Story Profile: “The Six-Year-Old Serial Killer”

 Story Profile: “The Six-Year-Old Serial Killer”

 

Funderburke mysteries come in all different lengths.  The flash fiction story, where a writer has to tell a complete story with a very limited amount of words or fewer, is a tricky one, as one must be economical with characters, dialogue, and description, yet still interest a reader.  It’s hard to tell a complete mystery in 1,000 words or fewer, but the Akashic Books “Mondays Are Murder” blog asks writers to tell a story in a maximum of 750 words.

 

In “The Six-Year-Old Serial Killer,” the titular character comes to Funderburke because he believes he’s committing horrific acts of violence without realizing it.  Funderburke is pretty sure that this amiable little boy is not a violent monster, but when the kid produces a bloodstained weapon, Funderburke has to do some clever thinking in order to find out what really happened.

 

The story was nominated for the 2020 Derringer Award for Best Flash Story.  It will be published later this year in the 2020 BOULD Awards anthology.

 

“The Six-Year-Old Serial Killer” can be read in its entirety at the Akashic Books “Mondays Are Murder” website.

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Story Profile: “Hunger Pains”

 Story Profile: “Hunger Pains”

 

In by far the longest Funderburke mystery published to date, the novella “Hunger Pains” has Student Advocate and private detective Funderburke and his girlfriend Nerissa Kaiming leaving Milwaukee to visit a former student, a teenager named Keegan who left Cuthbertson Hall unwillingly, and was compelled to transfer to the Phineus School, a weight-loss boarding-school in Northern Illinois.  Keegan sent Funderburke an email, begging him to come, as something’s not right at the Phineus School.  One of the students has disappeared.  The staff insists that it’s a simple case of a teenager running away, but Keegan believes that there are more sinister issues at play.

 

Since Keegan is no longer a Cuthbertson Hall student, this technically isn’t part of Funderburke’s purview, but when Funderburke’s instincts are on high alert, nothing can prevent him from giving up his Saturday to investigate.  When he arrives, he finds the previously-overweight Keegan slimmed down to a shadow of his former self, and many of the other students are equally concerned about the disappearance.  The food at the Phineus School stinks, and the attitude of the principal smells even worse.  With a staff actively blocking Funderburke’s inquiries, finding out the truth isn’t going to be a piece of cake…

 

“Hunger Pains” appeared in the inaugural issue of Serial Magazine, which is available for sale here.

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^thfrom MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

The Reviews Are Coming In...

 The Reviews Are Coming In...

The first review (that I know of) for Sherlock & Irene has been released, and it's a very positive one!  Thanks to Wendy Heyman-Marsaw (author of Mrs. Hudson's Kitchen) for the kind review!

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” will be released on August 27^th from MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.

Introducing Isaiah Funderburke

Introducing Isaiah Funderburke

 

From my earlier posts on this blog, you could probably be excused for thinking that I write exclusively about Sherlock Holmes.  But that’s not the case– I have my own series detective, who has appeared in several published short stories over the past couple of years.  His name is Isaiah Funderburke, and he’s a private detective who works for the school Cuthbertson Hall as the Student Advocate.

 

One of my favorite shows growing up was the educational PBS show Square One TV, and my absolute favorite part of the series was the recurring segment Mathnet, a Dragnet parody centered around a couple of detectives who solved cases through mathematics.  In most (though not all) of the episodes, a child or teenager came to the detectives Kate Monday (Pat Tuesday in later seasons) and George Frankly.  I always thought it was great that kids could come to these detectives with a problem and always be taken seriously.  The young people who came to Mathnet were never patronized or belittled, and they could always count on the detectives to devote themselves fully to the case.  In real life, many of my friends complained of lawyers and judges not listening to them during custody hearings, or other adults refused to believe them when they were wrongly accused of misbehaving.  

 

Another major influence on my writing was Roald Dahl’s stories.  His children’s books are full of kids who are oppressed by cruel or negligent grown-ups, though in most of the tales the kids have at least one reliable adult ally who supports and helps them.

 

Growing up, I often thought of creating a detective who was one hundred percent on the side of the students, no matter what problems they faced.  The Funderburke mysteries aren’t always about solving murders or finding the solutions to crimes.  Many of them focus on helping students through personal problems such as their parents’ divorces or other family issues.  Some of the stories are quite dark, others farcical.  Throughout them, there’s a recurring theme: that the world is a difficult place for children in trouble, and they need an adult on their side to help them.  That’s why the young people in my stories have Funderburke.

 

I will talk more about my Funderburke mysteries in future posts.

 

 

 

–Chris Chan

 

 

Chris Chan’s first book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” was released on August 27^th from MX Publishing, and is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there).  It is also available in a Kindle edition.