Grab your hat and sunscreen because we’re headed to Spellbound’s Summer Camp. Lots of mysteries but no paywalls. I mean, what kind of summer camp would that be? Let’s get started …

1. Your Next Mysteries: Good Buddies at Camp

Back to Lazarus by Judith K. Walker + past favorites

As I was reading Back to Lazarus, I flashed on what a fun buddy Sydney Brennan, private eye extraordinaire, would be at mystery summer camp. I never liked that uncomfortable I-don’t-know-anyone feeling the first day of camp. Sydney and I could talk about the case in Back to Lazarus — Book 1 in her Sydney Brennan Mysteries series. Like what was the deal with that woman who hired Sydney to look into her father’s suicide? He went to prison for a crime he may or may not have committed and spent close to 20 years there. Then he killed himself. Curious, to say the least. “After that long his final act doesn’t seem like guilt or remorse,” Sydney says. “In fact, it doesn’t even sound like suicide. Which begs the question: What is the real reason this client wants me to investigate?”

Walking around the lake after supper, I can well imagine how much I’d be laughing thanks to Sydney’s sense of humor – just as I did while reading the book. And if we encountered any strong, mean-spirited men – summer camp always attracts a bully or two – well, she can handle them just fine, like she did in Lazarus.

That, of course, is assuming she can make it to camp. This bravado often leads to fights, and in Back to Lazarus, she meets her match, who lays her low for weeks with concussion, contusions, and cuts from head to toe.

When purple bruises aren’t turning yellow all over her face, she’s attractive and sports an engaging personality. Which is, in part, how she garnered two friends the likes of which we all wish we had. Richard and Mike from the public defenders’ office lend aid and comfort throughout her exploits. I doubt they could get time off for camp, though.

But back to Sydney’s dry wit. I bookmarked these to share with you:

1. I pulled up in front of a brick duplex … I’d say it had seen better days, but “better days” had avoided this neighborhood entirely.

2. We sat in a corner under a precariously hung rotting sombrero … After reassuring myself the sombrero would disintegrate rather than cause injury if it landed on our heads, I was better able to concentrate.

Or this poignant one by her creator, Judith K. Walker, describing an old woman:

She was momentarily animated, perhaps possessed by the memory of inhabiting her twenty-five-year-old body. Then she sighed deeply, and while the memory of youth remained in her eyes, her posture began to sag and her cheeks seemed to slide off their bones.

I love writing like that, and Back to Lazarus is full of it.

Other characters I’d like to join us at summer camp? Jane Delaney from another eponymous series created by Pamela Burford. She’s also a wisecracker who would keep us in stitches. The first time I met her in Undertaking Irene, she was trying to steal a mermaid brooch from a corpse during a wake, so no telling what she’d get up to at camp. (You can read all about her here.)

And what about Jane Smith, star of The Not So Average Life of Average Jane? I hope she’s available (her sense of humor also crackles), but she might be too busy since she’s got a new book coming out August 3: The Consultants. Maybe Marissa Malson, her creator, could give her a brief break before the launch. (Check out this Q&A about Book 1.)

Our camp experience needs some guys to balance things out, and I’ve got two protagonists for the job. Freddy Ferguson, probably the nicest P.I. in the business, would make a fine camp buddy. His creator, Andrew Diamond, doesn’t appear to be writing more in that series (though he’s busy with other writing), but Freddy’s three books are at the top of my favorites list: Gate 76, Kill Romeo, and 32 Minutes. (Here’s an earlier post about Ferguson and Diamond.)

And Rolly Waters just has to come and bring his guitar. Rock musician and part-time P.I., he’ll bring the low-key, beach-bum vibe to our camp. Corey Lynn Fayman created a loveable character who gets into plenty of scrapes (of course he does!), but has a good heart. I could go on but you can read more here.

Now that should keep you busy catching up with some of the best stars in the indie book galaxy while I figure out what to do about two camp counselors who keep bickering at one another. ~Lynda McDaniel (https://lyndamcdaniel.substack.com)

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2. Mystery Crossword Puzzle

Relax and work this puzzle based on Academy Award-winning mystery films. Grab a screenshot and print it out or work it online here: https://crosswordlabs.com/view/academy-award-winning-mystery-films

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3. Your Next Mystery: Who doesn’t need more Goode friends?

Goode Friends by P. N. Garlick

Book 3 of 3 in the Goode Mystery Series

Lately, I’ve witnessed a lot of violence in both novels and television shows. Not just crimes but gratuitous in-your-face barbary. (Don’t worry – I toss those aside by page 50.) So it was a nice change of pace to discover Goode Friends by P. N. Garlick, a classic-style police procedural with an affable Detective Chief Inspector Malcome Goode heading the investigation. He’s a hard-working Everyman with seemingly no delusions about his status in life. Like the way he’s unperturbed when described on social media as “a rumpled mess” after the fourth body in as many days is discovered. I mean, who has time for personal hygiene with that going on?

And, yes, I did say four bodies. But it’s all handled in that British way that skirts the overt violence I lamented earlier.

DCI Goode and his trusty Sergeant Smith aren’t sure if they have a serial killer on their hands – there are a few discrepancies in the M.O. – but it’s looking that way. Social media is already calling it the Riverton Ripper, referring to the small South Yorkshire town where Goode and Smith work.

I’ve never been a fan of serial-killer plots. Not only is the premise grisly, but their purported prevalence is grossly exaggerated in TV and books. According to experts at the University of Michigan, “Generally, murders by serial killers in the U.S. was at its highest between 1970 and 1990, which is when some of the most sensationalized killers were active (think Bundy, Dahmer, Ramirez, Gacy, and Kemper, among many more). That number, though, has steadily declined in recent years, although the wealth of content about them could fool you.”

That said, serial killers in fiction do serve a purpose for authors. Story starting to wind down? Add a body, stir things up, repeat. (As an aside, I hadn’t realized the towering task of coming up with 16 (!) plots for my upcoming collection of short stories, Blizzard of Stories.)

Goode Friends also includes plenty of those special characters I never grow tired of: the English small town, cozy pubs, and old church graveyards. A few reviewers took Garlick to task for the North Americanisms he lets slip in. OK, Garlick hails from Albany, N.Y., but in the tradition of Martha Grimes, I can’t blame an author for wanting to write in the gold standard of murder mysteries. I hope our friends across the pond will forgive us.

“A captivating modern murder mystery with a delicious twist on
Agatha Christie’s ‘ABC Murders.’” ~ The Mystery Aficionado

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4. Let’s Do a Little Quote Sleuthing. What’s that? You’re about to find out …

Check out the quote in context and find the answers here:

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5. Summer Camp Jigsaw

Put your feet up and enjoy a little time by the lake. Click the photo above to access this jigsaw puzzle and choose from easy to supreme difficulty level. Or click here: https://puzzlesnap.com/share/e625202896f8238

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6. Mini-Mystery + Prizes: Bitter Tea

Well, the sun is getting low, which begs for a campfire and a mystery story. If you’ve been reading Spellbound lately, you know about mini-mysteries. The first one, Worst Day in a Coon’s Age, ran June 18, and readers asked for more. Glad to oblige with one from Della Kincaid.

ONCE A YEAR the rich owners of the only fashionable old house in Avery County opened their doors for an arts council fundraiser. The Victorian manor, sitting atop a panoramic ridge, dripped with gingerbread, never-used balconies, and at least three colors of paint on the trim. It was a nice gesture by the owners, but many of the locals who’d lived in the mountains of N.C. for generations felt miffed by the noblesse oblige of it all. Which proves the adage, you can’t win for losing.

I had a foot in both camps. I loved the mountain folks and their down-to-earth ways, but I also enjoyed the arts – not to mention the delicious spread at the fundraiser. I’d piled my plate with a slice of Victoria Sponge, three kinds of pastries (all homemade by the art mavens), and egg-and-watercress finger sandwiches. A nice break from shop duty at Coburns General Store in nearby Laurel Falls.

I was just getting ready for a good nosh when a terrifying scream stopped the string quartet mid-sonata. And my Victoria Sponge mid-mouth. I set my plate and cup aside and hurried toward the commotion.

A woman lay on the grass in front of the wraparound front porch, which was festooned in red-white-and-blue bunting. Someone with a doctor’s air of authority was pressing the woman here and there for signs of life. He set her arm tenderly on the grass and shook his head.

Sheriff Horne arrived in record time. Probably already casing the event for some leftovers. I couldn’t blame him; they were delicious. At least they looked delicious. I had just made my way back to my plate when I heard his booming voice (they didn’t call him Airhorn behind his back for nothing). “Della Kincaid! I need your help.”

We’d worked together on some cases, so I wasn’t totally surprised by his request, though he’d never acknowledged the need for my help before.

Horne had quickly established a crime scene with the requisite yellow tape and shooed everyone well away from the body, which now had a flowered tablecloth draped over it.

Read the rest of Bitter Tea, solve it first, and win a prize!

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Sneak Peek 8.6.26

I hope you enjoyed Spellbound Summer Camp. Now back to business as usual in August: Peter goes soft-boiled on us, while I introduce you to an author I think wins an award for outstanding writing and storytelling chops. Plus all the other Spellbound special features you’ve come to expect.

Spellbound’s mission is twofold: finding good mysteries for you while supporting noteworthy indie/under-the-radar mystery authors. Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this issue, help support future features and short stories. Pay what you can at Buy Me a Coffee. Thanks!

P.S. Know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug? Help them scratch that itch and take life a little easier — send them this issue.

Share Spellbound Mystery Magazine

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Bitter Tea by Della Kincaid

Once a year the rich owners of the only fashionable old house in Avery County opened their doors for an arts council fundraiser. The Victorian manor, sitting atop a panoramic ridge, dripped with gingerbread, never-used balconies, and at least three colors of paint on the trim. It was a nice gesture by the owners, but many of the locals who’d lived in the mountains of N.C. for generations felt miffed by the noblesse oblige of it all. Which proves the adage, you can’t win for losing.

I had a foot in both camps. I loved the mountain folks and their down-to-earth ways, but I also enjoyed the arts – not to mention the delicious spread at the fundraiser. I’d piled my plate with a slice of Victoria Sponge, three kinds of pastries (all homemade by the art mavens), and egg-and-watercress finger sandwiches. A nice break from shop duty at Coburns General Store in nearby Laurel Falls.

I was just getting ready for a good nosh when a terrifying scream stopped the string quartet mid-sonata. And my Victoria Sponge mid-mouth. I set my plate and cup aside and hurried toward the commotion.

A woman lay on the grass in front of the wraparound front porch, which was festooned in red-white-and-blue bunting. Someone with a doctor’s air of authority was pressing the woman here and there for signs of life. He set her arm tenderly on the grass and shook his head.

Sheriff Horne arrived in record time. Probably already casing the event for some leftovers. I couldn’t blame him; they were delicious. At least they looked delicious. I had just made my way back to my plate when I heard his booming voice (they didn’t call him Airhorn behind his back for nothing). “Della Kincaid! I need your help.”

We’d worked together on some cases, so I wasn’t totally surprised by his request, though he’d never acknowledged the need for my help before.

Horne had quickly established a crime scene with the requisite yellow tape and shooed everyone well away from the body, which now had a flowered tablecloth draped over it. He rushed me to the side and said in as much of a whisper as he could manage, “Her name is Amanda Swinton. Did she ever come in your store?” I shook my head. “Well, she’s been poisoned. She reeked of bitter almond and the doc confided it was more than likely cyanide.”

I asked, “Do you have any suspects?”

“Well, besides everyone here, there are three people I want to interview. Now. Before they can cook up a cover story. I’m short-handed and need you to join me.”

As a former crime reporter, I never shied away from a good mystery.

Horne had wrangled a private place on the porch, where one by one I guided the suspects. The sheriff was a good interrogator, speaking as soothingly as he could.

“Was Amanda Swinton a good friend of yours, Ms. McGuire?”

“Oh yes. A dear, dear friend.” She pulled out an embroidered hanky and dabbed at her eyes. “Amanda did so much for the arts council.”

“Who placed the tablecloth over her?”

“I did. Right away. I was standing next to her when she collapsed. I didn’t want anyone to see her that way. Except for the doctor, of course. It seemed the kind thing to do. For everyone’s sake.”

When she broke down in tears, Horne excused her and nodded at me to bring the next suspect, Gloria Highwater.

“How long did you know Ms. Swinton?”

“We worked on the finance committee of the arts council together.” She couldn’t find her hanky, so I handed her a tissue from my purse.

“You two handled the council’s money? Any problems there?”

“Not a bit. I will miss her.” The tears started again in earnest, and I was running out of tissues.

Horne waited a moment before asking. “How well did Ms. Swinton know the doctor? Doctor Wingate?”

“Oh, er, um … I’m not sure,” she said between hiccups. “I did see them together in the kitchen today, but then Amanda suddenly left in a huff and he followed her out.”

“Is the doctor’s wife here?” Horne asked. “I understand she made some of the food.”

Ms. Highwater looked around. “She was, but I don’t see her anywhere. Now there’s someone I didn’t get along with, which I imagine you’ll discover when you investigate all of us. I wish she and her pastries had stayed at home. Then we’d be having a nice tea instead of, well, this,” she said, sweeping her hand toward the flowered tablecloth.

Turned out the doctor’s wife had hightailed it out of there right after the unfortunate demise of Ms. Swinton.

“I thought you cordoned everything off, Horne,” I said, disappointed a suspect had gotten clean away.

“Oh, don’t get in a snit, Della. I know who did it.”

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Send your answer to me at spellboundmysterywriters@substack.com

See prizes below.

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Prizes to first three correct answers to Bitter Tea:

1. Your choice of any e-book from my book list:

   

   
   2. An early e-copy of Blizzard of Stories, my 10th book in the series. Get an advance copy before it publishes August 16th.

   

   3. A set of four Appalachian Mountain Mystery greeting cards. Lovely artwork and sayings (from my books) on cards blank on the inside. And whoever you send them to gets a free copy of A Life for a Life!

   

   I hope you win!

   

Hiya,

Peter plays off the excitement of the World Cup with an amusing personal story and backstory to his popular novel, The World Cup Mystery. Lynda shares two books she recommends (after kissing a few frogs to find them ;-). Plus mystery trends and factoids and our writing contest, Written by You! with new cash prizes and expanded creativity!

1. Inside Story: The World Cup Mystery by Peter Bartram

When I joined my first newspaper as a reporter, it soon became clear that I wasn’t going be a star football writer.

The Worthing Herald had a good newsroom, including two reporters who covered all sports – from archery to weightlifting. (Well, there aren’t many sports than begin with X, Y and Z.) So the sports guys couldn’t be at every soccer match the paper wanted to cover. Sometimes general reporters, like me, had to help out.

I’d been on the paper for three weeks when I got my first – and only – call from the sports team. The town’s leading football club – Worthing – had an important match against rivals Seaford Town.

For Worthing, it was an away match – in a town about 30 miles to the east. My brief: get myself to Seaford – a journey involving two changes of train – cover the match, and get post-match comments from the teams’ captains and managers.

Oh, and by the way, at the break, telephone the half-time score to the sports desk of the Evening Argus. They needed it for the stop press in their Sports Extra edition.

Come the day, that proved to be my downfall …

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2. Your Next Mystery: Secrets and Lies with a Twist

His Last Lie by Erik Therme

~Lynda McDaniel (https://LyndaMcDaniel.substack.com)

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Ed: The following mystery mayhem is for paid subscribers. It’s the perfect time to get all the Spellbound features at a special price!

Subscribe now

3. July Almanac of Mystery Trends and Tips

Solve a riddle, tackle a Clue-a-gram, and learn about one of my favorite TV mysteries set in Peter’s back yard. You’ll be barking up the right tree when you tackle our list of mysteries featuring dogs. (Cats will be in the spotlight soon.) Finally, beware of innocent-looking poisons.

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4. World Cup Puzzle

Put your feet up and play a game of soccer/football yourself!

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5. Your Next Mystery: Where’s a Canadian sleuth when you need one? For that matter, how about a Swedish one?

In case you missed it last week, here’s a second chance to discover a well-written mystery novel with an uncommonly interesting Canadian protagonist. Plus a Clue-a-Gram looking for that Swedish detective mentioned above.

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6. Do You Write Mysteries? Then you need to know these two things:

A. Get yourself into the Thriller & Mystery Author Directory right here on Substack.

It’s a community of active thriller and mystery authors, podcasters, book reviewers, publishers, and other creative professionals. Traditionally published, indie, small press. Novel, novella, serials, shorts, or other mediums. However published, or even yet unpublished, the only requirement is to be actively working in the thriller or mystery genre spaces. Check it out here.

B. Written by You! New Rules and Prizes (Open to all subscribers)

1. Get published

2. Cash prizes

3. No entry fee

4. No prompts – just your creativity

Thanks to a sponsor, we now offer cash prizes along with a lifetime premier subscription to Spellbound Mystery Magazine. We love promoting new and indie authors!

We’re eager to read your writing. Every three months we offer a first prize of $50 and second prize of $25. Winning entries will be published in an upcoming issue of Spellbound Mystery Magazine. (Plus winners enjoy a premier subscription!)

Send us a short mystery or suspense story – any length up to 1,000 words (less is sometimes more, you know) – fiction or non fiction. No prompts, no entry fee, no other requirements – just your best work.

Deadline: July 15

Check WBY! rules and entry requirements here.

Sneak Peek 7.23.26

Grab your hat and sunscreen. Spellbound Summer Camp is coming to your inbox July 23rd. Our next issue is packed with vacation-style fun: mystery reviews of books you can’t put down, mystery puzzles & quizzes, and a new Mini Mystery with prizes. Bring your own popcorn and join us!

Spellbound’s mission is twofold: finding good mysteries for you while supporting mystery authors. Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this issue, help support future features and short stories. Pay what you can at Buy Me a Coffee. Thanks!

The Spellbounders,

Lynda McDaniel
Peter Bartram

P.S. Know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug? Help them scratch that itch and take life a little easier — refer them and win prizes! (And many thanks to all of you who have recommended Spellbound to your friends and colleagues. We really appreciate it!)

Refer a friend

When I joined my first newspaper as a reporter, it soon became clear that I wasn’t going be a star football writer.

The Worthing Herald had a good newsroom, including two reporters who covered all sports – from archery to weightlifting. (Well, there aren’t many sports than begin with X, Y and Z.) So the sports guys couldn’t be at every soccer match the paper wanted to cover. Sometimes general reporters, like me, had to help out.

I’d been on the paper for three weeks when I got my first – and only – call from the sports team. The town’s leading football club – Worthing – had an important match against rivals Seaford Town.

For Worthing, it was an away match – in a town about thirty miles to the east. My brief: get myself to Seaford – a journey involving two changes of train – cover the match, and get post-match comments from the teams’ captains and managers.

Oh, and by the way, at the break, telephone the half-time score to the sports desk of the Evening Argus. They needed it for the stop press in their Sports Extra edition.

Come the day, that proved to be my downfall. At half-time, the match was a no-score draw. I had 10 minutes to call the Argus before the second half kicked off. Plenty of time. Or so I thought.

But remember, this was 1966. There were places where a dedicated landline phone was something of a privilege. Shared phone lines – you called it a “party line” if you had one – were common.

(You were supposed to put the handpiece down if you picked it up and heard your neighbour having a heart-to-heart with her loved one. But no wonder so many people knew everyone else’s business in those days. Party lines weren’t phased out in Britain until the early 1980s.)

Anyway, there was no phone line – even a party one - at Seaford’s ground. These were the days long before the ubiquitous mobile. A helpful steward pointed me to a red telephone box a hundred yards down the street. Some help! The cable connecting the handpiece to the cradle had been neatly sliced through.

In the next box I visited there’d been a fire. It took me fifteen minutes to find a working phone box. And when I called the Argus, I was told I was too late for the Sports Extra. “But not to worry. Syd had phoned Larry who’d run round to Elsie’s and she’d heard the score from Algie!”

So my hunt for a phone had been wasted all along. And worse was to come. By the time I arrived back in the press box, the second half was already nine minutes in. And what proved to be the only two goals of the match had been scored by Seaford.

I managed to reconstruct how the goals had been scored – and by whom – but my piece wasn’t cutting-edge sports journalism. It lacked colour and excitement. Neither of the sports guys complained. But I wasn’t asked to watch another football match again. I wonder why!

But little more than three months later, I was watching another football match. The final of the 1966 World Cup between England and West Germany. On a black-and-white screen television. It proved to be one of the most thrilling World Cup finals of all time.

The score was 2-2 at full time. England’s two winning goals both came in extra time. So when I started to think about writing a Crampton adventure set in the world of football, the 1966 World Cup final was the first match I considered. (Actually, it was the only match I considered!) But there was a real-life mystery about the World Cup’s Jules Rimet trophy that clinched it.

On 20 March 1966, only weeks before the tournament’s kick-off, the gold trophy was stolen. It had been the star exhibit at an exhibition mounted in the Central Hall, Westminster, a corner kick from London’s Houses of Parliament.

The trophy was in a locked display case and protected by guards, but it wasn’t actually watched every minute. The thieves chose their moment to force open the case, grab the gold trophy, and leave by a back exit. The thieves tried to ransom the trophy for £150,000 but it appeared the police hunt for them got too hot.

A week after the cup was stolen, a dog called Pickles snuffled at something wrapped in an old newspaper, tied with string, and dumped under the hedge of a house in south-east London. When Pickles’ owner, David Corbett, retrieved and opened the parcel, he was astonished by what he found.

Corbett handed the Jules Rimet trophy to the local police. They took it to the London offices of the Football Association. There, it was formally identified by Harold Mayes, the FA’s head of press relations.

Three years later, Harold had become editorial director of a Fleet Street publishing company. He gave me my first job in newspapers after I’d graduated from university. I remember him as a generous man with a taste for bread pudding and a fund of seemingly improbable tales. Like the fact he’d identified the Jules Rimet trophy. So, improbable until you found out they were true.

Anyway, to get back to the theft, police never caught the main thieves. And they never discovered how the trophy ended up under a hedge in south-east London… Until I wrote a fictional account in The World Cup Mystery! I’ve wrapped the Jules Rimet theft in a larger mystery which unwraps piece by piece to reveal a series of surprises as the story develops.

And to start you with a single clue. Which newspaper do you think the Jules Rimet trophy was wrapped in? Well, in my story, it’s the Brighton Evening Chronicle, of course. Where Colin Crampton is crime reporter. I’ve blended facts about life in 1966 with fiction, and I challenge you to tell which is which.

Read The World Cup Mystery today …

A murder with a hidden motive.
A secret conspiracy behind the killing.
A crime reporter chasing a scoop.

It’s July 1966 – and England is football crazy as fans cheer their team on to win the World Cup. There are millions who’d kill for a ticket to the final in London’s Wembley Stadium. Then café owner Sergio Parisi is found murdered in his own kitchen – and his World Cup Final ticket missing.

As Evening Chronicle crime reporter Colin Crampton chases down the story, he finds a link to the theft of the World Cup’s Jules Rimet trophy. And Colin has a race to beat the final whistle to prevent an even deadlier crime.

~Peter Bartram
http://www.headlinehero.co.uk/

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P.S. If you know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug, help them scratch that itch and take life a little easier. Refer them and win prizes! (And many thanks to all of you who have recommended Spellbound to your friends and colleagues. We really appreciate it!)

Share Spellbound Mystery Magazine

Hiya,

Lynda has created a new feature: a Mini Mystery for you to solve – or not – in five minutes! She also reviewed two new under-the-radar mysteries that deserve top-of-the-list status. The exciting conclusion of Awash in Money, Lynda’s short story from her upcoming collection, Blizzard of Stories, awaits. And our writing contest, Written by You! offers new cash prizes and expanded creativity!

1. Inside Story: A new feature to test your detective skills

When I’m digging around in my brain for mystery plots for my Appalachian Mountain Mysteries, I have to consider all kinds of questions. Is it believable? Interesting? Have I sprinkled enough clues that you won’t be frustrated by the ending?

The same process goes into a Mini Mystery. What’s that, you ask? That’s what a magazine I recently picked up calls 500- to 700-word mysteries. They’re great fun to read and solve.

Though, to be honest, I rarely solve them correctly, but that didn’t stop me from giving writing one a try.

Mini Mysteries need to be written so the perpetrator is cloaked in, what else, mystery, i.e., not obvious, but with enough clues that the readers don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to solve them.

So I gave it a go. Once you read it, let me know who did it. I’ve made it worth your while with prizes for the first three correct answers. Oh, and please don’t put your answer in Comments. Let’s keep it a mystery for everyone. ~Lynda

Worst Day in a Coon’s Age by Abit Bradshaw

It musta been the full moon.

First, Mollie, my mild-mannered dog, started howling. That never happens. In fact, she’s such a quiet dog, I’d asked the vet if there was something wrong with her voice box.

I thought she was howling at our postman, Jake McAllister. But then I saw Sheriff Armstrong coming up the steps behind him. More likely the cause of Mollie’s hollering.

“Mr. Bradshaw,” the sheriff said, “I’m afraid there’s been a robbery at Coburns.”

I asked about Annie Totherow, the store manager, and Armstrong assured me she was fine. “The robbery happened overnight.”

I’d come to own Coburns General Store, the same store my father tried to run in the ground, thanks to my best friend, Della Kincaid. She’d saved Coburns, and some 30 years later deeded it to me when she’d had enough of shopkeeping.

Jake McAllister stood round, eager to hear more to feed the local gossip mill. When the sheriff gave him the stank eye, he finally drove off. That was when Armstrong told me about the racoon. He’d torn the store apart and eaten his way through the bread and crackers. Like I said, musta been the full moon.

But the sheriff had a theory that someone had set the coon loose to distract from the stolen money.

“A coon for cover?” I asked.

“I’ve seen worse ideas in play.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I know coons are good with their hands, but I’ve never seen one use a $20 bill. Why would anyone think a racoon’s rampage would cover such a theft?” He’d mentioned a figure close to $1,500, no small change in Laurel Falls, N.C.

Of course Armstrong wanted to know what I knew about all this. He’d never liked me. Della and I had beat him to the punch several times, finding the bad guys before he did. “All I know is what you just told me,” I said. “That’s it.”

“Let’s go talk with that manager.”

Read the rest of Worst Day in a Coon’s Age, solve it first, and win a prize!

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2. Your Next Mystery: 9 reasons to read The Irish Inheritance by M J Lee

Book 1 of 11: Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mysteries

1. Double the expertise. The protagonist, Jayne Sinclair, has what it takes to solve several mysteries in one, having served both as a police investigator and a genealogical investigator. “The past has a habit of giving up its secrets,” she says. “You only have to look in the right places.” And it doesn’t hurt that she still has police connections to help with searches only coppers can do.

With little to go on, she works the smallest clues – a book, a Celtic button, a thin file – one step at a time. She’s the poster child for perseverance.

2. Fascinating genealogy, a hot topic these days. John Hughes, the adopted American billionaire who hires Jayne, has a particularly thorny family tree. Early in the book we learn that his father, Captain Charles Trichot, fathered John seven years after his death in World War I! How’s that for a twist you didn’t see coming?

3. Ticking Clock. John Hughes (his adoptive parents’ name) doesn’t have much longer to live, and he wants to get to the bottom of this mystery ASAP.

4. Irish history intertwined with a contemporary mystery. The historical chapters are set in 1915, just before the Easter Rising of 1916; the contemporary mystery is 100 years later.

The Easter Rising, also known as the Easter Rebellion, was launched by Irish republicans rebelling against British rule in Ireland. When I was in school in the U.S., we never learned about this uprising or later, the Troubles, which raged during the later decades of the 20th century. It wasn’t until I grew interested in my heritage that I studied reasons for the conflict. I won’t get into that here, but in this novel, the history is more personal, zeroing in on individuals’ behavior on both sides to help explain the motivations and longings for a free Ireland.

5. An agreeable elderly father. These days mystery novels seem bogged down with dementia and orneriness in older characters. Jayne has a refreshingly loving relationship with her elderly father, who’s living in a home now. Sure, his memory isn’t as sharp as it once was, but he’s a good sounding board with helpful suggestions to share.

6. Abiding friendship between two Irish friends caught in both World War I and the struggles for independence. They have their conflicts, but their friendship is solid.

7. Inner strength and determination. I kept rooting for Jayne as she comes to terms with a dreary marriage out of step with her current aspirations. It takes time, but she begins to carve out the life she wants.

8. Twists and turns galore! In addition to the long-dead man who fathered a child(!), Lee reveals secrets and lies, broken promises, and deceptions at home and on the battlefield.

9. Evocative descriptions of red wine and dark chocolate. I used to sell Valhrona, Jayne’s chocolate of choice, when I owned my specialty food store in the Washington, D.C. area. I still think it’s the best chocolate ever with its complex flavor profile from the Palmira Plantation in Venezuela. She also details other foods, which is something I always enjoy reading (and including in all my own books).
~Lynda McDaniel https://LyndaMcDaniel.substack.com

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3. Written by You! New Rules and Prizes (Open to all subscribers)

1. Get published

2. Cash prizes

3. No entry fee

4. No prompts – just your creativity

Thanks to a sponsor, we now offer cash prizes along with a lifetime premier subscription to Spellbound Mystery Magazine. We love promoting new and indie authors!

We’re eager to read your writing. Every three months we offer a first prize of $50 and second prize of $25. Winning entries will be published in an upcoming issue of Spellbound Mystery Magazine. (Plus winners enjoy a premier subscription!)

Send us a short mystery or suspense story – any length up to 1,000 words (less is sometimes more, you know) – fiction or non fiction. No prompts, no entry fee, no other requirements – just your best work.

Deadline: July 15

Check WBY! rules and entry requirements here.

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Ed: The following mystery mayhem is for paid subscribers. It’s the perfect time to get all the Spellbound features at a special price!

Subscribe now

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3. Awash in Money, Part 2

Last week Blanche Scoggins told us about a missing man who’d left clothes in one of her washers – including $2,000 in cash and a photo of a mystery man. Blanche posted the photo on her tidy bulletin board and forgot about it. Months went by until a woman saw the photo and burst into tears. Who is she and what is Blanche going to do about it?

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4. Your Next Mystery: A nice guy in a bad situation makes for a good read

In case you missed it last week, here’s a second look at a great series full of intrigue, quirky characters, and a hint of romance. Plus a mini-crossword awaits.

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5. Abit Bradshaw’s – and My – Favorite Cake ...

June 26 is Abit Bradshaw’s 57th birthday! He’s been my protagonist since he was 12 years old, so we’ve been friends a long time. And the following cake is his favorite. Not surprisingly it’s mine too.

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Coming Soon!

Sneak Peek 7.9.26

Peter Bartram brings the excitement of the World Cup to Spellbound with an amusing personal story and backstory to his popular The World Cup Mystery. Lynda shares two books she recommends (after kissing quite a few frogs to find them ;-). Plus mystery trends and factoids.

BTW, July has five Thursdays, so since in the U.S. the month starts with the July 4th holiday, we’re skipping that week. Our next Spellbound arrives on July 9.

Spellbound’s mission is twofold: finding good mysteries for you while supporting mystery authors. Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this issue, help support future features and short stories. Pay what you can at Buy Me a Coffee. Thanks!

The Spellbounders,

Lynda McDaniel
Peter Bartram

P.S. Know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug too? Help them scratch that itch and take life a little easier. Refer a friend and win prizes!

Refer a friend

Try your hand at solving a Mini Mystery and you might win a prize! Just let me know who the guilty party is.

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Worst Day in a Coon’s Age by Abit Bradshaw

It musta been the full moon.

First, Mollie, my mild-mannered dog, started howling. That never happens. In fact, she’s such a quiet dog, I’d asked the vet if there was something wrong with her voice box.

I thought she was howling at our postman, Jake McAllister. But then I saw Sheriff Armstrong coming up the steps behind him. More likely the cause of Mollie’s howls.

“Mr. Bradshaw,” the sheriff said, “I’m afraid there’s been a robbery at Coburn’s.”

I asked about Annie Totherow, the store manager, and Armstrong assured me she was fine. “The robbery happened overnight.”

I’d come to own Coburn’s General Store, the same store my father tried to run in the ground, thanks to my best friend, Della Kincaid. She’d saved Coburn’s, and some 30 years later deeded it to me when she’d had enough of shopkeeping.

Jake McAllister stood round, eager to hear more to feed the local gossip mill. When the sheriff gave him the stank eye, he finally drove off. That was when Armstrong told me about the racoon. He’d torn the store apart and eaten his way through the bread and crackers. Like I said, musta been the full moon.

But the sheriff had a theory that someone had set the coon loose to distract from the stolen money.

“A coon for cover?” I asked.

“I’ve seen worse ideas in play.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “I know coons are good with their hands, but I’ve never seen one use a $20 bill. Why would anyone think a racoon’s rampage would cover such a theft?” He’d mentioned a figure close to $1,500, no small change in Laurel Falls, N.C.

Of course Armstrong wanted to know what I knew about all this. He’d never liked me. Della and I had beat him to the punch several times, finding the bad guys before he did. “All I know is what you just told me,” I said. “That’s it.”

“Let’s go talk with that manager.”

I followed the sheriff to Coburn’s, where Annie stood red-eyed and trembly. No way she’d taken the money. But Armstrong was like a pit bull when he latched onto a notion.

“Any ideas, Annie?” I asked, putting myself between her and the sheriff.

“I’ve made a list of the customers who shopped yesterday. Maybe they were casing the joint.”

I almost laughed. Annie never talked thataway. She’d gone off to school and gotten a fine education. But today her words seemed right.

“Mrs. Dockery came in, complaining as usual,” she said.

I knew that angry old woman. Always bringing something back. Cookies too crisp, ice cream too creamy. But I couldn’t see her pulling off a heist.

“Tate Meecham fixed the buzzing light fixtures for me yesterday afternoon,” she said pointing toward the high ceiling. I nodded, appreciating the quiet.

“And that hobo Jasper has been hanging around,” Annie added. “I don’t mean to pick on him. He’s awfully nice, but he needs money more than most.”

The store and next-door barn had been marked by hobos for years as a good place to stay. Maybe temptation had gotten the better of him.

The sheriff left to check out those leads and a few others.

The CLOSED sign on the door hadn’t been turned yet this morning. I suggested we take advantage of that and have an early lunch at Adam’s Rib, about the only restaurant in town. So it wasn’t surprising to see Tate Meecham and Jake McAllister sitting together over two pulled-pork sandwiches.

“Howdy, Miss Totherow, Abit,” Meecham said, setting his sandwich down and motioning for us to join them. “I hated hearing about the break-in. And those dang racoons.”

“Oh, I had racoons in my attic oncet,” McAllister said between bites. “They may wash their food, but they’re dirty little stinkers.”

As we chatted, Jasper came in and ordered a burger and fries and peach hand pie to go.

Old home week.

Annie and I found our own table and chowed down on Brunswick stew, grilled cheese sandwiches, and mile-high coconut cream pie. Afterwards, I walked Annie back to the store.

“Do you want to talk with the others on my list from yesterday?” she asked as she turned the sign to OPEN.

“Oh, no, this case is closed,” I said. “And the sheriff is going to hate me that much worse.”

* Send your answer to me at spellboundmysterywriters@substack.com

I’ll let you know the winners in the July 9 issue of Spellbound Mystery Magazine. See prizes below.

Spellbound’s mission is twofold: support mystery authors and help you find good mysteries. A winning combination!

If you enjoyed this Mini Mystery, help support future features and short stories. Pay what you can at Buy Me a Coffee.

Thanks for reading!

Lynda
Founder and Chief Suspect at Spellbound Mystery Magazine

*

Prizes to first three correct answers to “Worst Day in a Coon’s Age”:

1. Your choice of any e-book from my book list:

   

   
   2. An early e-copy of Blizzard of Stories, my 10th book in the series. Get an advance copy before it publishes August 16th.

   

   3. A set of four Appalachian Mountain Mystery greeting cards. Lovely artwork and sayings (from my books) on cards blank on the inside. And whoever you send them to gets a free copy of A Life for a Life!

   

   I hope you win!

Welcome to Written by You!

Every three months we award prizes for manuscripts from subscribers for our writing contest Written by You! Manuscripts can be sent in at any time.

No prompts, just prizes for your best ideas and mystery, suspense, or thriller writing.

1. Both fiction or nonfiction are accepted. Please designate which when submitting.

2. 1,000 word limit (or so) in 12-point font, double spaced.

3. No submissions created with generative AI.

4. No entry fee.

5. Submit by pasting your manuscript in an email before the designated deadline. Send to me at spellboundmysterywriters@substack.com.

6. In your email subject line, use the name of your short story.

7. Please do not use your name anywhere (other than what might be in your email address).

8. Only one entry per quarter per author. All entrants receive a three-month premium subscription to Spellbound Mystery Magazine.

9. Authors of winning stories will be notified as to when their piece will run. Prizes will be sent by USPS or Venmo.

10. Winners receive a $50 or $25 cash prize plus a lifetime premium subscription to Spellbound Mystery Magazine. (If you already have one, you’ll receive something else special!)

11. If your story is accepted, we request one-time rights. Once published, all other rights revert to you upon publication.

12. We cannot return manuscripts.

We look forward to seeing what you create! Long or short, fiction or nonfiction, just make sure it’s mystery or suspense.

P.S. Know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug too? Help them scratch that itch and take life a little easier. Refer a friend and win prizes!

Refer a friend

Hiya,

Award-winning author James Dain, our guest mystery author this month, keeps us spellbound with his neo-noir The Body in the Alley thriller. (Read on to get your own free copy!) Peter presents a new series starter by William Shaw, while Lynda shares a short story from her upcoming book, Blizzard of Stories, a compilation of backstories from favorite characters in her Appalachian Mountain Mysteries series. Plus Clue-a-gram and mystery factoids (e.g., ever wonder why we call Private Investigators PIs? It’s not what you think).

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Guest Author Spotlight: The Body in the Alley
by James Dain

James Dain is an accomplished author with two series and standalone thrillers to his credit. I’ve read both The Body in the Alley and Blood on the Mountain from his Hard Knock series, and I couldn’t put them down. Lots of people use that phrase these days (including the annoying made-up adjective, unputdownable). But these really are. Read on as James lets us in on the backstory to The Body in the Alley.

Q: How did “The Body in the Alley” come about?

I had just finished Everyone Dies in Youngstown, the first book in my Hard Knocks series, which features blue-collar protagonists fighting for their lives in difficult situations. I love reading old-style mystery thrillers by authors like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, so I challenged myself to come up with a contemporary story in the same vein. Keith Gainey, my protagonist, is an Afghanistan war vet working as a bouncer who finds himself getting framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

Q: It’s set very realistically in Philadelphia. Is that home for you?

No. But I grew up in Pittsburgh, on the other side of the state. My dad was a steelworker and my mom a housekeeper.

Q: Sounds like solid middle-class stock. So how did Keith’s girlfriend, Lucie Powers, come about, given she’s a wealthy society woman?

She’s based on a high school friend, who went off to school at an Ivy League college and never came back. She’s a character who started as a minor player, but quickly surprised me.

Q: How so? READ ON …

Your Next Mystery: The Red Shore by William Shaw

An Eden Driscoll Mystery

Years ago, when I was working as a journalist, I was commissioned to write a magazine article on British seaside piers.

It was the summer and the magazine wanted something with a holiday feel for its front cover. If you’ve never encountered the British seaside pier before, it’s important to know we’re not talking about the kind of docks with big cranes that you’d find in a commercial port.

Rather, think Coney Island at sea. A typical pier would have an amusement arcade with slot machine, a fairground with dodgems, a helter-skelter, a ghost train, and some “what the butler saw” machines showing naughty pictures of naked ladies. All good family fun!

Southend pier was a mile long and had a railway running the length of it. Brighton’s Palace Pier had a fortune teller called Magenta. Blackpool’s pier had a theatre famous for its summer variety shows.

Many of the piers had been built in Victorian times and featured elaborate metal structures fashioned out of iron. Some of them were susceptible to storms. Brighton’s West Pier crashed into the sea when it was hit by a particularly savage one.

Anyway, the magazine’s editor briefed me on what she wanted from the article she’d commissioned me to write. She thought it would be fun to find out what it was like to own and run a seaside pier.

I started my task by contacting the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions (BALPPA). From them, I obtained a list of about 50 piers around Britain’s coast. But not much more. Some of the piers were owned by companies which sat within complex ownership structures.

I started to ring round the contacts I’d managed to assemble and got the brush off at one pier after another. It was clear that most pier owners didn’t want a prying journalist sticking his nose into their business. And exposing their secrets.

I was close to the last name on my list and was beginning to think I’d have to hand the commission back to the magazine. And then I rang the owner of the pier at Teignmouth, a small seaside town in Devon. He was friendly and told me some of the ups and downs of pier ownership. How the maintenance costs were constantly rising and the sales dependent on the weather.

It’s been a long time since I’d written about Teignmouth pier – and then the other day I saw a picture of it on the cover of a crime mystery.

The book is called The Red Shore and is written by crime writer veteran William Shaw. I was delighted to find this book is the first in his Eden Driscoll series.

Driscoll is a detective with London’s Metropolitan Police. He’s been called to Teignmouth because his sister Apple has gone missing while out on her sailing boat. Driscoll hasn’t seen Apple for 12 years. When he arrives, he discovers that he has a nine-year-old nephew, Finn, who was on the boat with his mother. But he doesn’t know what happened to her.

The local police don’t want Driscoll interfering in their investigation. (There are hints all is not as it should be among the local cops.) They assume that Apple just fell off the boat or committed suicide. Driscoll thinks her disappearance is suspicious and sets about his own investigation.

He also has to build a relationship with his nephew as Finn has no other family. The local social services are keen to take over Finn’s care.

Then Finn disappears from school. It’s clear to Driscoll something is seriously wrong. He finds it hard to know who to trust among the locals who want to help him. They all seem to have their own secrets.

The Red Shore is a great opener to hopefully another long-running series for Shaw. Another of his series – Breen and Tozer series – is set in London in the 1960s. That’s a decade I’m particularly interested in as my Headline Hero series is set in Brighton, also in the sixties.

So I can strongly recommend Shaw’s The Red Shore. And, yes, Teignmouth pier does put in an appearance in the book.

~Peter Bartram
http://www.headlinehero.co.uk/

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Ed: The following mystery mayhem is for paid subscribers. It’s the perfect time to get all the Spellbound features at a special price!

Subscribe now

3. June Almanac of Mystery Trends and Tips

Ever wonder why we call Private Investigators PIs? It’s not what you think. Plus a new Clue-a-gram, an impressive list of bookstores dedicated to crime fiction, and fun punishments for reviewers who spoil endings.

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4. New Short Story: Awash in Money by Lynda McDaniel

This summer, Lynda launches a collection of short stories – Blizzard of Stories – but she wants you to get a sneak peek with a short story from Blanche Scoggins. She’s based on the real-life proprietress of the Wash ‘n’ Wear in Murphy, N.C., though everyone called it the Wash ‘n’ Swear. She was awfully grumpy.

A blizzard is raging outside, and winter wayfarers are huddled together around the woodstove in Coburn’s General Store. To enjoy this shelter and a hot meal, they all need to tell a mystery from their past. Of course Blanche doesn’t want to cooperate with the storytelling plan, but Della Kincaid bribes her with a big slice of carrot cake. Blanche has a thing for sweets, likely to counteract her sourness.

Laurel Falls, N.C., 1974

How about I share with you how I got the Wash ‘n’ Swear? And yeah, I know that’s what you all call it behind my back, but in this town, that don’t stop gossip from circling back round. Anyway, in the ’70s my no-count husband – now, thank the good Lord he’s my long-gone ex-husband – bought it for his money laundering. Put it in my name, without me knowing a thing about it. I was a mere slip of a girl …”

I hear that boy Abit snicker, so I pat my stomach and add, “Hard to believe, I know. Just like the idea that a big guy like you used to crap his pants.”

That shuts him up.

“As I was saying, I was a mere slip of a girl, but my husband didn’t care. He was just using me as he worked another one of his fiddles. But I played him. I left him when the law burst in on us, and I convinced them I didn’t know what he’d been up to. And mostly I didn’t.”

“Yeah, Blanche. We’ve all heard that before.” Abit again. Never did take to him.

“Okay, Mr. Smarty-pants, but there’s something you don’t know …”

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5. Your Next Mystery: The plot to uncover the truth, no matter what

This book bursts with rooting interest from the get-go. No fooling around – boom, you’re into the story, the pain of loss, the whodunit. If you missed it last week, here’s another chance …

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6.Written by You! (Open to all subscribers)

Reminder & deadlines: We’re eager to read your writing. Try your hand at a short, short mystery. You might win a lifetime subscription to Spellbound! The prompt for our next contest:

Topic: Childhood

Due by July 1, 2026

Everyone has a mystery from their childhood. For example, did someone from your school or neighborhood go missing? What happened when a neighbor was indicted for a crime? Or did someone inherit something no one knew the deceased owned? Now write a good short, short mystery about it.

What’s holding you back? We don’t bite. We love promoting new and indie authors! Check out WBY! rules and regs here.

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Coming Soon!

Sneak Peek 6.18.26

Lynda cooked up a new feature for us: a mini mystery you can solve – or not – in 5 minutes (with prizes)! She also reviewed two under-the-radar mysteries that deserve top-of-the-list status. And don’t miss the exciting conclusion of Awash in Money, Lynda’s short story from her upcoming collection, Blizzard of Stories. Plus a birthday surprise.

Thanks for stopping by Spellbound Mystery Magazine!

The Spellbounders,

Lynda McDaniel
Peter Bartram

P.S. Know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug too? Sounds like someone who’d love Spellbound Mystery Magazine. It’s easy to share …

Share Spellbound Mystery Magazine

*

Thanks for reading! Spellbound Mystery Magazine is made possible thanks to the support of mystery lovers like you. If you haven’t already, why not upgrade to get our original short stories, bonus mystery recommendations, plus giveaways, puzzles, and more. You’ll also receive our latest perk: Showdown at the Beach, a dandy “long short story” featuring Peter Bartram’s protagonist Colin Crampton as he works on a complex caper.

Subscribe now

James Dain is an accomplished author with two series and standalone thrillers to his credit. I’ve read both The Body in the Alley and Blood on the Mountain from his Hard Knock series, and I couldn’t put them down. Lots of people use that phrase these days (or the annoying made-up adjective, unputdownable), but these really are.

And now you can read The Body in the Alley too! James has a free download for you when you click on the cover above or here.

Read on as James lets us in on the backstory to The Body in the Alley.

Q: How did The Body in the Alley come about?

I had just finished Everyone Dies in Youngstown, the first book in my Hard Knocks series, which features blue-collar protagonists fighting for their lives in difficult situations. I love reading old-style mystery thrillers by authors like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, so I challenged myself to come up with a contemporary story in the same vein. Keith Gainey, my protagonist, is an Afghanistan war vet working as a bouncer who finds himself getting framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

Q: It’s set very realistically in Philadelphia. Is that home for you?

No. But I grew up in Pittsburgh, on the other side of the state. My dad was a steelworker and my mom a housekeeper.

Q: Sounds like solid middle-class stock. So how did Keith’s girlfriend, Lucie Powers, come about, given she’s a wealthy society woman?

She’s based on a high school friend, who went off to school at an Ivy League college and never came back. She’s a character who started as a minor player, but quickly surprised me.

Q: How so?

Usually when I plot a story I have a pretty good idea of all the scenes, but I found Lucie – with her loneliness, willfulness and intelligence – so fascinating she demanded a story of her own. So the developing romance between Keith and Lucie became more and more intertwined in the plot, leading to the twist at the end.

Q: You didn’t plan that ending from the beginning?

No, I wish I could have, but my mind won’t think that far ahead! I had a basic framework and an idea for the tension of the ending, but Lucie turned the story into something extraordinary.

Q: What are you working on now?

My psychological suspense series Twisted, featuring disturbed personalities struggling in bizarre circumstances that may or may not be all in their head. You Always Kill the One You Love has gotten great reader reviews, and The Invisible Worm Which Flies in the Night will be released in July.

James Dain writes character-driven thriller and suspense fiction. His works have won multiple awards, including “Best Novel” at the Los Angeles Neo-Noir Festival, and have been best-sellers in several Amazon categories. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.

Dain enjoys an adventurous life in Palm Springs, California, where he teaches college, explores the nearby mountains, and hikes with his dog, Dapple – “a mischievous mutt who has snuggled his way to my heart.”

Dain spends the winter snowboarding at Bear Mountain Resort, where he is a Level II certified snowboard instructor.

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P.S. Know someone who’s been bit by the mystery bug too? Sounds like someone who’d love Spellbound Mystery Magazine. It’s easy to share …

Share Spellbound Mystery Magazine

*

Thanks for reading! Spellbound Mystery Magazine is made possible thanks to the kind support of mystery lovers like you. If you haven’t already, why not upgrade to get our original short stories, bonus mystery recommendations, plus giveaways, puzzles, and more. You’ll also receive our latest perk: Showdown at the Beach, a dandy “long short story” featuring Peter Bartram’s protagonist Colin Crampton as he works on a complex caper.

Subscribe now