Crime SuspenStories #21

In "Mother's Day," Fred returns home after serving time for a crime he took the blame for—his brother Harold’s theft. Now free, he comes back to a house where his mother, Donna, lies paralyzed after Harold struck her in a rage. The story unfolds with quiet dread as Fred confronts the truth of his brother’s actions and the weight of a family torn apart by guilt and violence.

In "In the Groove," a desperate radio announcer tries to murder his wife during a live broadcast, relying on a pre-recorded track to cover his alibi—only to have his plan unravel when the record begins skipping mid-air. Written by a master of noir tension, the story unfolds with chilling precision, turning a simple broadcast into a trap of its own making.

In "Understudies!" from Crime SuspenStories #21 (1954), Gail and Jim—bound by love but trapped in unhappy marriages—plot a chilling escape, believing they can vanish their spouses and start anew. But as their plan unfolds, each begins to fear the other is becoming just like the one they sought to replace.

In "Blood Brothers," Alex arrives unannounced at his brother’s beach house, claiming to want reconciliation—but his real plan is murder, carefully scripted with alibis in place. As he tries to wash away the blood in the ocean, he doesn’t realize the water is swarming with sharks, turning his escape into a deadly gamble.