Short Story Wednesday Review: Criminalities: Three Short Crime Stories and an Essay by Barry Ergang

 

An Earl Stagg review from the archive…

  

The first story is ”Jewel of Denial,” a gem originally published in the June 2005 issue of Mysterical-e.  Lainie Truscott is dismayed when guests at her bed and breakfast are robbed of cash and jewelry during the night. Lainie follows a hunch and takes a short trip to see if she's right. When she arrives at her destination, one surprising twist after another will leave you grinning, nodding your head, and thinking, “Well done, Mr. Ergang.”

 

Next up is “Vigilante,” which received a Derringer Award in 2007 for Best Story of the Year. Weissman is alone in a dark alley with a militant, tattooed skinhead. Their vast difference of opinion about the Holocaust is settled in the only appropriate manner.

 

The third story, “Brianna’s Way,” was an Editor’s Choice when it appeared in Flash Bang Mysteries Magazine. When his ex-wife's lawyer wants to talk to him, Rutledge agrees to the meeting out of curiosity. Brianna is accused of killing her second husband, the man she dumped him for. What does the woman who ruined his life want from him?

 

In the essay “Impossible Pleasures,” Mr. Ergang tells how in his youth, he became an “unregenerate, unapologetic fan of the mystery genre,” and discusses classic writers and stories. He was drawn in particular to the “locked door” or impossible crime” tales. These are the stories in which a crime is committed in a space such as a locked room with no way for the criminal to get in or out without being seen. If you're a fan of this type of story, you'll learn which authors, past and present, to look for.

For an excellent example of a locked room mystery, I recommend reading “The Play of Light and Shadow,” one of many published stories by Barry Ergang. You'll find it at: Amazon: https://amzn.to/4oVsJVG and Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/643316

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/47A9REr

 

Earl Staggs ©2016

 

Texas author Earl Staggs earned all Five Star reviews for his novels MEMORY OF A MURDER and JUSTIFIED ACTION and has twice received a Derringer Award for Best Short Story of the Year.  He served as Managing Editor of Futures Mystery Magazine, as President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and was a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars.  

http://earlwstaggs.wordpress.com