Mystery Magazine September 2023

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Magazine presents original short stories by the world's best-known and emerging mystery writers. The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty. Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery. ★ Dark, Dark Mysteries! ★ "Junior Hits The Big One" by Kevin Egan: Retired layabout Junior Calandrillo is convinced he has hit the lottery. Buster Muller, the town's former police chief, is convinced Junior is the target of a scam. These competing realities are complicated by the fraught relationship between the two. "The Codicil" by Preston Lang: Amanda is very close to her anarchic grandmother, Bev. When Bev realizes she has only a few months to live, Amanda suggests a shocking prank they can play on the rest of the family. But what lengths will Amanda go to make the joke work? "Inspector Willoughby And The Sneak Thief" by Jeff Reynolds: A cozy mystery version of an old fairy tale told from a new perspective. "Beak House" by Stephen Ross: Two bitter brothers squabble over their family's past and the long ago disappearance of a housemaid. "The Telltale Request" by Nikki Knight: Vermont DJ Jaye Jordan takes a page from Edgar Allen Poe and flushes out a murderer with a song when her priest friend is put in an ethical bind. "Some Treats Are Nasty Tricks" by Larry M. Keeton: A failed comedian needs money for his family. He goes out on Halloween to do his own trick or treating. Scores big only to find out he's been tricked. "Confessions Of A NIMBY" by Christine Eskilson: A misanthrope tries to protect his property from a rapacious developer. "The Murder Of The Very Dead Victim" by Martin Hill Ortiz: Jules Pfennig, erstwhile detective and next door neighbor to Sherlock Holmes, is drawn into a plot to murder an already dead woman. "You're A Daisy If You Do" by Ken Brosky: A teen boy and a stranger suspect his step-father of a series of murders. It will require the boy's nerdy obsession with Westerns to uncover the truth. "I Do Have To Draw You A Picture," A You-Solve-It By Mike Allen: Can a caricaturist, along with your help, solve a jewelry story robbery? Custom Cover Art By Robin Grenville Evans