Current Issue Highlights
Folks Like Us?
by Linda Landrigan
A common trope in crime fiction is the story of the average person caught up in unusual events and how they rise, or not, to the occasion. They may be intelligent; they may be humble. They may be ordinary in every way. It’s all very heartwarming.
FICTION
by Catriona McPherson
“Keep your eyes ha-ha . . . Keep your eyes hee-hee . . . Keep your eyes on something that’s not moving.” Thom, the new yoga instructor, stood in the middle of the circle on one leg, with his other heel wedged high into his crotch, his knee bent like a hairpin, both his arms straight up in the air like he was helping to land a plane, yucking it up like he always did. Keep your eyes on me, he meant, standing there like a cactus in a national park, like a rock formation in . . . another national park, like a statue. To aid your balance, ladies, keep your eyes on me. READ MORE
by Persia Walker
In Harlem, even the shadows have secrets. Beneath the glitz and the glamor, souls grapple with jealousy and greed. Loyalties shift like sand, and alliances shatter like glass.
This is my beat, where dreams crash and lives crumble. Where trusting hearts are betrayed, truth is pitted against passion, and morality against ambition. The lines between good and evil are often blurred by fear and desperation. Only fools think otherwise.
The wind whispered through the barren trees on that rainy October night, their branches swaying like skeletal fingers reaching for the stars. As I hurried to the Bennett Art Gallery on West 123rd Street, I had no idea I was stepping into a portrait where every face hid a lie. READ MORE
DEPARTMENTS
Booked & Printed
by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo
Perhaps a home always holds secrets. Visitors might leave unexpected gifts, or unwelcome items from the outside world. Older, long-time residents of a home might bury devalued detritus, leaving evidence in hidden corners for descendants to find, and wonder about, years later. And in a family home, a member of the family might carry sinister intentions, ones that others might discover too late. This issue, Booked and Printed enters the homes of characters coping with mysteries in their midst, discovering the true nature of the inhabitants around them. READ MORE
We give a prize of $25 to the person who invents the best mystery story (in 250 words or less, and be sure to include a crime) based on the photograph provided in each issue. The story will be printed in a future issue. READ THIS ISSUE’S WINNING STORY
Scrambled Clue
by Mark Lagasse
Unscramble the letters of each numbered entry to spell the name of an Easy Rawlins book. MOST RECENT PUZZLE
Look for our March/April 2026 issue on sale at newsstands on February 8, 2026. Or subscribe to AHMM in print or in a wide variety of digital formats.