Roy Carpenter, harmonica-playing bluesman in 1957 Nashville, knows great music when he hears it. He also knows a dangerous woman when he looks at her . . . and finds her looking back. Beautiful Sallymae has a brutal husband--just the sort of guy to end up dead, with Roy taking the fall. Prize-winning western writer Troy Smith turns to the crime novel with dazzling results. A tough, passionate, honestly written tale. "One of the best crime novels I've read recently!" James Reasoner. Original publication date: February 24, 2011. Advertised in Mystery Scene Magazine. This second edition includes the BONUS short story "Stomp Boogie." They love Cross Road Blues: "If Robert Johnson made a deal with the Devil at the crossroads, then Troy Smith must have made a deal with the ghost of Robert Johnson. He delivers a story told with the power and passion of the great Blues Man himself." - Robert J. Randisi "Award-winning historical novelist Troy D. Smith makes a fine crime fiction debut with CROSS ROAD BLUES. Skillfully evoking a time and place-the world of blues musicians in 1957 Nashville-Smith spins a tale that bristles with action and razor-sharp dialogue. This is one of the best crime novels I've read recently and I hope the first of many from Troy Smith." - James Reasoner, author of TEXAS WIND "Drugs, murder, a little Voodoo, and the blues-a lot of blues. Troy Smith's got his mojo workin' in this fast-moving, atmospheric crime novel set in the blues joints and back alleys of the 1950s. Check it out!" - Bill Crider