Scan barcode
jbleyle63's review
4.0
Joyce Carol Oates’ novella length “33 Clues Into The Disappearance of My Sister” takes up a quarter of this issue and is stylistically similar to her recent contributions to EQMM, long on ambiguity and mood. I find them worth the read but can certainly understand reader frustration with so much space devoted to a longer story with no clear resolution, but believe readers can make their own informed decision based on whether the first few pages engage interest enough to complete full story.
Rest assured that the rest of this issue features the usual variety of shorter fiction sprinkled among the other regular features and reviews. Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier’s “Rise” features a rich setting in the author’s own home of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and a winning story of family conflict leading to a satisfying ending. Mat Coward’s “Morbid Phenomena of the Most Varied Kind” is full of black comedy and seems ready-made for a screen adaptation by Simon Pegg & Nick Frost.
Rest assured that the rest of this issue features the usual variety of shorter fiction sprinkled among the other regular features and reviews. Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier’s “Rise” features a rich setting in the author’s own home of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and a winning story of family conflict leading to a satisfying ending. Mat Coward’s “Morbid Phenomena of the Most Varied Kind” is full of black comedy and seems ready-made for a screen adaptation by Simon Pegg & Nick Frost.
ncrabb's review
4.0
Here’s a close-up look at most of the stories and features:
2 • Now Go We in Content • 18 pages by Peter Tremayne
Essentially, it’s a story about the tensions and intrigue surrounding the release of the King James version of the Bible.
Bonus: The Jury Box book review column contained one book that interested me enough to put on hold at my public library.
20 • Another Saturday Night • 13 pages by Michael Caleb Tasker
This is a magnificent story because the author creates such a vivid atmosphere. It takes place inside a casino and wow does this author bring that place to life! You feel like you’re in there with the stale cigarette-ladened air, the sad drunks, and the laconic dealers. Sal is just such a dealer. She works the night shift, and one of her faithful customers is an old guy named Lou. You feel his sadness as he loses game after game and drinks away what he doesn’t lose. He wins just enough to keep coming back night after night, and it’s only Sal who can deal cards to him. He’s sure she’s lucky. This is an odd mystery in that no murder happens as nearly as I can tell. It’s just a multi-day snapshot of life among the late-night losers in a casino spiced up a bit by a little fast card work by Sal.
33 • Rise • 12 pages by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier
A food writer digs into a mystery to figure out whether someone stole a valuable johnnycake recipe.
45 • Morbid Phenomena of the Most Varied Kind • 10 pages by Mat Coward
If you’re going to attempt to assassinate a politician, be mindful of how you dispose of the gun. Pro tip: A recycle bin may not be the best place to dump it. One of the funniest lines in this story is one in which one character decries the lack of intelligence in the family of his companion. “His sister joined a book club to meet men.” The character says. That line brought a smile.
55 • Sundown • 13 pages by Lou Manfredo
Set on Long Island in the 1970s, this is a great story with a writing style you won’t soon forget. Suffolk County Detective Joseph Oliver is at a crime scene. The young woman is dead, and she’s sporting a bullet hole in the center of her forehead. Joe bounces the case off his retired grandfather who had served as a private detective once he retired from the police force. He advises his grandson to focus on the stream where they found the girl’s body. If you read this, you’ll understand why that was good advice.
68 • Rising Sun • 13 pages by Jameson Trahearne
This takes place in a bar in Indiana. Law-enforcement officials accused a fugitive of embezzling. He didn’t do it, but he’s spending a night of freedom in a rundown bar. One of the patrons has some serious cash flow problems, and you’ll learn why if you read this.
81 • Cardigans • 5 pages by Wendy Hornsby
This is a quirky story about a woman who has an unhealthy obsession with cardigans. This proves that the mental health oddities of others can impact us all.
86 • The Rendezvous • 5 pages by Tim Baker
The lovely young woman you meet on the streets of Paris in the early years of the Kennedy administration may not be all she seems to be.
91 • Schrodinger, Cat • 9 pages by Anna Scotti
Is the boyfriend an old-fashioned cheating sleaze? Or are we dealing with experiments in physics here? You’ll know if you read this.
100 • Strangler Fig • 11 pages by Ralph Hornbeck
An Everglades park ranger and his high-school lover reunite over the death of her husband. I never knew such a plant as a Strangler Fig existed. It’s well written and memorable.
111 • Justice • 2 pages by Cath Staincliffe
It’s a short story of vigilante justice.
113 • Send in the Clowns • 11 pages by Paul Charles
This is a great story about a child’s birthday party that goes horribly awry. There’s a dead adult upstairs, and the clown with whom the parents contracted to do the party is missing.
124 • Bye-Bye, Jojo • 4 pages by Edith Maxwell
Ah, there’s nothing worse than that incessantly barking dog. You can’t enjoy a minute’s peace, and there are times when you’d kill to have some silence. But the dead doesn’t include the dog.
128 • Tomorrow • 3 pages by David Dean
This is a short-short story that packed a lot of wallop. An aging priest and a terminally ill parishioner talk about the not-so-good old days that involved serious criminality on both their parts.
131 • Once Again • 10 pages by Dave Zeltserman
A liquor store shooting during the pandemic points to another crime committed years earlier.
141 • The Footless Phantom • 11 pages by Tom Mead
Some people will go to great lengths to conceal the identity of a murderer even if it means hoisting them aloft on cables.
152 • Russian for Beginners • 6 pages by Dominique Biebau
This is my favorite story in the entire magazine. I’ll never understand why it was so close to the back cover. This is a creepy horrible story that will chill you to the bone. An American and his wife take a beginner Russian language class from a native speaker who learns that the husband wants to explore some ice caves in an area where the guides only understand Russian. The Russian instructor develops a thing for the American’s wife, and as the story opens, we are deep in a cave with the American hopelessly lost because … well, you must read it. You just must. It will chill you to the bone, and not because it occurs inside an ice cave.
158 • 33 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister • 35 pages by Joyce Carol Oates
This is a creepy story about a large and frequently overlooked younger sister who gradually peels back the layers that help you understand how her prettier older sister died. I’ve never been a Joyce Carol Oates fan, and this story left me singularly unimpressed.
2 • Now Go We in Content • 18 pages by Peter Tremayne
Essentially, it’s a story about the tensions and intrigue surrounding the release of the King James version of the Bible.
Bonus: The Jury Box book review column contained one book that interested me enough to put on hold at my public library.
20 • Another Saturday Night • 13 pages by Michael Caleb Tasker
This is a magnificent story because the author creates such a vivid atmosphere. It takes place inside a casino and wow does this author bring that place to life! You feel like you’re in there with the stale cigarette-ladened air, the sad drunks, and the laconic dealers. Sal is just such a dealer. She works the night shift, and one of her faithful customers is an old guy named Lou. You feel his sadness as he loses game after game and drinks away what he doesn’t lose. He wins just enough to keep coming back night after night, and it’s only Sal who can deal cards to him. He’s sure she’s lucky. This is an odd mystery in that no murder happens as nearly as I can tell. It’s just a multi-day snapshot of life among the late-night losers in a casino spiced up a bit by a little fast card work by Sal.
33 • Rise • 12 pages by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier
A food writer digs into a mystery to figure out whether someone stole a valuable johnnycake recipe.
45 • Morbid Phenomena of the Most Varied Kind • 10 pages by Mat Coward
If you’re going to attempt to assassinate a politician, be mindful of how you dispose of the gun. Pro tip: A recycle bin may not be the best place to dump it. One of the funniest lines in this story is one in which one character decries the lack of intelligence in the family of his companion. “His sister joined a book club to meet men.” The character says. That line brought a smile.
55 • Sundown • 13 pages by Lou Manfredo
Set on Long Island in the 1970s, this is a great story with a writing style you won’t soon forget. Suffolk County Detective Joseph Oliver is at a crime scene. The young woman is dead, and she’s sporting a bullet hole in the center of her forehead. Joe bounces the case off his retired grandfather who had served as a private detective once he retired from the police force. He advises his grandson to focus on the stream where they found the girl’s body. If you read this, you’ll understand why that was good advice.
68 • Rising Sun • 13 pages by Jameson Trahearne
This takes place in a bar in Indiana. Law-enforcement officials accused a fugitive of embezzling. He didn’t do it, but he’s spending a night of freedom in a rundown bar. One of the patrons has some serious cash flow problems, and you’ll learn why if you read this.
81 • Cardigans • 5 pages by Wendy Hornsby
This is a quirky story about a woman who has an unhealthy obsession with cardigans. This proves that the mental health oddities of others can impact us all.
86 • The Rendezvous • 5 pages by Tim Baker
The lovely young woman you meet on the streets of Paris in the early years of the Kennedy administration may not be all she seems to be.
91 • Schrodinger, Cat • 9 pages by Anna Scotti
Is the boyfriend an old-fashioned cheating sleaze? Or are we dealing with experiments in physics here? You’ll know if you read this.
100 • Strangler Fig • 11 pages by Ralph Hornbeck
An Everglades park ranger and his high-school lover reunite over the death of her husband. I never knew such a plant as a Strangler Fig existed. It’s well written and memorable.
111 • Justice • 2 pages by Cath Staincliffe
It’s a short story of vigilante justice.
113 • Send in the Clowns • 11 pages by Paul Charles
This is a great story about a child’s birthday party that goes horribly awry. There’s a dead adult upstairs, and the clown with whom the parents contracted to do the party is missing.
124 • Bye-Bye, Jojo • 4 pages by Edith Maxwell
Ah, there’s nothing worse than that incessantly barking dog. You can’t enjoy a minute’s peace, and there are times when you’d kill to have some silence. But the dead doesn’t include the dog.
128 • Tomorrow • 3 pages by David Dean
This is a short-short story that packed a lot of wallop. An aging priest and a terminally ill parishioner talk about the not-so-good old days that involved serious criminality on both their parts.
131 • Once Again • 10 pages by Dave Zeltserman
A liquor store shooting during the pandemic points to another crime committed years earlier.
141 • The Footless Phantom • 11 pages by Tom Mead
Some people will go to great lengths to conceal the identity of a murderer even if it means hoisting them aloft on cables.
152 • Russian for Beginners • 6 pages by Dominique Biebau
This is my favorite story in the entire magazine. I’ll never understand why it was so close to the back cover. This is a creepy horrible story that will chill you to the bone. An American and his wife take a beginner Russian language class from a native speaker who learns that the husband wants to explore some ice caves in an area where the guides only understand Russian. The Russian instructor develops a thing for the American’s wife, and as the story opens, we are deep in a cave with the American hopelessly lost because … well, you must read it. You just must. It will chill you to the bone, and not because it occurs inside an ice cave.
158 • 33 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister • 35 pages by Joyce Carol Oates
This is a creepy story about a large and frequently overlooked younger sister who gradually peels back the layers that help you understand how her prettier older sister died. I’ve never been a Joyce Carol Oates fan, and this story left me singularly unimpressed.
More...