By Christopher Mills Featuring Matthew Dain May 1999 "I'm afraid the son of a bitch is going to kill me." Her voice was hard, cold; as completely devoid of emotion as a telephone operator's. She took another long drag on her cigarette and closed her eyes as she exhaled. I took another sip of coffee … Continue reading “Slightly Tarnished Armor”
Tag: Fiction
“Hit and Run”
By Christopher Mills Featuring Matthew Dain October 2008 I was sitting in my '65 Ford Mustang with a thermos of hot coffee between my legs to keep my nuts from freezing, wincing at the icy wind that howled in off Casco Bay and through the half-open window. I hate stakeouts anyway, and sitting in a thirty-year … Continue reading “Hit and Run”
“Zen and the Art of Murder”
An excerpt from the novel by Elizabeth M. Cosin Featuring Zen Moses September 1998 CHAPTER ONE It rained the day I said goodbye to my best friend; the kind of storm that was packaged in a San Francisco-like cold front. December in Santa Monica could blow in from the Pacific like the draft from a meat … Continue reading “Zen and the Art of Murder”
Thrilling Detective Fiction (Index)
"So you're a private detective? I didn't know they existed, except in books -- or else they were greasy little men snooping around hotel corridors." -- Bacall to Bogart in The Big Sleep A NOTE TO READERS For the first ten or so years of its existence, The Thrilling Detective Web Site published online fiction, … Continue reading Thrilling Detective Fiction (Index)
The Dead Beat Scroll
An excerpt from the novel by Mark Coggins Featuring August Riordan September 2019 Chapter One: Golden Fingers The theme music for the quiz show Jeopardy! makes an unsettling ringtone. Although originally composed as a lullaby, its relentless, tick-tock, time-is-running-out associations can’t help but impinge upon your dreams if you’ve already nodded off. Other things that … Continue reading The Dead Beat Scroll
Sunset
A Son Says Goodbye... By Glenn (Bill) Duncan, Jr. May 2019 W. Glenn Duncan (1940-2019) Sunset. A secluded location on the shores of Lake Texoma, Texas. The sun wavered on the horizon across the water. Hung there like it knew its job was to finish setting, but it wanted to give our motley group just … Continue reading Sunset
“God Bless the Child”
A Jackson Donne Story by David White February/March 2000 I sat in my car trying to learn how to blow smoke rings, while I waited for Joan Beckett or her son Alan to come out of their house. I only managed one really good smoke ring, but I was patient. You had to be on … Continue reading “God Bless the Child”