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.

“For lovers of the short story, The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell, is a veritable buffet. [These] stories of crime, revenge, memorable pasts, shaky futures, well-laid plans, and spur of the moment action will keep readers wanting more.” —Kings River Life Magazine

Josh Pachter

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