Sudden Silence, first published in 1938 and now available in an e-book format, is a 'golden-age' murder mystery centering on the on-stage death of a prominent big band-leader during a performance in San Francisco. Hal Harrison and his orchestra The Harmony Men were one of the hottest new bands in the country. Their two night stand at the Crystal Gardens in San Francisco was going to be the biggest thing to hit that city in years. But when threats turn into reality during the first show when a rival band-leader is killed on stage in front of the entire audience the band seems headed for disaster unless Hal can prove he's innocent by finding the real killer aided by socialite Joan Paxton. Sudden Silence is a mystery in the tradition of the great 1930's movies like The Thin Man, full of murder, music, and romance and punctuated with witty banter.

Cortland Fitzsimmons (1893-1949) wrote mysteries, often featuring a sports-theme, some of which were made into movies. He also worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood.