A Word From the Editor
After a winter that wouldn't let up, the Spring issue has arrived. There are plenty of stories and columns to keep you entertained for a while. Please don't forget that we have comments now and our contributors love to hearfrom their readers. This issue carries a story featuring Lizzie Borden …
Stories
“Damn man, it's cooking out here.” “Move the umbrella over then. You gonna get ashy anyhow.” “Even in the shade its hot. How am I gonna get ashy? When you ever seen me ashy motherfucker?” “I just mean if you don’t cover up, forget it. Go in the water if …
Stories
Episode Eight in the Copper and Goldie Mysteries Sophie Kalimalu, an overweight card shark with multiple chins, sat at a table inside a flimsy tent, shuffling and reshuffling a deck. Kapiolani Park in Honolulu had been transformed into a fairground, and her little space was one of many in the Whorlly …
Stories
On a Friday evening, Neha incessantly tapped a pencil on her desk as she reread the SMS from her sister. Come home after work. Need to talk. Two months ago, Neha wouldn’t have thought twice about the message. Her sister, Ragini, older than Neha by five years was extremely bossy …
Stories
There were small explosions of heat lightning far away. Marlowe saw them from his front stoop through the trees, past the tops of houses, flickering in the clouds over the next city. The black sky erupted with shivers of electricity that made him feel good he was close to shelter. …
Stories
Along my street stands a procession of small houses, each one a little different from the others. They were products of the old town, the town of the capitalists, the town of world-famous productivity. The modest houses sheltered workers, who raised families and built a solid and civil community, a …
Stories
“Not guilty! They said not guilty!” the boy yelled from an open front window of the white columned New Bedford Courthouse. For a long moment the people milling about in front of the courthouse awaiting a verdict in the sensational murder case stood in stunned silence. Then a cacophony of …
Stories
William Whelan pulled the black cloth away and saw that her forehead had been cracked open and that black blood had seeped into her curly black hair. Her eyes were open. Mario Escalante, the Echo Park Loco behind him, winced in shock. “Jesus,” Mario said. William dropped the wet cloth …
Stories
“You want me to do what?” Tammy shrieked, jumping up from her chair. “Just relax, Tammy,” Harbin said, making a placating gesture with his hand. “It’s an important assignment.” “Bullshit!” she said, pacing the room, staring daggers at Harbin. That schmuck never liked me, she thought. Aloud, she said, “A …
Stories
The first time Zac called me a dirt bag. I was working in my garden. Sheila from my animal rescue group came by with a feral cat she had trapped. I'd take him to the vet for his neutering operation. This was part of our TNR, Trap/Neuter/Release program. Sheila shook …
Stories
The late afternoon sky was a gray veil, the Jersey City air gentle as cold iron. And Carl Moore was out making his run to Manna Liquors, three blocks the door-to-door. A cheery chime at the store’s entrance trailed him right to the cold case. He took a half-rack of …
Stories
The Practical Girl’s Guide to Murder
You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. —Steve Jobs Day 7 In which the body is found, and I am brought in for questioning, along with several others, in the murder of Lucy Main, and in which I meet LAPD Detective …
Stories
Being an investigator was not as romantic as portrayed on crime dramas, and Captain Quincy Mason often clarified for his son and daughter how things were really investigated. After all, in his twenty years, there had only been about one homicide per year, which, though awful, wasn’t nearly as many …
Stories
One “TASK FORCE ASSEMBLED IN GROWING MANHUNT FOR PSYCHO KILLER “Switchblade Slayer Still At Large; Likely Out of City, Police Say “By Fred Conte “Over the past six months the working-class neighborhood of Dunbar has been plagued by the most deplorable sort of being mankind has to offer, as a …
Columns
It’s Cheaper Than a Plane Ticket… (Part 1)
Imagine a trip to France, Italy, Iceland, Greece, Cuba, Laos, South Africa, Delhi…without luggage and no airfares. People have discovered they can travel vicariously through the pages of crime fiction, fully enjoying the atmosphere, food, and drink along with characters like, Bruno, Montalbono, Erlendur, Diaktoros, Paibun, Griessel, and Puri. Sit …
Columns
All Too Real — A Winter Column in Spring!
The winter column is where I usually report deeper impressions of the fall's new shows and how the shows are performing, but only two new fall shows held my interest: CBS's SEAL Team and S.W.A.T., which isn't a truly new show but a reboot of the short-lived yet memorable 1975-76 …
Columns
The Third Man: An Appreciation
The Third Man, 1949 Director: Carol Reed: Script: Graham Greene Cinematographer: Robert Krasker Theme music composed and performed by Anton Karos Holly Martins: Joseph Cotton Harry Lime: Orson Wells Calloway: Trevor Howard Anna: Alida Valli The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed, with a script by Graham Greene, won the …
Columns
There’s something about the mysterious that us humans find endlessly fascinating. It’s the lure of the unknown, I suppose, that draws us in. It’s the idea of being able to try solving what seems unsolvable. It’s what keeps us reading mysteries and watching all those TV crimes shows, too. With …
Interviews
An Interview with Joseph Badal
Prior to a long finance career, including a 16-year stint as a senior executive and board member of an NYSE-listed company, Joseph Badal served for six years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army in critical, highly classified positions in the U.S. and overseas, including tours of duty in Greece …
Interviews
An Interview With Sue Owens Wright
Sue Owens Wright is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction. She is an eleven-time finalist for the Maxwell, awarded annually by the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) to the best writer on the subject of dogs. She has twice won the Maxwell Award and earned special recognition from …
Reviews
Our columnist C.A. Verstraete is a Lizzie Borden expert and she brings a whole new take to the story. With release of her second volume in the series coming on May 14th, we thought we would bring you a bit about volume one and a teaser for volume two. Verstraete …
