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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#12: Armchair Detectives

In much of the world, fall is in full swing. Leaves are a vibrant kaleidoscope of oranges, reds, and yellows. A chill is settling in. Days are shorter, and pumpkin spice is, well, everywhere. In other words, it's the kind of weather that simply begs for you to cozy up with a good read. And what kind of book could be cozier than a cozy mystery?

For those of us who enjoy getting spooked, but not terrified, in the lead-up to Halloween, the cozy mystery is a great genre. It provides suspense and mystery, but not horror. The crimes are depicted lightly, and typically take place in idyllic towns where things always ended up working out.

This week, our prompts are inspired by the cozy mystery genre. But that doesn't mean your story needs to involve a mystery! The great thing about fiction is how hallmarks of one genre can weave their way into stories of all kinds. (Want to learn more about the cozy mystery genre or check out some suggested reading? Check out this blog post!)

This week's prompts

Write a story that takes place in a small town where news travels fast.

High School – 50 stories

Write a story about a character with a sidekick.

Character – 20 stories

Write a story featuring a protagonist with a knack for getting to the bottom of things.

Mystery – 6 stories

Write a story that involves a mystery — it doesn't need to be crime-related, it should just include something that remains unexplained until the end.

Mystery – 79 stories

Write a story that features an ensemble cast of characters.

Character – 20 stories

Stories

“Sarah” by Colleen Pinner

Submitted to Contest #12

The LibraryIt wasn’t such a big building, but it held so many books! Sarah Jane stood just inside the door and stared at the bounty before her. Clutching her new library card, she stepped up to the first shelf, and gazed at the titles. A label on the shelf boldly announced these choices were Autobiographies. She didn’t care, they were books. Books with stories. She carefully took down the firs six books. That was all she was allowed to check out at one time.One week later she brought those six books back and gathered six more from the same s...

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“The News With Lost Time” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #12

It never takes long for anything to make its way around the town. Even the little things- especially the little things, I guess. If someone has a new haircut, they’d need only walk down one street before someone else had spotted them, and through phone calls and social media, it would be old news before they hit the next street. That was part of why I love living here. True I don’t live here full time, but with the current job market you have to go where the money is. But I come back more weekends than not, and my folks have said they’ll alw...

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“Wrong Address” by Dave Renton

Submitted to Contest #12

As he walked up the steps to his front door, Miles noticed a package sitting on the landing. From where he stood on the street, it was a plain looking, brown paper wrapped box about one foot long, six inches wide and six inches tall. His pulse quickened as his curiosity began to spin possibilities through his mind like sugar in a cotton candy maker. He hadn’t ordered anything and certainly wasn’t expecting any packages. It wasn’t his birthday, and Christmas was still months away. What could be inside the clean and pr...

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“Flight 257” by Douglas Maxson

Submitted to Contest #12

Flight 257 It wasn’t unusual for a dense fog to linger at this airstrip. The location provided the right seasonal atmosphere for such a haze. What was strange it positioned above Lindsay’s flig...

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“SOPNA” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #12

“Hello, I am Sopna here and I am coming there right now. Your friend BK had directed me to be there”. Saying so, she went to the address given to her. She found Hemant Kumar waiting for her. As soon as she alighted from her car, he held her hands in ecstasy and applied extra pressure on her wrists while taking her inside. There was a reason for his explicit excitement. Both Basant Kumar, better known as BK for his close associates, and Hemant Kumar were close friends personally and at the same time arch rivals in their business, vying for ea...

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“The Vacuum of Space” by Rose Brassard

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #12

“T-minus fifty seconds.” I took a deep breath, my hands shaking as I reached for the armrests of my seat. The cabin was cramped, and I was sweating profusely under my suit. “T-minus forty-five seconds." I felt a quick wave of terrified panic wash over me, but I pushed it away and stared straight ahead. I could feel my heart beating in my chest. No, it was up in my throat. I focused on breathing evenly and slowly. “T-minus forty seconds." I hated the idea of going into space. I really did. But I’m the kind of person who procrastinates against...

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“Not One of Us A Hero. ” by Rima ElBoustani

Submitted to Contest #12

We were born in Communist Poland, when everyone was the same. Across thirty-seven years we were raised to blend in, not one of us a hero. From the buildings we lived in to the food that we ate, not a thing stood out. But the truth was that people were not the same despite appearances and despite the underlying rule of Communism. Some people had less, others more and many had nothing at all. The suffering had made many generous and many kind, but it had not made them heroes. That was the point. _________“Rysiek! Jak sie czujesz? How is everyt...

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“The Fairfield's of Pine Ridge” by B McNutt

Submitted to Contest #12

Nicolette lived in a fishbowl. A town so small, she could see the rippling glass at towns edge. Well, at least in her minds eye. And with what just happened... she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that all 300 residents of Pine Ridge would have the full scoop in less than 30 minutes. Honestly, most probably ALREADY knew. There was nothing she could do to fix that now, the damage was done. Fixing her ponytail, she walked toward home. Her thoughts gnawing at her. She just couldnt stand the idea of them all talking behind their hand. Whisp...

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“Lemon Zest” by Philip Kimmins

Submitted to Contest #12

Lemon ZestShe knows the bodies will be gone by now, but even after twenty years on the job, she can still feel uneasy working a room. It’s only five a.m., but already the sweat is beading her forehead and trickling down her sides as she moves slowly across the baking asphalt towards the open door. She’s glad of her designer shades as the dazzling glare is hurled back at her from the white aluminium siding of the motel, pale lemon of doors and wall panels a blinding assault in the unforgiving light. The door to No. 8 is wide open, a black-and...

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“Listen” by Renee Cole

Submitted to Contest #12

March 14. (1892) I passed my exams today. I’m certain Mr. Wilson in London will give me a position in his apothecary. He and Father are acquaintances. His son, Jonah, promises to teach me all he can before enlisting in the King’s army. He’s insatiably excited about his future.I hoped the nearing seasons’ change would shake Father from grief. Mother left nearly two years. The doctors say nothing of the strange illness which took her. She fares better in her new home than Father is in his earthly purgatory. Her love of gardening survives withi...

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“Ol' Smithy” by Pauline Breatnach

Submitted to Contest #12

The god-fearing citizens of the flower-bedecked village of Wavon went about their daily business one early spring morning. Older men walked with a slower gait. Young girls skipped along happily in cotton dresses. Women with braided grey hair occasionally halted to rest their weary limbs.Greengrocers laid out their cabbages and beetroot carefully on their market stalls. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted from the green door of the local bakery. The village blacksmith fired up his furnace, sending multi-coloured sparks high into the ...

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“Forever and Always” by Emma Chaffey

Submitted to Contest #12

The alley was dark as usual, the only sound the scuffling of rats and the soft breeze. At the end of alley was a lopsided tin shed. It reeked of rat poop and garbage, but I was used to it. After all, it was my home. Mother was waiting for me. Her eyes were dull and empty, her lips cracked and grey. She was once beautiful, with lush, blonde locks, sparkling blue eyes, and pink lips always wide, smiling. She would attend galas and proms in dazzling ball gowns, and dance with handsome young men who would propose to her by the end of the night. ...

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“Far From Home” by Deanna West

Submitted to Contest #12

When I was younger, I never thought much about if aliens were real… Because I knew that they wasn’t. I mean yea we see them on T.V., with all the special effects, there’s even some show about finding aliens in your backyard… But I don’t (Well didn’t) believe in any of that, until one fall afternoon…. Here’s the story of “Far From Home”My name is Kimmee MaeFlower! …Ohhh we being technical here huh? Okay well my government name is Kimberly Alise Haven. That’s a nickname that my sweet mama gave to me, but anyhow I grew up here in the South (hen...

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“Chasing the news” by Dominik Pavičić

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #12

Tris jumped out of her bed. Realizing she overslept, she put her clothes on as fast as she could. She didn’t bother to take her time to put matching socks on and her hair was still ruffled.She looked at herself, decided that she enough clothes on her and dashed outside.“Tris,” her mom shouted for the door, “stop by your aunt’s place on your way home, she said she would send us some bread.”“Sure thing mom,” Tris answered not bothering to look if her mother heard her.Autumn mornings in Havonbourgh were cold compared to the rest of the kingdom....

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“The Number's Up” by Edith Fox

Submitted to Contest #12

I'm just going to say it now, my name isn't Cassie. And I'm not from California.But yes, this is me, standing on the streets of San Francisco, pretending I've lived in Menlo Park long enough to know where the locals go when they leave work.Which I do know, by the way. I've done my research. Weeks’ worth of it, actually. I know enough to recognize that the bar I'm standing across from just so happens to be the same bar that a group of software engineers stop by after leaving their offices around 6:45 p.m. each night. Within that group is a ma...

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$50

Prize money

175

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Oct 25, 2019 EST

Won by Dylan Roth 🏆

Title: Annual Reunion

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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