Murder or Mystery?

Stories of Life and Death

The human mind has always tried to make sense of life and its mysteries.

This is perhaps no more true than when we’re surrounded by clickbait and news bites. In a chaotic world of disasters and pandemics, we long to read a story that comes to a conclusion, where the hidden danger is revealed, and where we can finally rest easy knowing how to avoid it—until the next body turns up

This volume of murder and mystery will pull you in, have you asking who did it, and leave you an ending to ponder. The collection features the moving story of a missing boy by Mark Hood, where the old ways of a rural community reach out to the magic of the bees; a crime story by Lee Conrad of a small lake-side community struck by a years-long drought and the deadly secrets hidden just below the surface; a story by the award-winning Tristan Marajh where a trophy hunter has gone missing following internet outrage; and Paulene Turner takes us on a search through Edwardian London, from Baker Street to the East End, as Dr Watson and one Irene Adler track down the missing detective in her original novella,Too Many Sherlocks.

This volume also includes an interview with Deepa Anappara, the award-winning author whose novel, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, was named as one of the best books of the year by the New York Times and the Washington Post; as well as an interview with Elly Griffiths, the award-winning author of twenty-seven books who has appeared in the Sunday Times Bestsellers chart 19 times. 

Throughout the short stories and interviews, this volume also presents flash mysteries in just a page or two that includes the story of a mind-bending search for missing characters after the mysterious death of an author by Jeff Noon, the award-winning author of the critically-acclaimed and cult-classic novel Vurt and the metafictional Nyquist Mysteries series; a death in the workplace where words are both stolen and have the power to kill by Liam Hogan, who’s been previously included in Best of British Science Fiction and Best of British Fantasy collections; next, the horror-podcast author featured on both Creepy and The Other Stories, Georgia Cook, takes us to a dinner party hosted by a mystery aficionado who goes too far; Jennifer Shneiderman entraps us with a psychic who may be the only way to connect with a lost loved one; and finally, Jessie Seigel sends us a “Message in a Bottle” from a most notorious inmate of a historic quarantine island.

Alongside the short fiction, this volume also features the enigmatic artwork of Margriet Pronk, Rufus Krieger, Oleksandr Balbyshev, and Chris Aerfeldt—artists from across Europe who’ve been exhibited around the world and featured in collections by Saatchi

With the cover closed, you’ve earned a moment’s peace, knowing you’ve maybe made sense of the mysteries around us, until 

The next story begins…

Print and electronic subscriptions
available now on Patreon!

How to read the latest issue FREE
Sign up to Patreon to check out the latest issue in PDF.

If you prefer a mobile reader, like Kindle, first, get the Kindle app:

Once you have the app, or if you already have a Kindle device, check out the free trial of the London Reader with one click in the Amazon store:

Do you live outside of these areas? Get the PDF of the latest issue free on Patreon.

To read a previous issue, donate an amount of your choice, and receive a download link to the PDF:

The London Reader is a cooperative magazine. Your donation supports the writers, artists, and collaborators who made the issue.