A Word From the Editor
It's been a busy Spring and Summer and now Fall is quickly turning into Winter, though by the weather here in Philadelphia, you wouldn't think so. This issue brings a large bundle of goodies -- several very interesting columns including our two newest columnists Anita Page in New York and F. G. …
Stories
Episode Six in the Copper and Goldie Mysteries The little boy’s chortling laugh roused Sam Nahoe from a snooze on the park bench. He looked up and casually smiled at a young Chinese woman sitting on a bench not twenty feet away. She seemed to be dividing her attention between …
Stories
Marla Phillips here, barista and private eye. I manage the Java Hut, a roomful of tables near the university. By the door in the front there’s a place for performers. In one back corner there’s a bookcase with used books people could buy, a rundown sofa, a trunk table, and …
Stories
On her hands and knees, Lynette searched for the key to the front door. She felt uncomfortable in her dress and high heels, but what could she do? She knew she was unorganized and forgetful lately, so she'd bought a fake rock and put a spare key in it, hiding …
Stories
Connie Arceneaux is dancing across from me, twisting and gyrating her body in ways that are driving me crazy. Van Morrison plays “Brown Eyed Girl” and I sing along with him. I reach for her. She puckers her lips, and I pucker mine, but they never touch. She pushes me …
Stories
Jimmy stood in the parking lot outside Machus’s Red Fox restaurant, 40 miles north of downtown Detroit. He sweltered in the heat of a July midday sun that beat down on the black asphalt, making the air shimmer. He took a handkerchief from his breast pocket and mopped his forehead. …
Stories
Esperanza opened the front door to her Cliffside Park, New Jersey home to find three FBI agents standing in her vestibule. The shortest of the three announced that they were looking for her son, Anthony DeLorenzo. He lived in the upstairs apartment in the building next door, which Esperanza also …
Stories
Lizzie dashed into the Parish Hall as the storm broke, and joined her friend Colleen at the rear of the gathering. “What’s going on? I’m here to pick up my apples and recipe for the Ice Cream Social pies.” She mopped her wet face with her tee shirt. “Ultimate Frisbee …
Stories
Giddy and I didn’t know Mr. Lawson but all the same we didn’t care for him. His house was palatial and his lot three times the size of everyone else’s in the neighborhood. Local scorn – easy to come by in a community of unlocked front doors – took root …
Stories
Second Lieutenant Robert Johnson eyed me over a mountain of paperwork on his desk, a pained look on his face, as though he was having an attack of hemorrhoids. With his crooked nose, close-set eyes, and slouching posture, he looked like a vulture dressed in a green Army uniform. “PFC …
Stories
I insert my key and open the lobby mailbox in my apartment building. “Bills, bills, junk, catalog, political mailer.” I mutter the inventory of typical American mailbox contents as I throw them in the trash. Well, not the bills. “Hey, this is odd.” “This” is a buff-colored, heavyweight envelope with …
Stories
Sheriff Ernie Fishbone surveyed the skeletal remains of the burnt-out pre-fab residence at 321 Pantaloon Street. His long-time friend and fire marshal, Ted Branaghan, slouched by his side chewing gum like his gnathic health depended on it. “Straight arson, bud. Gas on the front porch; naked flame; poomph.” Ted shifted …
Book Excerpt
Chapter 1 Birth smells. I’m not saying it stinks—well, to some people, it does. I remember the classmate who finished our med school OB/gyn rotation without ever delivering an infant. He delivered half of the head, and then the look on his face was so horrid that the obstetrician delivered …
Columns
Noir: Where Fiction and Film Meet One of the most popular questions in my mystery bookshop is “Who’s your favourite author?” Clients are always surprised when I respond, “I have two: Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. My dog’s name is Dashiell so you know I’m a serious noir fan.” And …
Columns
Fargo Fargo (1996), written, produced, directed and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, claimed after the opening credits to be based on a true story. However that was amended in the introduction to the published screenplay in which Ethan Coen wrote that the story pretends to be true. Doesn’t …
Columns
Where Are They Now? Running down my list of topics for this column, second-year and veteran TV shows outnumber the new ones, even moreso when you consider LETHAL WEAPON and MACGYVER are based on classic properties, and BULL features Michael Weatherly immediately after his thirteen seasons as NCIS's Tony DiNozzo. …
Columns
Reading with a Cup of Iced Tea At least here in the Midwest, it looks like winter is still far in the future. Seventy degrees in November as I write this so I may be stocking up on iced tea for the holidays instead of hot cocoa. But there are …
Columns
Rex Stout created an enduring and intriguing central character for his mystery novels, to be sure. From our first encounter with Nero Wolfe to our last, we most likely were both impressed with the detective extraordinaire and at the same time struck by his quirky eccentricities. If Wolfe's personality can …
Columns
Nuances of The Lady in the Lake and The Maltese Falcon
Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett present two different versions of reality, for though they lived in the same world and their reactions may have been the same, the specifics that sparked their reactions were different. Chandler’s Marlowe said, “I’ve looked into too many faces not to know,” whilst noticing particular …
Interviews
Tell us a little about your books. How many have you written, a short look at your protagonist(s), major themes, etc. Hoo boy. I don't actually count my books. I've probably written about a dozen novels and collections. My most popular novels are the four Hope Sze medical mysteries about …
Interviews
An Interview with Robert D. Calkins
Robert D. (Bob) Calkins has been a volunteer search and rescue (SAR) dog handler in Kitsap County, Washington, for more than dozen years. He and his dogs have responded to everything from routine lost hiker cases, to homicides, to the horrific 2014 mudslide in Oso, WA that claimed more than …
Interviews
An Interview With Elizabeth Zelvin
Tell us a little about your books. How many have you written, a short look at your protagonist(s), major themes, etc. The Bruce Kohler mystery series consists of four novels, starting with Death Will Get You Sober, a novella, and five published short stories. Two of the stories were nominated …
Interviews
J. L. Greger writes mysteries and thrillers with "sound bites" of science and travel. Discover who killed the set doctor in Murder… A Way to Lose Weight (winner of 2016 Public Safety Writers Assoc. [PSWA] contest and finalist for New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards. http://amzn.com/1610092392) Follow a woman as she uses clues from her …
Reviews
This issue includes reviews by both Vero Caravetta and Joe De Marco The following reviews are by Vero Caravetta Fat Cat Spreads Out (A Fat Cat Mystery) by Janet Cantrell Quincy, the “star” of this cat mystery is kind of loveable if a bit mischievous. He has a mind of his own and an …
