“Key to the Highway” by Joseph Goodrich

Sometimes the fabric of your life rips, and you get a true look at someone or something you thought you knew. Or—even worse—you get a look at yourself. And maybe you don’t like what you see. Maybe you’d like it to change. Maybe you’d change it if you knew how. Or maybe you’re left with […]

Excerpts from “Hostage for a Hood” and “The Merriweather File” by Lionel White

Lionel White wrote such clever and realistic crime novels that when a petty crook in France read one of his books, he used it as a blueprint for his own crime. It seemed clever to him, and foolproof, although a series of coincidences and flaws in human character made the scheme fail in the book. […]

“The Cleaner” by Sharon Dempsey

Silvia sits on the back steps poking at the clogged head of the cleaning stick with her knitting needle. She feels pleased with herself for thinking to bring the needle with her. As usual, the machine is sucking up nothing at all, just blowing dust back at her. The rotating bristles are a mess of […]

“These Toys Are for Tough Boys” by Graham Wynd

“But why do you want to kill him?” Patrick tried to pay attention to the words instead of the way Simone’s low cut dress revealed her ripe breasts a little too evidently to the eye. “Does it matter? He has to be dealt with and I need one more in on the job.” Simone gave […]

“Venus in Fake Furs” by Tom Leins

Frank Farris was born in the brothel his mother owned, back in 1958. Even face-down on the zebra-print sheet he looks good for his age: bullet-shaped head, cropped black hair and a deep tan. He’s running to fat, but still well-muscled enough to give some poor fuck a hiding. The Cantonese girl in the latex […]

“Boom” by Mark Mayes

W11. I live in the postcode area which is meant to be the richest in London. No, the richest in the whole bloody country. The news told me that this morning. There’s a one-time film director who lives down the road in a ten-million-pound house. We’ve got a shed load like that. You can spot […]

“Luck” by Mark SaFranko

Denton was nothing if not a success in life. After a brief struggle in his twenties he succeeded in finding an audience for his work, which included novels and stories and screenplays, two of which were purchased by Hollywood. He had fans, many of them adoring, all over in the world. He realized that he […]

“A Couple Words, a Kite, a Piece of String” by Robb T. White

“How can a single photograph start all this?” The big cop asks me that question a second after he introduced himself as Detective Baquero. I look at him, our eyes locking briefly. My fingers laced together, shoulders hunched in a meek posture. I’m on his turf and I have to be careful. That doorknob I […]

“Florida Weird” by Jaap Boekestein

Florida is a strange place, filled with strange people. Maybe it’s the sun, the heat or something else. “Florida Weirdness,” I call it. Last time I was in Florida, I was on holidays. I slept with a bunch of guys and broke my arm in a scooter accident. No, those two things aren’t related. Long […]

“Pongo’s Lucky Day” by Craig Faustus Buck

Pongo Smith’s adrenaline could have burst a fire hose. The cash wouldn’t stop gushing. He had to keep pulling bills from the slot to make room for the ATM to feed new ones. Then his sluggish brain kicked in. This is too good to be true. He felt a blast of fear as cold as […]