Author: Editor

Bad John by Adam Howe

What’s not to like about a dog-lover?

Sadie shivered in the falling snow, hands dug deep in the pockets of her mangy leopard print coat, hungrily eyeing the cars curb-crawling the Strip. Music boomed inside the titty bar behind her, the black tinted window quaking to the bass. She’d danced there herself when she first hit the Strip, before she was busted turning tricks between lap dances to feed her habit. Now she was lucky if they let her inside to slam back a shot to wash away the taste of her last john.

An ancient green station wagon tootled up to the curb, the exhaust farting fumes.… Read the rest

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Plan B story “The Uninvited Spook” by C. D. Reimer on Toasted Cake

Plan B story “The Uninvited Spook” by C. D. Reimer is now available in audio on the fantastic podcast Toasted Cake.… Read the rest

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Plan B Year Three – New Campaign

Today we launched a crowdfunding campaign for Year Three of Plan B Magazine. We are aiming to raise $3000, to double our pay rate and bring you another year of great Plan B stories.

If you contribute, you can pre-order the two anthologies for Year Three, catch up with a pack of all four previous Plan B anthologies, or get the brand new paperback omnibus of all 52 Plan B stories so far!

book

There are other great perks available and stretch goals that would bring even more Plan B in 2015.

If you love the mystery and crime stories we’ve been bringing you, I hope you’ll take a look at the campaign and share it with your mystery-loving friends.… Read the rest

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An Unexpected Invitation by Daniel Marshall Wood

Listen to this story on the podcast.

“You are cordially invited…”

“Do you think black tie?” Delia asked her husband late Sunday afternoon. Beyond the diamond-paned library window flagstones disappeared under white powder.

“What?” Adam stirred from dedicated concentration on the Times crossword, upsetting a grey tabby from her corduroy perch. “The clue is ‘Barker of filmdom.’ Should be Les, but that’s three letters, not four.”

“Les is not less,” Delia murmured. “Asta. That cute terrier in the Thin Man movies. Myrna Loy and William Holden.”

“William Powell, dear. Oh, now I get it. Barker — a dog barks. I may write the puzzle editor again.… Read the rest

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Write Your Epitaph by Laird Long

Listen to this story on the podcast.

It’s never too late to catch a dream.

The judge was banging down hard on his gavel, but the angry hammering was lost in the babble of furious voices—shouting, swearing, screaming, howling. Someone stole a purse, busted into a store, scored some drugs, turned some tricks, fell down drunk—who knew? Who cared? The scum of the earth came here for their five minutes of assembly-line justice: step forward, plead your case, get sentenced. Next! Keep it moving! Too many criminals, too little justice. The gavel would bang all night long. And the next night, and the next night.… Read the rest

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