DON’T TALK TO STRANGERS by Leigh Lundin By now, most of us are aware of a criminal element that wishes to separate us from our money. Florida’s traditionally been a hotbed of sharpsters, hucksters, telemarketers, and con artists, probably because politicians are more worried about policing lawns rather than bad guys. Criminal enterprise requires a […]

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT by John M. Floyd Here’s a question for you: What has to be present in a short story (especially a crime/suspense story) to make it really good? Different Strokes The answer, of course, depends on the reader. An article in the current issue of The Writer lists some things folks like to see […]

MAN BITES REALITY by Steve Steinbock After my week aboard the Rhapsody of the Sea, I’m a true believer in vacation by cruise ship. By the time you read this, I’ll be back home in Maine recovering from jetlag and lamenting that reality has set in. Between the Alaskan cruise and my return to Maine, […]

TEACHER’S PET by Deborah Elliott-Upton As much as I hate saying goodbye to summer, I always welcomed going back to school, meeting new friends and reacquainting with the old ones. Notebooks ready to be filled and a sense of a fresh start inspired me. It still does. I thought about taking a class this semester […]

DIGGING UP OLD CASES by Rob Lopresti Imagine for one moment that Alexander McCall Smith’s detective Mma Ramotswe were to announce that she had reviewed the Baskerville case and Sherlock Holmes got the whole thing wrong. Or perhaps Robert B. Parker’s Spencer discovered that Sam Spade screwed up on the murder of Miles Archer. Welcome […]

Regular readers of Criminal Brief may recall a recent column by Melodie describing in tragicomic detail her recent visit to the hospital. Well, Melodie has had to return briefly, since there were some complications from her fall, but we’re expecting her back at full vigor soon. In the meantime, she asked me if I could […]

IT’S A GAS1 by James Lincoln Warren I first met the inexhaustible co-Chair of Bouchercon 2008, super-fan Judy Bobalik, immediately following the 2007 Edgar Banquet, i.e., a year ago last April. I was hanging out with the gifted novelist John Billheimer, whom I’ve known and respected for several years, and Judy, among others, was hanging […]