Waiter, There's a Clue in My Soup! Five Short Mysteries

Five light mystery short stories: from puzzles like "Waiter, There's a Clue in My Soup!", "The Hoosegow Strangler," and "Trail of the Lonesome Stickpin," to suspense in "Alibi" and "The Promise." These stories were previously published in magazines like Handheld Crime and Futures Mysterious Anthology. Several of these stories were nominated for a Derringer Award or put forward for an Edgar.Four layered 10-minute plays--three to laugh with, one to cry with, and each to ponder. What's more important: the book or the members? In "Reality Book Group," three college professors invite a book-loving ex-convict to join them. Selected from over 400 plays written by New England playwrights, "Reality Book Group" was top-billed in The Boston Globe and performed at the 2012 Boston Theater Marathon. The play will be print-published in Boston Theater Marathon XIV, 2012 Anthology (Smith & Kraus).Bluefish (and humans): "Once they're hooked, they fight for their lives!" John, an odd, motherless third-grade boy follows his teacher, Ms. Willoughby, everywhere after learning she is pregnant. And he's telling everyone that Mr. Matthews, the principal, is the father. In "Room with Maintenance," Harold, an intellectual with a painfully swollen leg, and Frank, a crude carpenter, find themselves locked in a room together after they die. Each, a divorcee, reminds the other of his disliked ex-wife. Are they in Heaven, Hell, or someplace entirely different? Why were they "placed" together. And who's going to fix the broken toilet??? "Medium Security 2025": The year is 2025, and Linda, the wife of an art history professor, has had enough of her husband Ronald's philandering with students. She confronts him (and a coed) at the art museum in front of his favorite painting, Van Gogh's "Postman." Is it time for security to step in? Or will this ruin the "best exhibition (you've) ever seen"?