Reptiles Of The Mind

Story 9 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series

When a fledgling and failing novelist comes up with the idea of a lifetime—a murder mystery—he brings in a stenographer to type it up as he feverishly dictates the story. Up against an unyielding deadline, the writer tells his tale while struggling with his disinterested typist in a battle of wills.

The author’s novel—embedded into Final Draft—is the story of a hardboiled crime reporter who figures out a plot to seduce and marry a dying heiress in order to gain her fortune. His plan however, is beset with challenges and he finds himself in an ever darker, ever deeping maze of intrigue…something the author suddenly seems unable to escape himself as the writer’s fiction merges with his own life.

Story 5 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series

When a woman sees a dead body across the way through the window in her Manhattan apartment, she is desperate for others to believe her. Unfortunately no one else can see what she does and it begins to drive her to desperation. In the spirit of old radio dramas of the 1940s, the heart-pounding mystery unravels delightfully until the surprising conclusion is reached.

Carole Carson—a fading movie star—slowly loses her mind while surrounded by a colorful cast of unique characters who either are helping to calm her nerves or are consciously driving her insane. What you think is real…just might not be. Or is it? Illusion, or perhaps madness, is at the heart of a mystery for the ages.

Story 14 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series

Victoria Halloran was the heir of the great Whitcomb legacy which came with an estate beyond value situated on a private island called Belle Isle outside of Detroit. With her kind and attentive husband Herbert at her side, from there she reigned as queen on her throne. Unfortunately her throne was her bed—she was a hypochondriac invalid that had not escaped her world of pillows and linens for more than a dozen years.

Imperious, entitled, and bitter, she only found happiness when the world revolved around her. Other than through her overworked telephone, she had no contact with the outside world. But when she eavesdrops on another party’s call and discovers a murder plot, she is desperate to convince others that something must be done to prevent it.

The entire story takes place over a few hours largely with her alone in her bed, but the action and tension are larger than life and, as the clock ticks down to the appointed time of the killing, the scene is almost unbearable.