLaren felt himself being sucked into the emotional whirlpool. He blinked, shaking off the feeling, and focused on Jamie.
Jamie cleared his throat again, appearing somewhat unsure of introducing the subject. "Your music just now jarred my recollection of the event. Dylan's event." He gazed at McLaren, a soft, solemn look in his eyes. "I didn't come over with his murder on my mind. Honest."
McLaren sank against the sofa cushions and eyed his friend with a feeling of curiosity and resignation.
"The one year anniversary of Dylan's murder is coming up—tomorrow, in fact —and I'd like to see it solved this year. Well, so would the folks who knew him, who were involved with him and his band, Moorland Grass."
"And the police aren't moving fast enough to suit you and his group members, I take it."
"I don't think they're moving at all." The confession came out slowly, tinged with exasperation and sounding as though the statement left a nasty taste in his mouth. "You've solved so many other cold cases, Mike..." He and McLaren had been best mates since their childhood, had entered police school together and worked together in the Staffordshire Constabulary before Jamie transferred to Derbyshire. They had saved each other's lives numerous times, forging a bond thicker than many of those linked by kinship. All of which was why Jamie could approach his friend with his request.
"Jamie..."
"You've taken on and single-handedly solved more than two dozen cases since leaving your job with Staffordshire Constabulary, Mike. Two dozen cases solo in less than two years, if you want me to spell it out."
"And I should add Dylan's to my list." He rubbed the back of his neck, recognizing when he was beaten. "At least tell me a bit about it before you drag me into it."
Jamie grinned and draped his arm along the back of the sofa. "I thought you'd never ask. Dylan and I knew each other growing up. We played soccer together, did a bit of fishing. Childhood stuff. Well, you know about most of that since you biked over to my house most weekends. When Dylan's brother left for school, Dylan latched onto me as his 'big brother.' I guess the ten years between us was right for advice. His brother, Geoff, moved to another village on graduation from university. Not far away, but Dylan still rang me up occasionally for advice or opinions even though he could have talked to and seen Geoff."
"They weren't that close, I take it."
"Not at all. Besides being fairly far apart in age, they had no similar interests. They were as different as..." He paused, evidently trying to think of a simile.
"Night and day," McLaren supplied, leaning on the hackneyed comparison.
Jamie seemed not to notice, for he continued. "There were seven years between them, and sometimes such a distance is a great separator. Anyway, Dylan got interested in music in his teen years. He took up the fiddle, worked hard at it, and eventually became an ace player. That led to him forming his current bluegrass group."
"Moorland Grass, you said."
"Right. The other three chaps in the group all live in this area, all close to the Hathersage and Burbage Moors, as well as the Nether Padley and Bamford areas."
"Good name for his group, then. That's grand moorland around those villages."
"I'll skip all the other details for the moment. You can get those later if you need them. The problem that seems to have led to his murder began when a manager signed them on."
McLaren's right eyebrow rose as he peered at his friend. "Pardon? Getting representation is a problem? Most groups dream of having someone like that. I would have thought they'd be over the moon to have a professional handling them."
"Normally they would have been floating on air, but Dylan's fiddle was the source of the first bit of trouble. He—"
McLaren held up his hand and grabbed a small notebook and a pen on the coffee table. "Before I get much deeper into this thing, who are the band members? Give me names and instruments they play and such."
"Right. Well, there's Dylan Ingram on fiddle, as I said. He founded the group. Luke Langley is on guitar. Andrew Ryan plays banjo, and rounding out the foursome is Dixon Sloan. He plays mandolin. All four are in their twenties. Well, Dylan was. Sorry. He was twenty-eight last year when he was killed." He rattled off the home addresses for the three remaining lads. "Dylan's estranged wife is Holly Ingram. She lives in Buxton."
McLaren jotted the information in his notebook. "Ta. Go on. Before you tell me about the trouble, when and where was he murdered, and who found him?"
"Unfortunately, I found him. That's what led to my trouble."
Buy Links
Coming in August.
Author Biography
Jo A. Hiestand grew up on regular doses of music, books, and Girl Scout camping. She gravitated toward writing in her post-high school years and finally did something sensible about it, graduating from Webster University with a BA degree in English and departmental honors. She writes a British mystery series (the McLaren Mysteries)—of which three books have garnered the prestigious N.N. Light’s Book Heaven ‘Best Mystery Novel’ three years straight. She also writes a Missouri-based cozy mystery series that is grounded in places associated with her camping haunts. The camping is a thing of the past, for the most part, but the music stayed with her in the form of playing guitar and harpsichord, and singing in a folk group. Jo carves jack o’ lanterns badly and sings loudly. She loves barbecue sauce and ice cream (separately, not together), kilts (especially if men wear them), clouds and stormy skies, and the music of G.F. Handel. You can usually find her pulling mystery plots out of scenery—whether from photographs or the real thing.
Social Media Links
Booklisti: https://booklisti.com/johiestand
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BritishandUS/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AnglophileJo
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/joahiestand
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/JoHiestand
Website: http://www.johiestand.com
