The bullets fired into the cafe changed his life forever.1943 — Cole Miller, a young Chinese-American OSS agent, returns from a mission. His boss (and friend) is murdered during a terror attack on a cafe. Are they related?Japanese occupation forces control the country, but the Vichy administration running the colony turns a blind eye to OSS operations. When the Minister of Security learns of Cole's affair with his wife, he decides to pin the murder on Cole....

Martin’s brother is in jail in Venezuela—charged with murder.Proving his innocence means dealing with the police, a mysterious and gorgeous woman lawyer, a vicious gringo, a seemingly affable drug lord, and a guy named Raul.And every one of them would much rather Martin just turned around and went home.It’s a good thing Ugly Bill is on his way.Follow Martin’s fast-paced adventures in the Caribbean.Get a copy now!...

Tina’s best friend is in a bit of trouble.A drug deal went south, and several people got killed, including Beryl’s boyfriend. Now she is being stalked by his biker gang—and the cops. Tina Clarke wants to help, but her only real skills are very specific—those of a professional, government-trained assassin.Army Intelligence prefers that the assassin disappear. Someone betrayed Tina’s special ops unit, leaving her the sole survivor, kicked out on a medical dis...

What do you do when things go surreal?When things blow up on Matt Cramer, they can be messy. This time the mess might be blood. Whatever it is, right now that bloody mess is all over the walls.A newly minted private investigator, Matt returned to Silver City, New Mexico to open his office. This isn’t a good start.Josh, the office painter, is missing and that’s not a good sign. Nor is the ominous attitude of Officer Ravenwalk, or the fact that the lo...

She steps into a dark world of crime.A legal researcher with a compulsion to dig beneath the surface. When Sherry Proper starts digging into a seemingly routine assault case at a local strip club, she quickly discovers a web of corruption and deceit that reaches deep into the halls of power. A disturbing connection between the strip club and a powerful group of business moguls and government officials would warn most people off.But not Sherry.If you...

This issue, we have 7 original stories (which I believe is our most ever), starting with a science fiction/mystery mashup from H.K. Slade (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), as well as Viviana De Cecco, Kate Bergquist, Maureen Bowden, Ed Teja, and John Gregory Betancourt (me!). Our solve-it-yourself mystery is an original, too.For our reprints, Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman has a great modern mystery from William Ade, and a pair of mystery classics by Jeffery Farnol and S...

This is our third Halloween issue of the month, with ghoulishly fun (and seasonally appropriate) tales from John Shepphird (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), father-and-daughter writing team Harding McFadden & Eleanor Hawkins, and British master John S. Glasby.We also feature mysteries by N.M. Cedeño (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Ed Teja, plus a vintage 1908 Holmes short-short by Wex Jones that I recently turned up in my pulp research. Our novel is a clas...

A story of frontier justiceThe wild west had its fair share of spooky stories, tall tales of strange goings on, heroic good guys, and evil villains. But, except around lonely campfires, you didn't often hear tales of paranormal critters running wild out there.And there was a reason. Back in them days, out in New Mexico Territory, folks had to learn to be self reliant. It was the frontier—the place where civilized people overlapped with the wild. So frontier...

Lending a helping hand?The fast-paced adventures of an ex-SEAL who wants nothing more than to run his cargo freighter in the Caribbean islands but is confounded by a vast array of pirates, con men, government agencies, organized crime, exciting, sometimes dangerous women, and bad weather. And the worst part is, he keeps getting involved because he thinks he can help people.And the freighter’s poet laureate, Ugly Bill, can’t break him of the habit of trying....

It’s time to take a break from the world you think you know and to step through into another one. These five stories offer a guided tour of new possibilities and different places. They rely on magic, science, and sleight of hand, and will betray your trust at every opportunity. But just because they are fantastic, doesn’t mean they aren’t real (somewhere).You can stay tucked away on a safe perch and let this book unveil the genre-bending consequences of rather mino...

Cities are breeding grounds for possibilities…Almost anything and everyone has a chance to be good, bad, heroic, evil, mundane, and magical. And most things, and people, are hybrids.Consider the countless opportunities for people to develop unique, innovative solutions to their problems; consider the challenge of surviving in the chaos of a teeming city where survival is a challenge; consider the opportunities for complete failure; and consider the options ...

Summer heat and sadness.The chain motels perch all along the US highways and freeways and cluster where they intersect, nestled among convenience stores and gas stations. Convenient, soulless, and relatively inexpensive, they provide a place to rest for a time, take a respite from a journey. They also house meetings, celebrations, and assignations.Inside their homogenous rooms, through their economical walls, you can sometimes hear life's dramas play out. M...