Böcker av Josh Pachter

12 of today's best short story authors have taken their favorite one-hit wonders and reimagined them as the influence for some pretty heinous crimes.

Happiness Is a Warm Gun is the sixth of Josh Pachter's "inspired by" anthologies, following volumes of stories inspired by the songs of Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, and Paul Simon...and by the films of the Marx Brothers. For this collection, the lyrics of the Beatles' inspired the contributing authors to imagine a world in which murder, kidnapping, blackmail, and theft are as common as meter maids and yellow submarines. Each story was inspired by a song from one of the Fab Four's studio albums: seventeen albums, seventeen songs, seventeen stories-by a total of eighteen authors (since one was written collaboratively by Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, two of crime fiction's leading bloggers). Many of the contributors, like the Beatles themselves, come from England-including award winners Martin Edwards, Paul Charles, Vaseem Khan, Christine Poulson, Marilyn Todd, Kate Ellis, and Tom Mead-while the American authors include such popular crime writers as John Copenhaver, Michael Bracken, John M. Floyd, David Dean, Joseph S. Walker, and Robert Lopresti. So roll up for the Magical Mystery Tour-step right this way! After all, when it comes to crime, all you need is...motive, means, and opportunity!

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. But when one of his professors offers to send American grad student Jack Farmer to Europe to do historical research in Amsterdam's Begijnhof-a peaceful closed community in the heart of the bustling Dutch capital-Jack looks forward to a summer of mostly play and not much work. Then he meets Jet Schilders, an attractive young nurse who takes care of the elderly woman next door, and realizes that his summer in The Netherlands might just turn out to be even more fun than he'd hoped.When the woman next door is brutally murdered, though, and her nurse turns out to be the prime suspect, Jack and Jet join forces in an attempt to find the real killer and clear her name. But their investigation puts them in Dutch with the local police, and a second murder raises the stakes ... and paints a target on both of their backs."Dutch Threat has wit, charm, and lovely crisp prose-everything that's great about Josh Pachter's short fiction. His debut novel was a long time coming, and it was well worth the wait!" -Tom Mead, author of Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel

One name springs to mind when we think of classic suspense films; Alfred Hitchcock. His silhouette is instantly recognisable as no one else has quite the same pouty lips and round, chubby face. The way he posed for photographs and his penchant for making cameo appearances in his films bear witness to his larger-than-life personality, but it was his ability to tell a spellbinding tale coupled with his technical brilliance that earned him the epithet of "Master of Suspense". His groundbreaking use of camera movement and the way he framed shots to maximise anxiety and fear place films like "Vertigo" among the very finest examples of creative achievement ever produced within the seventh art. In "Rear Window", he builds edge-of-your-seat tension by placing us in James Stewart's wheelchair and making us watch events unroll through his eyes, and the use of cutting-edge special effects in "The Birds" is almost as impressive as the fact that more than three thousand birds were trained for the film. What else do these three films mentioned have in common, along with "Psycho" and "Rebecca" and so many others? That's right...they were based on novels or short stories; the written word. In "A Hint of Hitchcock", we turn our attention back from the screen to the page, and bring you, the avid suspense reader, modern tales that chill and surprise, all inspired by the work of the master of suspense.Better Not Look Down - Josh PachterGolden Curls - Rebecca A. DemarestMore Than Suspicion - Joseph S. WalkerParanoia - Paulene TurnerThe Suitcase - Jason FischerRebecca Redux - Elizabeth ElwoodHighwayman's Hitch - Cameron TrostRelish - David CarrollKarma is a Thief in the Night - Roger JohnsScallion's Head - H.K. StubbsClosed Circuit - Mark BlackhamVault - Andy Rausch

★ Highly recommended for crime fiction readers everywhere - Australian Crime Fiction website (austcrimefiction.org)★ This is an excellent selection of stories to suit every mystery fan...enjoyment all the way - Karen Bayly, author of Fortitude★ This anthology delivers an eclectic mix of stories with thrilling twists and turns - Danielle Birch, author of mystery and suspense★ Five stars for a strong, entertaining collection of mystery stories, brought together in one volume by the masters at Black Beacon Books - from a Goodreads reviewThe first Black Beacon Book of Mystery brings you original and reprinted tales from locked-room mysteries and armchair detective puzzles to noir adventures and police investigations. It includes a brilliant Sherlock Holmes pastiche and the second Oscar Tremont novella. This is the perfect anthology for the avid mystery fan.Follow the clues, put all the pieces together, and solve the case before the detective. The game's afoot!The Problem of the Snowbound Shack by Jon Matthew FarberThe Windless Halt Affair by Brian E. GuyllThe Case of the Reverse Thief by Paulene TurnerThe Freak-Hunter's Casebook by Kurt NewtonSunset for the Tattooed Lady by Robert Allen LuptonAvoca Mansion by Duncan RichardsonThe Ghosts of Walhalla by Cameron TrostThe Vicar of Sexton's Deep by Mike AdamsonThe Pullman Case by John M. Floyd50 by Josh PachterThe Morrison File by Robert PetyoMidnight by M. H. NorrisStep Light by David Tallerman