The 'Zine Scene

The brand new edition of Mystery Scene Magazine features a cover story on author Gregg Hurwitz; a profile of the influential and widely read Margaret Millar, an author who broke ground for such later writers as Ruth Rendell and P.D. James; Kevin Burton Smith's look at Jessica Jones, a "complex, conflicted TV hero for our troubled times"; Jon L. Breen investigates current legal thrillers that explore the limits of law and order; plus more articles, reviews, and the zine's critical favorites for 2015.

Thuglit Issue #22 is out and ready to "knock your literary teeth out the back of your head with eight brand new tales of misdemeanors, misdeeds, misanthropy and misbehavior." Authors with stories in the latest edition include Tom Barlow, Rob Hart, Matthew J. Hockey, Robert Hart, Joshua D. Moyes, Jon Zelazny, Willian Dylan Powell, and Nolan Knight.

Suspense Magazine's latest issue includes a new feature, "Craft Corner," in partnership with the ITW and The Big Thrill Newsletter, with Vincent Zandri and Darynda Jones kicking off things. Authors featured in this edition include Peter Straub (a Suspense Magazine first), D.P. Lyle, Tilly Bagshawe, and Bev Vincent, plus there over 20 pages of book reviews, short stories, and other articles.  

The new Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine podcast this month features “The Adventure of the Seven Black Cats” by Ellery Queen, reprinted in EQMM’s January 2016 issue, and originally published in the 1934 short-story collection The Adventures of Ellery Queen. This ingenious whodunit by one of the bestselling mystery writers of all time is read by Mark Lagasse.

The February issue of Yellow Mama includes the new stories "A New Cassavetes," in which Malcolm Graham Cooper’s young filmmaker finds his own "Mrs. Robinson"; "Blacksburg Park" by J.J. Sinisi, where a teen girl hides a gun for her bestie’s gangsta brother; Mark Jones’s "Tin Cry," featuring a thief who forfeits his cut for love ... stupidly; and Oliver Lodge’s "Prowler," a testament to obsessive creeps everywhere.

The third issue of Crime Scene features the BBC’s Peaky Blinders on the cover, a TV series starring Cillian Murphy as an Irish gangster in post-WWI Birmingham. Inside, there's more TV coverage, including a brief look at Rowan Atkinson as Maigret, which is coming to ITV soon, and as article about the Welsh crime drama Hinterland. There are also interviews with Harlan Coben and Mark Billingham; Barry Forshaw talks about his upcoming book, Brit Noir; and Orion Publishing’s Sam Eades looks at the anatomy of a bestseller. 

The March/April issue of The Big Click has gone live featuring short stories by and an interview with Libby Cudmore. The sad news is that this is the final issue of the publication, also the editorial indicates they're open to someone buying the zine and taking over. (HT to Sandra Seamans.)