Write a murder mystery with an amateur sleuth who must navigate a fantastical world in a quest to discover the truth.

Posted in Mystery on May 12, 2021

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✍️ 38 stories

“Hadrian Foxe and the Innocent Thief” by Sushan Shetty

Submitted to Contest #24

“You killed him. My God, you did it! An autopsy. A funeral, my God, an open casket funeral. And a monument. You put a monument over his grave!”I held the phone an inch from my ear as my editor, Charles Emil, bawled his heart out. I waited for him to finish with his outpourings of grief, despair and utter conviction that I’d made the biggest mistake of my career.“You couldn’t have thrown him off a cliff, into a waterfall, or blown up by a bomb, or lost in a jungle? I mean one could come back from that,” he whined. “I’m sick of that sad drunk ...

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“Pixie Genocide” by T H Galligan

Submitted to Contest #24

A tempest of pixies flited and wheeled before me. Hundreds of glass wings buzzed. Thousands of spells flashed and fizzled. Confused, they collided with each other and turned each other into pebbles. Pixie or pebble, the unfortunate fell to the forest floor. I wiggled my fingers and made them stop. The tempest was frozen in time. I shut my eyes and breathed deeply. I knew what I would find at the centre of their mass: the remains of the pixie queen. She had been murdered. I had seen the grisly act with my own eyes! I had seen the murderer app...

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“Davina ” by Brinley Kiskaddn

Submitted to Contest #24

"Okay, morning newspaper? Check! Coffee? Check!" I said, "Now, let's see here. Hippo escapes from a local zoo, helium spill on Interstate 80, and nothing else." I looked over at my Dutch Sheperd, Arlo, and said, "I wish there was some mystery that I could solve, being a detective is fun, but I can't seem to find any jobs around here."Arlo looked at me and turned his head like he had no idea what I said, well he is a dog after all! Suddenly, Arlo took the paper from my lap, drug it to the ground, put his paw over an article, and gave out...

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“The Case of The Virtual Killer” by Lily Elborn

Submitted to Contest #24

It all started about a week ago. It was a cold and stormy night, the streetlights held a distinct foggy glaze. Throughout the eerily quiet street, the noise of windows rattling in the forceful wind could be heard... I’m kidding, obviously. Although last Tuesday night when this all started, there was a storm, just not a storm of the weather variety. I’d been following the news all day, everyone had. 6 boys now, all aged between 14-21, had been found dead in their homes. All of them were wearing the undeniably recognisable X.R.Y pate...

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“The Murder of Theodore Bear” by Hayley Starshak

Submitted to Contest #24

Jane rubbed her eyes and glanced lovingly at the coffee machine, humming to life as usual on a Monday morning. Ever since moving to Minnesota with her husband, Charlie, and their two kids the previous year, Jane found it hard to wake up. Something about the cool Minnesota mornings encouraged her to stay in bed. “You feel it too?” She asked Piper, the 5 year old black lab who still acted more like a puppy than most dogs her age. Today, however, Piper was calm. She lied down flat on the floor next to the big sliding glass door in the kit...

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“The Stream Rises” by Brennah Abernathy

Submitted to Contest #24

Brown eyes peeked above the pages. A Study in Scarlet, the cover read, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Across the room, a large barrel-shaped man, a holstered gun at his side, an air of importance about him, shook hands with another man. He wore an ink-black suit, a briefcase curled into one palm, large round glasses nestled on the bridge of his crooked nose."I just don't get it." The coroner said, shaking his head. "Who would do something like that to someone like Atticus Green?"Elise King watched their interaction with analytical...

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“London and Lenore” by Jay Stempin

Submitted to Contest #24

Write a murder mystery with an amateur sleuth who must navigate a fantastical world in a quest to discover the truth. Snip, snap, zip. Just like that: dead. He believed, as a hired contractual specialist, in sealing his kills in a bag, helped keep loose body parts from falling off as he hauled them away, no sense in littering, too; he was all for a green planet. Also ran a recycling shop: selling used body parts: heads, hands, elbows, ears, the whole shebang. More on that some other time. He dragged the body under a willow tree, a little b...

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“Dungeons and Detectives” by Eve Chrysalo

Submitted to Contest #24

Myrilius raised his Staff of Fire towards the Ancient White Dragon and started muttering his incantations. Once finished, his eyes glowed as he brought his Staff down into the ground. He smiled as the flames rippled outwards from him like an apocalyptic tsunami. The ice dragon screeched as it fell from the skies, Myrilius’ party staring in awe as- “Oh, shoot! My phone’s ringing. I’ll be right back.” I left as my friends shouted out complaints. I went into the bathroom and answe...

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“The Land Lake” by Cory Pines

Submitted to Contest #24

"Dear Log, September 17th, 2020. As you know from my last entry, Mary Pine, a young nun, was found murdered on the sidewalk of Venice, on one of the many del Forner streets. The victim's body has been taken to be examed. I'm currently at the crime scene with-" "Victor, will you shut that off?" Victor looked up to see this his partner, Ann, standing over top of him. He shut off the tape recorder as Ann pasted him a pair of gloves. He slipped them on. Ann was never a fan of Victor's constant recordings. She was the kind of detective that liked...

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“Death in Colour” by Melissa Massey

Submitted to Contest #24

Amelia felt equal parts repelled and entranced by the sight of her first dead body. Even in the dim wooded light of dawn, the purple bruises bloomed on the dead man’s pale skin like crimson roses climbing a white-washed wall. The limbs of the corpse were bent to awkward angles, the skin torn and taut over broken bones. Amelia winced, but stepped forward an inch, dry twigs cracking underfoot, and crouched. She raised her lamplight and looked through the lens, as she’d been recently taught, and pointed her camera at the deceased’s ...

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“Holden the Determined ” by Joanne Mack

Submitted to Contest #24

Holden the Determined The small, dimly lit office smelled like a combination of stale coffee and donuts; stress food. The past few days have been nothing but fast food and late nights as this missing person case has recently become a murder. An unfortunate ending to a one year mystery, the entire town had suffered a great loss as the mayor mourns her deceased daughter. Within the past seventy two hours, the entire police department have been searching for answers. Who in the right mind would kill a thirteen year old girl, n...

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“Dyrads, Faeries, Nymphs” by Tamika Kutty

Submitted to Contest #24

DRYADS, FAERIES, NYMPHS I stare at the dead body in disgust, my boss, Marty Graham looks over it with a certain clarity and calmness I wish to possess as a detective one day. I try to hide my grimace as he stands up and looks at me.“Minete, its fine to feel queasy, I felt like that on my first days to.”He places a firm hand on my shoulder and gives a comforting nudge. “You get used to it. Now tell me what’s the first thing you see on the body.”I step a little closer to the body, forcing down my gag. Apart from the horrible mutation of e...

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“Shifting Colors” by Audrey Bergen

Submitted to Contest #24

I revel in dread and anticipation at the box lying on my doorstep. I debate whether or not I should open it; images of dead cats carefully placed there by disturbed teenage neighbors flashing through my mind. Or a pristine glass case capturing innocent bugs and beautiful butterflies in their final moments. As I bend down to pick it up, making sure to lift with my legs like my mom always tells me, my attention is drawn toward the edge of my perfectly manicured, trimmed-twice-a-week lawn; where the bushes are moving back in forth despite the l...

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“Wrong Place, Wrong Time ” by Elyse G

Submitted to Contest #24

“Detective James, get in here!”, called my boss. He does that every day, I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m an intern because he only ever wants me to go on coffee runs. I walked into his office. “Yes, Detective Patterson?” “I need you to drive down to the lab, and see if you can get me a lead on that new missing person case.” Seriously! After six months of intern work, I finally have a case! I went to the science lab downtown. When I got there everything was in disarray. I turned on my voice recorder and said, “Clearly there was a struggle....

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“Her untold Murder” by Harmony Andrews

Submitted to Contest #24

It had been twenty - four hours since Almeretta Anderson´s death. She had been a kind soul to everyone she knew. She was always surrounded by the love and support from her family, friends, and even neighbors. Almeretta also had a charming and smart boyfriend. Sometimes after a long day of school Almeretta would babysit to save up for college savings. She was the one of the top students of her class and always got good grades. She was also a part of a lot of school organ...

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Write a murder mystery with an amateur sleuth who must navigate a fantastical world in a quest to discover the truth.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 38 stories

“Hadrian Foxe and the Innocent Thief” by Sushan Shetty

“Pixie Genocide” by T H Galligan

“Davina ” by Brinley Kiskaddn

“The Case of The Virtual Killer” by Lily Elborn

“The Murder of Theodore Bear” by Hayley Starshak

“The Stream Rises” by Brennah Abernathy

“London and Lenore” by Jay Stempin

“Dungeons and Detectives” by Eve Chrysalo

“The Land Lake” by Cory Pines

“Death in Colour” by Melissa Massey

“Holden the Determined ” by Joanne Mack

“Dyrads, Faeries, Nymphs” by Tamika Kutty

“Shifting Colors” by Audrey Bergen

“Wrong Place, Wrong Time ” by Elyse G

“Her untold Murder” by Harmony Andrews

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways.

Write a sweeping romantic tale of two lovers who must overcome the horror of being hunted by an unseen foe.

Write a thrilling adventure of a special agent who is harboring a paranormal secret.

Write a magical realism story that takes place in the Wild West.

Contest #24

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

293

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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