Story Excerpts

Art compiled by Carly Iwanicki; photos courtesy of the editors

The Ellery Queen Job
by Peter Lovesey

“So what’s this job we’re gonna pull?”

“Did I say anything about a job?”

Duke and Chuck, the go-to guy and the get-in guy, were New York crooks turned hot and bothered by the sweltering August of 1984, when the super-rich and executives had migrated to the Hamptons, leaving empty properties that cried out to be broken into—if only the owners had forgotten to activate their alarm systems. READ MORE

The One that Got Away
by Charlaine Harris

Noah Bernard had no idea I was following him. I’d gotten good at it in the past few years. I’d slipped from housecleaning to being a private detective without much of a ripple. Both required attention to detail and showing up on time. And both brought order out of chaos.

I enjoyed detecting much more. READ MORE