NBS Special Report: 2013 Derringer Finalists

As determined by volunteer judges from the Short Mystery Fiction Society and announced by SMFS Awards Coordinator Anthony Rudzki:

BEST FLASH STORY (Up to 1,000 words):

• "An Old-Fashioned Villain" by Nick Andreychuk (Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, May 2012)
• "The Cable Job" by Randy DeWitt (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, September 2012)
• "Dead Man" by A.J. Hayes (Off The Record 2: At The Movies, September 2012)
• "Daddy's Girl" by Nicola Kennington (The Flash Fiction Offensive, July 22, 2012)
• "Twas the Knife Before Christmas" by Allan Leverone (Shotgun Honey, December 24, 2012)

BEST SHORT STORY (1,001 - 4,000 words):

• "Getting Out of the Box" by Michael Bracken (Crime Square, Vantage Point, 2012)
• "A Special Kind of Hell" by Hilary Davidson (BEAT to a PULP: Round Two, May 2012)
• "Dead Weight" by Allan Leverone (Burning Bridges: A Renegade Fiction Anthology, April 2012)
• "Nain Rouge" by Barbara Nadel (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 2012)
• "Baby Boy" by Todd Robinson (Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT, September 2012)

BEST LONG STORY (4,001 - 8,000 words):

• "The Pot Hunters" by David Hagerty (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, June 2012)
• "A Regular Story" by Peggy McFarland (Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon, Level Best Books, November 2012)
• "Peaches" by Todd Robinson (Grift #1, April 2012)
• "When Duty Calls" by Art Taylor (Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder, 2012)
• "Double Wedding" Mo Walsh (Best New England Crime Stories 2013: Blood Moon, Level Best Books, November 2012)

BEST NOVELETTE (8,001 - 20,000 words):

• "Wood-Smoke Boys" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2012)
• "Iphigenia in Aulis" by Mike Carey (An Apple for the Creature, September 2012)
• "Mariel" by David Dean (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 2012)
• "Pirate Dave and the Captain's Ghost" by Toni L.P. Kelner (An Apple for the Creature, September 2012)
• "The Sunny South" by Chris Muessig (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2012)

The 2013 Derringer winners will be determined by a March 1–30 poll of eligible SMFS members and will be announced March 31.

"Knife Fight" by Joel Goldman

Originally published in the Mystery Writers of America anthology The Prosecution Rests and now available for Amazon Kindle, "Knife Fight" is engagingly told by defendant Travis Runnels, a previously convicted drug dealer, now on trial for the fatal stabbing of Diego Hernandez.

The story unfolds as Travis meets with public defender Alex Stone and follows her performance in court. When the case turns against Travis, he accuses Alex of using what he's told her in confidence to pursue her own agenda.

Former trial lawyer Goldman so enjoyed writing Alex Stone, he expanded her into a novel series, the first of which, Stone Cold, is due out next month.

"The Big O" by Vicki Hendricks

From: A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir ed. Megan Abbott, Busted Flush Press, 2007

If you're a fan of Hendricks's sexy noir novels as I am, the title of this story may fool you, too. "The Big O" refers to Florida's Lake Okeechobee, where protagonist Candy flees, trying to provide a better life than her year-old son, Chance, would've had with his abusive father.

True to noir, Candy lands in another abusive relationship with trailer park owner Jimmy. As a a hurricane bears down, Candy hatches a plot to kill Jimmy and steal his stash of drug money. Just right for a hot summer afternoon.

His Daughter's Island by Brendan DuBois

The current Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (July 2012) has this nifty story by past master Brendan DuBois. DuBois has taken home Barry and Shamus awards and been nominated several times for Edgar awards, so the story was never going to be a bad one, but this one was more than competent; it was touching.

Zach Ford is a father whose daugther died on a private island in the middle of a giant lake. She was invited to a party by the son of the richest man in town and who could resist the lure of the swankiest address in the state? Some alcohol, a pill slipped to her, and then she's no more. That's it. An accident, the coroner will say, and the father of the rich boy slips his son out of the country. What can her father do? How can he even begin to seek Justice for his daughter if the law refuses to be on his side? And how can he get closure without Justice?

Want to know how he goes about things? Get a copy of the story.

Shanks Commences by Robert Lopresti

(Cough. Cough. Clear away the cobwebs...)
It's been a while, but here's a review. A fine story by one of my favorite storytellers, Robert Lopresti - "Shanks Commences." If you don't know Shanks is Lopresti's series character - a mystery writer who solves mysteries he comes across/stumbles over. In this case, the stumbling happens on a college campus. Shanks is there to receive and honorary degree, give a commencement address, and, most importantly, donate some of his books to the school's library. The librarian had been a professor - gave Shanks a D in English and looks down his nose at the man now regardless of Shanks' success as an author. Lots of people might want him dead. And dead is how he's ultimately found.

Is Shanks a suspect? Well, he has to be at first, but don't worry. He's more into helping to uncover the real killer. And with a witty repartee with his wife, and some smart alecky remarks to the official detective in charge of the investigation, this is exactly what he does. In any event, this is a humorous story in the current Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

Note also that Lopresti is a college librarian himself...

"Remaindered" by Lee Goldberg

From: Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, August 2001.

Thriller writer Kevin Dangler—whose second and third books sank under the weight of bad reviews—meets Megan, an alluring librarian whose attention entices him into a night of passion.

When Megan proves eager to spread the news of her night with the married Kevin, he snaps and inadvertently beats her to death. Luckily finding a book on forensics among Megan's shelves, Kevin meticulously cleans up the evidence of his crime, but one detail does him in.

"Remaindered" shows off Goldberg's experience in publishing, his wry sense of humor, and the attention to detail that serves him well as author of the Monk tie-in novels. The story is available as a free Kindle download this week only. The ebook includes a link and password to watch a 20-minute short film based on "Remaindered", directed by Goldberg.

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