Hold Me Down

A riveting work of dark suspense from acclaimed author Clea Simon Gal, a middle-aged musician, is back in Boston to play a memorial for her late drummer/best friend, when she finds herself freezing on stage at the sight of a face in the crowd. The next day, she learns that the man she saw has been killed beaten to death behind the venue and her friend's widower is being charged in connection with his death. When the friend refuses to defend himself, Gal wonders why and, as the memories of begin to flood back, she starts her own informal investigation. As she does so, she must reexamine her own wild life, her perception of the past, and an industry that monetizes dysfunction in a dark tale of love, music, and murder.

About the Author :
Before turning to a life of crime (fiction), Clea Simon was a journalist. Starting as a rock critic, she ended up writing about books and other arts. A native of New York, she came to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University, from which she graduated with high honors, and never left. The author of three nonfiction books and seven mysteries, she lives with her husband, the writer Jon S. Garelick, and their cat, Musetta. She is the author of the Witch Cats of Cambridge mysteries from Polis Books: A Spell of Murder, An Incantation of Cats, and A Cat on the Case. You can find her online at @Clea_Simon.

Review :
Incredible praise for HOLD ME DOWN “Lyrical, layered, and full of surprises. Simon has penned a raw and emotional thriller with a heartbeat, about lost dreams and missing friends, regrets and buried memories, the final note reminding us that it’s never too late to start again. Provocative, moving, and suspenseful.” –Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Last Girl Ghosted “Gripping and intense, a darkly suspenseful dive into friendship, fame, murder, and the thrilling power of rock music. I couldn’t put it down.” —Meg Gardiner, author of the UNSUB series "This devastatingly powerful mystery hits like a punch to the heart." —Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You "Simon perceptively illustrates the sacrifices one makes for art. Simon’s tour of the Boston music scene will make readers wish “Hold Me Down” included a link to iTunes." —Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel "A mystery that expires character motivations ... For fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Janet Evanovich." —Library Journal "Simon draws on her career as a journalist, in particular her reporting on Boston’s music scene in the 1990s, for the setting, concert scenes, and flashbacks, bringing a gritty reality to this dark suspense tale." —Booklist “A flat-out, stoked-up, red-alert blistering justice-gets-done story that you can’t put down.” —E. Jean Carroll, author of What Do We Need Men For? "The big mystery in this exquisite novel is not the one in the story but the one in the way Clea Simon tells it. We hear music that never existed, pine for memories we couldn't have, and mourn for the survivors." —David Hajdu, author of Lush Life and Positively 4th Street “This pitch-perfectly dark psychological suspense underscores the price of fame, the price of friendship, and the temptations of success. Sharp and insightful, and written with exquisite detail, this story has a soundtrack that will linger long after the final page.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today-bestselling author of Her Perfect Life “HOLD ME DOWN is a joyous novel about friendship and survival, but what dark, bitter joy. Simon has gone deep into a world many women know all too well, where pride, guilt, and pain do battle inside the stories we tell. A cracking plot in a rich setting round out this important, timely book to perfection.” —Catriona McPherson, Edgar-nominated author of A Gingerbread House “Powerfully written and compulsively readable. Part murder mystery and part wistful history of a one-time rock star and her deeply buried secrets.” —Dave Zeltserman, award-winning author of Small Crimes, now a Netflix film “A hard-rocking riff of a novel, HOLD ME DOWN explodes with a passion for music while also probing the intimate betrayals buried under a haze of alcohol and pills. Simon expertly explores how music seeks to embody truth, even when musicians hid their own pain behind the melodies.” —Joanna Schaffhausen, winner of the MWA/St. Martin's Minotaur first crime novel award for The Vanishing Season