Plan B: Volume I

by Darusha Wehm (Editor), Gary Cahill, Tom Ward

This collection showcases a wide variety of plans gone sideways — private eyes getting stuck on cases they really don’t want to take, petty criminals getting in over their heads, law enforcement professionals on the wrong side of the bars, and upstanding citizens finding themselves to be not so law-abiding after all.

These stories are as varied as they are excellent — there are light-hearted tales to make you smile, literary pieces that challenge the definition of crime writing, and realistic portraits of difficult and disturbing decisions. Whatever your tastes, I’m sure you’ll find something to enjoy here and maybe something to surprise you.

Table of Contents

The Way to a Man's Heart by Gary Cahill
A Week Abroad by Tom Ward
The High Road by Sarah M. Chen
Interview Room C by Josh MacLeod
Hostage by Tekla Dennison Miller
Trouble's Bruin by Laird Long
Three Times a Killer by Michael Haynes
Polly Wants by Kou K. Nelson
Hazard Pay by Nick Andreychuk
The Woman Who Rowed Away by Tom Swoffer
The Uninvited Spook by C. D. Reimer
But Not Forgotten by by Martin Roy Hill
The Little Outlaw by Mike Miner

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2013

About the author

Darusha writes science fiction and speculative poetry as M. Darusha Wehm and mainstream poetry and fiction as Darusha Wehm. Science fiction books include: Beautiful Red, Children of Arkadia and the Andersson Dexter cyberpunk detective series. Mainstream books include the Devi Jones' Locker Young Adult series and The Home for Wayward Parrots (forthcoming from NeWest Press).

Darusha’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in many venues, including Arsenika, Nature, Escape Pod, and several anthologies.

Darusha is originally from Canada but currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand after spending the past several years sailing the Pacific. For more information, visit http://darusha.ca.

Reviews

[Martin Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not in the habit of reviewing books I have a personal interest in, but having just finished Plan B Mystery Magazine’s “Plan B Anthology: Volume I” I had to give kudos where kudos are due. Edited by author Darusha Wehm, the anthology presents mystery short stories from some of the best established and upcoming mystery writers of the day.

This collection of 13 stories showcases plot where the best laid plans go awry (hence the name, Plan B). In Tom Ward’s ”A Week Abroad,” an assassin stalks his next victim unaware that he, too, is being stalked. “Hostage,” by Tekla Dennison Miller, is a gut-wrenching tale of a prison guard’s imprisonment colored with all the realism only a former prison warden could produce.

For a more light-hearted read, author C.D. Reimer presents his espionage story “The Uninvited Spook.” In “The Little Outlaw,” Mike Miner proves the proverbial apple truly doesn’t fall far from the tree.

The “Plan B Anthology: Volume I” is perfect for your summer reading list.

[Scbickle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of short crime stories. A nice diverse selection of different stories. I'd forgotten I had this book on my Kindle so it was a nice surprise to find it after finishing two novels during our holiday.