Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - July/August 2023

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Power and control are at the heart of many crimes, and the July/August EQMM is full of characters trying to pull others’ strings. In the Passport to Crime Department, “Martin, the Novelist” (by Marcel Aymé) commands the lives of those inside his novel, and in “Twos on That” by Pat Black, a disgruntled student plays God, wreaking havoc. In David Dean’s “Crown v. Marchland,” a prosecutor revels in having the power of life or death—while a lovelorn cowgirl tries to disrupt a new attachment in “Snakebite Love” by Pam Barnsley. The quest for control accelerates in “The Riverside Incident” by Daniel C. Bartlett (Black Mask) when a woman wants to break up with a gang member.
A young boy in “The Knight-Wizard” by Janice Law feels most in control using the magic he discovers in literature, while in Brendan DuBois’s “The Night Walks,” a veteran uses a new routine to control PTSD. Others turn to arcane and mystical powers—psychics and tarot cards—in Mehnaz Sahibzada’s “Death in the New Age” and “Flight of Fancy” by Marilyn Todd. Cards also figure in “Her Upstairs” by Michael Z. Lewin, as Greek gods observe a human card game. Speaking of games, an underestimated stepson turns to an old lesson to play “The Deacon’s Game” by John M. Floyd.
“His Father’s Son” by Bev Vincent and “It’s Half Your Fault” by Meghan Leigh Paulk (Department of First Stories) explore the power of bloodlines, while in “Heatstroke” by Jennifer Black (another first story), a more perceptible power of nature leads to homicide.
Some beloved series characters return too: Lt. Cyrus Auburn in “Strictly on the Level” by John H. Dirckx; Julia Katz in “Archie’s Been Stolen!” by Dave Zeltserman, and DCI Hennessey in “The Extremely Pleasant and Most Helpful Lady With Three Ears” by Peter Turnbull. And don’t miss Dean Jobb’s latest installment for Stranger Than Fiction, exploring a 1903 attempted murder by one of L.A.’s elite, or the debut of our new columnist, Elizabeth Foxwell, in The Jury Box.