A Word From the Editor
Many of us are still sheltering at home, staying safe, and reading more. In which case, Mysterical-E has a plump new issue to add to your reading material. And to comment on -- now that we have that feature set up. Those who wrote this issue's stories and features enjoy …
Stories
Three Hogg’s Tails & One Hairy Ending
Kyle Hogg never dreamed the Sunny Acres Trailer Park would be a sight he’d long to see, but after the night he’d had, even the relative peace of his decrepit Winnebago was cause for celebration. With a cursory check of the empty Tulsa streets, Kyle scurried from the shadows, his …
Stories
This story is set in Greece during the Colonels' regime, 1967-1974 * "And now what will become of us without the barbarians? Those people were one solution" - C. P. Cavafy But tell me, Circe, who is to guide me on the way? No one has ever sailed a black …
Stories
It was late at the Artie’s Café, closing time. Only a few customers remained. I sat alone, savoring the dregs of the last coffee of the day. This had not been a great day. The job Jerry had said was a sure thing, wasn’t. Artie said he would hire me, but …
Stories
In December of 1906, my great-aunt returned to Ohio, discovered me farmed-out to the Lathams, and whisked me away to St. Augustine. It was my first time out of Ohio, my first time seeing the ocean, my first time in a hotel. Outside, palm fronds skittered in the breeze. Orange …
Stories
BBC radio interview with Violet Eden on Niall Broadhurst’s “Author’s Nook” broadcast, Sunday, September 2, 1937: “How do you feel about the Granville’ss reaction to your book and the suit they have filed against you?” “They are threatening, Niall. I must say it is absolutely mystifying. Mystifying! I was merely …
Stories
Cruthers was sitting in his pick-up in the gravel lot outside The House of Spirits, tapping his thumbs on the steering wheel in time with the old Garth Brooks tune on the radio. Friends in low places, indeed. His missus was inside the liquor store, looking for the best deal …
Stories
The Sleuthing Silvers and The Mystery of the Perfect Profiles
“Don’t be alarmed, dear, when you see a credit card charge from Chardonnay at Sunset,” announced Barb Silver to her husband and business partner, Bernie. “’Horrified’ would be more like it, Barb,” he responded. “A senior dating service? Was it something I said?” “Nothing quite that interesting,” she chuckled. “In …
Stories
I've never been able to figure out Nick's age. His hair is pure white, but his only wrinkles are the laugh lines at his eyes. He's as pale as I'm dark—must have Scandinavian relations somewhere down the line—and people with that complexion tend to wrinkle easily. Nick and I go …
Stories
Sandi Garrett stared back at Albert Calhoun in disbelief, the semen collection cone dangling from her hand by her side. “I'll send Benny in to do it,” the older man reached out, waiting for her to put the cone into his hands. Instead, she gripped the cone tightly and held …
Stories
“This shouldn’t take long, Mrs. Sullivan,” the man in a starched white uniform said. “Call me Molly…and you are?” “The first mate.” “Should I call you Adam and warn you to check for an umbilicus if a young woman offers you an apple pan dowdy or some other fruity concoction …
Book Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE Being ostracized was getting old fast. At least for NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli. And maybe for the press, since they hadn’t shown up this morning. But from her vantage point in a car a block away from the station house, it was clear her colleagues were still …
Book Excerpt
In BAR NONE A Murder On The Rocks Mystery, Jude Dillane, owner of The Corner Lounge on Tenth Street and Avenue B, is doing a favor for her friend and landlord, Thomas ‘Sully’ Sullivan. Sully is going to be late meeting a co-worker from the Big City Food Coop …
Book Excerpt
THE PLAYER Player Piano Mysteries Book 1, a paranormal romantic mystery novel by JOE COSENTINO, published by Dreamspinner Press When young music teacher Andre Beaufort discovers an antique player piano in the basement of his apartment building, he is visited by the ghost of the original owner: a dapper and charismatic …
Columns
This will be our fourth installment of this feature, which first ran in February of 2019. I’ve been so pleased at the response. The answers to our questions will give our readers some insight, we hope, into the various methods these writers use to produce their mystery fiction. Here are …
Columns
The creative choice to depart from reality is one of the great freedoms of film and television. Unfortunately, like the rest of the real world, film and television production has had to contend with the COVID-19 pandemic. So many TV seasons were cut short and movie premieres postponed since March …
Interviews
An Interview With: Danny R. Smith
Danny R. Smith spent 21 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the last seven as a homicide detective. He now lives in Idaho where he works as a private investigator and consultant. He is blessed with a beautiful wife and two wonderful daughters, and he is passionate about …
Interviews
An Interview with Michael Black
Michael Black is the author of 36 books and over 100 short stories and articles. He has a BA in English from Northern Illinois University and a MFA in fiction writing from Columbia College Chicago. A retired police officer in the south suburbs of Chicago, he worked for over thirty …
Interviews
An Interview with Cathy Stoler
Tell us a little something about yourself. Cathi Stoler began her writing career in advertising as a creative director/copywriter and jokes that it’s where she first learned to write fiction. As a life-long reader of mysteries and thrillers, she thought she’d finally try her hand at writing one of …
Interviews
An Interview with: Catherine Maiorisi
Tell us a little something about yourself. I’m a full-time writer. I live in New York City with my wife of forty plus years. Almost all of my pre-writing work life was spent in various aspects of information technology including heading up my own small consulting firm and then for …
