What a long, strange trip it's been, from late 1964 (when Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron McKernan of the acoustic Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions decided to go electric and form a band they called the Warlocks) to the following November (when, having added Bill Kreutzmann on drums and Dana Morgan on bass, they changed their name to the Grateful Dead) to August 1995 (when Jerry died of a heart attack) and beyond (through the Other Ones, the Dead, Furthur, the Rhythm Devils, Bob Weir & RatDog, Phil Lesh and Friends, and numerous other configurations and solo projects).

In
Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead
, editor Josh Pachter presents an anthology of stories inspired by lyrics from the Dead's thirteen studio albums and two of their many live recordings. The contributors include some of the finest contemporary authors of short crime fiction, such as award winners Bruce Robert Coffin, James D.F. Hannah, Vinnie Hansen, James L'Etoile, G.M. Malliet, Twist Phelan, Faye Snowden, and Joseph S. Walker. Also on board are
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
editor Linda Landrigan (with her first published story!), married couple Kathryn O'Sullivan and Paul Awad, Flemish writer Dominique Biebau, David Avallone (son of the legendary crime writer Michael Avallone), and more.

These fifteen tales will appeal to aficionados of crime fiction and Deadheads alike, and both types of reader are sure to enjoy discovering the many Easter-egg references to the songs that inspired the stories.

Pachter's previous "inspired by" anthologies include Anthony Award finalists
The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell
,
Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Paul Simon
, and
Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles
. With
Friend of the Devil
, he and his merry gang of contributors keep on truckin'!