STEAL this BURGLAR by Steve Steinbock For the past two weeks I’ve been trying to get to the point, but my meandering brain keeps getting in the way. So before I digress again, here’s my thesis: G.K. Chesterton’s invention of “Father Brown” (1910) marked a watershed moment in detective fiction. By pitting the modest, diminutive […]

EVERYBODY LOVES the OTHER RAYMOND, too by Deborah Elliott-Upton I have an affinity for Raymond Carver for a couple of reasons. Like me, he enjoyed Mickey Spillane novels and he cared about revitalizing the short story. I’m so pleased my friend, Kimberly Willis Holt, began a read-and-discuss group on Facebook based on Best American Short […]

A PLEA FOR UNITY by Rob Lopresti I have written here before, probably too often, about my series of stories about mystery writer Leopold Longshanks. My least favorite of the bunch is "Shanks Gets Mugged". It isn’t a bad story, I think, but it lacks unity, and worse, the whole series lacks unity because of […]

For several months, construction near my residence has interfered with internet reception. Yesterday afternoon, utility companies dug into my neighbor’s yard with the result I do not have internet service. This comes at a particularly inconvenient time while James is in Africa and I could not post our guest article by midnight. At 3a I […]

I am still in South Africa. Therefore, this week I offer you this special treat from one of my favorite mystery short story authors—the reasons for which should be obvious. The first mystery author to use an actual historical personage as a fictional detective was the late Lillian de la Torre Bueno McCue (1902-1993), who […]

BAD, BAD CRIMINALS, part II– CHINA by Leigh Lundin This week we bring you criminal briefs from China and Singapore. Peking Boilers Sichuan Province.  Sichuan cuisine and folklore came together recently. Apparently a few in southern China believe the cure for brain problems is, well, more brains. Human brains. A mother with a mentally ill […]

PLAYING FAVORITES by John M. Floyd I was looking through the past few months’ columns and remembered that I thoroughly enjoyed Rob’s April Criminal Brief piece on “favorite” short stories. As he said, the stories he chose to list wouldn’t necessarily be called the best (although I thought many of them would have fit that bill […]