Joan Merrill — Writer and Producer

When America’s number one male jazz singer, Sid Satin, is found dead in his dressing room at the Pacific Coast Jazz Festival, police set their sights on Dee Jefferson. She’d had a blow-up with Satin that afternoon and they believe her gun is the murder weapon. To remove suspicion from her singer friend, San Francisco PI Casey McKie sets out to find the killer.

In delving into Satin’s life, Casey finds a number of people who’d like to see him dead - his ex-wife, ex-girlfriends, his agent, a producer, and a rival male vocalist. As Casey accumulates evidence, the suspect list gets shorter, until, in a climactic scene, the culprit’s identity is revealed, surprising even Casey.

Click here to read a sample chapter.

To purchase: Go to the Corner Store.

“There are an excess of suspects and motives and very little chance that readers will be able to guess the identity of the murderer before it is revealed. But more significant than the actual case is the realistic atmosphere that Joan Merrill creates. The fictional jazz instrumentalists, singers and those involved in the business of jazz all sound and act realistically… While reading this book, one can practically hear the bebop-oriented soundtrack.... Jazz fans and those who like complex mysteries will enjoy this book.”

- Scott Yanow in Jazz Scene for the LA Times

"Well established in jazz, especially in the Bay Area, Joan Merrill works as a musician’s agent, concert, film, radio, and record producer. Deeply involved in the world in which And All That Motive is set, the author ably explores the highs and lows encountered by musicians. It is all believable as is the interplay between musicians, veterans and newcomers. As Merrill’s fans already know, her background ensures that when the characters express opinions and ideas about jazz as it is now and how it used to be, their words come with the ring of truth. This is a thoroughly enjoyable journey into the (hopefully fictitious) murderous underground beneath the world of jazz."

Bruce Crowther, jazz writer and crime novelist, JazzMostly.com, November 16, 2014

"Can't tell you how much we enjoyed every word of your latest creation. Brava and then some!"

- Carol Sloane, jazz singer and writer

“I'm a jazz musician and felt that the author did a great job of keeping things 'real.'”

- Shanna Carlson, jazz singer, pianist

To purchase: The best deal is from this website.

Autographed paperbacks are $15 with free shipping.

USB (flash drive) audiobook $15 with free shipping.

Go to The Corner Store.

Audiobook available at Audible with subscription

Paperback and Kindle are also available on amazon.com.

sayingitwithjazz.com includes 50 videos and numerous essays on the singers and songwriters of The Golden Age (1920s-1965).

Listen to the Great American Songbook with host JM Jazz (Joan Merrill) on WETF the jazz station in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday at 5 pm. Repeats Sunday at midnight.
Live stream website: jazzradiowetf.org
Listen to 80 archived shows on sayingitwithjazz.com