Gilded Age diva Ella Shane is back for her most dangerous adventure ever, arriving home from a tour in February 1901 to find her unpleasant elder stepson is in town-and charged with murder in a bar fight. Soon after, Ella's beloved physician, Dr. Edith Silver, is arrested for obscenity by a publicity-mad Assistant Police Commissioner. Now, Ella, facing her own life-changing news, is forced to unravel two nefarious plots, with help from her colorful family and friends on both sides of the l...

On the cusp of the twentieth century, Manhattan is a lively metropolis buzzing with talent. But after a young soprano meets an untimely end on stage, can one go-getting leading lady hit the right notes in a case of murder?New York City, 1899. When it comes to show business, Gilded Age opera singer Ella Shane wears the pants. The unconventional diva breaks the mold by assuming “trouser roles”—male characters played by women—and captivating audiences far and...

Our 91st issue features 3 original tales—mysteries by Jacqueline Freimor (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Kathleen Marple Kalb (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), and a science fiction story by M. Christian (thanks to Acquiring Editor Cynthia Ward). Plus a classic SF novel by Harrison, the first of his Stainless Steel Rat series. Plus a classic detective collection from Dick Donovan. Plus a lot more! So much more that you may have trouble finishing it all before the ...

A new widow, Christian Shaw, stumbles on a murder while planning her husband's funeral, and ends up using her unique expertise as a historian to help catch the killer.The title, and key phrase, stuck in the author's mind when she was making final arrangements for her mother, eventually inspiring this story—and her mystery-fan mother would have loved that.

"Moonshine Mafia" is a rip-roaring story about bootlegging moonshine, the greatest heist in West Virginia history, two cat-house prostitutes dipping into a hidden stash of cash, a career criminal who come comes from a long line of "can't stay out of trouble and jail" kinfolk, a star football player-turned-lawyer who returns to his West Virginia home town to defend his family...and a dizzying array of other elements, too many to count, that make this story shine. It's laugh-out-loud, jaw-hi...

The rules for law and order create boundaries for civil co-existence.Ideally, the rule of law provides the backdrops for individuals, families, and companies to grow and thrive. Breaking these rules puts civil order at risk. And while murder is the Big Daddy of crimes, codified ordinances across municipal divisions, counties, states, and countries show the nearly endless ways there are to create mayhem.For your puzzle solving pleasure, Mysteries to Die For presents: Anythin...

Seo Hyein thought leaving Shin Woojin was her way out. Three years of love, trust, and broken dreams had left her expelled, unemployed, and with no future. The pain of losing it all pushed her to walk away, hoping to reclaim her life. But eight years later, she's lost again, desperate for money to care for her sick sister. That’s when Woojin reappears, offering her a chance she can’t refuse.Now, trapped in a web of old feelings and new stakes, Hyein faces a decision that could chan...

When Hollywood comes to small-town Connecticut, it should be the stuff of dreams-but when a fading movie star ends up dead, a whole different kind of stuff hits the fan.Unity Historical Society head and antique household items-stuff!-expert Christian Shaw is on set when actor Brett Studebaker falls from the pulpit during a streaming service shoot in an old church. She, the "dads she should have had," Garrett and Ed, her son Henry, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes, ...

This issue, in addition to great tales from Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman, we also have an original mystery from Kathleen Marple Kalb, a modern dark fantasy from John S. Glasby, and much, much more.Here’s the complete lineup—Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:“Mother’s Day Tea,” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier [Michael Bracken Presents short story]At a seemingly innocent kindergarten Mother’s...

Newly married Gilded Age diva Ella Shane and her Duke return to New York for Ella's Metropolitan Opera debut, and his investigation of a decades-old mystery that could threaten the succession to the British Throne-only to be drawn into a blackmail plot closer to home. Now, Ella and Gil will have to figure out what happened when the Prince of Wales visited the City in 1860...and protect a friend who is trying to maintain a family connection with his brother, a man who is living as a woman. ...

Felicity must choose……live a normal life and be cut off……Or embrace her powers.Her decision gets harder when her Grandmother arranges for her to marry a powerful wizard. If she's going to avoid that disaster, she'll need to find a job…and that's where everything changes.At the Agency of Paranormal Peculiarities, they need investigators. Felicity is perfect for the job, but there's just one catch, she'll need...

Games are a thing for children; a pastime for those with nothing better to do…or are they?At the most basic level, games are competitions that are conducted according to rules with participants working toward a goal. Sometimes those goals are mutual, but most of the time, not so much. Games are a part of every culture and go back further than human records. Take the simple marble which has been found in the tombs of the ancient Egyptians, in the ashes in Pompeii, and in North Ameri...