Hello, I hope everyone is geared up and ready for the madness about to be released, though it’s probably already ongoing in most places. When the rellies get you down and you fancy a nice quiet sleep somewhere without turkey and stuffing perhaps an overnight in the local lockup appeals.
Anyway, I hope everyone has the exact sort of time that they want and I have to say thank you to my fellow editors for choosing this little piece to kick off the Christmas Crime Week. Strap in guys, things could get rocky – ho ho ho.
Image: Jail cell with Christmas trimming chains on the bars by Angie at Studio Anjou
literally stories 
Hello Diane
You have begun the crime wave forecasted for this week well. Tremendous gotcha story and quite a bit more.
Leila
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Thank you so much and thank you for suggesting this one. I hope the season is shaping up to be just how you would it. x
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Diane
I remember this tale very well as it was etched into my brains when I first read it, because it’s so vivid. A masterpiece of flash fiction. It can be studied for its balanced and suspenseful effects. This is crime fiction bringing the genre to new and realistic heights. If I was a skier I would be looking over my shoulder or hiding in the lodge by the fire where the beverages (or the “medical” edibles) are. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Dale
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Thank you so much Dale you are too kind. I have to say the lodge by the fire sounds very tempting on this dull and gloomy pre Christmas weekend but then I suppose I’d end up with someone in dire straits such is the mind of a paperback criminal! I hope you have a wonderful celebration with you and yours and of course the dogs. dd
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A good start to crime week! Guess Jake can afford some nice presents.
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Thank you – I bet he can but would you eat a chocolate from this man!?
Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year. dd
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Hi Diane,
I know that you are very humble regarding your writing but you shouldn’t be!!
You have many novels that show your ability to write CMT. And when we read this, in so few words and balanced brilliantly, it shows that you are a complete master of this genre. Anyone wanting to write this type should seek out your work!!!
It is very apt that you start off the week!!!!!
All my very best to you and Ian.
Hugh
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Aw gowwan – you make me blush. I really should write a couple more shorts. I’ve been so tied up with the novels for a while that I’ve neglected this skill. I should have the next book ready for the editors in a week or so and then maybe it’s time for a palate cleanser with a couple of bite sized killings!
I hope that you and Gwen enjoy a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the best of everything for the coming year. Have fun and take care. dd
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Exquisitely unsettling depiction of a man going about his ‘wet work’. Microfiction at its finest.
Geraint
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thank you so much. It’s a spooky term ‘wet work’ but we all know what it means. Gerooo. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas if that’s what you do and anyway peace and joy.
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Oh very nice! Beautifully set up and then a stiletto of an ending. Excellent!
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Thank you very much. High praise from a writer such as yourself. Very best wishes. dd
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Diane,
I agree with Hugh. Doing smaller pieces like flash helps sharpen the writing instincts. Like he says, and I’m starting to pick up on it in my own stuff, we don’t have to describe everything. If it doesn’t move the action or sense of a story, do we need to know if the dead man was wearing a bright green hat with a white tassel?
Get through the Christmas season as best you can — maybe even try to enjoy some of it. — Gerry
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Absolutely and I think that’s the joy of it compared with novel writing where book readers like some scene setting etc.
All the best to you and yours. dd
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This was engaging and mysterious. It was very realistic and stark in a good way. Jake capped him with a high powered rifle at the summit–counting his money before he landed. Great hit man story!
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