Crime Suspenstories #2

In "A Toast...to Death!", a wife’s quiet resentment over her husband’s neglect boils over when she poisons his favorite wine, buries him, and begins living off his money—until the very grapevine he cherished starts stirring up trouble, threatening to unravel her perfect lie. Written with sharp, noir flair, this chilling tale unfolds with a slow-burning tension that turns domestic boredom into a deadly game of deception.

In "Out of My Mind!", Betty’s simmering hatred for her husband Bert boils over into a chillingly calculated plan—faking fainting spells over months, then turning violent in front of Bert’s brother, who finally arrives to save the day. When her scheme succeeds, Betty is committed to Harvey’s hospital, where her twisted mind begins to unravel in ways no one could have predicted.

In "The Switch," Edwin Lambert listens in on a tense phone call that makes him believe his brother Harry is hiring a killer to eliminate his wife—only to find himself caught in a web of suspicion and mistaken assumptions. As the line between truth and paranoia blurs, the real danger may not be who Edwin thinks it is.

In "Jury Duty!", Peter Kardoff walks free from the gallows—only to begin a chilling campaign of retribution against the jury that sentenced him, convinced the law can’t touch him now that he’s been declared dead. But as the bodies pile up and the town grows tense, something about his resurrection feels… off.

In "Hatchet-Killer!", Mrs. North grows increasingly uneasy as a string of hatchet murders grips the community, leading her to suspect her part-time maid. As tension mounts within the house and strange events unfold, her fear spirals into a desperate act—only to be shattered when her husband arrives, revealing the real killer has already been apprehended.

In "Revenge!", a desperate woman’s marriage to a wealthy oilman unravels when she falls for a worker named Phil, leading to a deadly scheme that goes horribly wrong. When the planned accident only leaves her husband paralyzed, the balance of power shifts—now Phil holds her ransom, threatening to expose their secret unless she pays up.

In "Phonies," Frank Shantly, down to his last dime after a failed heist, spots a newspaper story about a wealthy gambler heading to Washington to testify—perfect cover for a new score. But when a man claiming to be Adellis shows up at his door, offering a high-stakes bet on whether Shantly can crack his safe, the con begins to unravel in ways he never expected.

In "Horror Under the Big-Top!", Wanda’s secret romance with the daring circus performer "The Flying Aldar" spirals into a deadly scheme when her husband catches on. As the circus prepares for a final act, a twisted plan to eliminate him goes horribly wrong—leaving Wanda dead and Aldar unaware of the fatal trap he’s about to step into.

In "Out of the Frying Pan...", the quiet rhythm of hospital life is disrupted when Hank Bowers, a newly arrived patient claiming to be blind and accused of murder, quietly observes the others. While old Charlie’s vivid descriptions of the world beyond the window bring comfort to two paralyzed patients, Hank’s silence soon gives way to a quiet calculation—his own plan for escape begins to form.

In "A Trace of Murder!", Felix Morley is obsessed with eliminating his nagging wife, Emma, so he can be with his new lover, Helen. After discovering a poison that leaves no trace, he puts his plan into motion—only to make a fatal mistake when he confesses his crime to Helen, who turns him in. When the police investigate, a mix-up at the cemetery—where two graves have been swapped—throws Felix into a web of confusion and suspicion he never saw coming.

In "The Escaped Maniac!", Bert picks up a hitchhiker during a storm, only to grow uneasy when a radio broadcast warns of a dangerous maniac on the loose—someone who shouldn’t be picked up. As they seek shelter in an empty house, the tension mounts, and the true nature of their passenger begins to surface.

In "Partnership Dissolved!", Doc Merrick and his partner Winkler bet everything on a secret meat-tenderizing solution derived from papaya and a mysterious catalyst—until greed turns their collaboration deadly. When Winkler kills Merrick to claim the formula for himself, he doesn’t realize the solution he drinks will dissolve him from within, turning his own scheme into a gruesome end.

In "Understudy to a Corpse!" from Crime Suspenstories #2 (1983), Brad and Alice stumble upon a long-forgotten trunk in their new home’s attic—inside, a skeleton and a trail of blood-soaked secrets. What begins as a quiet discovery quickly unravels into a web of greed, deception, and a past that refuses to stay buried.

In "Medicine!", Jo finds herself trapped in a tense web of jealousy and desperation when her husband Luther’s daily routine hinges on a strict medication schedule—only to be disrupted by her own secret plan. As she races to sabotage the man she married for money, a sudden accident leaves her stranded, helpless, and utterly dependent on the very pills she intended to poison.

In "Cut!", vain movie stand-in Russell Slade sees his chance to steal a star’s spotlight when he notices his make-up artist transforms him into a dead ringer for the lead actor, John Hammond. With a clever scheme to eliminate the original and take his place, Russell thinks he’s found his big break—until things spiral in a way he never expected.

In "A Tree Grows in Borneo!", George and Amos venture deep into the jungles of Borneo, drawn by the promise of untold riches hidden within ancient temples built by the Kenyah people—temples where the dead are buried inside hollowed trees. As George fixates on the gold roofs, Amos warns of a curse on those who disturb the sacred sites, but greed soon overtakes caution. When Amos returns alone to claim more gold, the jungle itself seems to remember the old taboos.

In "Rocks in His Head!", Charles, a surgeon haunted by his own financial anxieties, finds himself caught in a web of desperation after his wife Cynthia flaunts a lavish mink coat. When a hospital emergency forces him into surgery, a stolen diamond ring becomes the center of a dangerous gamble—one that leads him to hide the jewel in a patient’s skull, unaware of the chilling consequences that may follow.

In "Lady Killer," Ralph’s plan to eliminate his wife, Mildred, unravels when he returns home to find her absent—only to be met by a far more dangerous reckoning. As he waits, memories of his affair with Jeanne surface, painting a portrait of deceit that spirals beyond control. When Mildred finally returns, the violence escalates, but the true shock comes when Ralph arrives at Jeanne’s apartment to find her dead—leaving him trapped in a web of betrayal with no escape.

In "Missed by Two Heirs!", two stepsons, furious over their late mother’s will, plot to eliminate their stepfather Henry by sabotaging the spiral staircase he uses daily—only to find their plan thwarted. When that fails, they turn to poisoning his orange juice, but Henry, wise to their scheme, leaves with a sample for the police. As the boys drink the poisoned juice to cover their tracks, the doorbell rings—unexpected company is on the doorstep, and the truth is about to be revealed.

In "Friend to 'Our Boys'!", Corporal Tacker returns home on leave to find his family’s rented house overrun by rats and insects, a squalid state the landlord refuses to fix. With no help from the USO and his family’s safety at stake, Barry moves them to a hotel and demands his security deposit back—only to be told he must inspect the property first. The moment the landlord steps inside, the house turns against him, collapsing beneath him as the vermin swarm, leaving him trapped and alone in the dark.

In "Stiff Punishment!" from Crime Suspenstories #2 (1983), Jo Ann, frustrated by her husband Fred’s morbid fascination with anatomy, walks out after a heated argument—only to find herself in a chilling game of survival when Fred’s plan to eliminate her goes dangerously awry. The story unfolds with a cold precision, blending psychological tension and dark irony as the line between professor and predator blurs.

In "One Man's Poison!", John and Mary's volatile marriage reaches a breaking point when Mary decides to end it—by making it look like an accident. She secretly spoils a can of beans, letting it sit for days, carefully testing the poison on herself to ensure it would kill her husband when he ate it. But when John finally consumes the tainted beans, Mary’s victory is short-lived—her celebration is cut short when she learns too late that her husband had already poisoned her wine.

In "Two for One!", Carleton Ashley faces ruin unless he can raise $20,000 in a single day, but a mysterious offer from Mr. Simms promises to double his money instantly. Desperate, Ashley hands over $10,000 for what he believes is a foolproof investment—only to discover too late that the deal was a trap, and his own bookkeeper has turned the scheme against him.

In "Four for One!", Donald Irwin spins a high-stakes financial ruse, convincing a bank president to help him project wealth by opening a checking account and depositing $10,000—only for the bank to face a sudden, chaotic rush as five separate customers, each with a check, arrive at different tellers at once, all demanding to cash the same amount.

In "A Fool and His Honey Are Soon Parted!", Armand and Bovant brace for the arrival of a notorious man from the home office—known as a gigolo, a love pirate—whose charm proves dangerously persuasive. When the man sets his sights on Nanette, Armand tries to outwit him by warning Rudy of a marriage alliance with a native chief’s daughter, only to find that even the last woman Rudy would pursue might be his undoing.