Mystery Magazine: March 2023

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Magazine presents original short stories by the world's best-known and emerging mystery writers.

The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty.

Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery.

★ In this issue ★

"The Saga Of Gentleman Bert" by Stan Dryer: The outlaw Gentleman Bert is proud of his reputation as a cold blooded killer. When he is brought to justice for killing a man in a stagecoach robbery, his reputation lives on after his death, thanks to a helpful entrepreneur.

"Marking Time" by David Stier is a hardboiled noir mystery where a private investigator in Post WWII Jersey City can't accept the loss of his girlfriend. The gangster that stole her while he was overseas hires him to find her because she has gone missing.

"Pitboss" by RE Carroll offers a hard boiled mystery where the head of security at a casino takes an unlikely winner to his office to explain a murderous pattern he has been tracking.

"Murder In The Form Of A Question" by Jacqueline Freimor: A man decides to separate a Jeopardy! mega-winner from her cash but can't decide whether murder is the answer or the question.

"The Ghost And Billy Martin" by John M. Floyd: When a widow and her young son are held hostage by a bank robber, they both know their chances for survival aren't good. What they don't know is that the thieves are only part of their problem.

"Gulfport" by Anthony Kane Evans: He made a quick exit out of town, but now he's back with revenge on his mind.

"People, Glass Houses, Stones" by Victor Kreuiter: What to do and what to say when you're not quite sure what happened.

"Intrigue At The Cuckoo Clock Caf?" by John H. Dromey: Exigent circumstances persuade a fiercely independent private investigator to accept temporary employment with a big agency. Rather than become a team player, he puts his deductive skills to work in his own best interests.

"So Noted," A You-Solve-It by Laird Long: Reading between the lines can spell out murder ... can you help solve the mystery?

Cover Art By Robin Grenville Evans