SMFS Members Published in Festive Mayhem 3: A Limited-Edition Collection of New Mystery and Crime Fiction Stories and Reissued Holiday Favorites

Several SMFS list members have been published in the recently released anthology, Festive Mayhem 3: A Limited-Edition Collection of New Mystery and Crime Fiction Stories and Reissued Holiday Favorites. You can learn more about the book, including where it is currently available, at Crime Writers of Color.  The four SMFS list members who reported their presence in the book are:

 

Francelia Belton with "Black Easter."

 

Stella Oni with "The Troublesome Rich Girl."

 

Delia C. Pitts with "A Deadly First."

 

Paige Sleuth with "Whiteout Wipeout."

 

Synopsis:

Seven crime writers of color have teamed up for the third year running to offer you the gift of escape this holiday season. This limited-edition collection includes brand-new stories set throughout the year, as well as some reissued seasonal favorites. Whether you enjoy humorous cozy mysteries with plucky amateur sleuths, or hard-boiled noir starring gritty private investigators, this anthology is for you.

What you'll find inside:

• "Black Easter" by Francelia Belton. In 1967, a militant husband and father tries to push his political views onto his wife's conservative family at the annual Easter social—and things don't end well.

• "A Deadly First" by Delia C. Pitts. Thanksgiving takes a fatal turn when New York private eye SJ Rook finds himself thrust into his first murder case in this darkly atmospheric tale of noir. (Originally published with the first Festive Mayhem.)

• "Whiteout Wipeout" by Paige Sleuth. A lost cat leads Cherry Hills, Washington, animal rescue maven and amateur sleuth Imogene Little to the body of a murdered man at the start of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend.

• "The Troublesome Rich Girl" by Stella Oni. When Elizabeth agreed to look out for the rebellious teenager Tayo Adelaja and her cousin Angelica, she enlisted the help of the Mews hotel's social media obsessed apprentice, Rosie O'Toole—only for the three to disappear!

• "Trace of Lace" by Barbara Howard. On the eve of his wedding day, Milo has to save his bride when news of a serial killer near Birston College puts the campus on lockdown.

• "A Christmas Tip" by Elizabeth Wilkerson. A surprise Christmas bonus becomes too tempting for Philadelphia nursing assistant Brianna Byers to resist—even if accepting requires some skillful skirting of the law. (Originally published with the first Festive Mayhem.)

• "Serenade for Suicide" by Carolyn Marie Wilkins. The melody turns deadly when music teacher Bertie Bigelow invites her Grammy-winning ex to give a songwriting workshop at an inner-city community college.

This short story bundle is only available for a short time, so grab it now before it's gone. It would be criminal to miss it!