Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine - November/December 2023

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EQMM’s November/December issue is full of treasure—and treasure hunts. In “The Iron Maiden” by Doug Allyn, competing factions are after a long-lost shipwreck, and an unsuspecting man of the streets stumbles into a potentially lucrative situation, if he can find the goods first, in “Kit’s Pad” by David Krugler. Sometimes the sought-after is more sentimental than pricey—and thereby even more dangerous—such as in “Moldova, 1992” by A.F. Bhuyan, in which a child feels abandoned by his mother.
In a new case for the begrudgingly hooked Darcy and Payne, “The Men Who Knew Too Much” by R.T. Raichev, a complicated ritual unravels into a map that ends in murder—and in Joyce Carol Oates’s “***”, a man searches for an elusive gem of fact in his memory. Speaking of gems, jewelry is sought in “Uprooted” by Cath Staincliffe (where more than a trinket is unearthed from the past), “The Ring” by Pip Thompson (from the Department of First Stories), the storm-drenched “A Small Mercy” by Alice Hatcher, and “A Woman in Miniature” by Carol Goodman, in which a WWII era information-desk worker at the Plaza finds herself in pursuit of a spy.
Fame is an elusive pearl, and characters in “The Stars of Reality TV” by Brendan DuBois and “The Good Winemaker” by Beatrix Kramlovsky (from the Passport to Crime department) are out to find it—whatever the cost. Even small-timers like the “Spear Carriers” (by Richard Helms) are roped into extortion schemes, whether they like it or not.
Readers know well that gambling can lead to fortune or a fall, such as in “Texas-Sized Vanity” by Travis Richardson. Two stories set in Vegas continue the precarious momentum: “Two Thousand Miles from Vegas” by J.D. Frain (from the Department of First Stories) and “Sign-Removal Day” by Michael Grimala. Topping off the issue is a jewel from the past in the Black Mask Department: “Three O’Clock in the Morning” by Erle Stanely Gardner. Don’t miss this trove of wonderful tales!