A few weeks ago, we were telling you about a book of short stories inspired by Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell. Now, we’ve found a novel that really, truly gets into the music. Hard Rokk: Murder by Mark S Bonta came out in July 2025 and features a globally famous rock musician who teams up with a detective to solve the murder of one of his crew.
What makes Hard Rokk Murder stand out is that the author has created an album, purportedly recorded by main character Michael Rokk. You don’t need to read the book to listen to the 13 tracks as they’re on the author’s website. However, even more interesting is that the lyrics and tone of each song reflect moments and events that occur in the story. It literally is a soundtrack for the book.
In the novel, Michael Rokk fronts Rokkline, a metal band with that fills stadiums. When one of the crew dies, Detective Gina Bauer is assigned the case and initially doesn’t have much time for the world of rock n roll. But one of the clues is encrypted in a series of musical notes, so Michael joins in to assist and soon they’re working as a detective duo and chasing down leads in Miami, Atlanta, Munich and Prague. It’s a different kind of tour for Michael, featuring mob villains instead of amp stacks. And the pyrotechnics? They’re real.
Although the author is a semi-professional musician, the album wasn’t recorded as such. Mark used AI music tools to create the Rokkline sound and the songs are all credited to Michael Rokk and the members of his band. However, as he’s not a noob just messing with the software, the sound Mark has crafted is pretty authentic. These guys could really be an 80s rock band.
The album is entitled resonance, and tracks include Deadweight Love, Collateral Grace and Out of the Smoke. Check it out on the Hard Rokk website, or on YouTube, and or grab a copy of the book with our Amazon buttons below. Book two in the series comes out in November.