Story Profile: “Merridew of Abominable Memory”

 Story Profile: “Merridew of Abominable Memory”

 

As stated in earlier posts, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories is a series of original mysteries by an assortment of authors.  The proceeds from the sales of the books goes to the Stepping Stones School which teaches students with special needs.  The Stepping Stones School is based in one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s homes.

 

Some volumes in the series have a theme, and in the books released this November, the connecting theme is “Untold Cases.”  In the original Sherlock Holmes Canon, the characters often refer to investigations that have never been committed to paper, such as “The Giant Rat of Sumatra.”  Sometimes Dr. Watson explains that the cases were so politically sensitive that the details can never be revealed due to national security, every so often Holmes hasn’t told his friend about  certain events, and on occasion it appears that the good doctor never got around to putting these tales to paper.

 

One instance of an untold story is a fleeting reference to “Merridew of abominable memory.”  What does that mean?  Many readers have interpreted those words as saying that Merridew was a vile man whose terrible actions bring up horrific recollections in those unfortunate enough to know him.  I looked at those four words and approached them in a very different manner.  What if Merridew’s memory was impaired?  What if he had a form of amnesia that came from a terrible attack?  And what might have caused him to be assaulted in such a violent manner?

 

I took these thoughts, and expanded them into a story…

 

 

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories: Some More Untold Cases Part XXII: 1887-1897 is available for sale now from Amazon.com and MX Publishing in both hardcover and paperback.

 

–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: “The Screw You House”

Story Profile: “The Screw You House”

 

Maybe I should have called this story “The Spite House.”  It would raise a lot fewer eyebrows.  Then again, it would defeat the whole purpose of the BOULD anthology, which is supposed to be as outrageous as possible.

 

This story is more of a Funderburke narrative than a mystery.  As the story opens, Funderburke and his girlfriend Nerissa are on a double date with a couple they can’t stand.  While the other couple subtly try and fail to make Funderburke and Nerissa regret their life decisions, Funderburke commandeers the conversation with the story of one of his student clients, whose parents have split up and are now in the middle of an assets split negotiation gone horribly wrong.  As part of the settlement, the father was given a long, thin strip of land overlooking a cliff, his ex believing that no one could build on the land, and it was worthless.  This proved wrong, as the angry man built a “screw you house,” a tall and very narrow structure not designed so much for living in, but to be an eyesore blocking the view of the person one despises.  As the acrimony mounts, the tension leads to an unexpected resolution.

 

“Screw you houses,” also called “spite houses” and by other, even more vulgar names, are a real thing.  They have been built solely for the purpose of preventing other people from being to look out windows, and to reduce the value of the neighboring properties.  One does not want to get caught up in a conflict involving a “screw you house.”  It can be very destructive.  And depending on how twisted your sense of humor is, it can also be very funny.

 

“The Screw You House” won third place in the 2018 BOULD Awards.

 

 

–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: “Death on the Toilet”

 Story Profile: “Death on the Toilet”

 

The BOULD Awards (Bizarre, Outrageous, Unfettered, Limitless, Daring) honor eccentric storytelling, and when I was trying to think of a story for this year’s anthology, I tried to think of outrageous things connected to people’s fears.  Is there a ghastly fate that most people seek to avoid?

 

I found inspiration when watching an SNL skit starring John Mulaney on YouTube.  What if a man with a pathological fear of an undignified death plotted such a demise for a wealthy relative?  And what if there were some sort of unsettling yet poetically just comeuppance for the villain?  I drew from a real-life bizarre death when crafting my climax, and so, “Death on the Toilet” was born.

 

This is a flash fiction story, not featuring any of my recurring characters.  The BOULD AWARDS 2020 is available for sale now in both paperback and Kindle editions.

 

 

–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: “An Afternoon in Lake Park”

Story Profile: “An Afternoon in Lake Park”

 

In this flash fiction story, a sullen, disinterested girl is compelled to chaperone an elderly retired lawyer around Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  As she pushes the man in his wheelchair, the ex-lawyer, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, blurts out a series of shocking revelations, but the girl, with her ear buds blasting music, isn’t paying attention.  Is the lawyer confessing to his own crimes, or is something else going on here?

 

I first got the idea for “An Afternoon in Lake Park” when I was quite young, when I had soccer practices in Lake Park.  I often thought that it was a beautiful place, but sometimes when my mind was elsewhere I wondered about hidden treasure being buried in the thick woods around the soccer fields.  In adulthood, I took these childhood imagination memories and added a much darker twist to them.

 

“An Afternoon in Lake Park” can be found on Akashic Books’ “Mondays are Murder” blog.

 

 

–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.