Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (EQMM) is the sharper image of its sister publication, Alfred Hitchcock's (AHMM). The stories are more polished, some have literary aspirations, and I'm more likely to find the well-executed twist in an EQMM story. While not every piece is a textbook mystery (some are police procedurals or psychological thrillers), all are good entertainment.

Editor Janet Hutchings introduces each piece with a description of the story, or what the author is working on, or an introduction to the writer if this is a first story. Occasional pen and ink illustrations, while not required to enjoy any of the stories, add to the feeling that EQMM is richer than AHMM. Some authors appear every month (Edward Hoch, amazing!) or almost as much (Doug Allyn) and deliver a quality story every time. There are plenty of other writers to enjoy; some are series tales with a recurring character, some create new worlds but impress with their mastery of the short story form.

EQMM relies on fewer gimmicky departments and more fiction. There is a book review column, calling your attention to novels worth reading.

If you love mysteries you should be getting both AHMM and EQMM.

Note: Starting with the 2004 issues, EQMM will publish only 10 issues a year; 2 will be "double issues" with almost twice as many pages. I remember when the Dell Magazines published 13 issues a year, including the "mid-December" one; back then the magazines came every 4 weeks. Those were the days and I have shown myself to be a certified grumpy codger.

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine consistently delivers solid stories every month. As others have noted, not every story is a gem, but I usually find *at least* one really good story per issue, and most of the rest are quite enjoyable. (With around 10 stories per issue, you have to expect the occasional dud.)

This has been true for as long as I've been reading the magazine, which must be close to 30 years, now! The quality of the writing is consistently good, because the editors know what they're doing.

As a previous reviewer said, it is a good idea to pick up one issue to see if you like the kinds of stories EQ has to offer. But if you like that one issue, you can be sure you will enjoy others.

Note: Though it's known as EQ "Mystery Magazine", not all stories are mysteries. They do all fall generally into the "crime" category.

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My 80+ year old mother used to enjoy EQMM when I was a kid, so I thought she'd like a subscription for her birthday last year. Wrong! With the very first issue, she started complaining that there was too much bad language and sex in the stories. So I checked it out, and it did seem to be a lot, but no more than what I've come to expect from books, tv, and movies today. For her though, it was understandably racy, and to prove her point she dug out some old EQMM and read some stories. The difference in writing was immediately obvious. The older issues were infinitely better written, with less bad language and no sexual content.

I'm not saying it's a bad magazine, but if you're considering this for gift subscription for someone who enjoyed EQMM years ago, be aware that it's not the same as the magazine they used to read.

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EQMM is definitely a worthwhile magazine for any true fan of mysteries. Is every story exceptional, of course not and that's unrealistic to expect it to be. The stories are however entertaining and you get the opportunity to see something from some of your favorite writers. I think it's enjoyable to read a short story from writers you like whether it is a surefire classic or just another tale. To address, some of the issues by the jaded first reviewer, look at it from the standpoint of a mystery lover. If the publishers only produced great classic books, we would have only a handful of books each year, instead of the masses that readers have the fun of combing thru each year. The pages smudge, but this is not a magazine that is mass produced like People or Time or Sports Illustrated. At the current price, you could probably only get one to two stories a month for glossy pages. If you're reluctant to get a subscription then at least go to your local bookstore and buy the latest copy of EQMM and find out for yourself how enjoyable getting a quick glimpse into dozen of mystery writers can be.

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I absolutely love this magazine! This is a wonderful read for any who like short stories and mysteries! The magazine includes new writers as well as more well known ones. A wonderful magazine!

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