The Strand Magazine: Issue 69 featuring a previously unpublished short story by James M. Cain

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Issue 69 of The Strand Magazine features a previously unpublished short story by James M. Cain.

We also have an exclusive from Jacqueline Winspear on writing, an interview with J.T. Ellison, and fiction by John Floyd, Adam Hamdy, and Vaseem Khan

We’re very proud to feature in our 69th issue an unpublished short story by James M. Cain.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.

Our team of reviewers has worked hard to provide a timely and interesting mix of the latest mysteries and thrillers out there. Fans of the Batman franchise should not miss Chris Chan’s review of the Blu-ray Batman: The Long Halloween.

The Strand Magazine continues to bring our readers the best in fiction, interviews with authors, as well as insightful book and audiobook reviews. In addition featuring this unpublished short story by James M. Cain, we’ve featured unpublished works by other legendary authors including  Shirley Jackson, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, H.G. Wells, Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Tennessee Williams, Louisa May Alcott  and Ray Bradbury.

This is the second time we’ve released an unpublished short story by James M. Cain, the first lost gem we released was in 2012 with  “Mommy is a Bar Fly.”

For more back issues with works by literary legends, follow this link!