In sticking with the ranch theme of the book, I’ve selected a few from country singers to represent the book.
“Home on the Range,” Roy Rogers
Well, I think it’s obvious. This is the perfect song to sing as you’re riding horses on a Montana dude ranch, and I’m quite positive Tessa and Freddie do sing it as they take their first ride. In Homicide on the Range, several of the regular Hometown Mysteries characters leave their town of New Oslo, Idaho, and head to a ranch in Montana for a working vacation. The dude ranch is the home of a veterans program run by their friend Jaime Juarez (JJ) and everyone there – minus the elderly Prunn sisters, who have tagged along – are veterans. Most of them are combat veterans, and many of them have lingering effects of serving.
“Wide Open Spaces,” The Chicks
This song always makes me think of the open range of the American West. This would also be great to belt out while riding a horse through the countryside. Don’t worry, my singing will scare the bears away.
“Some Gave All,” Billy Ray Cyrus
Almost every single character in the book was a veteran. This song speaks to their experiences. In WELCOME HOME TO MURDER, book 1, the first time Tessa meets JJ, he is singing at a Cowboy Poetry gathering. He begins with “The Ballad of Ira Hayes,” which was hard for her to listen to, then started this song, causing Tessa to flee to avoid hearing it.
All gave some, and some gave all
“Ring of Fire,” Johnny Cash
Granted, the lyrics are not literal, but I had to include a song about fire and, of course, the country great, the Man in Black.
As they are heading to the Triple J ranch, the New Oslo crew stops and gets a fire update. There is a wildfire, but it isn’t expected to be a problem – unless the wind changes. And it does. And then a second fire approaches from the other side, cutting them off from the outside, creating a “locked ranch” murder mystery.
“Cold, Cold Heart,” Hank Williams (Sr)
This is totally tongue in cheek, since our murder victim is found in the ranch’s walk-in freezer. Our victim is the cold-hearted, nasty-tempered ranch cook and despite her attitude, the New Oslo crew is unsure who would kill her, or why. With Deputy Frederickson, aka Freddie, is cut off from the range by the fire, it’s left to Tessa, Aunt Edna, Nick, and the Prunns to figure out who the killer is, since it certainly isn’t any of them! Keeping the murder a secret, they investigate the other ranch participants and slowly learn that every one of them has a connection to the murder victim – and a motive.
“When the Levee Breaks,” Led Zepplin
Not only is this one of Tessa’s favorite bands, but also the song speaks of the uncontrollable aspect of and the struggle against nature, as well as resilience and survival. To me it reflects the desperation and struggle against the wildfire, as well as each person’s struggle with their own wounds, both seen and unseen.
Instead of the lyrics’ levee holding back floodwater, it’s the advancing fires.
No, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move, ooh
Bonus:
“Happy Trails,” Roy Rogers & Dale Evans (The closing theme for their variety show, The Roy Rogers Show)
Just imagine the Tessa and Aunt Edna singing this to you, the readers – until next time!
Happy trails to you
'Til we meet again
Hometown Mysteries #6
From author Rosalie Spielman comes a wild western homicide!
US Army retiree Tessa Treslow is ready for a much-needed and romantic getaway with her boyfriend, Nick, to volunteer on a dude ranch for recovering combat veterans in Montana. What she gets instead is a whole crew from her little town of New Oslo, Idaho, tagging along. Her BFF Freddie, aka Deputy Frederickson, her aunt Edna, and the Prunn sisters are happy for a little vacation as well, but little do they realize, it's not going to be the rustic, idyllic visit to the range that they think it will be.
The other volunteers at the ranch are a variety of characters, from a jealous wife, to a multi-limb amputee, to a blast from Tessa's past, and a combative and unpleasant ranch cook. When the cook ends up dead along with sides of beef in the walk-in freezer, Tessa realizes the one of them is also a murderer! With Freddie stranded in town, Tessa teams up with the New Osloans—the only ones she can be sure didn't commit the crime—to take a closer look at the other volunteers. They soon learn that each and every cowboy wannabe knew the cook for more than just her buttery cooking, and each of them had a motive to want her dead.
To make matters much worse, not one but two wildfires are closing in on the ranch and cutting them off from the outside. What results is a locked-room style mystery where the crew from New Oslo are unsure which will prove more dangerous—a murderer or the wildfires!
Mystery Woman Sleuth | Mystery Amateur Sleuth [ Gemma Halliday Publishing, On Sale: May 26, 2026, e-Book, ISBN: 2940196370342 / ]
Rosalie Spielman is a mother, veteran, and retired military spouse. She was thrilled to discover that she could make other people laugh with her writing and finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world. She writes cozy mysteries for the multi-author Aloha Lagoon mystery series and her own Hometown Mystery series, both with Gemma Halliday Publishing.
She currently lives in Maryland with her husband in a rapidly emptying nest. For more information on her books or to subscribe to her newsletter, go to her website, follow her Facebook page (Rosalie Spielman author), or join her Facebook group. Rosalie strives to provide you a cozy escape...one page at a time.
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