In 1938, Germany was a dangerous place to be. The rise of the Third Reich made life precarious for Jews and their sympathizers. Anti-Semitism was on the rise throughout Europe thanks to Nazi propaganda. A nationwide boycott of businesses owned by Jews swept throughout Germany, culminating in Kristallnacht on November 9 and 10, 1938. Stormtroopers and civilians ransacked and destroyed Jewish homes and businesses, burned synagogues and murdered 91 innocent people. 30,000 men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps, where most of them perished. Wilhelm Plum, a mild mannered shopkeeper, has turned a blind eye to the growing anti-Semitism in his country, naively believing that no harm will come to him or his young business partner, Ruben Geller, a dedicated and brilliant watchmaker. But as tension mounts throughout the fall of 1938, he can no longer ignore the imminent danger. When Wilhelm overhears his son, Hans, a Nazi sympathizer, plan the impending pogrom with a friend, Wilhelm must risk everything to save Ruben and family from a horrid fate.

Vala Hide is an unassuming farmer's daughter living in the Land of Nomar when a fire razes her homestead. The only thing Vala saves from the devastation is the alicorn, a gift on the day of her birth from the unicorn Sagene. She quickly learns that she is the Chosen One, destined to be the Maiden of Eldox. The malevolent Pressor Garr runs the cult of the Divine Almighty with the blessing of the weak-willed Prince Tito. Under his fanaticism, the Land of Nomar is in danger of slipping into an age of superstition and hysteria. He realizes the alicorn could usurp his hold on the land, and he will do anything to stop Vala. Armed only with the power of the alicorn, Vala and her father embark on the perilous journey to the Scartz Mountains and the Eldox Valley where the unicorn herd and Vala's destiny await.

Vala Hide is the Maiden of Eldox, keeper and protector of the unicorn herd. With a ragtag army of a dozen soldiers and her trusted protector, Remus, at her side, she and her three unicorns, Sagene, Audris and Gudrun are on a perilous journey to liberate the Land of Nomar from the grip of Pressor Direhund who is dangerously close to seizing power from the weak willed Prince Tito and plunging the Land of Nomar into a dark age of superstition and tyranny. In a race against time, Vala must resist the temptation of the Brother's D'Unrnive and cross the Gully of the Trolls to reach the Land of Nomar before it is too late. She knows there is another who will take his place by her side as fellow protector of the unicorns and help free the Land of Nomar from the suffocating oppression of Pressor Direhund's rule.

In the year 2140, on the red planet Mars, a bold project is underway. The Tyson Research and Space Corporation has assembled teams to embark on a groundbreaking mission: launching spacecraft towards our solar system’s nearest stars. Their flagship vessel, the Inside Straight, is set to venture towards nearby Gliese, with the hope of establishing first contact with extraterrestrial life. But the journey is far from ordinary. Onboard the Inside Straight are two Sentient Exoplanetary Exploration Devises, or SEEDs, named Luna Splendida and Sol Lucet. These androids possess functioning human brains, harvested from the International Cryobiosis Laboratories on Earth. As they hurtle through the vast expanses of space, they recall the memories of their past lives, slowly realizing the true essence of humanity. Join Luna and Sol on their epic voyage, as they grapple with existential questions and unravel the mysteries of the universe. Will they achieve their mission and make history, or will their quest for knowledge lead them down an uncertain path? Find out in this gripping sci-fi adventure that explores what it means to be alive, and what it takes to reach for the stars.

It is the summer of 1933 and young Haven Cattrell, seeking work, finds himself abandoned in the small northern Ontario town of Davisville. At an exclusive summer camp for girls he befriends Wetherby Moss and his son Jude who introduce him to the joys and heartaches of jazz. Jazz had taken a hard blow, during the first-half of the 1930s. Although there was still work to be had for some in places like New York, musicians in other parts of the country were barely existing on what venues remained. Wetherby and Jude had come from that reality and, as Haven mastered the jazz trumpet, he learns the horrifying truth about why Wetherby, his mentor, had to flee his home in Detroit and find sanctuary with his son among the unique subculture of rural Northern Ontario. But Haven's story is bigger than his love of jazz. It is the story of the racism that haunted black jazz musicians in the 30s, and how that racism found its way to Davisville. It is the story of how love can blind young men and save them from themselves, and it is the story of how important it is to dream when the chaos and hard times around you want to drag you down. - 20171026

In our feature story, "Fader's Crates" by Caroline Misner, the search for a young girl continues in a small rural town; meanwhile, a mysterious stranger hires a mentally challenged man to build him crates. Jim Doherty's precise account of a suspicious vehicle investigation with "Cap Device" provides a dilemma: he was a brother policeman, so Dan Sullivan was inclined to give him a break, to extend some professional courtesy. Head to "Black Bear Country" with Rosemary McCracken's caper about an elderly couple that has rented a cabin in the Canadian wilderness for their vacation, and the ravenous blackflies prove to be the least of their worries. "Rock On The Rocks" is a weaving tale of murder by Lance Dean: the Head of Security and a homicide detective investigate the disappearance of a road crew member from a concert in a Reno casino. "No Quarters" by Leslie Elman is an intriguing mystery set late at night in a Laundromat, where an unusual encounter occurs. Peter DiChellis brings us "Locked Tight", a locked-room mystery: a forgetful sheriff leads an eccentric group of characters trying to solve three puzzling murders. At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Weekly Magazine presents original short stories by the world's best-known and emerging mystery writers. The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty. Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery.

Vala Hide is the Maiden of Eldox, keeper and protector of the unicorn herd. With a ragtag army of a dozen soldiers and her trusted protector, Remus, at her side, she and her three unicorns, Sagene, Audris and Gudrun are on a perilous journey to liberate the Land of Nomar from the grip of Pressor Direhund who is dangerously close to seizing power from the weak willed Prince Tito and plunging the Land of Nomar into a dark age of superstition and tyranny. In a race against time, Vala must resist the temptation of the Brother's D'Unrnive and cross the Gully of the Trolls to reach the Land of Nomar before it is too late. She knows there is another who will take his place by her side as fellow protector of the unicorns, someone who will help free the Land of Nomar from the suffocating oppression of Pressor Direhund's rule.

Sometimes communication is not as straightforward as we might expect. From body language to Morse code, conveying messages comes in a wide variety of forms. How do we get our message across?The stories and novellas in this anthology plumb the depths of the imagination, seeking to understand what might come to be if we were forced to communicate with those who no longer or never did understand us.

Vala Hide is an unassuming farmer's daughter living in the Land of Nomar when a fire razes her homestead. The only thing Vala saves from the devastation is the alicorn, a gift on the day of her birth from the unicorn Sagene. She quickly learns that she is the Chosen One, destined to be the Maiden of Eldox. The malevolent Pressor Garr runs the cult of the Divine Almighty with the blessing of the weak-willed Prince Tito. Under his fanaticism, the Land of Nomar is in danger of slipping into an age of superstition and hysteria. He realizes the alicorn could usurp his hold on the land, and he will do anything to stop Vala. Armed only with the power of the alicorn, Vala and her father embark on the perilous journey to the Scartz Mountains and the Eldox Valley where the unicorn herd and Vala's destiny await.