After watching the success of
anthologies from other writers groups have had in recent months, the members of
the Short Mystery Fiction Society embarked on their own anthology. Over three
hundred entries were whittled down to the final nineteen tales showcased in the
book. Variety is the key in Flash And Bang: A Short Mystery Fiction
Society Anthology. Edited by J. Alan Hartman, the read features tales
that cross time as well as space in terms of geographic locations.
After a short introduction by
current SMFS President Jan Christensen, it is on to the stories. Herschel Cozine
leads things off with his flash tale “The Perfect Crime.” Imagine, if you
will, all of the great fictional detectives gathered together to discuss one
case.
Bobbie A. Chukran comes next with “The
Conflagration at the Nameless Cotton Gin.” The title easily
enough explains
what happened, but the why of the event is a bit more complicated.
“Murder on Elm Street” by Su Kopil
comes next with a tale where a power outage on a brutally cold night drives
nearby neighbors to the one house that has power. It is fitting on a night such
as this that it is time for a twenty-two year old cold case to be finally
solved.
P. A. Devoe takes readers back in
time to a China of long ago in “Fireworks (From Judge Lu’s Ming Dynasty Case Files)".
During the annual celebration of the monk Li Tian and his invention of fireworks,
Lu is informed there has been a death at the nearby shop of the Lie brothers
out on Xiao Di Road. The accident requires the immediate attention and
investigation by Judge Lu.
Receiving unwanted attention from a
bag lady is not a good thing. Even if she does give good advice in “The Bag
Lady” by Laurie Stevens.
The chaos of a rapidly moving
wildfire might be the perfect time to murder someone and get away with it. Tim
Wohlforth examines the possibilities in “Sierra Noir.”
The Vikings have harnessed steam
power in this alternative history mystery titled “Thor’s Breath” by Suzanne
Berube Rorhus. It is the year of the Christian Lord 627, and this small area of
coastal Norway has one mechanical healer by the name of Hamarr. He is possession
of a magical new material from the Far East that has wonderfully intriguing possibilities
if it can be harnessed.
Debbie and her companion, Arthur,
have a job to do at Detweiller Industries. “Arthur” by Sandra Murphy is a
clever and fun story that takes a little while to figure out.
The morning after is rough for Keith
in “Fractured Memories” by Julie Tollefson. Andrea’s latest Fourth of July
party was a real blast and Keith is paying the price. Somebody else paid a far
bigger price due to last night’s events in this complicated tale.
A hostage situation that is
gradually getting worse is at work in “Don’t Let the Cop into the House” by
O’Neil De Noux. The small brick home in Lakeview was flooded during Katrina and
was put back together. Somehow the police now have to save homeowner Mike
Agrippa, who is drowning in his own way.
When men want protection money the
elderly grandmother has few choices in “Rosie’s Choice” by John M. Floyd. These
are not the kind of customers she needs in the store the day before Independence
Day.
Readers again go back in time in the
next story. “Don’t Be Cruel” by Joanne Lucas takes readers to June 1957
in Fresno, California where Homicide Detective Frank Ransom has a new case.
Ransom thinks of movies quite a lot and sees the world as a movie scenario.
Before he can make it all fade to black he needs to figure out who killed the
woman in the diner and why.
Brigid Morgan is the client and she
claims somebody is blackmailing her over some very adult pictures that were
taken 15 years ago. As the new CEO of an internet search engine company she
knows that once she starts paying it will never end in “A Simple Job” by Andrew
MacRae. She has a plan and first she needs the identity of the blackmailer.
Twenty years later, Carly is back to
the Quick ‘N Slow Diner located close to the nearby cabins. As a child, she
came there with her family when they rented out one of the cabins. In trying to
find herself, Carly unwittingly finds much more about others in “Beautiful
Killer” by Judy Penz Sheluk.
Being a hooker is a tough job, but
finding your client dead in a bed is a real problem. So too is the female
already in the room in “The Fruit of Thy Loins” by Albert Tucher. Good thing
Diana can fight and knows at least one good cop.
The small town of Sentry, Texas is
the location for “The Raymond Chandler Con” by Earl Staggs. Murder is not
supposed to happen in a small town such as Sentry, which is why Police Chief
Harry Phillips left the job in Dallas and came here. The murder victim’s best
friend, Martha Robinson, has no police experience, but she reads a lot of
mysteries. She has an idea how to solve the case with or without Harry’s help.
No one ever takes notice of the janitor
as he or she goes about doing a very necessary job. The person doing the
cleaning blends into the background. Such is the case here in “The Wrong Girl”
by Barb Goffman, where the janitor overhears a plot by three teens at an elite
private school.
It has been three weeks, the ransom
was paid quite some time ago, and the child still has not been returned in
“Silent Measures” by BV Lawson. Scott Drayco, a private consultant, has been
brought in to help find the boy who vanished from his boarding school.
A tale translated by Willem Verhulst
is the final entry in the anthology. “A Day Like No Other” by Walter A. P.
Soethoudt follows a Lieutenant Belloc as he goes through his day in Antwerp
while thinking about the past and the many changes in the city.
Short author bios for the
contributors bring the read to a close.
While not every story in the book is
an actual obvious mystery, all of the stories have a mystery at the core. Some
are more mysteries of the mind where characters think about their past actions
and the resulting ramifications, while other tales are very much in the moment
where one can smell the blood on the floor and the cordite in the air. Filled
with interesting tales of complicated characters dealing with events in their
lives, Flash And Bang: A Short Mystery Fiction Society Anthology
brings a pleasant read by way of a variety of stories. As in other anthologies,
each reader will have his or her own personal favorites among the 170 pages,
but all the tales presented are good ones in their own way.
Flash And Bang: A Short Mystery Fiction Society Anthology
Edited
by J. Alan Hartman
Untreed
Reads Publishing
October
8, 2015
ASIN: B015QEPVDA
E-Book
170
Pages
$4.99
While I am a writer as well as a member of the Short Mystery Fiction Society I did not submit a story for this anthology. Material
supplied by the publisher in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2015
Posts
2 comments:
Kevin, I'm working my way through the stories in the Flash and Bang anthology and enjoying every one. It's a terrific collection from some of the best short mystery writers around.
I enjoyed it.
Post a Comment