The Strand Magazine - Issue 69, 2023

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Issue 69 of The Strand Magazine features a previously unpublished short story by James M. Cain.
We’re very proud to feature in our 69th issue an unpublished short story by James M. Cain. Set in the aftermath of the Korean War, the story takes a hard look at, greed, sacrifice, friendship, and redemption between three damaged and fallible characters. In just over 3000 words, Cain offers up all the noir elements we’ve come to expect from him complete with gritty dialogue and a cunning antagonist but puts in an unexpected twist that turns the tale on its head, offering a surprisingly nuanced take on these supposedly hard characters. It’s sure to thrill fans of neo noir such as Breaking Bad, Nightmare Alley, and Blade Runner.

From post-war America, we go to post-independence India, where Vaseem Khan pits the country’s first female police officer against prejudice, corruption, and murder in “Ace of Spades.” Moving to modern-day neo-noir, Adam Hamdy lays out “Tarot,” in which a New York City psychiatrist’s world is upended after an eerie session with his new patient. John Floyd takes us back to small-town America in “Last Day at the Jackrabbit,” where a small-time crook and his moll get more than they bargained for. And we round out our short stories this issue with Mike Adamson’s “The Affair of the Russian Violinist,” a locked-room mystery that has Holmes and Watson racing against time to avert a diplomatic crisis.

Pivoting to nonfiction, we are thrilled to share firsthand insight from one of today’s best-selling mystery writers in “Quest for Gold.” For fans of the Maisie Dobbs series—and stellar storytelling in general—Jacqueline Winspear’s insights into the heart of great writing amount to a master class on what it takes to bring a story to life. We also have an exclusive interview with the incomparable J.T. Ellison.