First up is "2PM: The Real Estate Agent Arrives" by Steve Rasnic Tem. This is a flash fiction piece. With flash fiction they don't necessarily tell you a story but set it up so that before you know it you've supplied the complete story as if it was all written out for you. Here a Real Estate agent shows up for a walk through after the tenants have left -- straight forward until the agent remembers a single fact. Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Joe Lane's "Even the Pawn" starts as a pretty straight forward police procedural when the police are working a homicide with their hands tied behind their back. A young girl named Tania is found dead in a trash can. The case drags on with no real suspects or witnesses. The one regular customer Tania had seems to be a step to the side of reality. A very strange twist takes this in a very strange direction.

"Last Man" by Mick Scully tells the story of an American GI who is the last captive in Vietnam. The war passed his captors by, and they're afraid to admit they still have a captive, but an enterprising bunch decides to ransom him. In the course of the move they return his diary and personal effects. As the arrangement for the ransom moves forward the soldier rediscovers his past, his captives fight among themselves and rethink their alliances, and the reader gets a peek into the lives of soldiers during the war years.

Lisa Morton's Main character in "Unlucky" believes that his life was preordained by his lack of luck. An interesting twist on why a life goes out of control and how it impacts others.

April is unhappy with her job in a beauty parlor and follows up on the mention of the need for a beautician at the local mortuary in Murry Shelmerdine's "Appearances". This tale, told from April's point of view, is one that certainly is difficult to summarize. April just seems to have a knack for landing on her feet, even in the midst of a mob hit.

"101 Ways to Leave Paris" by Simon Avery is the story of two brothers, Jack and Victor Chappel. They traveled to Paris from London and fell in love with the city, and with Marianne. Jack has just been released from prison. Using flashbacks and present narratives, Avery spins the tail of revenge or redemption depending on how you read it.

Nicholas Stephen Proctor's "People in Hell Want Ice and Water" reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode. A man forever seems to relive the same memories. A bit chilling and with a lot of subtext that adds to the narrative.

Alex Irvine treats us to a surreal tale in "Black Lagoon". Jay wonders if, in spite of himself, he's repeating history when once again he's in a van trying to dispose of a body. But the deal that went bad has more repercussion than you'd expect.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes you do all the right things and still it comes out wrong? In Charlie Williams' "Your Place is in the Shadows", Jack Reardon bumbles into possession of an object that just might change his life.

Darren Speegle's "Saudade" is another Twilight Zone-ish story. A man must face his fears. A chance encounter with a woman who listens to him and asks for little but truth leads him to go back to face his fears.

"The Montgolfier Assignment" by Kay Sexton is one of those stories that have nothing funny in them at all, but are simply hilarious. Perhaps because so many of us can relate, if not to this story's situation, to others very similar but less litigious.

Daniel Kaysen's "The Opening" is truly creepy. Lisa is on anti-depressants and under a lot of pressure to get her show ready for an opening at the gallery. But manic-depressives often don't think clearly once their in the manic phase, and Kaysen definitely pegs the manic side of Lisa's psychology.

An excellent issue, though I wouldn't say the stories are typical mysteries or even crime fiction. What they are, are stories of people who are broken in one way or another -- and how they fit into society, whether it's the larger society of the world or their small piece of it. Lots of variety in the stories and many that make you think after you read it, about life, love, ego and altruism.

Give Crimewave a try if you want something different that pushes the envelope.