“Twist Phelan is one of the most celebrated of current crime short-story writers. […] Her short stories are all standouts.”

For the Good of the Game
The Mystery Review
Red Herring Magazine 

 A Trader’s Lot
Wall Street Noir
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
Finalist, Derringer Award, Best Short Story of the Year (Short Mystery Fiction Society)

Crime Wave
CrimeSpree Magazine

Floored
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Strange Bedfellows
Politics Noir
“A wise and funny story” (Chicago Tribune)

The Peahen
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

A Stab in the Heart
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Winner, Thriller Award, Best Short Story of the Year (International Thriller Writers Association)
Finalist, Derringer Award, Best Short Story of the Year (Short Mystery Fiction Society)

Talk to Me
American Crime Writer’s League Presents America Past, America Present

Time Will Tell
Mystery Writers of America Presents The Prosecution Rests
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
Finalist, Arthur Ellis Award, Best Crime Short Story of the Year (Crime Writers of Canada)
Selection, By Hook or By Crook and 27 More of the Best Crime and Mystery Stories of the Year

Happine$$
Mystery Writers of America Presents The Rich and The Dead
Finalist, Thriller Award, Best Short Story of the Year (International Thriller Writers Association)
Finalist, Anthony Award, Best Short Story of the Year (Bouchercon World Mystery Convention)

The Fourteenth Juror
Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance
Distinguished Story Selection, The Best American Mystery Stories

I’m Learning
American Crime Writer’s League Presents Murder Here, Murder There
Coolest American Stories 2025 (rpt. as “Good Shoes”)

Footprints in Water
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Revue Alabis
Winner, Thriller Award, Best Short Story of the Year (International Thriller Writers Association)
Winner, Arthur Ellis Award, Best Crime Short Story of the Year (Crime Writers of Canada)
Winner, Colorado Authors League Award, Best Short Story of the Year
Selection, Top Fifteen Short Stories of the Year (SleuthSayers.org)
Selection, Top Five Police Stories of the Decade (SleuthSayers.org)
Top Ten, Launch Pad Prose Competition
Top Twenty, Thriller Short Story (Prose) Projects All-Time (Coverfly)

Game
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Finalist, Arthur Ellis Award, Best Crime Short Story of the Year (Crime Writers of Canada)
Finalist, Shamus Award, Best Crime Short Story of the Year (Private Eye Writers of America)

Rude Awakening
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Fathers-in-Law
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Finalist, Thriller Award, Best Short Story of the Year (International Thriller Writers Association)

Used To Be
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Finalist, Award of Excellence, Best Short Story of the Year (Crime Writers of Canada)

The Bridge
Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine
Longlist, Irish Book Awards Short Story of the Year

From Twist: I like the characters in my novels, but often other voices pop up in my imagination, individuals who don’t have a place in my books but whose stories interest me. I pretty much ignored them until the editor of an anthology called Wall Street Noir asked me to write a story. I jumped at the chance to tell the tale of a commodity futures trader’s dizzy ride on Fortune’s roller coaster. Now I knew what to do with ideas that weren’t book-length and characters who, while remarkable, weren’t folks with whom I’d like to spend the time it takes to write a novel.

This collection of thirteen stories, including two Thriller-Award winners, includes tales told from a variety of viewpoints. Women from teenage to “a certain age” play prominent roles. Three stories feature traders of stocks and commodities (in my world, greed is not good). A farmer, an antiques dealer, blue-collar working men, and a pro athlete also make appearances. And there are four crime-fighting professionals: NYC and West Coast detectives, a US Marshal, and a Seattle prosecutor. I hope you enjoy them!