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Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Fiction Podcasts
Welcome to our monthly readings and dramatizations of stories by the world's leading writers of suspense, chosen from the magazine's archives and introduced by editor Janet Hutchings.
The full range of the genre is represented in these riveting audio renditions, from the drawing-room mystery to urban noir — including police procedurals, private-eye tales, psychological suspense, and locked-room and impossible-crime stories.
EPISODES:
 EPISODE 45: “Two Dwarves and Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs” by Eric Cline
May second is this year’s date for the Mystery Writers of America’s annual Edgar Allan Poe Awards banquet. This month’s podcast is a tip of the hat to Poe, and to the MWA. In “Two Dwarves and Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs” author Eric Cline has reworked a classic Poe story from the point of view of one of its central characters. The tale appeared in EQMM’s June 2011 issue, in the Department of First Stories. Since that fine debut, Eric Cline has sold several more of his imaginative tales. He reads his story for this episode in our podcast series with dramatic flair.
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 EPISODE 44: "Golden Chance" by S. J. Rozan
Winner of nearly all of mystery fiction's major awards—including two Edgars from the Mystery Writers of America—S. J. Rozan is as accomplished in the realm of short fiction as she is as a novelist. Her reading for this episode in our series is a subtle tale of political intrigue in a beautifully rendered exotic setting. It's from the December 2012 issue of EQMM.
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 EPISODE 43: “Some People Deserve to Die” by Dave ZeltsermanWinner of a Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the winner of the 2010 EQMM Readers Award, Dave Zeltserman writes mysteries of both the humorous and noir type. His reading for this episode in our podcast series is of one of his darker tales, from our August 2011 issue.
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 EPISODE 42: “Hedge Hog” by Hilary Davidson
Anthony Award winner Hilary Davidson appeared on the mystery scene in 2007 and since then she’s made quite a mark. Her fourth novel is currently going into production, and she has had more than a dozen short stories published, including the tale she reads for us here, “Hedge Hog,” from the September/October 2011 issue of EQMM. After the reading, Hilary joins editor Janet Hutchings for an interview about her work.
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 EPISODE 41:"Brea’s Tale" by Karen Pullen
Winner of a Best Long Story Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society, this month’s featured story, "Brea's Tale," first appeared in EQMM’s Department of First Stories in January 2012. Reading it for us is the author, Karen Pullen.
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EPISODE 39: “The Brick Thing” by Jack Fredrickson
Shamus Award-nominated crime writer Jack Fredrickson had his fiction debut in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Department of First Stories. He joins us this month for a reading of that first short story, “The Brick Thing” (EQMM September/October 2002). It’s the story of a long-ago crime with present reverberations.
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EPISODE 38: “Normal” by Donna Andrews
It’s October and with Halloween on the horizon we decided to feature a tale with vampires, trolls, and other spooky creatures. Award-winning novelist and short story writer Donna Andrews reads her story “Normal” (from the May 2011 EQMM), in which her not-quite-“normal” private eye and a support cast that includes a wizard solve a classical whodunit.
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EPISODE 37: “Safe and Loft” by John Lutz
Edgar and Shamus award winner John Lutz reads his caper story “Safe and Loft” for us this month (EQMM March/April 2008). In a career that has brought him two lifetime achievement awards, the St. Louis author has produced novels and short stories in all of mystery’s subgenres, from tough hardboiled pieces to lighthearted stories like this one.
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 EPISODE 36: "The Fruit Cellar" by Joyce Carol Oates
A haunting suspense story by National Humanities Medal winner Joyce Carol Oates is our featured selection this month. In addition to being one of the nation's most celebrated literary writers, Joyce Carol Oates is a distinguished member of the community of crime-fiction writers. "The Fruit Cellar" first appeared in EQMM's March/April 2004 issue. It is read here by Dorothy Cummings.
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EPISODE 35: "Work Experience" by Simon Brett
Malice Domestic Lifetime Achievement Award winner Simon Brett has a theatrical background that makes his readings especially absorbing. The former TV and radio producer has been the reader for all of the audio editions of his many popular mystery novels. He joins our podcast series with a reading of his humorous September/October 2011 EQMM story "Work Experience."
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 EPISODE 34: "There's a Killer Loose!" by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Mickey Spillane left a number of unfinished manuscripts when he died in 2006. Max Allan Collins, who wrote an Edgar-nominated critical study of Spillane and is also a versatile and celebrated mystery writer, has been completing the Spillane novels and stories. He is also the reader on this collaboration with Mickey Spillane, a story that was first published in the August 2008 issue of EQMM.
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 EPISODE 33: "Floored" by Twist Phelan
International Thriller Award winner Twist Phelan joins us this month with a story that draws on one of the successful careers she pursued before becoming a novelist and short story writer. The former lawyer and commodities trader revisits the trading floor in this reading of her story "Floored," from the June 2008 EQMM.
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 EPISODE 32: "Ghosts" by John Harvey, "Awake" by David Dean, and "Suitcase in Slow Time" by Dave Raines
Three short shorts comprise this month's podcast. First up, one of the U.K.'s most accomplished authors, poet and crime writer John Harvey, who reads his story "Ghosts," from the September/October 2009 EQMM. Next, current Edgar Allan Poe Award Best Short Story nominee David Dean reads his story "Awake," from our July 2009 issue. And finally, we present a story by multi-genre author Dave Raines. His "Suitcase in Slow Time," from the June 2009 EQMM, is read by Mark Lagasse.
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EPISODE 31: "A Drowning at Snow's Cut" by Art Taylor
Fiction writer, book reviewer, and college professor Art Taylor reads his story "A Drowning at Snow's Cut" (EQMM, May 2011), which is currently nominated for the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Long Short Story Derringer Award. The author is a former Derringer Award winner in the novelette category, and a frequent contributor to EQMM.
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 EPISODE 30: "The Girl in the Golden Gown" by Robert S. Levinson
This month's selection is a story by Derringer Award-winning author Robert S. Levinson, "The Girl in the Golden Gown" (EQMM March/April 2010), read by Dell Magazines editor Mark Lagasse. A private-eye tale told in an inimitable voice, it was a nominee for the Private Eye Writers of America's Shamus Award.
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 EPISODE 29: “No Mystery” by Terence Faherty
Shamus Award winner Terence Faherty is featured this month reading "No Mystery" (from the March/April 2011 EQMM), a story in his Star Republic series, which follows the sometimes-offbeat investigations of a nameless newspaper reporter. The author is best known for his award-winning Owen Keane and Scott Elliott mystery series.
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 EPISODE 28: “Stone Cold Christmas” by Doug Allyn
This month, to celebrate the holiday season, EQMM presents a third podcast reading by multiple Edgar Allan Poe Award winner Doug Allyn. This time out, the author/musician brings us one of his Christmas stories, “Stone Cold Christmas” (EQMM January 2007), complete with his own musical arrangement and performance of a classic holiday song.
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EPISODE 27: “Ibrahim's Eyes” by David Dean
The story that won the EQMM Readers Award in 2007, “Ibrahim’s Eyes” by David Dean (from the June 2007 EQMM), is featured this month in a reading by another EQMM Readers Award winner, Doug Allyn. David Dean, whose work was recently nominated for a Barry Award, has been a regular contributor to EQMM since 1989.
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 EPISODE 26: “Comeback” by Ed Gorman
The Private Eye Writers of America’s new lifetime achievement award winner, Ed Gorman, is our featured author this month. His dark suspense story “Comeback,” read by Mark Lagasse, appeared in EQMM’s March/April 2009 issue. Like much of the Iowa author’s work, the tale revolves around its characters and missed opportunities. . .
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 EPISODE 25: “The Green Cross” by Elizabeth Zelvin
Elizabeth Zelvin, a New York poet and psychotherapist turned mystery writer, reads her Agatha Award nominated story “The Green Cross” for this month’s podca st. This engrossing first entry in a hist orical series, which appeared in the Augu st 2010 EQMM, is set on board ship during the first voyage of Columbus.
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 EPISODE 24: "Fun and Games at the Carousel Mall" by Tom Tolnay
Award-winning short story writer Tom Tolnay reads his story "Fun and Games at the Carousel Mall" (from the September/October 2002 EQMM) for us this month. Like many of the stories this versatile author writes, it pushes the boundaries of our genre.
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 EPISODE 23: "Disarming" by Dana Cameron
Award-winning short story writer and novelist Dana Cameron reads the second installment in her multi-award-nominated series featuring sixteenth century tavern owner Anna Hoyt. The story, full of accurate period detail and informed by the keen historical sensibility that is the Massachusetts author's hallmark, is from the June 2011 EQMM.
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 EPISODE 22: "So Much in Common" by Mary Jane Maffini
An award-winning author of both novels and short stories, Mary Jane Maffini joins with author James Lincoln Warren in this reading of her story "So Much in Common," from the September/October 2010 issue of EQMM. The story is the most recent winner of the Agatha Award for Best Short Story.
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EPISODE 21: "The Chatelaine Bag" by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini
This month two celebrated crime writers, Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, join forces for a podcast reading of a story they wrote collaboratively. It's from a series set in 1890s San Francisco, starring former Secret Service agent John Quincannon and former Pinkerton agent Sabina Carpenter. There's a little bit of a love interest between the fictional couple, which works well in a series written by a husband and wife who are at the top of their profession, just as Quincannon and Carpenter are in theirs! The story is from the June 2011 issue of EQMM.
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 EPISODE 20: "Famous Last Words" by Doug Allyn
Multiple EQMM Readers Award winner Doug Allyn is also a talented professional musician. For this podcast of his story "Famous Last Words," from the November 2009 EQMM, he's composed and performed a song and instrumental music. Reading the story is author, critic, and EQMM reviewer Steve Steinbock.
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 EPISODE 19: "The Case of the Headless Man" by Bill Crider
Award-winning mystery and Western fiction writer Bill Crider, a native Texan who wrote a PhD dissertation on the hardboiled detective novel, is known to many in the mystery field for his reviews, columns, and critical work. But he's also one of our genre's best storytellers. Here he is reading his story "The Case of the Headless Man," from the March 1998 EQMM.
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 Episode 18: "The Petty-Cash Killing" by Parnell Hall
Whether the Malice Domestic Convention's 2010 Guest of Honor Parnell Hall is writing in the private eye or the cozy genre, his stories and novels are always well plotted, and humorous elements abound. The author is also a musician and former actor, skills that put him in the perfect position to produce popular YouTube videos such as Signing in the Waldenbooks. He joins us this month with a reading of his November 1999 EQMM story "The Petty-Cash Killing."
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 Episode 17: "Cupid's Arrow" by Marilyn Todd
British writer Marilyn Todd is one of a small group of historical writers currently mining the world of Ancient Rome for intrigue and suspense. In this month's selection, "Cupid's Arrow", from the September 2003 issue of EQMM, her series protagonist Claudia Seferius investigates a murder on her very doorstep. The dramatized reading features the author as Claudia, and an entrancing cast of supporting characters.
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 Episode 16: "Fruitcake" by Steve Hockensmith
Edgar, Anthony, Shamus and Dilys Award finalist Steve Hockensmith joins us for a second podcast this month, this time reading one of his delightful Christmas tales, "Fruitcake," from the January 2003 EQMM. Booklist has praised this author for his "delicate balance of mystery and humor." If you're in need of some laughter to break the frenzy of holiday shopping, don't miss this one!
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 Episode 15: "Rogue's Gallery" by Robert Barnard
A winner of the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain's Lifetime Achievement Award, Robert Barnard has been, for decades, one of the leading lights in British crime fiction, and an author with a large following in the U.S. and around the globe as well. For this episode in our podcast series he reads the poignant "Rogues' Gallery," from the March 2003 EQMM.
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Episode 14: "Ms. Grimshank Regrets" by Nancy Pickard
With her latest novel, The Scent of Rain and Lightning, a New York Times bestseller and a "Barnes & Noble Recommends" main selection, Nancy Pickard is at the top of her profession. Her first published work appeared in EQMM's Department of First Stories and she continues to produce many excellent short stories each year. Here she is reading "Ms. Grimshank Regrets," from our May, 2008 issue. After the reading, Nancy joins EQMM editor Janet Hutchings and authors Margaret Maron and Carolyn Hart for an interview conducted at the Malice Domestic Convention in 2010. (This interview also appears at the end of Episodes 12 and 13 in our podcast series.)
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 Episode 13: Virgo in Sapphires" by Margaret Maron
Margaret Maron is widely celebrated for her novels, but she began her career with short stories and continues to produce some of the best short work in the field. After the Edgar Allan Poe Award winning author's reading of her story "Virgo in Sapphires," from the December 2001 EQMM, she joins EQMM editor Janet Hutchings and authors Nancy Pickard and Carolyn Hart for an interview conducted at the Malice Domestic Convention in Arlington, Virginia. (This interview also appears at the end of Episode 12 in our podcast series.) |
 Episode 12: "Spooked" by Carolyn Hart
The author of nearly 4 dozen novels, bestselling author Carolyn Hart seldom writes short stories, but when she does, they're not to be missed. This month's selection, "Spooked," from EQMM's March 1999 issue, is set on the home front, in Oklahoma, during World War II. Often hailed as America's Agatha Christie, Carolyn Hart creates a memorable picture of childhood and war in this tale, which became the basis for a book entitled Letter From Home. Following the author's reading of the story is an interview conducted by EQMM editor Janet Hutchings at the Malice Domestic Convention in Arlington, Virginia, with Carolyn Hart, Nancy Pickard, and Margaret Maron. |
 Episode 11: "Star of the Silver Screen" by Janice Law
Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee Janice Law takes the classic woman-in-jeopardy story in an entirely unexpected direction in this month's selection, "Star of the Silver Screen," from EQMM's December, 1996 issue. The tale is evocatively read by Dorothy Cummings.
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Episode 10: "The Pirate's Debt" by Toni L.P. Kelner
An historical mystery filled with high-seas adventure, by award-winning author and editor Toni L.P. Kelner, is featured in this month's podcast, as read by Charlaine Harris. "The Pirate's Debt," which appeared in EQMM's August 2009 issue, received a nomination from the Short Mystery Fiction Society for best novelette of 2009. Following the reading, Toni and Charlaine join editor Janet Hutchings for an interview recorded at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. (This interview also appears at the end of episode 9 in our podcast series.) |
 Episode 9: "Dead Giveaway" by Charlaine Harris
A story by bestselling writer Charlaine Harris, author of the novels on which the HBO TV series True Blood is based, is read, for this episode in our podcast series, by writer Toni L.P. Kelner. "Dead Giveaway" first appeared in EQMM's December 2001 issue and can also be found in print on our website. Following the reading, Charlaine and Toni join editor Janet Hutchings for an interview recorded at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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 Episode 8: "Horn Man" by Clark Howard
Winner of the 1981 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Short Story, "Horn Man" features unforgettable characters and the vivid setting of the New Orleans music scene. The legendary Clark Howard's many fans, who have made him a multiple winner of EQMM's yearly Readers Award, won't want to miss this dramatic reading of the tale by another well-known EQMM contributor, Doug Allyn. "Horn Man" was first published in the 6/2/80 issue of EQMM.
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Episode 7: "Say That Again," by Peter Lovesey, "The Old Story" by Liza Cody, and "Wheeze" by Michael Z. Lewin
Three stories that take their lead from a single newspaper article provide an entertaining look at how a common creative impetus can take the imaginations of different writers in wonderfully different directions. Includes a short interview with the authors, all leading writers of suspense, recorded at the 2009 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention.
Episode 6: "The Problem of the Locked Caboose" by Edward D. Hoch
The solving of so-called "impossible crimes" is the hallmark of Edward D. Hoch's series character Dr. Sam Hawthorne. In this episode, the New England country doctor is on board a night train when a body is discovered in its locked caboose. Dramatized from the story "The Problem of the Locked Caboose" by Edward D. Hoch, published in EQMM in May, 1976.
Episode 5: "Dear Doctor Watson" by Steve Hockensmith
A pair of Old West cowboys try to prove they're worthy of joining a detective agency by retrieving an incriminating letter, in "Dear Doctor Watson" by Steve Hockensmith (from the February 2007 issue of EQMM). But things are not all they appear to be in Missoula, Montana, circa 1890. . .
Episode 4: "A Lump of Sugar" by Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen returns in a case involving a cryptic dying message. Adapted by Ed Bogas, of Bogas Productions, from the story "A Lump of Sugar," published in EQMM in February, 1953. (The story later appeared under the titles "Murder in the Park" and "The Mystery of the 3 Dawn Riders.")
Episode 3: "The Talking Dead" by Melodie Johnson Howe
A TV writer goes missing, leaving her show's star without a script and opening up a perfect scenario for murder. In this fourth installment in her series of Diana Poole mysteries (published in EQMM in June 2003), former Hollywood actress Melodie Johnson Howe takes a penetrating look at the off-stage life of a TV idol.
Episode 2: "Groundwork" by Neil Schofield
A nosy neighbor alerts police to suspicious digging in the garden next-door—and she isn't the only one to get an unexpected comeuppance. Dramatized from the story "Groundwork," by Neil Shofield, published in EQMM in November 2001.
Episode 1: "The Myna Birds" by Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen receives a phone call from a murder victim in this clever play involving a witness of another species. Taken from the story entitled "Cut, Cut, Cut!" when it was published in EQMM in September 1956. |
Come back frequently to check for new episodes!
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