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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of crime short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Crime Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Feed your fascination with the latest crime short stories. From thrilling accounts of lovable burglars to chilling tales of stone-cold murderers, these bite-sized pieces are so addictive, they should be illegal.

Crime Short Stories – Page 3 of 10

After You

Submitted to Contest #318

It’s not that I hate being his best friend. It’s just…I’m always the second choice. The guy he calls when his plans with someone else fall through. The one holding the camera, not the one in the picture. The seat-filler until the person he really wants shows up. And the messed-up part? I keep saying yes. Every. Single. Time. Because maybe—just maybe—being second is better than not being chosen at all. “Sorry, man. Jake said he can hang tonight. Rain check?” I stare at the phone screen, the three dots flashing like they’re mocking me. Another...

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The Nearly Girl

Submitted to Contest #318

“Oi, I’d been watchin’ him for time, innit. What he’s into, what gets his engine goin’. So I took my sweet time gettin’ dolled up. I knew he’d clock me. Tonight’s the night, babes. He’s gonna be mine, swear down.I went for summat soft on the lips, them cute little hoops, not too cheap, not too classy, y’know what I mean? Didn’t wanna look like a total slapper, but I ain’t tryna blend in like some sad little librarian neither. He’s not into the dead ones, trust me. He wants a proper case, bit odd, bit hot, not boring. Boom. That’s me.Being lo...

21 likes 8 comments 8
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The Detective's Watch

Submitted to Contest #318

Part One Detective Elijah Crain was considered by many the city’s hero. Sharp jaw. Sharp intuition. Sharp gun at his hip. He hunted burglars, rapists, killers - dragged them into the light, one by one. The papers called him The Watcher of Doverton.One autumn, the killings were worse than ever. Little girls had gone missing from the south side, bodies turning up along the riverbank. The police department held a press conference and forced Detective Crain to promise he would personally deliver justice. The whole city believed him.Sergeant Dana...

29 likes 10 comments 10
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The Detective's Watch

Submitted to Contest #318

Part One Detective Elijah Crain was considered by many the city’s hero. Sharp jaw. Sharp intuition. Sharp gun at his hip. He hunted burglars, rapists, killers - dragged them into the light, one by one. The papers called him The Watcher of Doverton.One autumn, the killings were worse than ever. Little girls had gone missing from the south side, bodies turning up along the riverbank. The police department held a press conference and forced Detective Crain to promise he would personally deliver justice. The whole city believed him.Sergeant Dana...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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Keys To Silence

Submitted to Contest #318

Other than a faint glow coming from the back, the town’s only charity shop was in darkness, its front door locked. Though it had opened in 1985, the building had been used as a pharmacy, a bank, and even a tavern. Close to the river in Marpleton, an English market town with priory ruins nearby, it carried its past heavily. Across the road, stone monks still watched over the diminished market square.Now, regulars peered through the shop window searching for signs of movement. The main lights stayed off, but a handful of helpers were huddled i...

30 likes 16 comments 16
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Touchdown Reversed

Submitted to Contest #318

Sam Jones, Sr. noisily started up the front end loader, anxious to put the finishing touches on the new Bonn High School athletic complex. Then, just as he began smoothing out the soil to make room for the football field goalpost, he struck a hard object that almost knocked him out of the cab. He jumped down and rushed to see what was standing in the way to completing his greatest construction project. To Sam’s surprise, he had uncovered a rusty gym locker from the school’s old gymnasium. The fact that his crew did a sloppy...

13 likes 0 comments 0
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Don’t Mind Me

Submitted to Contest #318

Don’t Mind Me The house fire had been the town’s salvation. Flames devoured the crumbling clapboard structure at the edge of Delhaven, painting the night sky in orange and black. The blast was so fierce it rattled windows three streets over. When firefighters finally smothered the last ember, they discovered little more than a husk of twisted beams and collapsed stone. In those ashes, the police claimed, were the remains of the monster who had haunted them for years: the Crimson Artist. For half a decade, his work had been displayed across a...

18 likes 6 comments 6
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Downloading Hemingway

Submitted to Contest #317

Downloading Hemingway When someone dies, people bring things. Mostly, they bring food and alcohol, but even edibles and Xanax get passed around like breath-mints these days. Food you will never eat is on every surface above the waist. Personally, you’d prefer cash. These people who hold repast in their McMansions do so for fear of being robbed should they be away for any length of time. They hire a house-sitter for the service. They do not even submit an obituary until after the fact; just a very sentimental post on Facebook the next day, of...

33 likes 34 comments 34
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Reports from the Edge of Order and Chaos: Code 6 Crisis at SuperMart

Submitted to Contest #317

Author’s Note: Prepared in strict compliance with Departmental Sarcasm Protocol 6.5. No towels, vending machines, or Swiffers were harmed in this report and all grapes confirmed organic. It began with a single phrase — “Code 6 in Housewares” — and ended with paperwork nobody will care about except the people now worshipping the miracle towels.Incident Report – Disturbance at SuperMart Case #: 25-0719-143 Date: June 6, 2025 Officer: Sgt. P. Daniels (still wondering why I didn’t call in sick — or why we keep pretending nonsense is order) Summa...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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The Death on the Skyport

Submitted to Contest #317

Her death, it always puzzled me. The skies were grey outside of Ken Mendenhall’s cobblestone home. He rested his head on his perched hand as he overlooked the bustling Victorian downtown from his small balcony nested on the hillside.I saw her body fall from the sky port. It fell down thousands of feet as the whole town stood and watched. The shouts alerting everyone of the scene unfolding faded quickly into a horrified stillness. At the time, no one knew why she fell. I stood there, just as everyone else, wondering why this poor woman took t...

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A police report about a bizzare visit

Submitted to Contest #317

A police report about a bizarre visit.Sergeant Paul Barr 1800 hours Wednesday 18/08/24I am writing this report of what I actually observed in a follow up telephone call I received at 10.30 a.m. this morning I answered a distraught phone call from Douglas Feathwell, the resident manager of the apartment building on 76 East 63 Street, Manhattan New York. He requested in forceful and crude language that an officer come immediately to the building as it was in chaos. There was talk of revenge killings. I left immediately and arr...

2 likes 0 comments 0
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Breaking News

Submitted to Contest #317

Breaking News!It was the first day of school and Pam couldn’t wait to send her kids out of the house to get a break. They spent most of their summer between family and friends and going out of town with them. Ever since the new neighbors moved in everything had change for the worst. Kids were fighting more, and the disrespecting of adults and themselves grew unbearable. that's when Pam made a few phone calls and took her kids to spend their summer with different family members. Sliding off the bed like a lazy snake, Pam put her robe on, woke...

2 likes 2 comments 2
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Blinding Hope

Submitted to Contest #317

Sensitive content: Alcohol and drug use, an allusion to sex, violence, and murder. Loneliness is the worst type of guerilla warfare, where it cyclically hits you at your lowest, leaves you, and comes back, until you can’t take it anymore. Sure, I’ve had a few one-night stands over the past twenty-four years, but the army isn’t forgiving in love. You never stay in one place long enough to develop any sort of relationship. Especially being in military intelligence, when you’re always in isolated or classified locations. Since I had my discharg...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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The Blood Moon That Became Legend

Submitted to Contest #317

Incident Number: 25-0812-0147Date: August 23, 2025Time Reported: 12:03 AMReporting Officer: Sgt. Danielle Ruiz, Badge #211Location: 117 Old Quarry Road (Harrow House), Milford, ORWeather: Clear skies, full (blood) moonUnits Responding: 2 (Patrol Unit 14 - Ruiz & Officer K. Patel, Backup Unit 18 - Officer G. Miller) Incident SummaryJamie Carter, 16, reported strange red lights and screaming near Harrow House. She described being unable to look away, despite her fear.Patrol Unit 14 arrived at 12:09 AM. Red lights from the woods lit the pro...

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Digital Diary Case files

Submitted to Contest #317

The Times-Picayune — Special CoverageThe Digital Diary CaseFrench Quarter, New Orleans — March 2011 Article 1 — March 4, 2011Teen Reports Laptop Files Predict Fatalities; Police Seize DeviceBy Camille Robichaux, Staff WriterNEW ORLEANS — Police are investigating a French Quarter teenager’s report that her laptop has been generating documents predicting fatal incidents before they occur.According to an incident report filed Thursday, the family of Elise Landry, 15, contacted authorities after the student discovered multiple Microsoft Word fi...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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