Hours on the Phone, by Greg Fallis

 "Hours on the Phone," by Gregory Fallis, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2025.

This is the fourth story by Fallis to make my column, and the third about these characters.  

Clayton Ellicott is a lawyer at a nonprofit who helps artists. Hockney is a  private eye who sometimes works for him. 

Ellicott's client this time is Melly, a successful web comics artist who is, well, a little eccentric.  Actually, a lot eccentric.  Basically a hermit.  She lives in the house she grew up in and only four people are allowed to visit her.  

Someone is sending her harassing email.  Hockney to Ellicott: "I don't know how to tell you this, but almost every woman who's ever gone online gets harassed like that."  

But this is different.  Weird and it seems like the harasser knows her.  And only four people know Melly...

This is a different and convincing story. I believed in Melly in all her pain and frustration.  Nice work.

Tarzan Must Die!, by Loren D. Estleman

 "Tarzan Must Die!," by Loren D. Estleman, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May/June 2025.

I am astonished that this is only the third time Estleman has made my Best of the Week list.  He writes so many great short story series: Amos Walker, the Four Horsemen, Claudius Lyon... and in today's adventure, Valentino.

Valentino works for the film school at UCLA and his job is searching for missing movies.  This suits him since he a cinema fanatic.  In today's story he meets his match, Darrien Bix, a former child star, now appearing in a dreadful cheapo Tarzan movie.  Turns out Bix is obsessed with the Lord of the Jungle and has a bit of film history Valentino would love to get his hands on. 

But this being a mystery Bix dies - and in a bizarre manner.  Clever puzzle, sharp writing, interesting characters. 

 

The Scarlatti Skip, by Richard Helms

"The Scarlatti Skip," by Richard Helms, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

 This is the twelfth story by Helms to reach this blog.

Private eye Eamon Gold does a lot of skip tracing for bail bonders but this assignment is more preventative: Keep an eye on the Fiddle Killer and make sure she doesn't run. So why is Veronica Scarlatti called the Fiddle Killer? 

"'Darren Wojohowski was learning to play,' Doogie said.  'According to the police reports, his progress was slow. His girlfriend Veronica became irritated and emptied her revolver into the violin. Tragically it was tucked under Darren's chin at the time.'"

Some of us may be inclined to sympathize.  But Veronica, an attractive young woman, knows she is looking at "twenty years in a box."  She swears she just wants to spend the last few days in unsupervised peace, but Eamon is being paid to keep her under supervision. 

You will not be surprised to know she makes a run for it.  Things get complicated.  Then they get worse.  A very enjoyable story.