Mystery Weekly Magazine November 2020

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Weekly 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. In this issue:"Bystander Boondoggle" by Carl Robinette: Down on his luck, he just wants to enjoy a quiet holiday alone in his shack, but his plans are thwarted by murder, intrigue and romance."Low And Slow" by Richard Helms: When hit men called The Conductors show up at Alvy's house looking for a satchel full of cash while he is smoking a pork shoulder in the back yard, Alvy serves up a few surprises before dinner."The Devil In Salem Meadows" by Eve Fisher: Professor John Franklin, debunker of occult phenomena, is in rehab after a bad car wreck. There he finds three witches who know an old spell that can cause death when chanted--and who like to chant a lot."Handed, On A Gold Plate" by Robert Mangeot: Wade angles to become a superstar pick four lotto auditor, one stage left camera flash at a time. First, he has two problems: finding his signature on-screen pose and maybe stumbling onto a rigging scheme."The Barlow Boys" by John M. Floyd: Ezra Barlow, a farmer in the depression-era South, is a loving father, but he's also a drunk and a gambler. When he winds up targeted for death by a gangster in nearby Shreveport, his two young sons realize it's up to them to save the family."Minuet At The Silver Goose" by Bob Williamson: Hospitals can a dangerous place if you're a murderous televangelist with a heart condition and the man who invented the heart monitor is just down the hall."Blind Alley" by Ellen Butler: Karina just wanted to get home to her boyfriend, but accidentally bouncing a blind man off her bumper puts a wrinkle in her evening plans."The Disappearances" by Neal Suit: A former Dallas detective turned small town Sheriff investigates a series of baffling abductions. It's as if people are vanishing in their homes. When the Sheriff uncovers the perpetrator, he has a unique if troubling solution.