Splash, by Mat Coward

 

"Splash," by Mat Coward, in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

This is the ninth story by Mat Coward to make it to this blog. He is not shy about his political stance.  For example, I subscribe to  Rebel Britannia, his free newsletter in which he provides a weekly history lesson from "this island's 2,000-year record of disobedience and dissent." But I don't think his views have ever come out as clearly in his stories as in this one.

Whatever happens -- environmental crises, pandemics, economic collapses -- rich people always end up richer, with the sole exception of those events which involve rich people having their heads chopped off.  It is largely for this reason that I am strongly in favour of rich people having their heads chopped off on a pretty regular basis.

And so we meet Pewter who has the unlikely occupation of helping the disgustingly rich (not to be confused with the merely rich or the insanely rich) find new ways to spend their money.  No doubt encounters with his clients led him to his opinion of decapitation.

But that isn't why he becomes a serial killer.  The reason for that is more bizarre.  And funnier. 

This is a very funny story.  Consider Pewter's friend Ozzy who is "chronically unemployed after the Metropolitan Police decided they could probably manage without his help. You might think say that someone has got to be pretty extraordinarily awful to be sacked by the Met, but in his defence Ozzy always pointed out that it wasn't really his fault, it was the fault of the methamphetamine."

Sounds reasonable to me.  

One note: I am sure this story was written and purchased long before a certain event that happened late last year.  An example of how art and life chase each other's tails.

 

The Eyes That Won't Die, by Michael Mallory

 

"The Eyes That Won't Die," by Michael Mallory, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

This is the seventh appearance in this space by my friend and fellow SleuthSayer Michael Mallory.

The title reads like horror, but the story reads like classic Black Mask.

It's 1946 and Jim Beckley survived the war but, like many of his comrades, he is having trouble with the peace.  He is living with his wife (who he only met three months before they married) in a hastily built Quonset hut village for ex-GIs and their families.  Memories of people he killed are haunting him and no one seems to understand.  Jobs are hard to find and so, for Jim, is the gumption to hunt for one. 

When the ex-GI living in the other half of his barrack is murdered and dumped in the street, Jim is  suspected of the murder.  If you know this sort of story you know that he is going to wind up investigating the killing, and so he does.

I am a sucker for stories in which the protagonist has  chance at redemption.  This is a good one. 

Into the Weeds, by Alice Hatcher

 "Into the Weeds," by Alice Hatcher, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

I have said before that my favorite stories tend to have at least one of four characteristics: a brilliant premise,  heightened language,  a twist ending, or, as in this case, great characters. 

Mark Rousseau, the narrator, is the only cop in a small town.  He laments that "There's a certain kind of loneliness that comes from living in a place where you know everyone, but where most people associate you with the worst day of their lives."

 An interesting observation, but Officer Rousseau is not the great character.  That would be Mrs. Stockard, eighty-five years old and, well: "People who don't know any better -- tourists -- would probably call Mrs. Stockard 'spry' or 'feisty'. I would call her 'mean.'"

I would agree.  She might say she simply doesn't suffer fools gladly but she thinks just about everyone is a fool, or lazy, or a junkie, etc.

She interrupts the cop's breakfast to tell him she struck a man on a back road that morning. Not her fault, of course. He "walked into my truck... Am I talking too fast for you?"

There aren't a lot of surprises in this story.  The whole plot is spelled out pretty clearly as we go.  But you will enjoy spending some time with Mrs. S., even if Rousseau does not.

The Guardianship of Willie Musselburgh, by Kevin Egan

"The Guardianship of Willie Musselburgh," by Kevin Egan, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

I was surprised to note that this is the first time I have reviewed one of Egan's stories here, since I have enjoyed many of them.  They have frequently featured a man who works as a troubleshooter for judges in Manhattan, but this tale is about a different part of the legal system - one I don't remember ever reading a story about.  

Keiran Lenahan is a lawyer turned golf pro.  When the titular Willie, an elderly designer of golf clubs, takes a fall which puts him in a coma, a judge assigns Lenahan to be the court evaluator.  That means he has to decide who should be Willie's guardian, in charge of care decisions and controlling his assets.  One candidate is Willie's nephew; the other is his live-in caretaker.  

Our hero looks into the pair and finds red flags.  This being a crime story, there will be crime.

Egan, a retired attorney, shows us a side of the law far from Perry Mason, but important and interesting. 

Shadow of the Badger, by Steve Hockensmith

 

"Shadow of the Badger," by Steve Hockensmith, Black Cat Weekly, #178, 2025.

This is my first review of a story published in 2025 and an excellent time to remind authors, editors, and publishers that they are welcome to send me publications for possible review. I forgot to mention that the publisher sent me this magazine.

Today is also  the eighth story I have reviewed here by my friend and fellow SleuthSayer, Steve Hockensmith . It's a bit different than the others.

It is not long after the Civil War and a German-American family is trying to farm in the wilderness.  The mother and new baby are so sick there is fear they might not survive a long winter.  But Conrad, the oldest child, has a brilliant solution.  Everyone knows if a badger sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter, so all he and his brother have to do is find a badger and chase it back into its hole.  Clever, no?

Younger brother Gustav suspects that clever no is exactly what this is. But he goes with Conrad to hunt along the stream for the meteorological musteloid.    He doesn't find them but he encounters some people are up to no good.

Is Gustav shrewd enough to detect what they are up to?  And sufficiently quick-witted to get out of the situation?

An enjoyable lowkey historical tale.

Best of 2024

At SleuthSayers today I list the best stories of 2024, as chosen by yours truly.

 

Internal Monologue of a Creative Writing Professor, by Richie Narvaez

 "Internal Monologue of a Creative Writing Professor," by Richie Narvaez, in Kings River Life, December 18, 2024.

Internal monologue is the key here. We are following the thoughts of a creative writing professor so it is not surprising that he is constantly editing himself, correcting his description, adding background and detail, as he goes.

His mind is an interesting place to be.  (Old joke: What's the last thing to go through a mosquito's mind? A windshield.)

What makes this particular monologue  so interesting is that, well, here is how it starts:

There is a school shooter in the building.

Wait, let me set the scene.

See? Already revising.

He describes the classroom in which they are hiding.  ("Today's lesson is creating a sense of place.") He describes the students. (Is one of them a future victim?  Perhaps the shooter?)

Witty, suspenseful, and satisfying.