Oysters to Die For‘Fragrant Harbour’ they called it. But Hong Kong was anything but fragrant the night Poh Seng Pang flew in. The air outside the airport terminal was dank and vegetative—like the smell of the Singapore River in the wet season, or […]
The Mystery of the Two SuitcasesIt happened on Valentine’s Day, 1965… “We’ve got the evening all to ourselves.” My girlfriend Shirley raised her glass of white wine. I hoisted my gin and tonic. We clinked glasses and wished each other a happy Valentine’s Day. […]
THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM SANTA“You don’t need to ask me what I want for Christmas,” said Frank Figgis. He was holding the stub of Woodbine ostentatiously between his thumb and forefinger. He eased the dog-end between his lips and took a long drag. The […]
White NightThe white nights will send you crazy. The nights with a Magritte sky over the shadowed hills and fjord. The sun doesn’t fall below the horizon, its orange claw scrapes across the pale blue firmament as it resists its descent. […]
Never EndingsThe Perfect Hill London, 1955 It’s the perfect hill. There’s no sound on the hill tonight. All communication is dead, and the urban rats scurry far out of sight. I sit and breathe. There’s no agenda here. No hidden […]
A REGULAR CORRESPONDENTIt was just ten days before Christmas when the unthinkable happened. George Layforth had an experience which he could not turn into light-hearted copy for his column. For that to occur it had to be something catastrophic – and it […]
Window of Opportunity“There is a window in your life. All you have to do is open it and let the sunshine in.” Nikki listened, fascinated. She’d come here expecting a con, but the man spoke like a prophet. He had his audience […]
On RecordBruno Williams pressed the button on the recordable turntable and spoke into the microphone: “This is a confession. A reluctant one but my crime has been witnessed, and there is no way out. I killed Sonny Bumbass, my neighbor of […]
In Hallowed Ground‘Good afternoon, Your Grace,’ said Dermot as the elderly dowager duchess, clasping a small handbag, entered the drawing room of a classical-style house in London’s Belgravia district. ‘I’m DS Dermot Carlyle. My superior, DCI Lloyd, is ill, so I’m taking […]
Wolves of ViroconiumThe road to Viroconium Cornoviorum passed arrow-straight between fields dotted with strawstacks. Farmworkers moved in rows, spreading dust as they scythed. Not far ahead was the paved ford over the river Sabrina, and the walls of the city beyond. A […]
A Christmas WishMichael appeared midway through the first week of the Christmas term. His transfer from his old school had been delayed in some way – it was never entirely clear why – and somehow, arriving a few days after the start […]
FINAL HARVESTSaturday 27 August 2005 “This wind must be the breaths of too many angry souls,” murmured thirty-year-old Sylvie Lefour before eyeing the rows of vines in her small vineyard that still needed pruning. She secured her long, black hair into […]
The Deadly Morris DanceThere can’t be many company bonding days that end in murder. The weekend started well. It was a lovely autumn morning as Tony and I arrived at the Harrogate office. Jenny and Sarah were waiting. Dan from Design turned up […]
SharpThe salon is the only place I hum. Before the other hairdressers arrive, before the customers come, a tune trembles in my throat, a soundtrack to my routine of shining and sharpening. I polish up the mirrors and they show […]
A VILLAIN’S TALE‘From Hell, Hull and Halifax, Good Lord, deliver us!’ My old father used to recite that to me. ‘Hell, because there be’nt no redemption from there, Hull because of that fast-flowing river that drowns so many, and Halifax because they’ll […]
The Mist Rolling In“We can live off the land here.” “On what?” “Look down at your feet, Dan. Rocket, lamb’s leaf lettuce. Look up. Blackberries. There’ll be other fruits in spring and summer. Apples, damsons. Strawberries under the hedge.” “You want to turn […]
Poetic JusticeBradford Village – Summer, 2017 “Argh, there’s a body… a blooming body,” Melvyn shouted as he staggered backwards. His hard hat slipped off his head and his torch clattered to the floor. The other men turned to look at their […]
The Tennis GirlsHe often sat in the park, especially when Wimbledon was on TV. It amused him to see how many people dug their racquets out of cupboards for a few weeks. He liked to watch the girls playing on the old […]
’Twas the Night Before Christmas (Revisited)’Twas the night before Christmas; ’twas quiet as heck; I’d been down the boozer and felt like a wreck. The lights on the front of our semi looked brill, though I dreaded next month’s electricity bill. The fir […]
Turkey with All the TrimmingsIt was quite late on Christmas Eve when I realised I’d forgotten to buy sausage meat to stuff the turkey. My heart sank. I’d eleven hungry people to feed tomorrow, and I’d promised to give them a perfect old-fashioned Christmas […]
The Last AssignmentSierra Nevada, California. Winter, 2025 The wind thrummed through the gap around the shutters, making the rough wooden boards rattle in such a way as to set off a rhythm in his head. He strummed an imaginary guitar with the swollen […]
The Spirit of ChristmasTrevor Stanley had never liked Christmas. Not even when Vanessa his wife was alive, even though she loved it and he had loved her. He used to put a smile on his face and pretend for her sake. Well, for […]
Meeting MaryThe cold mist that hugged the Severn had reduced my visibility to a few metres and several large whiskies had blurred what was left. I shivered and thrust my hands deeper into the pockets of my coat where an unopened […]
The Christmas SamaritanJust on 11 p.m. and still another thirty minutes to go. Ian cursed his boss for keeping him at the office so late on Christmas Eve. The man was a bloody slave-driver. No wonder his wife and kids wanted nothing […]
Christmas Socks Maddie closed the bedroom door gently and leaned against it, letting silent tears slip down her cheeks. When she first started caring for Dora, she found the old woman cantankerous and judgemental, and she sympathised with Dora’s family members who […]
Between the FlakesI awoke around 9 a.m. Not that I’d slept much; my legs had ached on and off all night. I just couldn’t seem to keep them still. When I did doze, all I dreamt about was getting my next fix […]
Tidings of Comfort and Joy‘John Evans is dead. Notice here in the paper. Poor dab.’ Gladys Pritchard waved the newspaper in front of her husband. ‘Good riddance,’ muttered her spouse. Gladys tutted. ‘Died peacefully last Thursday, it says. We only visited him the night […]
Happy ChristmasWhile caught up in the maelstrom of Christmas shoppers in the big department store, buffeted, crushed and elbowed by the desperate purchasers, Edna Burrows began to feel claustrophobic. Perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea after all coming out late […]
Lantern Jack by Christopher FowlerNo, please, you were before me. Age before beauty, ha ha. I’m in no rush to be served. The barmaid knows me, she’ll get around to looking after me soon enough. This is my local. I’m always in here on […]
Blind Corner by Simon MawdsleyI wake with a jolt. In a fog of panic, I struggle to comprehend where I am, what time it is, whether anything is real. Like a diver emerging from deep water, I gasp a lungful of air. My fingertips […]
A Death on the Oudegracht by Sanjay DharwadkerInspector Bloemendal was already at the café when I arrived. He did not smile, and we did not shake hands. I just sat down across from him, removed my mask and he began to talk. It had been a long […]
Mr. Who Passes Through by Alice K BoatwrightA suburban house with high ceilings and big windows, set in a spacious garden surrounded by fir trees, is not the sort of place where you expect to meet a ghost. Or speaking for myself, where I would expect to […]
The Scrapbook by the Mulgray TwinsNancy’s finger jabbed angrily at the smug face smiling arrogantly up at her from the page in her scrapbook. Her lips tightened in a grim line. At the top of a fresh page in neat but curiously old-fashioned handwriting she […]
Fears of a Clown by Jason Monaghan It was a good night to be a serial killer. I chose a character from an old slasher movie, the one who wears an ice hockey mask and goes around killing teenagers for no particular reason and gets away with […]
McCormick Street by Reagan RotheFirst Street Jane Simmons continued browsing through rows and rows of used clothes hung on iron hangers that dangled from an old, ten-foot ladder. Each end of the climbing mechanism was supported by smaller ladders, serving as its temporary […]
Out of Time by Dea ParkinIt was a small tour group, the first of the day. Just one family, a youngish couple with two children, both aged under ten, I guessed. We’d moved from the dark hall downstairs with the smoky fire – a hole […]
Lost Souls by Peter DiChellisRural Northern California, USA, July 2002. “The ghost of a murdered woman wakes me up every night. She whispers painful secrets, hidden years ago. She plans to tell me who killed her.” The wiry man with the befuddled expression hadn’t […]
Ghosts, a Logan Bishop story by Luke DeckardLondon, October 1920 Anniversaries make it worse. But when you can’t forget, celebrating is all there is. I pour two small glasses of Johnnie Walker. Amber liquid splashes on the desk and I wipe it away with my hand […]
The Cats of Capriale, by J G HarlondThey staggered down the deep steps of the coach as if they’d been at sea for a week. Edna was particularly wobbly, her shorter leg ached terribly and she was close to tears. The driver was far too young and […]
The Silent Witness by Marsali TaylorI was just laying a race mark when I caught sight of Fred Fisher, leaning up against a strainer. He was less than twenty yards away from me, because I’d been teaching my advanced class about how the wind bends […]
Crimes at Midnight by Graham BrackI, James Baxter Lorimer, physician, of Inverculter House in the City of Edinburgh, set forth by my own hand my history for fear that I will not survive this night, that an account of the events which have led to […]
The Key, by N M BrownDC Heather Armitage made frequent glances at her watch as she paced around the kitchen of her stone cottage on the edge of the moor. Dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a shapeless jumper, she held an open […]
Death on the Doorstep, by Brian PriceMonday 18 May, 7.30am When John Tregorran’s border collie shot off along the path ahead of him he assumed she’d seen a rabbit. But as soon as he caught up with the dog he realised something was seriously wrong. […]
The Imaginant, by Kate Ellis‘You can do whatever you like. Be whoever you want to be.’ Nick’s mum had repeated these words until he came to believe them. She’d called it the creed of the imagination and its disciples were ‘imaginants’ who could transcend […]
Maisie, by Mac LoganA drop of blood dribbled down Brian’s sole, untrimmed, nose hair. The red bead trickled like dew on slender grass, bending a frail shoot. Maisie, in a powder-blue cashmere sweater, watched his snout twitch. The beginnings of a sneeze made […]
The Lady Suliena, by Marsali Taylor– being a detective chronicle of Rupert, Prince Palatine. It was my aunt who brought me into the affair of the automaton. The court had had a great craze for chess that season, and I was playing with my […]
The Black Out, by A.A. Chaudhuri‘How could you do it, Mum?’ I stare at my daughter sitting across from me in the visitors’ room. Her trust in me irretrievably shattered. Pain, hurt, confusion etched across her lovely face. Disappointment, also. Disappointment that the one […]
THE FIRST HIT by Jeff DowsonThe black Lexus was parked overlooking the Gorge. On the Heights. The uber-expensive, everyone else can piss off, privately policed domain which sat above the heaving mass of the old town. Close enough for residents to eavesdrop on the real […]
The Joke, by Trevor D’SilvaIt was Wednesday morning. The high-pitched trill of my mobile woke me from a fog of dreams. Groggily, and wiping the grit from my eyes, I answered. “Hello?” “Mr Hawkins?” The sombre tone doing more to wake me than a […]
Crime Writers, by J G Harlond“I had no idea,” she said. “He didn’t tell me anything. He didn’t tell me anything about anything, that was our problem.” DS Brown looked her in the eye. Josephine turned from his appropriately brown-eyed gaze. “Secretive, was he?” the […]
Food by Hand, by Antony JohnstonWhen she touched me on the shoulder, I knew she had a taste for danger. Then she said, ‘Can I eat with you?’ and there was no doubt in my mind. She was a risk-taker. Of course, so was everyone […]
Eye for an eye, by Sally SpeddingEYEBRITE OPTICIANS LTD. Your eyes are our business… 52, Park Road, Old Heath, Colchester, Essex. CO1 2HB Tel; 01206 509800 Email; eyebrite@wellbeing.com 3/3/23 URGENT! Dear Ms. Robertson, This is to inform you that Eyebrite Opticians Ltd. is now under […]
Dirty Snow, by Andrew HookWhen Mordent first arrived in Tokyo he left Kovacs in his hotel room and grabbed a taxi to Mr D’s Diner. It was dark but the city was filled with light. Neon signs reflected off glass buildings; kaleidoscopic mirrors. Advertisements […]
Natural Justice, by Brian PriceDamien Porton sneered as his Bentley glided past a battery of posters attacking his plans for Mellors Wood. ‘Bunch of Luddite NIMBYs,’ he muttered to himself, as he drove through the electric gates guarding his drive. One of them was […]
The Cargo, by E.M. PowellThe Port of Messina, Sicily, 1347 The first thing Alfonsus di Giuliano noticed about the twelve ships was how badly they were rigged. As he waited on the dockside for them to drop anchor, he scoffed at the useless flap […]
RESEARCH by Morgan Cry‘. . . and that’s why I’m so happy in my skin.’ The lecture’s over. Research told me he wasn’t happy at all. I could do something about that. Something that would require a sharp knife, physical restraint and a […]
A Kink In the Chain, by Patrick GoochIT WAS OBVIOUS TO ALL that the two men making their way down the second fairway were at opposite ends of the corporal spectrum. One, a bluff, hearty individual, was tall and physically robust. The other, slight of build, short […]
Them and Us, by Bernie CrossthwaiteThe room was painted bright yellow. There were vases of flowers, seascapes on the walls, deep soft armchairs. I chose the one facing the door. Really, I thought, you would never guess it was a prison. If I’d had my […]
Cold for May, by Christine PoulsonIt was cold for May, very cold. But it wasn’t as cold as that woman’s heart. With most of the people I’ve cleaned for, I’ve soon been on first-name terms, but not with her. Oh, I was Jenny to […]
Child’s Play, by Alex GrayIt was so easy a child could have done it. The killer sat back and sighed with the sort of pleasure that comes from acknowledging superiority over the rest of humankind and a certainty that they would never be caught. […]
Criminal, by Ricki ThomasToby had not been awake for long and he wiped his eyes with a grimy hand. The early winter chill bit the tips of his ears and nose and he warmed his icy fingers under his arms. Shivering, he sat […]
One Wedding and One Funeral by Yvonne WalusPretoria, 31 July 1981 What Captain Trevor Watson wanted right now, more than anything in the universe, was to get laid. Go to a Ladies’ Bar – stupid how South African law prohibited women from entering any other kind of […]
Slonský’s First Murder, by Graham BrackJunior Sergeant Slonský polished the single silver star on each epaulette and thought himself lucky he still had them. He slipped on his uniform shoes – actually, his only shoes – and resisted the temptation to have a slug from […]
Dial M for Misprint, by Peter BartramA Crampton of the Chronicle Swinging Sixties mystery My girlfriend Shirley was already into her second glass of white wine by the time I arrived late at the Sussex Grill. I hustled into the restaurant, hurried over to the table […]
Once a conman…, by Gary PowellAlby Sloper eyed the magnificent diamond with professional expertise as the three-carat jewel sparkled under carefully sited display lights that amplified its beauty. He knew the precious stone’s every cut and polished surface. He scratched at the irritating newly grown […]
Lucky, by D E WhiteThe headlights slashed the road, leaving welts of light in the tarmac, and she shivered. This side of town was quiet after midnight, with no clubs and pubs to spill their alcohol-fuelled customers onto the rain-soaked pavement. The car slowed […]
The Mortuary with Two Doors, by Sanjay DharwadkerThe epidemic was beginning to peak when Doctor Smrt took over the mortuary. Yesterday, the diener, his assistant, had gone missing. Some said she was an illegal immigrant, had been discovered and taken away by the police for questioning. Others […]
Service please, by Roger A PriceChristine Jones leaned back in her chair as she waited for Vinnie to return with the drinks. They had spent a pleasant afternoon in a wine bar off Deansgate in central Manchester celebrating. The documentary she had done with Vinnie […]
The Double Cross, by Douglas SkeltonI’d always liked Darren Morgan. Right up to the moment he killed me. He was a likeable kind of guy, easy-going, smart, good-looking, too – but I don’t mean that in any kind of faggoty way. It’s just a statement […]
The Walnut Creek Vampire, by Tom MeadIt was October of 1962 when the vampire came to Walnut Creek. The streets of that little San Franciscan suburb were carpeted with crisp dead leaves, the skies low and lambent, and the house fronts were papered with skulls and […]
The Retreat, by Chris McDonaldThe skyscrapers and landmarks of Manhattan glint in the rear-view mirror as John and Simon leave the city behind. John reaches into the back seat of his boss’s pick-up truck and returns with a bottle of water. He twists the […]
Paradise Place, by Judith Cutler‘One can expect nothing good to come out of Birmingham – even your Jane Austen got that right,’ Nicholas declared, pushing away his plate. I knew better than to object that he had taken the quotation out of context. Nicholas […]
On the Bridge, by Merryn AllinghamCécile took the flowers unwillingly and murmured a polite thank you. They were yet another present she hadn’t wanted. The young man, slouched against the door frame, looked irritated; it was evident her lack of enthusiasm annoyed him. These past […]
Long Dark Winter Nights, by Marsali Taylor‘So,’ said DI Gavin Macrae, waving away the last of Khalida’s emergency whisky stock, ‘her alibi is mountain-solid, unless there’s something in your testimony that breaks it.’ ‘My testimony?’ I said, startled. ‘Her husband died,’ he said, ‘while she and […]
One of the Three Spires, by Paul Charles“Auntie Maude would not like that.” “But Uncle Archie has no kids of his own so she always felt a pity for him…” “When pity might not necessarily have been a good thing?” “Exactly, Liam, you’re spot on. You know […]
Tell Me, by Zoë Sharp“So, where is she?” Grace ducked under the taped cordon at the edge of the crime scene and showed her ID to the uniformed constable stationed there. “CSI McColl. I’m expected.” The officer jerked his head in the direction of […]
For the Good of the Game, by Twist PhelanI’m getting ready for the game, trying not to listen to the whispers around me. The rest of the team still can’t believe I did it. The new owner doesn’t have a clue I’m guilty. But the team knows. It’s […]
The Best Detective in Town, by Mick Finlay1897 It was too hot for London. The streets were quiet and unhappy, the air filled with the stink of rotting food. The pumps had gone dry, the street children begging cups of water then robbing anyone kind enough […]
Muggy Night, by Luke Deckard“Who’s there?” I prop myself up in bed. I’m sticky with sweat. The ceiling-fan whirls; its blades cut the hot air. The windchime dings and dongs out front and a dog barks in the distance. Crickets and god knows what […]
The Girl Who Loved French Films, by Christopher FowlerSheila grew up in Sheffield, a Northern English town that had once been famous for the magnificence of its cutlery and the bravery of its air force pilots. By the time she was seventeen its glory had faded, and the […]
The Masquerade – by Sarah RayneAn invitation to a masked ball, where nothing is quite as it seems… I seldom attend parties unless I think they might be of use in my career, so it was all the more remarkable to find myself attending this […]
The Ringmaster by Douglas LindsayNo one ever knew his real name. They called him the Ringmaster. And now he was dead, his body crushed and battered and broken in an attack that was bestial in its ferocity. His killer, in a final act of […]
To Die For – by Bill RogersSomething had woken her. Melissa felt sure of that. She sat up wearily, and checked the bedside alarm. The eerie green display said 3.59am. She listened for a moment, and then sunk back onto the pillows. It would be […]
A Place for Everything – by Nicola Ford‘Well I think it’s creepy. One day we’re all sitting at this table having a cuppa together and the next he’s skewered to death like some oversized doner kebab.’ I know it was rude but I had to get up […]
Sticks and Stones – by Rachel SargeantMary slipped off the lead and watched Sadie give a gleeful shake of her ears and prance across the park. At least one of us is awake, she thought, yawning. What was I thinking of, coming out this early? She […]
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