Current Issue Highlights
Your Friends and Neighbors
by Linda Landrigan
Many crime stories naturally revolve around family, where history runs deep, passions run high, and familiar connections can feel like shackles. But, as a number of the writers in this issue demonstrate, there is also plenty of drama—not to mention murder—to be found in the social ties of neighborhood, community, or the workplace. The social bonds and obligations to be found outside the home also offer plenty of scope and opportunity for crime.
FICTION
by Loren D. Estleman
Philander Hunt, manager of the Good Advice Savings and Loan, sprinted out onto the sidewalk, almost tripping on the tails of his vintage morning coat, which had been tailored for a much larger man. His voice cracked like a clarinet with a split reed.
“The bank’s been robbed!”
The cry was unnecessary, since the four bandits were already in motion in front of the building, swinging into their saddles, shooting and shouting to clear their retreat; but the bank held the mortgages of half the town council, and it was thought politic to humor his theatrical ambitions. READ MORE
by Randy F. Nelson
Part of the iceberg, the part facing Briggs and the lighthouse, was wedge-shaped. It made the entire mass look like an ocean liner drifting down from the Arctic, but then on the morning of the fourth day the wedge itself broke off, creating a surge that rolled all the way to Attu Island and washed the shore like an unexpected tide. After that Briggs thought the berg resembled a wedding cake. He estimated its course from the gallery deck of the lighthouse and wondered if he should log it as a navigation hazard. Not that it would last much longer as it drifted south. Still, that was the job. Keep the light on. Keep the logbook up to date. And keep the U.S. Navy safe. All one of him. READ MORE
DEPARTMENTS
Booked & Printed
by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo
Sometimes, individuals learn in ways only a changing reality can teach them. Do you assume the norms and laws inscribed in your surroundings’ codes will survive for years? Or will an entity crush them? If there are kind, years-old stories of you and a characteristic you carry, or a practice you hold, will present and future people respect them? Or will they ascribe to you dangers and evils you will suddenly find yourself needing to disprove? And the friends and communities and family members you once trusted: Are they loyal to harmful beliefs, only rarely questioning them? Booked & Printed finds authors attempting to answer those questions in new thrillers that shake faith, memories, and laws. 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 a Thatcher book. MOST RECENT PUZZLE
Look for our May/June 2026 issue on sale at newsstands on April 8, 2026. Or subscribe to AHMM in print or in a wide variety of digital formats.