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Short Story Reviews and News

11/29/2018

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There is no excuse for not reading short fiction. Not when there are magazines, e-zines, and even numerous venues offering free reads. My Channukah gift to you are these links to free short fiction.

I recently learned that short story author Joe Lansdale offers his stories on his website on a regular basis. I have been missing out. Here's where you can read some fine fiction from an award-winning author. 

Kings River Life e-zine publishes short mystery fiction. They also offer podcasts. Whether you prefer reading or listening to mystery short stories, you can find it here.

The Short Mystery Fiction Society began a special feature on their blog this year. "Back in May SMFS celebrated, as we do each year, International Short Story Month. The celebration led to the creation of the weekly short story segment SMFS Short Story Saturdays. Each Saturday we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free."   

And now for my short story review:

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I return to the library-themed anthology, Shhhh... Murder! 

Different Lights by Gwenda R. Jensen

Told in present tense, this story has a literary feel. The action unfolds at a leisurely pace, and yet there is tension from the start.

I was drawn in, wanting to know where this tale was headed. Lindsay is compelled to help her husband save an amazing private library, even though he has been hired to expedite the disposition of thousands of volumes. 

​Her husband's love of books, something the reader can relate to, drives Lindsay to seek a solution. The ending has quite a twist that brought tears to my eyes - tears of delight at such engaging writing.

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Gladys Mitchell Reading Group

11/28/2018

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Week three of the Gladys Mitchell reading group covers chapters 13 through 18 of The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop. Readers discuss the peculiar amateur sleuth Mrs. Bradley in this 1930 murder mystery. You can follow along on Jason Half's blog.

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Short Story Review: Thanksgiving

11/22/2018

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In honor of the holiday today, I read two Thanksgiving-themed short stories. You can read them, too, for free, at Kings River Life. Links below.

First up is Ya Never Know: A Thanksgiving Tale, by Gail Farrelly. The crime takes place during Thanksgiving dinner. The criminal is known. The proof of whodunnit is available, but embarrassing. This is a humorous little story just right for Thanksgiving.

The second tale is Justice for Elijah: A Thanksgiving Mystery Story by Earl Staggs. The tone of this story is more serious, jumping right into the mystery as a young man shows up in the sheriff's office on Thanksgiving Day. Some mysteries are whodunnits, some are howdunnits. Justice for Elijah focuses more on how the guilty party will be caught. From the start, the reader knows the relevant facts. The tension comes from wanting justice to be enacted against a killer. This is a fine holiday-themed tale.

Enjoy a helping of free mystery short fiction today, along with that second piece of pumpkin pie.

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Two Short Story Reviews and One Non-Fiction Review

11/1/2018

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The Beekeeper's Dilemma
Eric B. Ruark
Mystery Weekly Magazine

An elderly bee keeper makes the rounds of a small British village with his mongrel dog, delivering jars of honey. He comes across a crime scene. The old man takes a keen interest. It wasn't until the end that I realized clues to another mystery were being scattered along the way. Nicely written.

Case Study on the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Aislinn Batstone
Shhhh... Murder!


Set in Sydney, Australia, the body of a stranger in a university library disrupts a professor's day. A spilled baggie of cocaine adds to the mystery. A library book the professor is certain she did not check out ends up in her tote bag. There is a ticking clock as a class approaches which two of her suspects attend. Kate faces an ethical dilemma with her law students, and works out the solution with the aid of legal precedent.

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Scottish Murders - Infamous, Ghastly and Grizzly by Lisa Wallis and Derek Wright covers a lot of historical ground. The first crime is the murder of David Rizzio, a confidant of Mary Queen of Scots in 1566. The last case discussed is in 1977. The authors go for sensational and well-known crimes. 

Mystery and crime authors will be familiar with Burke and Hare. The men murdered people to supply a professor with bodies for an anatomy class. Entire books have been written about them. The term "burking" - murdering by smothering - came from Burke. They had to kill people leaving the least amount of damage, and evidence. They were still caught, but not until after a horrifying crime spree.

Another case of particular interest to mystery writers and readers is that involving Oscar Slater. Falsely accused of murder, Slater served 18 1/2 years, probably due to a combination of police incompetence and prejudice against a foreign Jew of questionable character. The author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Arthur Conan Doyle, argued for Slater's innocence.

Each of the twenty cases is covered in a condensed manner. What I found most interesting was the revelation of the cultural issues of the day. In the course of telling the tales, the authors discuss how hanging went from an entertaining  public event attended by thousands to a solemn private matter done behind closed prison doors, to the abolition of hanging. 

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