At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Magazine presents original short stories by the world's best-known and emerging mystery writers. The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty. Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery. ★ In this issue ★ ✓ In our cover story, "Rat Killer" by Mark Mellon, the Ortega brothers got far more than they bargained for when a Seminole cowboy came to the tiny Mexican hamlet of Matalo, claiming he wanted to buy cattle. ✓ "Miller And Bell" by Victor Kreuiter: Dutch Miller's, tired of his life as a for-hire felon and retired in a small town on the Missouri/Iowa border, makes a simple mistake that sets in motion his undoing. ✓ In "The Assassin's Portrait" by Nina Wachsman, a Victorian woman artist is commissioned to paint the portrait of an up-and-coming Member of Parliament by his colleagues. Unknown to her subjects, the artist is not only a talented portraitist but a uniquely successful assassin. ✓ In "Kill And Cure" by Robert Lopresti, a hitman has only one chance to get into a medical study that might save his life: solve the murder of the son of the doctor in charge. ✓ In "The Ring Of Truth" by Vicki Weisfeld, West Texas reporter Brianna Yamato investigates the death of a high school thespian. The dead girl seemed ordinary, but the drama in her real life was greater than anything on stage. ✓ "Crackdown" by DJ Tyrer: The richest man in the city is dead in mysterious circumstances and dead crooks are buying up real estate-and somebody doesn't want anyone digging into why. ✓ In "Beauty Kills The Beast" by Marie Anderson, a beautiful young trophy wife uses poison to choose between wealth and love. ✓ In "The Corpse That Couldn't Lie," A You-Solve-It By Martin Hill Ortiz, Dr. Jacobs is found stabbed to death in his library. Inspector Dunsworthy must determine which of three suspects did the deed. ✓ Custom cover art by Robin Grenville Evans