Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - September/October 2021

In this issue

In keeping with our founding editor’s mission to represent the expanse of mystery fiction and showcase literary quality, EQMM’s 80th-anniversary issue contains a diverse mix of 17 stories, two forms of verse, a letter from the editor, and three columns. We bring you a variety of stars, from those well known in the world of mainstream and literary fiction such as Jerome Charyn (“White Chocolate”) and Juliet Grames (“The Very Last Time”) to those who write across many genres, including Kristine Kathryn Rusch (“DNF”), Emmy Award-winning TV writer Matt Goldman (“Sixteen Lies),” MWA Grand Master Bill Pronzini (“Why Did You Do It?”), Anthony Award winner Hilary Davidson (“Weed Man”), and the U.K.’s Jane Jakeman (“Trick or Treat”). Several favorite series characters are here too: Julian Hall in “Non Absolvo” by David Dean, Magistrate Ovid in “The Stain of Memory” by Thomas K. Carpenter, Antonia Darcy in “To Slay a Stranger” by R.T. Raichev,” Santa Ezeriņa in “Demon in the Depths” by William Burton McCormick, and Owen Burns in the impossible-crime tale “The Celestial Thief” by Paul Halter (Passport to Crime). John F. Dobbyn’s Yukon story in verse (“Nugget”) belongs to a series that debuted in EQMM 42 years ago! This issue’s newcomers to EQMM include Department of First Stories authors M. Zizzari (“Rage and Ruin”) and Denis Johnston (“Snail Mail”), plus Sandy Smith with the high-tension “Meals on Wheels.” Our Black Mask department features the classic “Dig Down Deep” by Frances Beck, and in a feat of virtuosity Trey Dowell presents an espionage thriller (“The Problem With Fish Markets”) in just over two pages!