Dead Man's Song

—Simon Clark, author of Vampyrrhic, London Under Midnight, and Night of the Triffids

“Ghost Road Blues will leave you breathless. Make sure you read it with the lights on.”

—David Housewright, Edgar Award–winning author of Pretty Girl Gone and Tin City

“Steeped in the blues and saturated with violence and foreboding.”

—Bev Vincent, author of The Road to the Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King’s Magnum Opus

“Ghost Road Blues is a hell of a book.”

—Jemiah Jefferson, author of Wounds, Voice of the Blood, Fiend, and A Drop of Scarlet

“Evocative and chilling, Maberry’s fiction is the work of a dark magician with a poet’s soul.”

—Tim Waggoner, author of Darkness Wakes, Pandora Drive, and Like Death.

“Ghost Road Blues manages to touch every kind of horror from creepy chills to gruesome gore and builds to an unforgettable climax.”

—H. R. Knight, author of What Rough Beast

“Maberry writes with a kind of rhythmic, lyrical quality one might find in the work of Cady, Conrad, or even Faulkner.”

—Kealan Patrick Burke, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Currency of Souls, The Turtle Boy, and Vessels

“A wonderful novel from a fresh new voice in the genre.”

—Nate Kenyon, author of Bloodstone

“Dark and mischievous…fun and inspired…Jonathan Maberry knows how to serve up the creepy goods!”

—Jim O’Rear, horror film stuntman and haunted attraction consultant

“Full of real characters and plenty of eerie atmosphere.”

—David Wellington, author of Monster Island and Monster Nation

“Ghost Road Blues is, hands-down, the best horror novel of 2006.”

—Bryan Smith, author of Deathbringer and House of Blood

“A chilling tale—lyrical, melodic, and dark. Maberry breathes new life into modern horror fiction.”

—Scott Nicholson, author of The Home and The Harvest

“A fine blend of authentic supernatural folklore and conventional villainy in a fully realized contemporary setting.”

—Don D’Ammassa, author of the Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction

“Ghost Road Blues is high-octane storytelling meant for chilly, full-moon nights.”

—W. D. Gagliani, author of Bram Stoker Award finalist Wolf’s Trap

“Vivid, fast-paced, and deliciously dark.”

—Bruce Boston, author of Flashing the Dark and Masque of Dreams

“This is a fun, fun read and creepy as hell.”

—Gregory Frost, author of Attack of the Jazz Giants and Other Stories

“Reading Maberry is like listening to the blues in a graveyard at the stroke of midnight.”

—Fred Wiehe, author of Strange Days and The Burning

“Unnerving and brisk!”

—Noreen Ayres, author of the Smokey Brandon mystery series

“Believable and nerve-shattering!”

—E. F. Watkins, author of Dance with the Dragon and Paragon

“Frightening!”

—Montgomery County Intelligencer

DEAD MAN’S SONG

JONATHAN MABERRY

To my wife Sara and my son Sam

SO MANY PEOPLE TO THANK…

To my first readers: Arthur Mensch, Randy Kirsch, Charlie Miller, and Greg Schauer…for your comments, observations, and insights.

To my experts: Chief Pat Priore of the Tullytown Police Department; Larry Kaplan, DDS; Dan Noszinski; Richard F. Kuntz, First Deputy Coroner of Bucks County; and Jim Gurley. Any errors that remain in the book are purely the author’s doing.

To the publishing folks: Michaela Hamilton, Sara Crowe, Elizabeth Little, and Doug Mendini.

To my fellow writers: Tess Gerritsen, Stuart Kaminsky, J. A. Konrath, John Lutz, Yvonne Navarro, Steve Hamilton, Richard Sand, Bill Kent, Michael Laimo, Charles Gramlich, Simon Clark, David Housewright, Jeremiah Healy, Bev Vincent, Jemiah Jefferson, Stephen Susco, Tim Waggoner, H. R. Knight, Gary A. Braunbeck, Ken Bruen, Kealan Patrick Burke, Nate Kenyon, David Wellington, Bryan Smith, Katherine Ramsland, Scott Nicholson, Don D’Ammassa, W. D. Gagliani, Bruce Boston, Gregory Frost, Fred Wiehe, Noreen Ayres, and Kim Peffenroth for endless support.

To my guest stars: Stephen Susco, Ken Foree, Tom Savini, Jim O’Rear, James Gunn, Brinke Stevens, Debbie Rochon, and Joe Bob Briggs for dropping by to make an appearance in this book and the next.

To the Bluesmen, Mem Shannon and Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater, for allowing me to use their wonderful blues lyrics in this book and the next.

My colleagues at Career Doctor for Writers (www.careerdoctorforwriters.com) and Writers Corner USA (www.writerscornerusa.com).