Tick tock, you lose. The clock is ticking as crime consultant Scott Drayco and "the world's most diminutive defense attorney, " Benny Baskin, play games with a dangerous killer to save an innocent man from going to jail. Why is the killer texting cryptic poems to Drayco about stolen Egyptian figurines, and what do the messages mean? Was the murder a crime of opportunity or was it planned all along for more sinister reasons? Drayco races around Washington, D. C, to find the answers and avoid becoming a puppet as a killer pulls the strings.

Ill-Gotten Games: A Scott Drayco Mystery Short Story

F you play with fire ... you get murder. When a series of arsons targets Vermont antiques stores, Detective Adam Dutton and con-woman Beverly Laborde worry a shop owned by their friend might be next. But the stakes take an even deeper and uglier turn after a body is found inside one of the burned buildings. Was it an accident, suicide ... or murder? Adam and Beverly hoped they'd seen the last of a crime syndicate operating under the Northern Antiquities League-and that they could finally put those dark memories behind them. But do the arsons signal the last gasp of the NAL? Or is a new mob threat rising from the ashes? With the help of the mysterious Mr. X, Adam and Beverly race to get to the bottom of the fires before any more lives are lost ... including their own.

Burn Away - Adam Dutton & Beverly Laborde, #3

? Mystery Magazine's annual Sherlock Holmes issue ?A double Issue filled with Pastiches, Parodies and Halloween thrills! Includes twice as many original stories as our regular monthly issues, and two You-Solve-It mysteries. Featuring:"The Case Of The Teller Of Tales" by Martin Rosenstock: Herman Starkey, famous author, has been murdered. Watson looked up to him. Did Starkey deserve admiration? Can Watson help Sherlock Holmes to find the killer? "Dead Man's Chest" by Michael Kelly: A scream in the night echoes along London's fog-shrouded streets, and soon detective Benedict Keller is on the scene to discover a dead man and a mysterious chest. "The Adventure Of The Man In Two Places" by Michael Mallory: Baffled by the case of a murder suspect positively identified as the killer in London, but who can prove he was hundreds of miles away at the same time, Scotland Yard turns to the only man who could possibly solve the puzzle: Sherlock Holmes. "Doctor Watson Knows Noses" by Bruce Harris: A Sherlock Holmes essay examining facial features in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle series of stories. "Scandal At The Savoy: The Monocle Murder" by CJ Verburg: Playing the world's most famous detectives is an amusing way for Holmes and Watson to earn a living, until the wrong killer calls their bluff. "Carousel Nightmare" by Max Jason Peterson: Orson and his mother love historic Hampton, but this haunted carousel ride brings up one too many memories. Is that the Headless Horseman pursuing them, or Orson's own demons? Capture is inevitable on this carousel ride to hell. "In The Land Of The Living" by Gretchen Altabef: Minutes from defeating Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Fall, Sherlock Holmes realizes that he is being hunted, escapes into the high Swiss Alps. His journey to freedom also allows him to save a boy who is the key to international peace. "The King's Island" by John M. Floyd: When a derelict in a stolen boat washes up on a tiny uncharted island, he finds that its only other resident seems vaguely familiar . "The Savile Row Mystery" by Bruce Harris: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson help a soon-to-be-famous salesman with his at-risk position at a Savile Row clothiers. "A Double Fake" by BV Lawson: When is Sherlock Holmes not Sherlock Holmes? A young accountant gets roped into a game which turns out not to be all that elementary. "I, Montresor" by Edward Lodi: Drawing inspiration from a story by Edgar Allan Poe, a frustrated writer plans to exact a terrible revenge against a friend who he believes has betrayed him. But who is the avenger, and who the avenged? "Chamber Of Vengeance" by Joslyn Chase: When a family-owned costume and novelty shop in Seattle hires Tamsin and her boss to restore their wax sculpture display by Halloween, Tamsin knows they'll have to scramble. When murder happens in the museum, they get more than they bargained for. "A Study Of Death" A Dr. John Watson Mystery by Teel James Glenn: Dr. Watson, while still grieving Holmes, is asked to investigate an impossible murder in a locked room. We have two A You-Solve-It mysteries in this double-issue: "The Missing Train" by Kate Fellowes and "Lost In Time" by Peter DiChellis.... and original cover art by Robin Grenville Evans.

Mystery Magazine: October 2021 - Mystery Magazine Issues, #73

What if a large part of your past turned out to be a lie?Crime consultant Scott Drayco is already in the middle of a possible career-ending legal battle when word comes that his mother, who disappeared 30 years ago, is very much alive - and charged with murder. With Drayco's father washing his hands of the matter and police convinced the woman is guilty, everyone tells him he should just walk away from the case and let the chips fall where they may. Except, Drayco finds he can't leave it alone and is obsessed with uncovering the truth: Is his mother really a killer? Where has she been all these years? And why did she suddenly leave her husband and children to vanish without a trace?Investigating the murder victim's colleagues, Drayco learns there are plenty who wanted the man dead, including a shadowy stalker who seems to have a mysterious connection to Drayco's mother. As he wades hip-deep into secrets, lies, and cons, he begins to question if the case is all just part of an elaborate scam ... where the only one being fooled is Drayco himself. NOTE: This is a sequel to book #3 in the Scott Drayco series, Dies Irae, which should be read before Elegy in Scarlet if you want to avoid spoilers!The Scott Drayco mystery series has been honored by the American Independent Writers, Maryland Writers Association, named Best Mystery in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and been a finalist for the Shamus and Silver Falchion Awards. The complete chronology of the Scott Drayco series for reading in order is:Played to DeathRequiem for InnocenceDies IraeElegy in ScarletPraise for BV Lawson's Novels:"BV Lawson has created a memorable character in Drayco, a concert pianist turned FBI agent, turned crime consultant. He also has the fascinating condition of synesthesia, which not only adds a mysterious depth to his character it is integral to the plot."  Big Als Books & Pals "... Kept me guessing until the very end. I'd recommend this book to experienced mystery readers who enjoy wrestling with skillfully placed hints that don't easily reveal their secrets." Long and Short Reviews"The storyline here is nicely structured, and creatively ties together two murder mysteries, which occurred decades apart. The small town setting is ideal, the lead character engaging, and the supporting cast interesting and diverse." Omimystery News"Now this story was close to brilliance ... The writing was fluent and the story intriguing, and I loved the end." - IHeartReading Reviews"Lawson's book was so good, I read it twice from beginning to end... The citizens of Cape Unity are as diverse and multi-layered as any person living in the large cities, and Lawson portrayed them splendidly." - Reader's Favorite Reviews"A nice tight mystery in a realistic setting. Totally enjoyable." Terrie Farley Moran, author of the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries"This the kind of story that DEMANDS your attention. The woven layers of character, plot, theme, and mystery mean that you can't read it fast enough but yet if you read too fast you'll miss something important. Reading BV Lawson books is the best kind of torture. I don't enjoy many Mystery or Suspense novels, but this one takes it. Highly Recommended!"  Amazon Top 500 Reviewer

Elegy in Scarlet - Scott Drayco Mystery Series, #4

The third intallment in the Melungeon Witch short-story series set between the two World Wars in the Appalachians near Sneedville, Tennessee. When Sheriff Daniel Praeger's three-year-old son finds a "sleeping man" in the woods, Daniel realizes the man has been murdered-and was himself accused of murdering his own wife a year ago. With the dead man's uncooperative family and Daniel's ex turning up the heat, can Daniel keep his son and Cephea safe while sorting out his own conflicted emotions?

The Melungeon Witch's Ghost - The Melungeon Witch Short Story Series, #3

The fourth intallment in the Melungeon Witch short-story series set between the two World Wars in the Appalachians near Sneedville, Tennessee. A mysterious stranger is found with a bag of gold-and shot with a poisoned arrow. When a man and woman arrive in town with claims the gold was stolen, Sheriff Daniel Praeger must uncover the truthwhile Melungeon healer Cephea Collins tends to the wounded and unconscious victim. Will the growing feelings between Daniel and Cephea help solve the puzzle or drive them further apart?

The Melungeon Witch's Gold - The Melungeon Witch Short Story Series, #4

A mysterious music puzzle. A murdered coed. Sinister secrets. Three years ago, Scott Drayco left the FBI after an incident involving his partner, Mark "Sarg" Sargosian. Now a freelance crime consultant, Drayco often helps law enforcement on cases, but he never imagined his estranged former partner would turn up on his doorstep, pleading for Drayco's help. A co-ed at an elite Washington, D. C., private college has been murdered, and the victim's friend - Sarg's own daughter Tara - might be the next target. The killer left behind a puzzling music code at the crime scene, and Drayco soon learns he has two things in common with the murdered girl - a music background and synesthesia. The case takes an even stranger turn after a second murder and a second music code, with signs pointing toward a possible ritualistic killing. Then, Drayco himself starts receiving coded messages .

Dies Irae - Scott Drayco Mystery Series, #3

Crime consultant Scott Drayco is in the middle of a thorny case in Washington, D. C. involving murder victims who were all wheelchair-bound. Then, out of the blue, he gets a worried call from a friend on Virginia's Eastern Shore about an attack on an innocent disabled girl. Working once again with Sheriff Sailor and Deputy Nelia Tyler, Drayco discovers almost everyone believes the girl's attack was an accident. But he begins to suspect otherwise when he crosses paths with a badly disfigured man and the man's engimatic Goth son, as well as one of the smoothest and most dangerous figures Drayco has encountered in his career. Meanwhile, his conflicted feelings toward the soon-to-be-divorced town councilman's wife, Darcie Squier, continue to simmer under the surface and threaten to undermine his focus and cloud his judgement. But he's well aware he needs to keep his faculties razor-sharp if he's to solve the riddle of whether the cases in D. C. and the Eastern Shore are linked - or is he dealing with not one monster, but two?

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