I am in a creative writing class right now and we are studying short stories- so while this was a good read, it was also a fascinating study!

As with any anthology I liked some stories more than others, but it was a great collection overall. New Kid in Town was my favourite. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

A very creative short story collection to keep you hooked! Immersive storylines and we'll thought out characters!

The best thing about short stories, in my opinion, is that they offer the exposure to many authors and their writing styles. It's a great way to find a new author you may like and want to read more of.

Hotel California is a mesh of writing styles that center around Crime/Thrillers. My favorite is the first story, which features Jack Reacher. I recently watched the Reacher season 1 on Amazon Prime and loved it!

If you are trying to branch out and considering new authors, this is a good book to grab to see if you like any of these writing styles.

This book has eight short stories by well know authors like Heather Graham. These stories are unique as they each stem from an Eagles song that ties to the storyline.

Quick easy reads - keep you thinking and loving the creativity of the idea behind the book

Hotel California
by Don Bruns

3stars

A collection of eight short stories loosely tied around Hotel California, with the feature being a new story of Jack Reacher (not written by Lee Childs).

Although the mysteries are written by famous names, they fall short of the hype, with no real surprises or twists. Formula written stories that fail to grab the reader.



This title has been reviewed by www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

This title was provided by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an open and honest review.

#HotelCaliforniaBook #NetGalley

Anthologies fill so many gaps in a reader's precious time. I always keep a couple in my TBR pile. When I'm in between my series or trying to find a new to me author to keep my reading fresh, an anthology rescues me. These books are short stories written by numerous authors in a given genre and usually have a theme that ties them all together. This one, HOTEL CALIFORNIA, has at it's heart either hotels or the state of California but the authors are some well known names and some not so well known. Mystery, murder, thriller and more are covered by these authors. I hope they had as mush fun writing them as I did reading them. I've already added two more authors to my list of back libraries to check.

This is a collection of short stories with titles from Eagles songs . I am not an Eagles fan but a love a good short story collection and this did not disappoint. I am sure Jack Reacher fans will enjoy this short story by Andrew Child. I was happy to see Amanda Flower featured in this collection as I only know her from her cozy mystery books so, her story was a pleasant surprise.
The last story is Hotel California by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush. and had a unique way of inserting lyrics from the song into the story.
The narration was fantastic as it featured some of the top audiobook narrators in the industry.

**Received this ARC for review in audio from the publisher via NetGalley**

I really enjoy reading anthologies. They're great for finding new authors, and for catching up with longtime favorites. When I saw the name of this anthology, and that each story used a line/lyric from the song Hotel California, I was even more excited to read a copy.

Overall, I enjoyed the eight stories...some more than others (as is usually the case). My favorites were Pretty Maids All In A Row by Heather Graham (one of my top go-to authors), and Try And Love Again by Amanda Flower (love all of her cozy mystery series). Other readers may find different stories to their liking....one of the many benefits of anthologies.

Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor or expectation.

This collection of short stories by eight talented mystery writers does not disappoint. Each story has a well developed plot and interesting character. I read a lot of short stories, and most collections have one or two that you MUST red, and one or two that I tell people they can skip, but you will want to read each and every one in this collection. There isn't a predetermined theme to this collection, but the common element is entertaining mystery. The final story, which lends its name to the collection, is a fun play on the popular song and provides a satisfying ending to the collection. Enjoy! Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

But they just can't kill the beast
•••
Eight deliciously talented mystery authors have lent their skills of crafting murder and suspense to this collection of gripping short stories. Each of these eight provocative tales is designed to entertain and mystify—and maybe even chill you to your core. Get lost in the wild imaginations of such New York Times bestselling writers as Andrew Child, Heather Graham, Reed Farrel Coleman, and John Gilstrap, plus authors Rick Bleiweiss, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush, Amanda Flower, and Don Bruns.
•••
I grew up listening to the Eagles, and Hotel California is one of my all time favorite songs. As soon as I saw the title, I knew this book was for me. Each story goes back to an Eagle’s song-using the title and lyrics within the story.
New Kid in Town and Life in the Fast Lane were very quick paced and action packed-great for fans of Jack Reacher. I’m not a big fan of action packed thriller mystery detective. I want ghost story thrillers. These two were probably my least favorite of the stories.
•••
Wasted Time, Try and Love Again and Pretty Maids All In A Row, picked up the chiller-thriller mentality I was looking for. Pretty Maids, gave us New Orleans vibes while Try Love Again took place at Put-in-Bay - which is near where I grew up. Always a treat reading about a place you have been.
•••
The Last Resort and Hotel California really won my heart over. The Last Resort gave me, dare I say, Verity ending vibes? Anyone who loves the Eagles song Hotel California, will love this story.

A gripping, adrenaline fuelled, and highly entertaining anthology of short stories by eight interesting authors.
I knew some of them and some were new, I was fascinated by how some of the known author were able to write story very different from their usual ones.
It's entertaining and all the stories are at high level.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The premise of this anthology of crime stories inspired by Eagle’s songs absolutely hooked me. I appreciated how each author interpreted the theme and title of the song they selected, with some incorporating supernatural elements. While every story made an entertaining read, unfortunately, I did not find every story to be a hit.

My favorites included:

Reed Farrel Coleman’s “Victim of Love” takes a supernatural turn when a man is magically transformed by a face mask. Vincent’s walk on the wild side gives him a shot at his ultimate dark desire. I liked the subtle references to the COVID-19 pandemic and wonderful world building elements like Vincent’s daily frozen dinner. As a big fan of Coleman’s Gus Murphy series, I was thrilled to see him listed as a contributor.

In “Try and Love Again” by Amanda Flower, a private detective on a quirky island in Northeast Ohio takes a crack at solving a decades old cold case. Jay-Jay’s connections and close relationship with the locals are the key to finding the murderer.

“The Last Resort” by Rick Bleiweiss plays with expectations as Walker, an ex-Marine hitman, finds himself the target of another assassin. Walker flees to Maui with the assassin hot on his trail. I’m not usually a fan of ambiguity, but I liked how the ending lets the reader draw their own conclusions.

Like the song, Jennifer Graeser Dornbush’s “Hotel California” is trippy, surreal, and haunting. The story follows TikTok influencer Penelope on her way to Hollywood where she makes a pit stop at the Chateau Cambria. There, she establishes connections that will launch her career and seal her fate. I particularly liked the character of Asa, who claimed to be saved by an animated gargoyle, and who now prays for the chateau’s permanent residents. While I liked the creativity of the story, I found the embedded lyrics of the song distracting.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

4.5 rounded up

I dont read many anthologies, but this one appealed to me because I was going to experience some familiar authors and some new ones I hadn’t read before. Overall this was a good fun run of short mystery stories. A lot of diversity among the stories as well, PI’s, detectives, influencers and many more. I highly recommend this for a chance at a new author or even a few moments with a familiar author.

In this anthology of eight crime stories, the reader is introduced to a quite wide cast that includes multiple hitmen and detectives, a senator, an influencer - and a whole bunch of victims.

I don't read many anthologies, but I do make an exception for ones consisting of crime stories. I think the mystery genre is one of the most diverse when it comes to the way authors explore its common tropes. Hotel California's central theme is that each story is inspired by a song by The Eagles, with some more closely aligning to the songs than others.

I'm not familiar with most of the authors in this anthology, so it was fun for me to be introduced to them through these short stories. The tone of the stories ranges from noir to semi-cozy to surreal, providing enough variety that at least a couple of stories will appeal to each reader's particular sensibilities.

I most enjoyed Reed Farrel Coleman's Victim of Love and Amanda Flower's Try and Love Again. The former tells the tale of a down-trodden man whose role in life is altered by the influence of a Siamese cat mask, while the latter is about a private eye who is charged with investigating a twenty-year-old cold case on a small island in Michigan.

Hotel California



What a book!  Murder, mystery and mayhem! 8 short stories make up Hotel California.  I believe there is a story for everyone.   



My favorite was Pretty Maids All in a Row by Heather Graham a creepy New Orleans murder mystery.  It gave off creepy vibes from the jump.



Do yourself a favor and check out this book.  Loved the Eagles song story titles as well!  Book is out 7/12



Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*3.5*

This was an anthology of 8 stories of murder and mayhem. Some of the stories were not my favorite but one thing all of them had in common was murder and blood! Oh and yes, all the story titles are song titles by The Eagles. Which was a nice little touch. A few of my favorites ....

Wasted Time by John Gilstrap – One of my favorites. Liked the shared secret among the brothers and the re-uncovering, had a nice little plot twister.

Pretty Maids All in a Row by Heather Graham – Loved the mystery tying into the title. Creative and kept me intrigued!

Also it says this is book 1 of The Music and Murder Mystery Series. I hope that means they are making more and I'm wondering what band they'll pick next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hotel California contains eight mystery stories not all of which are set in California. In a clever homage, the story titles are the names of the songs on The Eagles album Hotel California.

The stories express all the different sub-genres of mystery. The stories vary from a new Jack Reacher story to a PI story by the author of the Amish Candy Shop cozy mystery series.

Sometimes you feel like reading something shorter than novel length. Short fiction in general is more plot than character driven. These stories deliver on that with intriguing tales told well. As with every collection some stories resonated with me more than others. I loved the Hotel California story. It contains actual lyrics from the song incorporated into the plot. However, it was the plot itself that hooked me the most. Overall, this book gets 3 stars from me.

Thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

I loved this! This is very entertaining. I love a good mystery thriller read and even better was that there are eight of those here. Short and chilling, each different flavor set to the tune of Eagles' song titles. Very clever.

Thanks for the copy!

Sometimes, you just can’t kill the beast.

This short story collection was AMAZING! The first two stories kind of drug for me but from ‘Wasted Time’ to the very end it was hit after hit. I want to focus on my favorite story from the collection and that was ‘Hotel California’ by miss Jennifer Graeser Dornbush. Holy CRAP! If you know and love the song by The Eagles, you are going to LOVE this story! The modern twists to this short story are phenomenal, the way that Jennifer’s mind interpreted the song and she put into these words is mind blowing. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I went into this story but I was not disappointed. This story was a solid five stars for me, I’m absolutely impressed.

Some honorable mentions: Victim of Love by Reed Farrel Coleman, Pretty Maids all in a Row by Heather Graham, Try and Love Again by Amanda Flower and The Last Resort by Rick Bleiweiss