Excerpt from Henning Mankell’s Novel AFTER THE FIRE… (Translated by Marlaine Delargy) Chapter II I watched as one boat after another disappeared, the sounds of the different engines gradually dying away. I knew who each person was out here in the archipelago. There are two dominant families: the Hanssons and the Westerlunds. Many of them […]
Category Archives: Fiction
THE LIST by Angus McAllister
“I’ve got a little list – I’ve got a little list Of society offenders who might well be underground, And who never would be missed – who never would be missed!” WS Gilbert The Mikado It’s eight o’clock and I’ve been waiting over an hour. He’ll be taking his time, of course, relaxing, […]
The Price of Belief
The Price of Belief Nothing like a guy threatening to jump off a roof to get the public’s attention. “‘Bout time you showed up, Rinaldi.” Shielding his eyes, Sergeant Harry Polk offered me his trademark […]
Sherlock Holmes and The Scene of the Crime
Sherlock Holmes and The Scene of the Crime The autumn of 1897 presented such an array of singular cases that to pen any one of them seems unjust to those excluded. Clients from all walks of life brought their seemingly insoluble problems to my friend for resolution. There was the case where Holmes vindicated a […]
Lestrade Solves the Case…
Lestrade Solves the Case I’m Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street; I like my cases clear and neat. My friend Lestrade of Scotland Yard, by contrast, makes his casework hard. Just why this is seems to perplex; for we both witness self-same facts. The difference is that I observe, all that I view… and so […]
Diamonds Are Forever by Rita Cheminais
Diamonds Are Forever by Rita Cheminais Max and Camilla Partridge had finally sold their jeweller’s business. They were both looking forward to enjoying a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate the start of their retirement. As they boarded the Queen Elizabeth liner at Southampton they were feeling rather apprehensive, after hearing stormy weather was forecast around […]
DVD Review– The Americans: Season 3
DVD Review– The Americans: Season 3 The premise of The Americans is certainly attention-grabbing—and disturbing. A seemingly ordinary couple who live outside of Washington, D.C., in the 1980s have a secret. To the world, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) are a mild-mannered couple who run a travel agency and have […]
The Worst Way to Die
When I got to the front door, it was slightly ajar. That, brothers and sisters, was not a good sign. If someone got here before me and capped Izzy, I was a dead man. Contract jumping makes everyone look bad and Bob wouldn’t make himself an example, so if our target was face down in […]
Haunted Melody
Haunted Melody Melody awoke with a start, her sheets soaked. The dream. It was getting worse. She couldn’t shake these nightmares. She thought she’d never break free.She slid from bed and wrapped her housecoat around her waist. After ensuring she hadn’t disturbed Paul, she stepped into her slippers and tiptoed downstairs. In the sitting room, […]
The Assassin’s Birthday
The Assassin’s Birthday Lustig was waiting for the man who nearly thirty years ago they had called “The Killer.” A very effective fellow—the cleanup man who got rid of traitors and other undesirables.It was strange that he was late. Lustig had arrived an hour early at Estiatorio Milos’s sushi bar, which was attached to the […]
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Jon Land
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Jon Land “Does it really work?” Julia Burrell asked the clerk behind the counter. “Because this is important.”The clerk held the dark bottle between flabby fingers that were fitting extensions of his squat frame topped with a slicked-down comb over that didn’t quite reach. “It always is.”“Lots depends on it.”“It always does. […]