1 It had snowed the night before, just a trace, but now the sky was a deep blue, and a faint breeze was blowing powder off the boughs of the pines. Spellbound by the glitter in the air, I slowed my patrol truck and thought how it might have seemed to someone more innocent than…
We teamed up with five crime writers to create a short story in real-time. The end result was “Axel’s Lament” which you can read in full below. A special thank you goes out to the participating authors (in order of appearance): C. J. Box, Ellison Cooper, Gregg Hurwitz, Michele Campbell, and Allison Brennan. The full…
We teamed up with six crime writers to create a short story in real-time. The end result was “Murder on the Cul de Sac” which you can read in full below. A special thank you goes out to the participating authors (in order of appearance): Jess Montgomery, D.J. Palmer, Sarah Stewart Taylor, Brian Panowich, Sandie…
Enjoy “Backtrack”—an original, brand new, Criminal Element-exclusive short story from Edgar Award finalist Paul Doiron, author of the bestselling Mike Bowditch series. When a visiting hunter goes missing in the middle of a snowstorm, a young Charley Stevens (later the mentor to game warden Mike Bowditch) sets off to rescue him—but begins to suspect the…
“The Bear Trap” by Paul Doiron is an original short story in the Mike Bowditch mystery series, where legendary Maine woodsman and bush pilot Charley Stevens tries to convince young Mike Bowditch of the dangers awaiting rookie game wardens. “The Bear Trap” The wind moved across the surface of the lake like breath upon a…
