“Uncanny Valley” By Gary D. Rhodes

POETRY: “I had to remind myself, / uphill or down, / never to speak of this again….”

“Zocco Chico” by Kurt McGill

FLASH FICTION: “A soft scraping sound…crepe soles brushing across the threshold…a silhouette appeared in the doorway. A glint of light reflected off blue steel in the hand hanging down by his side….”

“Winter’s Perdition” by Mark Krajnak

I got a rocks glass of rye, and some cold hash to finish, as snow starts to fly.No carols being sung around these parts. Will find it hard to sleep tonight. Winter’s perdition is here. Tough to sleep when you don’t know who’s going to come through the door with a gat in hand. Just […]

“Cheap Hotels, Economical Crash Pads, and Low-Budget Hash Houses” by Peter Rozovsky

Peter Rozovsky started Detectives Beyond Borders, created Noir at the Bar, and lost his job when the Philadelphia Inquirer eliminated its copy desks. He found a job in New York 12 days after this liberation, and spent his severance pay at cheap hotels and rooms all over the New York area, because no copy editor […]

“Echoes of a Breath,” “First Day,” and “Ping Like a Dream” by Fabrice Poussin

“Echoes of a Breath” She did little, standing upon the snowy peak remembering the fires of times long gone but exhaled a kind breath of infinite grace. The earth too seemed to be alive with fire restful at last yet filled with great secrets and there, poised as a classic deity she remained. Arms […]

“Pity the Night” by Mark Krajnak

You know what it’s like. You set up the job, check all the angles, fine tune the mark. And what happens. Some greaseball with a yappity yap mouth comes in screws it all up. There’s always a couple of ways to handle that situation. There’s one way . . . And then there’s YOUR way. […]

“Whiplash Redemption” by Mark Krajnak

Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust. Everything dies, baby. Both the wicked and the just. That would be a true little ditty, ain’t it? The question is, what do you do with that time between the cradle and the pine box. Are you a productive member of society . . . Or are you […]