Josh Pachter

A collection more than half a century in the making The discerning reader will recall that the two cousins who wrote as Ellery Queen published five short stories about the Puzzle Club and its newest member, Ellery Queen himself, in the 1960s and '70s. Fifty years later, Josh Pachter picked up the gauntlet and gave us five more tales of the Puzzle Club, each as baffling as the original five, each with an introduction by a family member, friend, or aficionado of Mr. Queen. In addition to the ten Puzzle Club stories are four that introduce the Griffen family and E.Q. Griffen, who solves problems as confusing as those presented to his namesake. These stories were written by Pachter and introduced by Frederic Dannay, one of the two cousins who made up the EQ partnership.Josh Pachter honors the legacy of Ellery Queen in five clever new stories featuring Queen's Puzzle Club, presented here with the original five, never-before-collected stories. An additional four stories featuring Ellery Queen Griffen and his siblings-including Pachter's first published story-are equally remarkable. If you're a fan of Ellery Queen-and who isn't?-you must add The Adventures of the Puzzle Club to your collection. (Michael Bracken, award-winning author and editor)

Rebellion, revolution, and rock and roll defined the '60s. As music moved from country to folk protest songs, rock became the voice of the "turn on, tune in, drop out," generation. Peace, love, and harmony were the goals. Meditation, mysticism, and psychedelic drugs were the way to enlightenment. Peace, love, and crime were often the result, sometimes humorous, sometimes deadly. And the music played on. As Harold says in The Big Chill, "There is no other music, not in my house." Spinning their chosen tunes and the tale of its matching crime are: Earl Staggs, Jack Bates, Linda Kay Hardie, Jeanne DuBois, Terrie Farley Moran, Heidi Hunter, Merrilee Robson, Claire A. Murray, Michael Bracken, Maddi Davidson, Joseph S. Walker, Dawn Dixon, Karen Keely, Paul D. Marks, Wendy Harrison, Mary Keliikoa, Maxim Jakubowski, James A. Hearn, C. A, Fehmel, Catina Williams, Josh Pachter, and John Floyd, talented writers all.

The 34th Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine contains: Fiction: A VERY CURIOUS OCCUPATION, by Paula HammondMINERVA JAMES AND THE GODS OF SLEEP AND DEATH, by Mark BruceTHE SURGEON'S SWINDLE, by Jeffrey A. LockwoodHIDING, by Jenna WeartTHE MONSTER'S BLOOD, by David Afsharirad"THE ONE I LEFT BEHIND", by Hal CharlesTHAT MEDIEVAL TOUCH, by Pete BarnstromSNIFFING OUT THE PROBLEM, by Laird LongX MARKS THE SPOT, by Josh PachterDANCE OF THE MAENADS, by Richard ZwickerTHE KEEPER'S DROWNING SECRET, by Kelly A. HarmonTHE OLD PAYPHONE IN WEE GEORGIA, by Eddie GenerousClassic Sherlock Holmes: THE ADVENTURE;OF THE SOLITARY CYCLIST, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleNon-Fiction: IS THE FROG OK?, by O'Neill CuratoloLESTRADE'S BOSS: SIR CHARLES WARREN, KCMG, KCB, by S. Brent Morris

A gripping anthology of twenty-five tales of crime, revenge, and murder by twenty-seven authors, each inspired by the music of Joni Mitchell.Anthony Award Nominee for Best Anthology/Collection of 2021 Joni Mitchell is one of the most important singer-songwriters, not only of her generation, but also in the history of popular music. With seventeen studio albums, she has won eleven Grammys and multiple lifetime achievement awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. She even earned a Top Ten ranking on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time." Her music has touched the lives of millions. In The Beat of Black Wings, twenty-seven accomplished crime writers pay tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell with short stories inspired by songs spanning all of her studio albums, from 1968's Song to a Seagull to 2007's Shine. Each tale takes you on a journey through a dark world inhabited by a diverse group of troubled souls and tortured hearts. A national guardsman makes a detour on his way to lay two fallen comrades to rest in "River," winner of the 2021 Derringer Award for Best Short Story. In "Dog Eat Dog," nominated for the ITW Thriller Award and the Macavity Award for Best Short Story, a tycoon's young wife contemplates her freedom. In "Marcie," a woman struggles with pain and regret after a breakup. A wife sends letters to her imprisoned husband in "Both Sides, Now." A music professor plots a murder in "Big Yellow Taxi." A deluded homeless man arms himself against a strange threat in "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire." This collection includes stories by Donna Andrews, Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, Edith Maxwell, Elaine Viets, and husband-and-wife team Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski. "For lovers of the short story, The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell, is a veritable buffet. These] stories of crime, revenge, memorable pasts, shaky futures, well-laid plans, and spur of the moment action will keep readers wanting more." --Kings River Life Magazine

Hitting the charts only once isn't just unfortunate...it's a crime.Over the decades, tons of musical artists and groups have had a hit song that has lived on long after the tune topped the charts and is often looked upon fondly for decades to come. For some musicians, this may be the only the song they're ever known for and they fade into obscurity soon thereafter. These are affectionately known as "one-hit wonders," and are much celebrated by fans and music publications, particularly on September 25th each year on One-Hit Wonder Day.12 of today's best short story authors have taken their favorite one-hit wonders and reimagined them as the influence for some pretty heinous crimes. (I Just) Died in Your Arms features a decades-spanning collection of immediately recognizable hit songs turned into stories from the amazing talents of Vinnie Hansen, Jeanne DuBois, Josh Pachter, J.M. Taylor, Christine Verstraete, Sandra Murphy, Joseph S. Walker, Wendy Harrison, Bev Vincent, Leone Ciporin, Adam Gorgoni and Barb Goffman.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. But when one of his professors offers to send American grad student Jack Farmer to Europe to do historical research in Amsterdam's Begijnhof-a peaceful closed community in the heart of the bustling Dutch capital-Jack looks forward to a summer of mostly play and not much work. Then he meets Jet Schilders, an attractive young nurse who takes care of the elderly woman next door, and realizes that his summer in The Netherlands might just turn out to be even more fun than he'd hoped.When the woman next door is brutally murdered, though, and her nurse turns out to be the prime suspect, Jack and Jet join forces in an attempt to find the real killer and clear her name. But their investigation puts them in Dutch with the local police, and a second murder raises the stakes ... and paints a target on both of their backs."Dutch Threat has wit, charm, and lovely crisp prose-everything that's great about Josh Pachter's short fiction. His debut novel was a long time coming, and it was well worth the wait " -Tom Mead, author of Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel

★ Highly recommended for crime fiction readers everywhere - Australian Crime Fiction website (austcrimefiction.org)★ This is an excellent selection of stories to suit every mystery fan...enjoyment all the way - Karen Bayly, author of Fortitude★ This anthology delivers an eclectic mix of stories with thrilling twists and turns - Danielle Birch, author of mystery and suspense★ Five stars for a strong, entertaining collection of mystery stories, brought together in one volume by the masters at Black Beacon Books - from a Goodreads reviewThe first Black Beacon Book of Mystery brings you original and reprinted tales from locked-room mysteries and armchair detective puzzles to noir adventures and police investigations. It includes a brilliant Sherlock Holmes pastiche and the second Oscar Tremont novella. This is the perfect anthology for the avid mystery fan.Follow the clues, put all the pieces together, and solve the case before the detective. The game's afoot The Problem of the Snowbound Shack by Jon Matthew FarberThe Windless Halt Affair by Brian E. GuyllThe Case of the Reverse Thief by Paulene TurnerThe Freak-Hunter's Casebook by Kurt NewtonSunset for the Tattooed Lady by Robert Allen LuptonAvoca Mansion by Duncan RichardsonThe Ghosts of Walhalla by Cameron TrostThe Vicar of Sexton's Deep by Mike AdamsonThe Pullman Case by John M. Floyd50 by Josh PachterThe Morrison File by Robert PetyoMidnight by M. H. NorrisStep Light by David Tallerman

Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city.Brand-new stories by: Michael Berg, Anneloes Timmerije, Murat Isik, Ren Appel, Josh Pachter, Simon de Waal, Hanna Bervoets, Karin Amatmoekrim, Christine Otten, Mensje van Keulen, Max van Olden, Theo Capel, Loes den Hollander, Herman Koch, Abdelkader Benali, and Walter van den Berg.From the introduction by Ren Appel and Josh Pachter: Amsterdam has the amenities and, to a certain extent, the feel of a major world city, but one of its most attractive features is its relatively small size. It's easy to navigate on feet, by bike, and via its excellent public transportation network, especially with the semicircular perimeter of its famous Grachtengordel, or ring of concentric canals.Like any other metropolis, though, Amsterdam also has its dark side, its shadowy corners--in other words, there is also an Amsterdam noir. No matter how beautiful, vital, and cheery a city might be, pure human emotions such as greed, jealousy, and the thirst for revenge will rear their ugly heads...with all their negative consequences. Amsterdam is a multidimensional city, populated by a wide assortment of social groups, and not all of those groups agree on what constitutes normal social values and mores. This results in a lively mix...and, as you will see, in problems.

We ve saved the best for last Follow Dr. Sam Hawthorne through the war years, a time that he called the beginning of two of the most eventful years of my life. The final collection of Dr. Sam Hawthorne stories covers 1940-1944 and includes 15 stories of impossible crimes. From the death of a Siamese cat in a locked veterinary clinic to the death of a Nazi spy, Dr. Sam explains the mysteries that confront the town of Northmont, Connecticut. His cases include: an impossible crime where the wife disappears from the attic where she is confined a murder charge against Sheriff Lens on the cusp of his last campaign for office a case where a man claims to have killed a man using invisibility a cottage where suicides take place too frequently, told to a special visitor to Dr. Sam. While the Dr. Sam stories have come to an end, Crippen & Landru will proudly be presenting Hoch s Ladies next year, featuring the distaff characters from the master of the short story form. That collection will be followed by collections of both Simon Ark and Alexander Swift.

For generations, the name "Ellery Queen" has been synonymous with the finest in mystery fiction. When cousins Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred Lee (1905-1971) created the iconic character and byline in 1929, they had no idea how influential he (and they) would become. Books, movies, television programs, and radio shows have firmly rooted their characters in the public consciousness. To this day, their work remains among the best examples of "fair play" mystery fiction. Their fans -- including such luminaries as Stephen King, Agatha Christie, and Anthony Boucher -- are legion.This volume assembles 16 stories by a wide variety of authors, all written (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) as homages to, and parodies and pastiches of, the character -- and writing team -- known as "Ellery Queen."Included are: INTRODUCTION: Elementary Questions, by Josh Pachter and Dale C. Andrews INTRODUCTION: Sorely Missed Adventures, by Richard Dannay INTRODUCTION: The Sincerest Form of Flattery, by Rand Lee THE MYSTERY OF THE RED BALLOONS, by Thomas Narcejac DYING MESSAGE, by Leyne Requel THE GILBERT AND SULLIVAN CLUE, by Jon L. Breen OPEN LETTER TO SURVIVORS, by Francis M. Nevins THE REINDEER CLUE, by Edward D. Hoch THE BOOK CASE, by Dale C. Andrews and Kurt Sercu TEN MONTHS' BLUNDER, by J.N. Williamson THE ENGLISH VILLAGE MYSTERY, by Arthur Porges ELROY QUINN'S LAST CASE, by Dennis M. Dubin THE NORWEGIAN APPLE MYSTERY, by James Holding THE MAN WHO READ ELLERY QUEEN, by William Brittain E.Q. GRIFFEN EARNS HIS NAME, by Josh Pachter THE LAST CHECK, by Patricia McGerr THE DEATH OF THE MALLORY QUEEN, by Lawrence Block THE RANSOM OF EQMM #1, by Arthur Vidro THE TEN-CENT MURDER, by Joseph Goodrich