An Awesome Story...

I just picked up a copy of the latest Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine because Ken Bruen's name is on the cover. I have no doubt Bruen's story will be remarkable, but I started by reading the Department of First Stories entry. The story is The Alphabet Workbook by Mehnaz Turner. It is three pages long and, I have to say, it is one of the best crime shorts I've ever read, and I include my own stories in that estimation... I can't say too much. It is, after all, only three pages, but I'll say this - the ending is subtle, but, I think, devastating. And just think of what it takes to go from the first words to devastating in three pages.

Turner writes poetry, but I do very much hope she'll produce more crime stories. Crime fiction needs her.