Category: Crime/Mystery/Thriller

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Riptide by Manoela Torres

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Today we celebrate Bella. Our beautiful, breathtaking, beloved, buried Bella. Our connection was less affection than ancestry, the sort of intimacy that shared blood makes inevitable.

Born less than two months apart, we were always together. Twins they called us, until our features grew too distinguishable to sustain the lie. I was small and sturdy, my skin the deep tan that made Nai Nai click her tongue and mutter about rice pickers and fieldwork. Bella possessed that particular alchemy of mixed blood: jade eyes set in porcelain skin, her father’s Scandinavian height stretched over her mother’s delicate Chinese bones, creating something that demanded worship.

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, Short Fiction, Writing

Stuart by Hugh Cron – Adult Content.

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Stuart died in prison.

That is wrong,

Stuart was killed in prison. He was stabbed with a blade between his ribs.

None of these sharpened toothbrushes or pieces of wood or shards of glass, an actual knife. The investigation is ongoing. Some poor dweeb will probably lose their pension over that.

Did Stuart deserve to be murdered? Opinions vary. Some would say he was a bad guy, others would say he did what he did to survive. I suppose it depends on their involvement with him.

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Pennsylvania Man by Tony Godino

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It’s nighttime, and- look, I won’t get into what’s gone on. I won’t get into Jenny or into what’s happening with the kids or any of it. I think it’s simpler than all that. And- it’s terrible. I don’t mean to say it isn’t. I’m just focusing on what I can change. There are people in terrible trouble and something’s gotta be done. Nothing can be done about Jenny. And the kids, I don’t know. I just don’t know. Anyway. It’s nighttime, which isn’t unusual. I am having dinner at the diner again. I sit in the booth across from the windows into the St. Pat’s rec hall. I watch him. This is the third night in a row after a few weeks waiting. I know something is coming because I’ve spent good time with thinking about it. I can feel it as if it were mine.

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Night Sounds by Tom Koperwas

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Content that some readers may find upsetting – refer to the tags on the bottom of the page

Small towns are quiet places at night, especially the town of Hush. That’s what made it the ideal place for eight-year-old Sammy Keen to live in. The skinny boy with piercing dark eyes, a towering forehead, and large, floppy ears looked forward to bedtime every night, unlike his friends at school, who cherished the day and its fun activities under the bright sun. Changing into his pajamas, he’d jump into bed and turn off the lights. A smile would form on his face as he gazed at the open window and began to listen to the sounds outside, for Sammy was a gifted child with a wholly unique talent and the intelligence to utilize it.

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All Stories, Christmas Crime Week 2025, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Snow by Diane M Dickson

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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.

Snow by Diane M Dickson

Image: Jail cell with Christmas trimming chains on the bars by Angie at Studio Anjou

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, Editor Picks

A Thousand More Steps by Harrison Kim

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78-year-old Cameron walked about wearing a 40-pound exercise vest.  His routine included marching every day up and down the mall stairs and then through the mall, back up to the park and along the beach and up some more stairs.   The extra weight gave him purpose and strength. 

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

The Wood Places by Ena Kaitch

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   “It’s great of you to come and hear me speak. I know that’s not actually what’s going on; saying that makes it seem like this meeting is the product of a request or a personal choice. I like that. I prefer it to the alternative of having to introduce myself and explain a little about why I’m here. We all know why I’m here.”

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

A Nobel Ending by Steven French

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Frank paused as he left the hotel and looked up and down Skomakargatan. With the sky shading into a deeper blue, lights were already coming on along the narrow street. To the left was Stortorget Square and Stockholm’s famous Christmas Market which he and Ellen had strolled around earlier that day. Exhausted from the jetlag and needing some rest from the bustle of the crowds, she was fast asleep in their room but Frank had too much nervous energy still and had decided to burn some off with a brisk walk.

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