Short Murder Mystery Stories

Jeff Pritchet isn’t much different from other teenage boys, with one exception. His monstrous, spider-like appearance and loner persona make him a target for bullying, when all he wants is a friend who sees beyond the surface.The unconventional pair find themselves marked for hatred, and when his bond to Aarav is threatened, Jeff discovers a sinister side he never knew he had, proving that, when pushed too far, emotions can be deadlier than venom.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

…from his responsibilities as a father, hiding out from his pregnant girlfriend, and working as a groundskeeper in a rural graveyard. He’s running from a lifetime of guilt and bad decisions, but principally he’s running from the murderous entities that have possessed the very ground at his feet. Jim has no idea what these entities are, but they’ve done unspeakable things to everyone in the graveyard and now they’re hunting him down. There is nowhere Jim can hide, nowhere he can walk and nowhere he can run that isn’t under the lethal power of the things in the ground. If he stands any chance of survival he must uncover the link between his murderous tormentors, three mysterious graves and an ancient heresy that stretches back to the beginning of time. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

An Epic Fantasy tale of action, adventure, heroism, horror and sorcery… Beyond Night is a Dark Fantasy Horror novel that pulls back the veil of nearly two thousand years of jaded history. Come tread in the bloody footprints left by monsters, soldiers and wizards and behold what lies hidden Beyond Night itself. It’s Bigfoot War mixed with Lovecraftian horror on the edge of the Roman Empire. How could Rome lose a Legion? What could’ve happened to blot out the existence of over five thousand men not only from history but the Earth itself? As the Legion moves north to engage the forces of Pictdom, a dark horror emerges from the bowels of the Earth. Thought to be random attacks by hulking monsters, Decurion August soon learns a dire truth, that these bloody events are directed by opposing the wizards of the Picts. While one side assembles all tribes in a confederated army to battle the Legion, the other pulls these Greyman beasts from the depths of the Earth. August fights not only these creatures and workers of magicks, but internal passions in the Legion itself. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

The sleepy English locality of Middletown is about to get even sleepier, as a strange malady starts to affect the population. It spreads quickly, causing the authorities to quarantine this small city, and seek out the only person who might be able to help: Doctor Andrew Strauss. However, Strauss has a secret, one that has linked him to this place all his life, one that has linked him to a particular person there, though he doesn’t yet know who. But he’s not the only one hiding things – and as he ventures into Middletown to collect samples with an army escort, a mixture of UK and US troops, cracks soon begin to appear in the operation. Especially when his team comes up against the most terrifying threat humankind has ever known.

Everything starts when Kenzo met a girl at the train station. He is a University student, studying arts. He does know nothing about love, all he does is studying then hangout with friends, his life became more complicated when he starts dating. Then there is Eliza she went to a different university and is taking a course for dress making. Kenzo fell in love at first sight when he saw her standing near the window while reading a book. But he doesn't know that Eliza knows him already. She was acting normal towards him. Until one day, Kenzo started dating her, everything goes normal as it is. They enjoy each other's company. As the time went by he noticed that Eliza is changing and was not able to remember all things they have done together for a month. He started going insane when he found out that the time and date where Eliza live is different from his. She is living on a different world where her time moves backwards. His life became more and more complicated. Unable to understand everything of what is happening around him. Little did he know that Eliza's time is limited and that she will be gone and won't see him again. Will there be any chance that destiny will change and that their paths will meet again?

Two months remained until debut evaluation night. Before our unit performance, our main dancer suddenly offered me her center position. I stared at her, confused, "The trainers always praise your stage presence. Why give up your spot?" "You... you deserve center more than I do." Her smile was painfully forced, and she was fidgeting with her practice clothes - obviously not saying what she really felt. Puzzled by her strange behavior, I asked, "Are my moves too big? Am I making it hard for you to perform?" She suddenly started shaking, looking at me with pure fear in her eyes. After what felt like forever, she finally choked out, "Please, just stop. I won't try to compete with you for center anymore!"

In the quiet of the forest, the darkest fears are born. The people of Dunballan, harbour a dark secret. A secret more terrible than the Beast that stalks the dense forests of Dunballan. A secret that holds David McCavendish, last in a long line of Lairds, in its unbreakable grip. It’s down to Sally, David’s lover, to free David from the sinister clutches of the Beast. But, with the whole town against her, she must ally herself with an ancient woodland force and trace Dunballan’s secret back to its bitter origins. Those origins lie within the McCavendish family history, and a blasphemous heresy that stretches back to the beginning of time. Some truths are too terrible to face, and the darkest of these lie waiting for Sally, in the Quiet Places. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Welcome back to Clifton Heights. Sheriff Chris Baker and Father Ward meet for a Saturday morning breakfast at The Skylark Diner to once again commiserate over the weird and terrifying secrets surrounding their town. Sheriff Baker shares with Father Ward the story of a journal discovered in the ruins of what was once an elaborate koi pond and flower garden, which regales a tale of regret, buried pain, and unfulfilled debt: “Sophan” – Jake Burns has always been a bit...off. Rude, awkward, sometimes brutish, he's tolerated by Nate Slocum and his friends because he hits a mean line drive, and because they all know but don't discuss the abuse he faces at the hands of his troubled father, a Vietnam veteran consumed by his demons. But Jake is suffering something far worse than domestic abuse, and when Nate discovers what, he faces an impossible choice: help Jake and put himself in the path of evil, or abandon him, only to damn himself in the process. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

After many years of living away, Abigail Hopper returns to her hometown because of her father's transfer. Abigail has a crush on her new classmate, Micheal Whitlock in her new college but stops having feelings after learning that he's a werewolf. Abigail secretly writes mystery thriller books online under a pen name 'phoenix'. Things get dirty when a murder occurrs in the the manner described by Abigail in her book. Micheal discovers Abigail's secret and suspects her of being the murderer. A murder occurs when Abigail was in Michael's custody, proving her that she's not the perpetrator. Michael and Abigail try to find the murderer together to stop the town from being a burial ground. Knowing that the murderer is one of their college's teachers who attempted to shatter the peace between the human and werewolf communities by murdering innocent people and werewolves, Michael and Abigail apprehended him and filed a lawsuit against him in order to restore peace to their village.

Two girlsTwo lives apartTwo girlsBoth traumatized. Adrianne Perez was once a girl who had everything a girl could ever ask for. Perfect life and perfect parents. Until her life turned around one night and she believes it's all her fault.Rebecca Jones has never known peace. A psychotic maniac has been on her tail since she was fourteen. She has lost everything. Innocence, trust, peace and her father. After being kidnapped by him, she barely escapes and her captor is never found and her story slowly fades away. Now, just when she thinks she's free from him, things start going wrong and soon, the lives of all she holds dear are in danger. Her best guess is that her captor is after her, but what if he isn't?An unlikely friendship blossoms between the two girls and together they unravel a dark, evil secret buried in the bowels of their little town. Becca's stalker is after her and only Adrianne can save her.