Criminalities: Three Short Crime Stories
and an Essay begins with “Jewel of Denial.” The
owners of the Forest Grove Inn, Lainie Truscott and Frank Truscott, were
thrilled when the wealthy widow, Ramona Braithwaite came to stay with them.
Mrs. Braithwaite was also quite pleased with her accommodations. That is until
the Tuesday after Memorial Day when her diamond-and-ruby bracelet was discovered
to be missing. She wasn’t the only one to suffer a loss of valuable belongings.
The local police were called in and
could only conclude a thief came in the night. They had no idea who might have
been the culprit and had no clues to pursue. Lainie Truscott has a suspect in mind. If she
is right, fixing the problem could be a bit tricky in this tale originally
published in the June 2005 issue of Mysterical-E.
The 2007 Derringer award winning
best flash story, “The Vigilante,” published in the summer 2006 issue comes
next. Weissman isn’t impressed with the young skinhead’s theatrics. It is time
to permanently educate the young punk.
Last fall, “Brianna’s Way” was
published in the first issue of Flash Bang Mysteries and was one of two stories
selected as the “Editor’s Choice.” The
tale appears again here in this read. Mr. Rutledge’s ex-wife, Brianna, stands
accused of murdering her second husband, Caleb Gillis. For her first husband,
now a former detective, neither Brianna nor her lawyer, Hampton Conrad, are
people he wants to deal with at all. But, as a matter of curiosity, he agrees
to meet with Mr. Conrad just to see what the woman who destroyed his life might
want now.
The author’s essay “Impossible
Pleasures” brings the short read to a close. First published in Mysterical-E
back in 2004 the revised and expanded version that appears here also ran in the
May 4, 2013 issue of Kings River Life Magazine. The essay recounts how the
author became a fan of the mystery genre especially in regards to “impossible
crime” stories.
Those reading influences can be seen
in the three short tales in this free book by way of Smashwords. Not only does
the book give readers an idea regarding the book the author’s background, the
read provides a small sample of the author’s award winning and otherwise work.
Plenty of mystery and character development is at work in these tales. Criminalities:
Three Short Crime Stories and an Essay is a highly entertaining fast
read.
Criminalities: Three Short Crime Stories
and an Essay
Barry Ergang
Smashwords
ISBN:
9781311229854
June
2016
eBook
22
Pages
FREE
Material was picked up by me to read and review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2016
Posts
3 comments:
Thanks, Kevin!
Enjoyed it and glad to say so.
I have my copy and look forward to a good read. Barry never disappoints me.
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