fiction

Sep 2020 5

When Friends Share a Passion for Reading: The Story Behind ReQueered Tales

2020 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Tales of Diversity

by Alexander Inglis

It’s not every day that you wake up one morning and say: “Why don’t I start a mystery publishing house?” It was almost like that with ReQueered Tales, an indie publisher of LGBTQ fiction started in the early spring of 2019. Three online friends – we’ve still never met in person – chatting in a Facebook gay mystery group were bemoaning the number of gay mystery novels that had slipped out of print. After some due diligence, ReQueered Tales was born.

Jan 2014 4

Dead Set By Richard Kadrey

2014 Articles, Every Other Book, Fantasy & Fangs, Jesus Ibarra

by Jesus Ibarra

Richard Kadrey, best known for his Sandman Slim urban fantasy series, enters the world of YA fiction with Dead Set. Not a completely unexpected thing, as YA fiction has become an incredibly popular genre, with almost every popular urban fantasy author writing a YA novel. However, Dead Set strangely does not read or feel like a YA adult novel. It doesn’t focus on a lot of the current YA tropes such teenage romance, someone finding their destiny and or trying to save the world. Kadrey avoids these trappings by making Dead Set all about dealing with grief– specifically the grief of the teenage character, Zoe, who is still mourning the loss of her father.

Nov 2013 16

The Case of the Purloined Painting By Carl Brookins: Review/Interview/Giveaway

2013 Articles, Cynthia Chow, Mysteryrat's Maze

by Cynthia Chow

Lack of height has never hampered five foot tall private detective, Sean Sean, the tracer of lost persons, collector of evidence of malfeasance and revealer of fraudsters and thieves. However, for his current cases, Sean’s greatest tasks will be trying to investigate the motivations and identities of his actual clients. The probably-not-his-real-name, Mr. Gehrz, is using his cash retainer to hire Sean to find Tiffany Market, a woman with whom Gehrz claims to have once had a relationship but who has since disappeared.

Oct 2013 19

Truffie and the Leger Hotel Ghost: A Halloween Cat Short Story

2013 Articles, Pets, Terrific Tales

by Elaine Faber

One October weekend Mom took Sissy and me to the Leger Hotel in Mokelume Hills, in the Sierra Mountains. She left us in the room while she went sightseeing. We stepped through the windows that opened onto the balcony where the prostitutes used to sit, according to the maid, advertising their wares. Coming back inside, we could just make out the wispy outline of an old guy sitting on the sofa. His face was covered with gray whiskers and he was missing a front tooth. He waved a gnarled hand. “Excuse me. Could I trouble ya’ to help me move on to the here-after?”

Oct 2013 5

Almost Home: Mystery Short Story

2013 Articles, Kristin Cosentino, Mysteryrat's Maze, Terrific Tales

by Kristin Cosentino

First of all, let me just say that I have a pretty tough life. I’m not trying to get sympathy; I’m just telling it like it is. It’s been just my mom and me ever since my dad ran off and my brothers and sisters found new places to live.

Aug 2013 17

The Take: A Mystery Short Story

2013 Articles, Diana Hockley, Mysteryrat's Maze, Terrific Tales

by Diana Hockley

“Do you think you can do it?” he asked.
“I know I can!” she purred. “And if I can, will I get the job?”
“Yeah. Go for it. Knock yourself out, sweetheart.”

Aug 2013 3

Life Imitates Art: A Mystery Short Story

2013 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Terrific Tales

by Daryl Wood Gerber

“David!” I pounded on the apartment door. “David, are you in there? Dave—”
The door swung open and my breath caught in my chest. David hung from a rope in the middle of the room, his face blue, body slack, boxers soiled. All the booze and crap I had consumed last night gushed up my throat. I drove it down and stared harder in an attempt to memorize the scene.

May 2013 25

Farang: Mystery Short Story

2013 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Terrific Tales

by Jill Amadio

I knew before I hit the ground I had been struck by a farang. I could smell the meat in his pores in that split second of contact, as his shoulder sent me reeling halfway across the street. Steak-loving American soldiers have become easy prey in the Vietnamese jungle where they are fighting the war and their odor is just as recognizable here in Bangkok.

May 2013 11

If Mama Could See Me: A Mother’s Day Mystery Short Story

2013 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Terrific Tales

by J.R. Chabot

I have my own room. Of course, since Mamma died, the whole house is mine. Mamma left me the house and the money. But this room is really my own. I grew up here. All my treasures and all my secrets are here. My father left before I remember, so it was always just Mamma and me. And now she’s gone.

May 2013 11

Pelican Spring: A Mother’s Day Mystery Short Story

2013 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Terrific Tales

by Paula Gail Benson

The quest for scholarships is a rite of Spring, but in my twelve years as a law school admissions director, I had never seen a situation like this one.
I’d attended plenty of meetings with potential students, seeking to optimize their chances at partial or full scholarships. What I had not previously encountered was a student-parent-financial-package-tag-team.