mystery and crime short fiction

  • Man On The Run by Laird Long

    We all dream of escaping sometimes — but there’s more than one way to get away. The big cab was pushing forty when he slammed on the brakes. The car skidded to an icy stop in front of her, its mammoth bumper nodding gently against her knees. He pulled his foot out of the floorboards and cursed….

  • Grave Designs by Mike O’Reilly

    They say blood is thicker than water, but some friendships are made of thicker stuff still. There is no surer sign of damnation than the need to pay a priest for a eulogy. He whispered the prayers. His hand was trembling and his eyes were black hollows burrowed into his skull. A three-day growth filled…

  • Submission Tips

    Plan B is open to submissions again, which means lots of stories are flooding in to be reviewed. Here are a few tips to help prospective authors make it easier on editors, that I can safely say apply to all markets: Follow the submission guidelines. See tip #1 There is no tip #3. Yes, it…

  • Embers by Michael Haynes

    It doesn’t take much to fan the flames. Sunday afternoon, the end of Dad’s and my weekend together, was fading fast. If he didn’t have me to Mom’s by six there’d be hell to pay. Dad was sitting in a chair, eyes closed. I started gathering up things, throwing them in the trunk of the…

  • Email troubles

    We’ve had a few email troubles lately which have bounced our messages. If you’ve sent us something recently (like, for example, a story submission), we didn’t get it. Please send it again. Sorry about this.

  • Inured By Stephen D. Rogers

    Human beings have the remarkable ability to adapt to just about anything. The ferry to Martha’s Vineyard was mostly empty up here on the rooftop level, the sky gray and the wind sharp, the smell of the open water different than that found on the beaches of Cape Cod. Almost all of the other passengers…

  • Ninety Miles, A Million Miles by Gary Cahill

    Even in the shadow of war, the friendship of children is the most effective melting pot. At seven years old I was already more of a soldier than they would ever be. A better secret agent. A real stand-up guy, even. Like, Aunt Maeve would start smoking and reaching for a bottle in her handbag,…

  • Government Assistance by M. A. B. Lee

    Disasters bring out the best in people — but that’s not all they bring. Scam is such an unpleasant word, all phlegmy and in the throat. I prefer to think of my work as art, performance art, if you will. I have been doing it for many years and have developed a level of skill…

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