50 Shades of Cabernet: An Anthology of Wine Mysteries ed. Joe Coccaro, Köehler Books, 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.
In Barb Goffman's nominated story, Myra, retiring after forty years as a legal secretary, is frustrated training her attractive, flighty replacement Jessica. Myra goes from passive-aggressive to actively aggressive when her friend and boss, Douglas McPherson, asks her to put on her own retirement party, having forgotten himself.
Myra changes a memo she'd been writing to Jessica, deemphasizing a note about Douglas's wine allergy. She assumes Jessica will miss the note and give Douglas a mild breakout. However, Douglas's allergy is more severe and Jessica more competent than they seem.
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