Mystery Weekly - November 2016

"Terrible Tilly," our cover story by Jake Teeny, centers around an isolate lighthouse and three quarrelsome keepers at the brink of madness; one of them has been stealing the lamp's kerosene, but is there a motive behind the madness?

Kassandra Montag's, "Water Wolf," is a haunting, lyrical mystery involving children who disappear while picking berries in the forest. There is certainly a compelling question at the heart of this story, and readers who don't get lost in the beautiful prose will find subtle clues strewn about.

"Finder's Fee," by JM Taylor, is a fresh and amusing take on an age-old theme: be careful what you wish for!

And following with a similar theme is "Au Lait," by Dan Crawford, a hilarious story about an enchanted swizzle stick falling into the hands of a very undeserving lady at a coffee shop.

Our darker story is "Encumbered," by William R. Eakin. A canoe trip on a swollen river, a baby lost, a new husband with a love for campsites with high vistas—what else could a woman want to become unencumbered?

In his genre-crossing tale, "The End Of The Road," Manny Frishberg gives us the most remote setting of any we have ever run, the surface of the moon. A new moon buggy modelled after a Plymouth Barracuda is about to be unveiled, and soon proves that wherever there are people, there is also greed, crime, and evil.

"The Idiot's Guide To Killing Your Mother-In-Law," by James Mathews, is a thoroughly entertaining and fast-paced story that will keep you guessing and chuckling right to the end. Besides the sparkling dialogue and vividly realized characters, the plotting is as clever and deliciously ironic as mystery lovers could possibly hope for.