It's Been a Long Time Coming

Okay, the hiatus is over. Well, for now, anyway. The new "issue of The Thrilling Detective Web Site is live.

Some hiatus. Of course, I didn't get half the things done I'd hoped for -- a new job and a new work schedule (and yet another job) pretty much sucked up all the free time I thought I'd have to wrap up a few projects (more about those a bit later), so what was supposed to be a few months ended up being a few more months. And then a few more. But we're back.

We've got some new stories, and with any luck, I/we'll be back up to speed within a week or so.

In the meantime, thanks for your patience and support and your kind letters. And a special shout-out to my partner-in-crime, Gerald So, and the contributors for this issue, all of whom waited -- and waited and waited -- for me to get my act together. At times, I think you guys had more faith in me than I did.

Anyway, for this issue, once again Gerald has acted as gatekeeper, only letting in the worthy.

We kick off with another gem. Site favourite Stephen D. Rogers makes his sixth (SIXTH!) apearance in these pages and once again, he offers a dark little nugget of ethical and moral murkiness that'll keep you scrolling. "Discharged" offers a gambler running the bluff of his life.

Andy Carruthers, the reluctant hero of Kieran Shea's "Shot Back," has his own bluff to run, but shows shows a rather amazing amount of true grit, all the same. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of either Andy or his creator.

Former private detective August Hanrahan displays similar reticence in "Pandora" by Patrick Shawn Bagley, a sordid little vignette that'll have you reaching for the soap -- and wondering about the neighbours.

But don't despair. Mark Troy's "Horns" wraps things up on a (relatively) upbeat note, when Honolulu good time gal and crack P.I. Val Lyon is hired to find out who's taking the wrong bull by the, uh, horn.

Meanwhile, we've got the just-released list of 2009 Edgar Nominations, a list that will once again remembered as much for its exclusions as its inclusions.

And it somehow slipped between the cracks, but Rap Sheet editor J. Kingston Pierce's heartfelt tribute to P.I. writer Arthur Lyons is well worth another look.

And, uh, there's other stuff coming, including about six months of bits and pieces that have accumulated in my in box.

Thanks. And I hope we've passed the audition.