Hard Luck Penny, by Scott McKinnon

 "Hard Luck Penny," by Scott McKinnon, in The Yard, February 15, 2026.

I think this is the first time a first story made my best-of list since 2023. 

“So,” Penny says, “do you guys get a commission every time you flash a weapon, or is it a contractual obligation?”

Penny has been kidnapped.  She doesn't seem to be taking very seriously. 

The three bad guys work for Moe and Moe is mad at her cousin.

Penny stares up at him. “Let me guess, bad Yelp review?”

Being suspenseful and funny at the same time is a good trick.  Penny and McKinnon pull it off.

The Phone Message, by Robert Cummins

 

"The Phone Message," by Robert Cummins, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2021.

 I think it has been years since I reviewed an author's first story here. This is a very nice one.

The beginning is likely to remind you of Columbo.  In the first scene Carole Donaldson calmly kills her husband.  Police detective Wesley Lovett is in charge of the investigation.  Ms. Donaldson, just as calmly,  informs him that she had motive for the crime.  Tons of motive. But she also appears to have an unbreakable alibi.

So far, as I said, so Columbo.  But what makes this story unusual is that Wes begins to wonder whether he wants to break the alibi.   That gives a nice variation on the usual cat-and-mouse game.