The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe, by Tia Tashiro

 

"The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe," by Tia Tashiro, in Clarkesworld, #220, January 2025.

I have reviewed science fiction stories at this blog before but this may be the first one from a science fiction magazine.  But the important question is: is it a mystery?  The answer is, you bet.

College student Tom Monroe has just been murdered, and he finds it very inconvenient.  Is he a ghost?  Not at all.  His parents are very rich and have supplied him with a medtag which alerts the authorities when he dies and they have the money to have him revived.

(Now I can't help by here Billy Crystal saying:"You're friend is only mostly dead."  But this is not a funny story.)

 Someone killed Tom in order to steal his money which is protected by voice and fingerprints.  His memories of the previous two months are cloudy, due to the revival process.  Can he figure out how this happened?

Meanwhile, we are also following a woman named Jay who was hired to befriend Tom as part of the robbery scheme. Whose side is she on? For that matter whose side is anyone on?  This novella is well-written and delightfully complicated.  

Never Bet Against Death, by J.F. Benedetto

"Never Bet Against Death," by J.F. Benedetto, in Crimeucopia: A Load of Balls, edited by John Connor, Murderous Ink Press, 2025.

We are in Tien-Tsin, China in 1901. The Boxer Rebellion has failed and Europeans and Americans have the run of the place. One of those Americans is Hezekiah Sauer, ex-cowboy, retired Marine, now a traveling man. 

An Englishman, a baronet no less, invites Sauer to watch a game of Ts'uchu or cuju, a ball game played by - gasp - women. The game is interrupted by the murder of a Russian consul and the Russian army officers who arrive to investigate enlist Sauer's aid.

This story is an excellent example of the historical mystery, providing plenty of interesting historical detail without drowning you in it.  As a bonus, there is a perfectly logical way of disposing of a murder weapon that I have never come across before. 

Abreast Schwarztonnensand, by Zöe Beck

 "Abreast Schwarztonnensand," by Zöe Beck, in Hamburg Noir, edited by Jan Karsten, Akashic Press, 2025.

Boy, I hope I spelled that title right.  The publisher sent me a free copy of this book.

This is the third story by Beck to make my list, although calling it a story may be inaccurate. It is written as a film script, dialog with occasional description. If the movie is ever made I assume it will begin with the very dramatic scene that we only hear about.

Kai-Uwe is a billionaire and the owner of a Hamburg family business. He has been cruising on the Elbe River in his yacht and has run over a man in a sailboat.  The story consists of  the man and his cronies discussing ways to avoid all responsibility, legal and financial, for the accident.

So this is political, even polemic, fiction, but it is very good. We watch the characters coldly manipulating the system without a thought of right and wrong and we think, yeah, this is probably how it works.

It is not a funny story, but there are flashes of grim, acerbic wit.  Here is Kai-Uwe's lawyer strategizing about his client's actions:

He was observing the prescribed speed for yachts along this stretch of the Elbe. Find out how fast that is.

A clever and compelling piece of writing.