Henery Press, 2017
The annual Bethesda, Maryland convention Malice Domestic has announced its 2017 nominees for the Agatha Awards, honoring traditional mysteries as typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or gratuitous violence. An April 2018 vote of Malice attendees will determine the winners. In the meantime, as part of the announcement, the Best Short Story nominees are freely available online.
Gigi Pandian's nominated story balances homage to Christie, "locked room" tradition, and contemporary sensibilities. Fresh off the events of her fifth series novel, The Ninja's Illusion, treasure-hunting historian Jaya Jones and her friend Tamarind Ortega are snowbound in Denver. They share a taxi with famous—and infamous—thriller author Simon Quinn to the driver's recommended lodgings, the "haunted" Tanglewood Inn.
The owner, Rosalyn, tells of a Mr. Underhill, driven mad by a now-collector's edition of Murder on the Orient Express, still in the inn's library, locked under glass. In the middle of the night, Simon cries out and is found dead in the library. With no outward signs of trauma, he appears to have died in similar fashion to Mr. Underhill. With no outside help available until morning, it's up to Jaya to investigate.
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