Authors in This Issue

“The Tattenhall Tontine” by Marilyn Todd
Award-winning author Marilyn Todd writes the Julia McAllister, Claudia Seferius, and High Priestess Iliona historical series. In her words, she has been “killing people for a living since 1995, with 100 publishing contracts to prove it.” As a stalwart contributor to EQMM, lately her stories—like this one—have taken place in the 1970s.

“Aswarby Hall” by David Dean
David Dean, the author of The Thirteenth Child, is a short-story specialist whose evocative work spans a myriad of themes, settings, and atmosphere. This story is part of his historical series featuring alienist Dr. Beckett Marchland, who debuted in the March/April 2023 issue with “Mrs. Hyde.” Dean is a three-time winner of the EQMM Readers Award.

“The Woman From Rolling Stone” by Lori Rader-Day
Chicago author Lori Rader-Day is the Edgar-nominated and Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of The Death of Us, Death at Greenway, The Lucky One, Under a Dark Sky, and others. Her next novel, Wreck Your Heart (Minotaur/SMPG, 2026), features a country singer, and this story too revolves around a musician.

“Dupe” by Twist Phelan
Prolific short-story writer and novelist Twist Phelan tells readers, “You didn’t come to the dinner table of my half-Irish family without a good story to share,” and this is certainly true about this tale featuring her series character corporate spy Finn Teller. Phelan is also the author of Snowed, The Target, the Pinnacle Peak series of novels, and more.

“The Case of the Motherless Child” by John Lantigua
Here we have a new entry in John Lantigua’s long-running series featuring Little Havana P.I. Willie Cuesta. Lantigua’s investigative-journalism career, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize, lends authenticity to this series—and luckily for readers Willie also appears in a series of novels. The next one, The Girl Who Swam with Sharks, will be out next year.

“While the Iron Is Hot” by Edith Maxwell
Boston-based author Edith Maxwell is an Agatha-winning, national best-selling writer and the author of the Quaker Midwife and Local Foods series of novels, among other traditional, cozy, and historical mysteries. Look for her several popular series under the name Maddie Day and her blog posts at Wicked Authors and Mystery Lovers Kitchen.

“Jonestown” by Lia Matera
Lia Matera is an Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award winning author of twelve mystery novels, fourteen short stories, and a novella. Her tale “Snow Job” (EQMM, 1-2/19) was nominated for the International Thriller Award. This story deftly orbits the increasingly sinister emergence of the Peoples Temple and the lives of a postwar generation.

“A Long Time Till Morning” by Andrew Klavan
International best-selling author and Edgar winner Andrew Klavan is the author of novels for adults and young adults, as well as the nonfiction title The Great Good Thing. His stories appear in The Best American Noir of the Century, The Best American Mystery Stories, and elsewhere. His most recent fiction is the serial fantasy-thriller podcast Another Kingdom.

“A Casual Look” by Robert Greer
Ohio native Robert Greer founded The High Plains Literary Review in 1986 and continues to serve as its editor. He is a professor of medicine at the Colorado Health Sciences Center. Greer’s short-story collection, Isolation and Other Stories (2000, Davies Group Publishers) is illustrated! The author also reviews books for KUVO, a Denver NPR affiliate.

“Still Dead” by Mat Coward
British author Mat Coward writes crime novels, children’s books, short stories, and more, including a gardening column for the daily newspaper The Morning Star. Martin Edwards called Coward “Original and witty, a real master of the form,” and readers of EQMM will be familiar with his often humorous style. You can find his books at matcoward.com.

“The Unwanted Guest” by G.M. Malliet
G.M. Malliet is the author of three mystery series and stories appearing in The Strand and AHMM. Weycombe, her standalone suspense novel, was published in 2017. Malliet’s Agatha Award winning Death of a Cozy Writer, the first installment of the DCI St. Just series, was named by Kirkus Reviews one of the ten best novels of 2008.

“Tangled Web” by Bill Pronzini
MWA Grand Master Bill Pronzini is the author of ninety novels, many in his popular Nameless Detective series and several cowritten with his wife, writer Marcia Muller. In his long career, Pronzini’s work has received six Edgar nominations and won three Shamus Awards. EQMM readers are familiar with Pronzini’s San Francisco sleuth Jake Runyon, who stars in this story.

“Not the Usual Boy” by Rob Osler
Rob Osler writes traditional mysteries featuring queer main characters. His new series features a lesbian detective in Chicago in America’s Progressive Era (see The Case of the Missing Maid). His first entry in the Perry Winkle series, to which this story belongs, was an Edgar finalist.

“Smoke and Mirrors” by Charles John Harper
A story in Charles John Harper’s series about Los Angeles P.I. Darrow Nash appeared in The Best American Mystery Stories 2017. About that contribution, Publishers Weekly said the “hard-boiled yarn . . . will make fans of the subgenre hope that its P.I. lead . . . will walk the mean streets of L.A. again.” We’re glad he did, and here is Darrow Nash in a new tale.

“An Informant” by Adam Wilson
Adam Wilson is a writer from Glasgow, Scotland. He is currently studying creative writing at the University of Glasgow, where he previously graduated with a degree in English literature. He tells us that when he’s not studying, he stacks shelves at a local supermarket. This is his first publication, and we hope there will be many more to follow.

“A Quarrel Between Friends” by Emma O’ Driscoll
Emma O’Driscoll hails from a small village in Dorset, England. She has been nominated for competitions including the Raven Short Story Competition and Liars’ League. We know EQMM readers will enjoy this take on the classical whodunit, which was short-listed for the Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition!

“Perfect Pitch” by Daniele Del Giudice
Daniele Del Giudice, who died in 2021, was an Italian lecturer and author living in Venice. Among other awards, he won the European Union Prize for Literature, the Feltrinelli Prize, and the Selezione Premio Campiello. His 1983 novel Le Stade de Wimbledon was adapted for the screen by the French filmmaker Mathieu Amalric.