Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh

Fender Benders Reviews

• 
  Robert

  Money turns otherwise rational people into shitheads and people with money than sense often turn out to be the biggest shitheads of all And fame amplifies small idiosyncrasies into major catastrophes to include drug use fornication and anger management issues These themes run rampant in Bill Fitzhugh’s masterpieceEddie Long a talented artist looking for his big break gets it on both ends Megan Taylor a newly attached love interest who is the pitch perfect gold digger and Big Bill a record executive with three ex wives who’s as unscrupulous as any political fat cat in the DC metropolitan area Big Bill talks with one hand and shoves every bill he can find down the front of his massive drawers with the other mostly off of unsuspecting artists too wet behind the ears to notice And he talks faster than a locomotive without brakesAs for the best way to describe this book it’s like Metallica combined with Carrie Underwood and Eminem For the first part of FENDER BENDERS I felt like I had wrapped an axle around a tree but the car was still running and so I checked my rearview to make sure no one had seen me or the tree and then I peeled back out onto the highway and kept my eyes on the horizon Sure this novel can be discombobulated at times mostly near the first half of the book but like my torn up wheels as long as it helps me reach my final destination I’m willing to get a bit sidetracked along the way especially when the payoff makes me glad I took a slight detour And it all comes together like a 100 piece orchestra reaching the dramatic crescendoAs for the insights into the music industry they were refreshing completely believable clearly Mr Fitzhugh has done his homework and not overdone at least not any outlandish than the rest of the novel which had me in stitches at times But I ended up getting rather peeved at Nashville the music industry and all the ways artists get ripped off in the name of stuffing some fat cat’s bank account The starving artist never comes out ahead no sir Sure it’s easy to take this novel tongue in cheek but what really caused the air around me to turn hotter than a sauna is that there’s an element of truth and possibly even so than just an element in what this novel brings to light about overzealous pocket stuffing I mean when lawyers are showing morals than record executives clearly there’s a level of corruption proliferating that would make even Enron and WorldCom blushIf Bill Fitzhugh ever ended up in his own story he’d be placed in a straightjacket handcuffed to a bed and pumped so full of meds he’d think the world was painted in rainbows with popsicle sticks So for those of you who like humor with eccentric characters and eccentric reads being your modus operandi then you might want to hop in your Mercedes and head on down the highway where the tea is always sweet the shrimp are always fried and your only source of music is countryCross posted at Robert's Reads
• 
  Thomas Todd

  This was my first reading of author Fitzhugh and definitely won't be the last This book had a little bit of everything Aspiring young country singer Nashville Music Row history music producers agents dirty tricks those that made it and those that didn't murder mystery and plenty of humor Humor may be a bit dark for some but I enjoyed this book so much I finished it in two settings Would highly recommend to others You definitely won't get a headache from reading it
• 
  Mike French

  Second book in the DIE LAUGHING box set As a fan of musicthis keep me interested from the very first page until the ending Bill Fitzhugh is right up there with Paul Levine Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey in my opinion
• 
  Kim

  THREE AND A HALF STARSTRIGGER WARNINGS domestic violence homophobic slurs sociopathy suicide sexual assault sexual content consensual anti semitism substance abuse alcohol cocaine violent content other than domestic violenceI got the music industry modes and methods to the business and music technology recording and distribution references but everything county music related went over my head Based on this partial understanding I feel confident in saying knowing this background is not necessary to enjoy the book If parts of the book are amusing though I can't help but feel they must be in the not understood country music talk Still a great read A bit cross genre mystery drama music mockumentary fake documentary; or in this case just fake biography elements and even a little legal thrillerRecommended
• 
  Barb Peterson

  I thoroughly enjoyed this book but still confused about who the biggest killer was
• 
  Kitty

  Written by a former radio guy this book is pegged as a mystery set with a backdrop of the Nashville music scene but it's really of a parody and offbeat look at the record business and radio than it is a mystery The characters are uirky and a bit stereotyped but the best part of the book for me was the inside jokes that only someone familiar with the record industry or radio would understand Recommended for anyone who's worked in radio or the music business and is in need of a few laughs
• 
  Jsrott

  Another fun fast read This is the third book by Fitzhugh I've read and the commentary characters pacing plotting and creativity serve well to mitigate the darkness and cynicism that underlie the whole story Fitzhugh has a great knack for language and setting but I wished there were revelations at the end In fact I wished it had been longer so that all the various arcs could have been better interwoven
• 
  S. Wilson

  An effective entry into the humorous crime novel genre that takes place in and around the Nashville country music industry at the turn of the century The story tends to drag occasionally when overtaken by the intricacies of music recording and publishing and the book's main plot twist is easily guessed way before its gradual reveal but Bill Fitzhugh introduces enough colorful characters and interesting side plots even if some of them never go anywhere including an inexplicable and obtuse running gag about attributing a uote to a musician to keep the story engaging and entertaining until the end
• 
  D. Norman

  My first Fitzhugh I'll read
• 
  Dorie

  I didn't really like any of the characters in this book so it's hard to review it wasnt bad it was s good story with good flow for most of the book butthis one just never really gripped me