Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine - July/August 2014

En este número

They may not all be crazy with the heat, but the characters in some of this month’s stories certainly exhibit some disturbing behavior. Stephen Ross shows how a manic mother, a wounded dog, and a long night of driving result in a “Bad Memory.” Larry Light’s “The Best Date Ever” begins with seduction over cocktails but gradually reveals the hidden agendas of both parties. In Chris Muessig’s “The Hoard,” a man with a hero-complex comes to the aid of a new love interest only to uncover layers (upon layers) of secrets. Sergeant Pete Montoya goes undercover to infiltrate a prison gang, and discovers a close affinity with one of its leaders in David Edgerley Gates’s “Stir Crazy.” And Loren D. Estleman peeks into the mind of an iconic doppelganger in “Sincerely, Mr. Hyde.”
We also welcome back some recurring characters in this issue. Detective Lieutenant Cyrus Auburn finds himself benched and his judgment questioned after an off-duty shooting when Auburn thought he saw an old man reach for a gun. And in our cover story, “The Abbot and the Ruby” by Marianne Wilski Strong, Abbot Joseph and Brother Leo stop at a monastery as they travel through western Pennsylvania, and get a glimpse of a revered icon of the Black Madonna, cherished for reasons both sacred and secular.
Meanwhile, Phillip DePoy introduces a new character, Foggy Moscowitz, in “Mary’s Shallow Grave.” Brendan DuBois’s recently retired special agent endeavors to be the winter weather go-to guy in his adopted New Hampshire town, but he brings to his job a special skill set. And further south in Jay Carey’s dilapidated, post–global warming Florida, an old, unsolved, brutal crime has left its scars.
And finally, we are pleased to present our seventh Black Orchid Novella Award winner with “The Discarded Spouse” by Susan Thibadeau. Ms. Thibadeau introduces atypical sleuths, Wills and Estates Attorney Harry Whiteside and his underemployed amateur actor cousin Jake.
The real heat comes from the quality of the crime fiction you can find in these pages. Don’t forget your sunscreen!