Our May/June issue is heavy on the humor, but nicely balanced with some darker tales, and topped off by several voices new to our pages. A perfect medley of crime.
On the lighter side is Jeff Cohen’s nervous dad-to-be/proprietor of a comedy film theater, who has serious doubts about the hospital staff in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Girl!”; and Neil Schofield’s ex-Detective-Inspector Harry Tattersby and his side-kick, small-time burglar Eggy, who plumb their underworld connections to break up a gang of under-aged thieves in “Tattersby and the Silence of the Lumbs”; and Catherine Dilts’ scheming Granny cleans up in Turnip Junction in “Unrepentant Sinner.” A tired comedian in a Borscht-belt resort frames John C. Boland’s story “The Kubelsky Block,” featuring perceptive widow Tamar Gillespie, and even draws a few laughs.
Messing with the toughest man in Halifax, Skig Skorzeny, is a dangerous feat, especially when his mechanic Creepy Culbertson has his back in Jas. R. Petrin’s “Money Maker.” Two commuters on the graveyard shift bond over their fondness for mystery novels in Christopher Latragna’s story “The Loneliest Night of the Week.” Detective Fritz Dollinger and Detective Lieutenant Cyrus Auburn team up to puzzle what happened to cause the death of an unidentified man found with a cryptic message in his pocket.
We welcome three newcomers this issue. SJI Holliday’s Scottish Sergeant Davie Gray, who spends his Brighton vacation investigating a murder in “Home from Home,” is featured in her novels Black Wood, Willow Walk, and Damselfly. Retired Judge Debra H. Goldstein—author of Maze in Blue and Should Have Played Poker— brings us “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” which takes place in Birmingham during the Civil Rights era. Los Angeles native Paul D. Marks has had a long career in film directing and writing. He is also the author of White Heat (2012) and Vortex (2015) as well as countless short stories. His story “Twelve Angry Days” recalls the old Henry Fonda film, Twelve Angry Men, but with a very different outcome.
In addition, Jason Half introduces one of his favorite mystery classics, “Daisy Bell” by Gladys Mitchell. All in all, twelve fiendishly good stories to keep you awake all night.
Trace Evidence 
Great issue. Loved reading the stories.