Short Stories/Novellas

A taut psychological crime story, A PALER SHADE OF DEATH was nominated for a 2017 Edgar Award for Best Short Story. Becca is starting a new life in the city, miles away from her elegant St. Louis suburban home. Things were never the same with her husband after she was found not guilty of the death of their four-year-old son, and they are now separated. She drinks too much, and daydreams too much, and now there’s a ten-year-old neighbor boy dogging her every move. Heartbroken and desperately focused on the past, Becca is driven to commit a crime that will bring to light the truth about her young son’s death, and change both the boy's life, and hers, forever. A PALER SHADE OF DEATH was originally published in the anthology, ST. LOUIS NOIR. (Akashic Books) E-book includes a bonus Laura Benedict short story, THE HOLLOW WOMAN, which was originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Laura Benedict is the author of The Bliss House Trilogy (The Abandoned Heart, Charlotte’s Story, and Bliss House), and other novels of dark suspense. Her stories and books evoke a powerful sense of place and take the reader on an in-depth journey into the darkest corners of her characters’ minds. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, watch crime shows on television, playing with her two dogs and two cats, or homeschooling her teenage son.