Crime Stories

This collection features twenty short stories from humorous thriller writer J.A. Konrath. Included are a few hardboiled tales, some noir, some parody and satire, a few straight-out comedy pieces, and a few stories that didn't fit into Konrath's other two collections, Horror Stories and Jack Daniels Stories. The twenty stories include: The Big Guys - Flash fiction, winner of the Derringer Award. A Fistful of Cozy - A satire of the mystery cozy genre. Cleansing - An ancient crime of biblical proportions. Lying Eyes - Solve it yourself, given the clues. Perfect Plan - Another solve it yourself. Don't you remember One Minute Mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown? Piece of Cake - Another solve it yourself, originally featured in Woman's World. Animal Attraction - Solve it yourself. Urgent Reply Needed - A cautionary tale about dealing with spammers. Blaine's Deal - A parody of hardboiled noir. Light Drizzle - A light-hearted send-up of hitman stories. An Archaeologist's Story - How digging up old bones leads to fresh corpses. Don't Press That Button! - An essay about the gadgets in the James Bond universe, and which you need to buy. Piranha Pool - A writer seeking criticism pays the ultimate price. A Newbie's Guide to Thrillerfest - Never been to a mystery conference? Here's the in-depth dirt. Inspector Oxnard - He's either brilliant, or too stupid to breathe. One Night Only - A sports fan ends up in jail, all for the love of the game. Could Stephanie Plum Car Really Get Car Insurance? - An essay about Janet Evanovich's famous character. Cozy or Hardboiled? - Take the test to find out which type of book you're reading. Addiction - What's the worst drug you can get hung up on? Weigh To Go - A humor column about health clubs.