jesse sublett iii

Martin Fender is a blues bassist and part-time detective in the hothouse music scene in Austin, Texas in the mid-1980s. In this complex and quirky novel, desperate rock critics who hold a grudge against Martin's old band are murdered over a missing kilo of cocaine. Real estate scammers, a suicidal guitarist and a homicidal redhead make for a thrill-ride at 120 decibels.

Author Jesse Sublett is, like protagonist Martin Fender, a legend in his home town of Austin, Texas, having been a vital presence on the music scene there since the late 1970s. Sublett was a member of the two first punk bands in Austin. He was a member of the Violators, formed in late 1977, and also the Skunks, which he formed in early 1978. After achieving local fame and cult status, he moved to Los Angeles in 1987 to continue playing music, but more importantly, to pursue his writing career. He was living there when Rock Critic Murders was first published in 1989, followed by the sequels Tough Baby and Boiled in Concrete. Sublett has also published a true crime and music memoir, Never the Same Again: A Rock n Roll Gothic, and various novellas. His published work also includes short fiction, nonfiction, documentary television, film, plays, and journalism.

His novels have been favorably reviewed by the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post, and his fans on the bestseller list include James Ellroy (LA Confidential), Michael Connelly (Lincoln Lawyer, Black Echo) and the late Robert B. Parker. James Ellroy called Sublett's protagonist Martin Fender "a great hardboiled hero." Joe Nick Patoski, author of Selena and Willie Nelson: An Epic Life, has said "The world needs Martin Fender, because the music business is a sleazy, sleazy business."