Gumshoe Books - your independent mystery and crime fiction specialist

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Browse our independent, curated catalogue of the best UK crime and mystery fiction #betterthanamazon

Short stories

The best mystery story stories can be perfectly-formed masterworks in the art of writing detective fiction: one puzzle to solve, one location to describe, a few characters and their interactions to flesh out. As a reader, the short story can leave an impression that lingers longer than a fully-fleshed novel, and we can pace the reading to suit our lives.

The short story also allows a sometimes more personal look into a favourite character, and extend the life of the series detective long after the author has stopped writing novels.

These short stories are single-author stories. For multi-author works, head over to our Anthologies page. Or back to the short stories and anthologies overview with recommended titles.