Jim Fusilli has been a solid name in the crime fiction community for years. Racking up accolades and honors for his own work, Jim Fusilli is one of those authors who is constantly giving back to his community by spotlighting colleagues on his popular podcast, Writers at Work. Fusilli began his writing career as a music critic and that background takes center stage in his latest novel, A Song for Katy Shayne.
A Song for Katy Shayne has a mystery at its core, but it is also the story about the ever-changing world of music, music criticism, and the complex intersection between the two. In many ways, the novel could be called a late-in-life bildungsroman documenting journalist Jack Fiorello’s painful discovery of life’s second act.
As the novel opens, Jack Fiorello is laid off from his long-standing job as a music critic. Like many folks on the other side of middle age, this leaves Jack floundering in a way that even his loving wife can’t solve. But a tip on a story about a promising young singer-songwriter who died tragically years earlier kicks his journalistic nature into overdrive, sending him on a rocky path to the truth of what really happened to Katy Shayne.
Like most mystery novels that follow an investigation, readers witness as Jack follows lead after lead—each one providing another piece of the puzzle. The deeper he gets, the more Jack begins to believe that there may be more to Katy’s supposed suicide than originally assumed. Discovering that Katy was a proud member of the LGBTQ+ family at a time when acceptance was nothing more than a fever dream opens yet another avenue of investigation. His amateur sleuthing will take him from New York’s Greenwich Village straight to the heart of country music, Nashville, Tennessee.
Running parallel to the fascinating investigation into Katy Shayne’s past, the novel also places attention on Jack’s struggle with his new-found unemployment. More than just a job, Jack has lost his purpose in life and as his wife’s career soars, he must figure out what “retirement” means for him…and them. There’s also some fascinating insight into what it means to be a critic—one who judges from the outside looking in while simultaneously playing a vital role that is often overlooked or misunderstood.
Given Jim Fusilli’s background as a music critic, it makes sense that the novel is packed with true behind-the-scenes tidbits about both the music industry and the people who populate it. Fusilli’s knowledge of this field is vast and it’s fun to watch him weave real world escapades into this fictional version of the world he knows so well.
Naturally, a novel about music needs…music. Jim Fusilli does a great job of bringing that auditory element to life via the written word, but in what is sure to delight music fans many of the songs that Katy Shayne “wrote” have been recorded and released by Suzanne Spring and The Black Canyon City Band. [You can find some songs streaming now on Spotify with the entire album scheduled for release on March 27, 2026.]
Whether reading it as a mystery novel or a meditation on life (late in the game), readers will find A Song for Katy Shayne satisfying and unforgettable. It’s a story only Jim Fusilli could tell, and he tells it very well, indeed.
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BUY LINKS: A Song for Katy Shayne by Jim Fusilli
Disclaimer: An e-copy of this title was provided to BOLO Books by the publisher. No promotion was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.
