Joseph S. Walker

Hey, Kids! Free Stories!

I've been publishing short fiction since 2011, mostly in the field of mystery and crime. My stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, Tough, and a number of other magazines and anthologies. I have been nominated for the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award, and the Derringer Award, and have won the Bill Crider Prize for Short Fiction. I also won the Al Blanchard Award in 2019 and 2021.

In the sections below you'll find complete lists of my stories (click on the images for purchase links!), broken up by year, along with the latest news, links to interviews and podcasts, and much more.

To get started, here are some of my stories that can be read free on the web. If you enjoy them, I'd love to hear from you!

SLOW MOVIN' OUTLAW

What happens when the baddest outlaw in town needs a hip replacement?

THE TRUNCATED REIGN OF MELVIN, PRINCE OF THE ENVELOPING DARKNESS

A practitioner of the dark arts is found murdered in his occult bookshop. A cozy mystery.

DEADLINE

If we could just find a way to get rid of the body . . .

A THOUSAND MILES AWAY

It's not every day you meet a hitman.

GIVE OR TAKE A QUARTER INCH

An elite athlete, a kidnapped wife, and a second chance. Selected by Sara Paretsky as one of the best crime stories of 2021!

THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T

Who's trying to sink the career of a politician on the rise?

2024 fiction

RUBY WANTS TO WATCH

My face felt warm as I stared. “Is this legal?”

Carmen kissed the side of my neck. “Do you care?”

Sex & Violins: An Erotic Crime Anthology. Ed. Sandra Murphy. White City Press, 2024.

JANIE'S GOT A GUN

“Janie was sure right about one thing.” Bradley put his hand in the pocket of his sport coat and pulled out a small, flat automatic. “You don’t really know what you’re going to do with one of these until you’ve got it in your hand.”

Janie's Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Aerosmith. Ed. Michael Bracken. Misti Media, 2024.

THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED

Franklin was spooky enough that he never actually had to get physical with anyone, which suited him. He didn’t want to open that door again and let the dark things loose.

Friend of the Devil: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Grateful Dead. Ed. Josh Pachter. Down & Out Books, 2024.

GIVE OR TAKE A QUARTER INCH

He'd never been through a kidnapping before, but he was dead sure kidnappers didn't generally go around announcing their identity.

The Saturday Evening Post, Sept/Oct 2024.

SUNRISE AT THE MOONSHINE PALACE

Goodrich turned his wrath from Caleb to his manager. “You called the cops?”

“What did you think we were going to do? Bury him on your farm? This is real life, Dale. I don’t do cover-ups.”

Black Cat Weekly #143 (May 26, 2024)

AND NOW, AN INSPIRING STORY OF TRAGEDY OVERCOME

“It’s not my fault.”

“You should have those words tattooed on your forehead. It would save

time.”

Three Strikes--You're Dead! Ed. Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman and Marcia Talley. Wildside Press, 2024.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Winner, 2019 Bill Crider Prize for Short Fiction: "The Last Man in Lafarge"

Winner, 2019 Al Blanchard Award: "Haven"

Winner, 2021 Al Blanchard Award: "Herb Ecks Goes Underground"

Nominee, 2021 Edgar Award for Best Short Story: "Etta at the End of the World"

Nominee, 2021 Derringer Award for Best Long Story: "Etta at the End of the World"

Nominee, 2021 Derringer Award for Best Long Story: "Chasing Diamonds"

Nominee, 2024 Shamus Award for Best Short Story: "Making the Bad Guys Nervous"

Main Selection, The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year, 2021: "Etta at the End of the World"

Main Selection, The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year, 2022: "Give or Take a Quarter Inch"

Main Selection, The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year, 2023: "Crime Scene"

Main Selection, The Best American Mystery and Suspense, 2023: "Crime Scene"

Named a Distinguished Story, Best American Mystery Stories, 2017: "Pill Bug"

Named a Distinguished Story, Best American Mystery Stories, 2018: "Awaiting the Hour"

Named a Distinguished Story, Best American Mystery Stories, 2020: "Bonus Round"

Named a Distinguished Story, Best American Mystery and Suspense, 2024: "Off The Shelf"

Second Place, Uncharted Magazine Crime/Mystery Contest: "A Thousand Miles Away"

Sixth Place, 2021 Ellery Queen Reader Awards: "The Last Man in Lafarge"

2023 FICTION

A RIGHT JOLLY OLD ELF

Colm looked at his reflection in the silver elevator door. “Your cut?”

“Yeah. Of the job.”

“Take a really deep breath,” Colm said. “Feels good, right? Invigorating? Your cut is, you get to keep doing it.”

Black Cat Weekly #120 (December 17, 2023)

OFF THE SHELF

Calloway kept his arms crossed and his mouth closed until the hour was up, wondering what the kid would do if he ripped one of the metal rings out of his face. On the way back to his cell, he asked a guard what the fuck a podcast was.

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 4. Ed. Michael Bracken. Down & Out Books, 2023.

DENIM

The blond man stood for a moment, uncertain, then took a stool a few feet to the cop’s right. He swiveled and looked straight at Helen. His smile was broad, taunting. He took a toothpick from the dispenser on the counter and stuck it in the corner of his mouth.

Put Out the Lights and Cry: A Dine Noir Anthology. Ed. Craig Clevenger. Outcast Press, 2023.

CRIME SCENE

Adler saw at least fifty people, most of them young men, stroll out into the road to take a selfie on an X, usually with the Oswald window in the frame behind them. They seemed oblivious to active traffic on the street, and he wondered how many got hit over the course of a year.

The Best American Mystery and Suspense, 2023. Eds. Steph Cha and Lisa Unger. Mariner Press, 2023.

CRIME SCENE

Adler had done a lot of jobs in fields of work where nobody writes a résumé.

The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year, 2023. Eds. Otto Penzler and Amor Towles. Mysterious Press, 2023. (reprint)

BABY, YOU'RE A RICH MAN

My name is Eddie Dillon. My business card reads “Edward M. Dillon, Security, Blunt Enterprises,” because you can’t put words like “fixer” and “bagman” on org charts. It confuses the people in HR.

Happiness is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the Beatles. Ed. Josh Pachter. Down & Out Books, 2023.

2022 fiction

GIVE OR TAKE A QUARTER INCH

“I fell in with disreputable characters, is how my lawyer said it. Word of advice, Mr. Vargas. If you ever commit a felony, don’t do it in Arizona."

Mysterious Bookshop Presents The Best Mystery Stories of the Year, 2022. Ed. Otto Penzler & Sara Paretsky. Mysterious Press, 2022. (reprint)

THE DOMINION OF ALL THE EARTH

Worst of all, dreams of crushing, endless, hopeless isolation, and the most complete darkness ever experienced by any man.

Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. The North American Jules Verne Society, 2022.

ECHOING

The police cruiser appeared at the end of the block and turned their way just as they got the two big money bags moved to the van. Addison dropped to one knee and started firing. A cop rolled out of the passenger side, returning fire.

Mickey Finn III: 21st Century Noir. Ed. Michael Bracken. Down & Out

Books, 2022.

TWO BLACK BEAN AND SHRIMP QUESADILLAS AND A PINK RUGER LCP

He’d almost forgotten Brittany Orozco was in the room. He didn’t see her move. She was suddenly right next to him, one hand on the drawer knob. The other held something sharp that he couldn’t see against the hollow of his throat.

Guns & Tacos Season Four, Episode 20. Ed. Michael Bracken and Trey Barker. Down & Out Books, 2022.

A SHADE DARKER THAN GRAY

This wasn’t just a balding man in an ugly jacket. This was death. His death. Watching him, waiting patiently for the ending that came to all men. It had shaped everything that ever happened to him. There at a wobbly table was the author of all Len’s misfortunes.

Black is the Night: The Cornell Woolrich Tribute. Ed. Maxim Jakubowski. Titan Books, 2022.

BLISS

He wanted to run his eyes over her again, slowly, from the face he’d caressed to the toes he’d kissed, storing up every detail for whatever came next.

She would have to come over to him soon.

She had to see if he was dead yet.

The Book of Extraordinary Femme Fatale Stories. Ed. Maxim Jakubowski. Mango Publishing, 2022.

2021 fiction

ETTA AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Local man Tyler Hession found dead in his home of a single gunshot wound. Wife, Etta, missing and being actively sought by police as a person of interest.

“Holy shit,” Grace hissed. She looked up at Etta. “Did you do that?”

Mysterious Bookshop Presents The Best Mystery Stories of the Year, 2021. Ed. Otto Penzler & Lee Child. Mysterious Press, 2021. (reprint)

BRICK FIEND

“Man, there’s nothing out there. Guy in my building is so hard up he’s doing Duplo. Duplo, Scotty. You can’t let me sink to that level. Don’t hold out on me, buddy. How much money have I put in your pockets?”

“I cannot sell what I do not have.”

Die Laughing: An Anthology of Humorous Mysteries. Ed. Kerry Carter.

Mystery Weekly, 2021.

CROWN JEWEL

The next thing Keenan knew he was in the trunk, looking up at the two of them. The man’s face was rough and scarred. The woman seemed younger, but her expression was as flat and empty as a mannequin.

“You’re not cops,” Keenan said. The woman’s mouth twitched.

“Good guess,” she said.

Moonlight & Misadventure. Ed. Judy Penz Sheluk. Superior Shores Press, 2021.

A DAY AT THE RACES

“Say, mister,” said a nasal voice behind Brown. “You can’t just go taking pretty girls like that. Don’t you know there’s a shortage?”

Monkey Business: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Films of the Marx Brothers. Ed. Josh Pachter. Untreed Reads, 2021.

EVERYBODY PAYS A TAX

Morelli shook his head. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, Pops. I could make this the worst night of your life.”

He was turning away when the bartender spoke again. “You wouldn’t make the top ten, you limp-dick pig motherfucker.”

Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression. Ed. S. A. Cosby and Paul Garth. Rock and a Hard Place Press, 2021.

FAMILY MAN

The woman looked at Darryl. “I’m Detective Kate Byrne,” she said. “And you are?”

Darryl opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Stein spoke. “He is not saying a word to you without an attorney present.”

Byrne grunted. “Long name,” she said, “but I think I’ve met other members of your family.”

The First Line 23.1 (Spring 2021).

2020 fiction

CHASING DIAMONDS

There’s a man named Norton with a storefront on Washington Avenue, downtown, offering both payday loans and bail bondsman services. Grainger says it’s a profitable mix of legal loan sharking and legal kidnapping.

Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. September/October 2020.

DINNER WITH THE KING

“Mr. Mancini,” Louis said, speaking loudly enough that everyone in the room and on the balcony could hear. “Allow me to say, sir, that this establishment is shamed by your presence. You are a contemptible man, bereft of honor, and a coward.”

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving.

Ed. J. Alan Hartman. Untreed Reads, 2020.

ETTA AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Tyler had taught her how to steal cars. He’d taught her about guns, too. He was a good teacher. That didn’t come close to making up for all the things he was bad at.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. May/June 2020.

Read by the author for the Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine Podcast.

GOLDEN LIVES

“Nice of you not to arrest me,” I said. I took a peek under the blanket. I was still dressed.

“Relax,” she said. “I don’t molest drunks.”

“That’s kind of a shame,” I said without thinking.

Mystery Weekly. September 2020.

THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T

“The game is afoot,” I said out loud. A woman walking past my car turned and looked at me. I winked and drove away before she could ask me what the hell I was talking about.

Tough. Toughcrime.com. March 16, 2020.

MERCY

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Lila,” I got out.

“Lila,” she said. “I don’t want coffee on my breath the first time I kiss you.”

Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the ‘60s.

Ed. Sandra Murphy. Untreed Reads, 2020.

2019 fiction

BONUS ROUND

She seems, to me, dazed and exhausted. She’s wearing denim shorts and a black and white patterned top.

The time stamp on the picture is 11:05 PM, just under eight hours from when the young woman would be found eight blocks away, wearing completely different clothes.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. May/June 2019.

GNAT

“Why did you kill Mr. Jameson?”

“You knew him?” Becker said. “Let’s just say that his name wasn’t always Jameson, and he didn’t always know enough to keep his mouth shut.”

“He’s got a daughter at my school,” Grant said.

“That’s a shame,” Becker said. “He should have thought about her more a while back.”

Life Is Short and Then You Die. Ed. Kelley Armstrong. New York: Imprint, 2019.

THE GOLD BUG LEGACY

“This should be most interesting, Mike,” Sam said. “I’ve been playing the role of Mark Twain for many years. Let’s see how I do at being Dr. John Watson.”

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Brian and Derrick Belanger. Belanger Books, 2019.

HAVEN

WINNER, 2019 AL BLANCHARD AWARD

I was sitting with Jess and Angie on the front porch at Haven, waiting for Mason Barnes to come try to kill his wife. He was running later than we’d expected and my attention was wandering.

Seascape: The Best New England Crime Stories 2019. Level Best Books, 2019.

LAIR

It’s all gone wrong, not that any of it is his fault. Brandon had the gun, Brandon had the plan. Go into the convenience store, wave the gun around a little, take the money and grab a few six packs as a bonus. Easy.

The Blood Tomes, Volume Two: Creatures. Ed. Andrea Dawn. TellTale Press, 2019.

2018 fiction

AFTER WE LOST HER

The cords in Evans’s neck were starting to stand out. Her hand dropped to the holster clipped to the right side of her belt. “You need to stop playing games with me,” she said.

“Gonna shoot me in my own bar?”

She took her hand away from the gun. “Dammit, man, help me.” She took a deep breath. “We both lost her.”

Mystery Weekly. August 2018.

THE ONLY CHILD

He buried his head in his hands. “Why don’t you stop it? If there are so many of you, why don’t you team up and stop it?”

“You can’t fight it.”

He looked up. “Why not?”

She frowned. “You…you just can’t. It’s the Only Child.”

Scream and Scream Again! Ed. R. L. Stine. HarperCollins, 2018.

2017 FICTION

AWAITING THE HOUR

“Alex took the long view,” Matthew said. “He plotted out the exact course the eclipse would take and found us a house on the center line. He said we would watch it together in our old age.”

The water in the pot was beginning to bubble slightly.

“He didn’t know he wouldn’t be here."

Day of the Dark: Stories of Eclipse. Ed. Kaye George. Wildside Press, 2017.

LAST SEEN HEADING NORTH

“So my car’s here.”

“It is,” Oakley said. “Complete with the automatic in the glove compartment with the fifty thousand in banded hundreds.”

The man had gotten very still. “Call the cops?”

“We’re not exactly on speaking terms with the local law these days."

The Dark City Crime & Mystery Magazine. 2.3 (April 2017).

2012 FICTION

CINNAMON'S SOLACE

When the flight from Berlin turned out to be half empty Cinnamon moved to a first class window seat, a courtesy the airline was happy to extend to a Marine heading home. They would have been less happy if they’d known about the ceramic switchblade in the sole of her boot or the telescoping steel baton in the frame of her backpack.

Pulp Modern III (Spring/Summer 2012).

THE PENTHOUSE VIEW

There’s no way most people will ever understand a slump like that—the desperation, the denial. It’s a roll of cash with a twenty on the outside filled out with singles, a pair of socks worn for a solid week because they might be lucky. As it goes on it feels less and less like luck and more like judgment.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Jan/Feb 2012.

PERIPHERAL

Always he was just at the edge of vision, and always, in the first instant, she felt the plain fact of recognition, the registering of identity—oh, there’s Mike—before the terror and the impossibility of it all returned.

Resistance Front. Ed. Bernard J. Schaffer. Kindle All-Stars, 2012.

2011 FICTION

DEAD CONNECTIONS

To the dead, it seemed, the living world was a pathetic place awash in missed opportunities and signs of decay and decline.

Absolute Visions: Anthology of Speculative Fiction. Ed. MacAllister Stone. Written in Stone, 2011.

IN THE END THERE IS JUDGMENT

You’d think being dead would shut Waylon up but I still hear him. To hear him tell it I screwed up killing him something awful.

Indiana Science Fiction Anthology 2011. Ed. James Ward Kirk. Indiana: Angels & Demons & Ghosts, 2011.

INFAMOUS

He was thinking this but what he said was “I was just realizing you’re the first woman I’ve been in a room with since 1927.”

“Since--“ she said, and stopped. She looked away from him and her mouth tightened.

The First Line13.3 (Fall 2011).

deep cuts: academic publications

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE FICTION?

Discourse of the Inquisitive. Eds. Jaclyn Maria Fowler and Bjorn Mercer. Westphalia Press, 2023.

TELEPORTING OFF THE PAGE: THE WACKY LIFE AND TRUNCATED CAREER OF AMBUSH BUG

The DC Comics Universe: Critical Essays. Ed. Douglas Brode. McFarland, 2022.

'WE, THE FANS OF STAR WARS': NEGOTIATING RESISTANCE IN AN AGE OF CONSUMPTION

Who Makes the Franchise? Essays on Fandom and Wilderness Texts in Popular Media. Ed. Rhonda Knight and Donald Quist. McFarland, 2022.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST LONGBOX: REDISCOVERING THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES

Excavating Indiana Jones: Essays on the Films and Franchise. Ed. Randy Laist. McFarland, 2020

VERONICA MARS: THE BITCH IS BACK

Television Finales: From Howdy Doody to Girls. Ed. Douglas L. Howard and David Bianculli. Syracuse UP, 2018.

COEN, COEN ON THE RANGE: ROOSTER COGBURN(S) AND DOMESTIC SPACE

The New Western: Critical Essays on the Genre since 9/11. Ed. Scott Stoddart. McFarland, 2016.

Joseph S. Walker

edgar-nominated writer of short crime fiction

Hey, Kids! Free Stories!

THE SHORT MYSTERY FICTION SOCIETY

2024 fiction

AWARDS AND HONORS

LINKS

2023 FICTION

2022 fiction

2021 fiction

2020 fiction

2019 fiction

2018 fiction

2017 FICTION

2015 fiction

2013 fiction

2012 FICTION

2011 FICTION

deep cuts: academic publications

edgar-nominated writer of short crime fiction

Hey, Kids! Free Stories!

THE SHORT MYSTERY FICTION SOCIETY

2024 fiction

AWARDS AND HONORS

LINKS

2023 FICTION

2022 fiction

2021 fiction

2020 fiction

2019 fiction

2018 fiction

2017 FICTION

2015 fiction

2013 fiction

2012 FICTION

2011 FICTION

deep cuts: academic publications

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