Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Summer Games" by L.C. Tyler

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Summer Games" by L.C. Tyler: In this story the narrator, John Smith, is invited to a country house weekend by an old coworker who he can hardly remember, although he kno...

SleuthSayers: Publishing Malpractice

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George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #293: ALL HALLOWS EVE Edited by Ellen Datlow

 George Kelly: WEDNESDAY’S SHORT STORIES #293: ALL HALLOWS EVE Edited by Ellen Datlow

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: A Plethora of Pulse-Pounding Pages as the Short Mystery Fiction Society Enters a New Age!

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: A Plethora of Pulse-Pounding Pages as the Short My...: As we turn the corner into the final quarter of 2026, the multi-talented writers of the Short Mystery Fiction Society are continuing to give...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Books from the Book Sale

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Books from the Book Sale:   Since I already own so many short story collections and anthologies, not to mention all my husband's short story books, I always plan ...

Update on Santa Rage 2

Acceptances went out Saturday morning into the early afternoon. Make sure to check both your inbox and your spam folder if you submitted. 

Rejections have also been sent out as I only had 12 slots and received over 30 submissions. A lot of good stuff did not make the cut. 

The result should be one heck of a read. 

Update on Santa Rage 2

Submissions closed last Monday night. I received nearly three dozen submissions for twelve slots. All the stories have been read once.

 

My plan is to let things sit and then read everything a second time, starting early next week. Once that is completed, hopefully by the middle of the week, I will start reaching out to folks to make absolutely sure their stories are still available as well as letting other folks know their status.

 

If you submitted, and wish to now withdraw for whatever reason, please let me know so I can remove your story from consideration.

 

Please and thank you.

In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange

In Reference to Murder: Mystery Melange: The winner and runner-up were announced for this year’s Glencairn Glass Crime Short Story Competition, held in partnership with the Bloody ...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Stories from Midsummer Mysteries

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Stories from Midsummer Myst...: I was initially attracted to Midsummer Mysteries: Short Stories , edited by Martin Edwards, because of its striking cover and the lovely spr...

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: More Sizzling Summer Reads from the Short Mystery Fiction Society!

The Short Mystery Fiction Society Blog: More Sizzling Summer Reads from the Short Mystery ...: It's time for another roundup of recent publications from the outstanding writers of the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Human stories fr...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Feuille D'Album by Katherine Mansfield

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Feuille D'Album by Katheri...:   I discovered this story accidentally when I ran across some short story collections by Katherine Mansfield on Amazon. I had not read anyth...

Thursday Treats: 7/23/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

SMFS list member Mia Dalia announced that her short story, B Minor, was published online at The Sunlight Press. You can read it for free here.

 

SMFS list member James Patrick Focarile announced that his short story, What Whiskey Won’t Cure, was published online at The Saturday Evening Post. You can read it for free here.

 

Black Cat Weekly #255 is out and includes short stories by SMFS list members N. M.  Cedeño (Mirror Life Meltdown), Stacy Woodson (She Loves You), and others. You can pick up the latest issue here. 

 

SMFS list member James W. Ziskin announced that his latest novel, The Prank, comes out on the 28^th. “Set in Christmas 1968, a thirteen-year-old sociopath befriends his teacher, unaware she loved the man his prank accidentally killed.” Published by Level Best-Historia, the read is available in both digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

As I told you earlier this month, Level Best—Level Short is scheduled to release on the 28^th the anthology, What the World Needs Now: Mystery Stories Inspired by the Music of Burt Bacharach. SMFS list members Joseph Goodrich (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and Josh Pachter (Me Japanese Boy) are included in the charity anthology edited by Martin Edwards. Funds raised are for autism charities in the US and UK. The digital version is up for preorder at Amazon.

 

Coming early next month. and edited by SMFS list members, Editors Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead, All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles. According to the synopsis, the anthology will feature 14 short stories by Victor Bonini, James Scott Byrnside, Shelly Dickson Carr, S.A. Cosby, Anne van Doorn, Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, Paul Halter, Christopher Huang, Vaseem Khan, Josh Pachter (The Allegory of the Five Senses), Masaya Yamaguchi, Ovidia Yu, and a brand-new collaboration from the editors. It is currently available for preorder at the publisher, Crippen and Landru.

 

And, finally, for something completely different, the fantasy novel, Immortalized Memories of the Omniverse: Rise of the Draconic Hero, by Alex Rosen  is now out. Epic Fantasy and more are present in this read. I am reading more than one book right now, always a dangerous practice on my part, and this is one of them. I am not one for fantasy these days, but I am enjoying it. Sent to me by the publisher, you can get it at Amazon or many other vendors.

 

 

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Kill Now—Pay Later" by Rex Stout

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "Kill Now—Pay Later" by R...:   I read "Kill Now—Pay Later" in June, I think. Or it may have been early July. I have been having trouble reading short stories l...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century

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MWA: New Books by MWA Members – July 2026 (Includes Short Stories)

 MWA: New Books by MWA Members – July 2026 (Includes Short Stories)

Market Call: Santa Rage 2: More Tales of Murder and Mayhem

As you may have recently seen on social media, Jay Hartman of Misti Media announced four submission calls. One of the four is for the anthology, Santa Rage 2: More Tales of Murder and Mayhem. Yours truly has been given the privilege and the honor of editing the project.

 

Yes, you read that correctly. I am the editor.

 

Guidelines are at https://www.mistimedia.com/calls-for-submission/santa/

 

And, of course, check out the first book for ideas.

 

I look forward to reading your submissions. Deadline is August 31st. 

Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: "Stories: Annie Ernaux

 Patricia Abbott: Short Story Wednesday: "Stories: Annie Ernaux

Publication Day Review: Birds of Prey: New Crime Stories, Editors Harlan Coben and C. J. Box

 

Birds of Prey: New Crime Stories, edited by Harlan Coben and C. J. Box, is a mighty good read. Published by The Mysterious Press, I had hoped that the C. J. Box story taking wing here would feature his signature character, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. Alas, that idea flew off towards the sun and was lost from view.

 

After a pun filled introduction by Harlan Coben that clearly rubbed off on this reader, the anthology opens strongly with “The Coffin Bearer” by Tess Gerritsen. Readers are taken to the coast of Maine as Maggie returns to her isolated island cabin. Seagulls are far out at sea and kicking up quite a bedlam so Maggie detours to investigate the ruckus. She spots a lobster buoy in the mist that belongs to a local. Minutes later she soon finds his eerily quiet boat. She finds signs that something has happened, but there is no sign of the missing lobster man. The last thing she wanted when she rented out the isolated place for the weeks to come was be a part of anything. That included any interest in her by the locals and the authorities. Now she is of considerable interest and that is another issue.

 

This short story was one of my favorites in the read. Several more personal favorites, in order of appearance, are below.

 

The person is known as “Owl.” He did some things back in the day for the miliary. At one time, that work included time working for the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. That means the Owl has top secret clearance. That clearance, and the skills he has, are needed in “Owl” by Kathy Reichs. Not only is a woman missing, her occupation, and where she went missing, are all part of a situation. There are also other troubling aspects as well.

 

Getting the car at the police auto auction was not the greatest idea Paul ever had. Maybe it was. In “The Falcon” by Robert Dugoni, Paul had the idea, and several guys chipped in on the project. Then the consequences started happening.

 

This short story struck a chord with me. When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, my dad would tell three or four stories about guys he knew that did this sort of thing. All these decades later, I’m fuzzy on the details, but am crystal clear that dad was convinced it was always a really bad idea.  

 

It was supposed to be a fun gig in “Watchers” by Allison Brennan. Monitor a pair of eagles and their babies in a nest located in the towering cliffs along the Verde River in Arizona. Lily Nolan loves the work and the experience as she takes picture after picture of the eaglets and their parents. Her approved access to the closed breeding ground in the Prescott National Forest has allowed her to take incredible pictures. She also saw something that she should have never seen. Now, Lily, and her fellow watcher, Kevin, are in real trouble.

 

The final tale in the anthology, Hawkshaw Hunting by Kelly Armstrong, takes readers to the Yukon Territory of Canada. There lies a very small and very isolated town that is the refuge of criminals that really want to get away and have the money to pay for off the grid isolation. As the story begins, our narrator works as a detective for Rockton. Her husband, Eric Dalton, is the sheriff. They and their Newfoundland dog, Storm, are at the Whitehorse Airport awaiting the arrival of Max Whitlock. A white-collar criminal, he paid a lot of money to spend the next two years hiding in their small town that survives by charging serious fees to killers and other criminals that have a need to get away and an ability to pay for it. Like the opening story, setting and atmosphere are characters in their own right in this tale where the complications start with his arrival.

 

 

While I only highlighted five short stories in the read that were my personal favorites, all eleven tales are good ones. Each tale is introduced by the author who explains why they chose a certain bird, the research involved, and/or other background details that enhanced the reading experience for each short story.

 

Simply put, Birds of Prey: New Crime Tales is chock full of solidly good crime fiction. Commissioned by the International Thriller Writers, editors Harlan Coben and C.J. Box did a fantastic job with the book. The read is very much worth your time.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/49Geb78

 

 

My digital ARC came from the publisher, The Mysterious Press, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Stories from Murder and Other Acts of Literature

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: Stories from Murder and Oth...: Murder and Other Acts of Literature is an anthology of 24 short stories that include a crime but are written by authors who are not crime f...

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "A Touch of Petulance" by Ray Bradbury

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Short Story Wednesday: "A Touch of Petulance" by ...:   The story I am featuring comes from the collection Killer Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury . It was published by Hard Ca...