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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of crime short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ Crime Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Feed your fascination with the latest crime short stories. From thrilling accounts of lovable burglars to chilling tales of stone-cold murderers, these bite-sized pieces are so addictive, they should be illegal.

Crime Short Stories – Page 1 of 10

Frank

Rory Gilmore

Weekly Contest #347

“I’ll have the strawberry waffles.” I say. The waiter scribbles down my order. “And to drink?” “Whole milk.” I order this, even when it’s not remotely close to what I want. Strawberry waffles are far too sweet for my preference, and whole milk gives me the runs. But that’s not important. What’s important is that my waiter transcribes the message. “I’ll have that out in a moment.” he says politely, taking my menu. I unfold my newspaper and scan the headlines for anything out of the ordinary. From a bystanders point of view, an old wrinkly ma...

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Hold-Up

Ella Hancock

Weekly Contest #347

IOWA, December 24th, 1990 “Nobody move! This is a hold-up!” The masked bandit grabbed my arm and held it behind my back while he pressed the barrel of a gun to my temple. It was a stark contrast to the Christmas tree that was set up in the cafe's corner. There were cut-outs of paper snowflakes hanging in the window. Now there were about half a dozen patrons dining on Christmas Eve with their hands in the air and half-eaten pancakes on the table. A second masked man entered our establishment, and the little bell hanging over the door chimed. ...

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Death at One O'Clock

Autumn Reid

Weekly Contest #347

A commotion increasing in intensity caught my attention from where I was standing impatiently on the railway platform. The one o’clock train, that I had disembarked from twenty minutes ago, was still stopped at the station with a large group of men gathering around a car only two back from where I had been riding. Young boys tried to peek over the shoulders of the men and were promptly pulled back by their mothers. Intrigue drew me towards the excited, chattering crowd, but someone called my name behind me before I could get close. “Kate? Ka...

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You've Got The Plot

Bill Davis

Weekly Contest #347

YOU’VE GOT THE PLOT I was sitting at my desk, mostly filling out paperwork, but also wondering what I would have for dinner in approximately two hours. In other words, it was an easy, noneventful day in Morris County, Iowa. For someone in law enforcement, such days were hard to come by and much appreciated. Of course, I should have known that it wasn’t going to last. There was suddenly a quiet knock on the door and Jennifer Sundersten, my Secretary, opened the door slightly. “Sorry to bother you Sheriff Johnson,” she said, although we b...

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Your protagonist discovers they've been wrong about the most important thing in their life

Alyssa Harrison

Weekly Contest #347

Word count: 2970This story includes topics of mental health and suicide. Pulling the Thread By Alyssa Harrison Remember 91. Sadie gazed at the text message, her hands curled around a mug of hot chocolate. She pulled up the screen, but it bounced back. A lump rose in her throat and she slammed the phone down on the table in front of her. ‘Sadie?’ She looked up to find Kate watching her worriedly. ‘I’m fine,’ she snapped. She glanced across at Alex. He stared down at his hands, not saying a word. The kitchen was silent apart from the tickin...

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Good Hand, Bad Hand

Mark Adams

Weekly Contest #347

Tap Tap Tap Cesar gazed out the window of his room, the view overlooking the rest of the city. He stayed at the top floor of the fate casino – an eternal citadel that loomed over the rest of the city, watching all those who stood below. He leaned forward in his chair and sighed, his ears ringing as he held the weight of his head in his hands. He looked over at the time on his glimmering gold watch and forced himself standing before he looked behind him one more time. “I’ll be back Mal” Cesar said ...

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The Undertaker’s Friend

Erika Horton

Weekly Contest #347

I was a little apprehensive about trying a new dating app, but the guys I was finding on Hinge just weren’t cutting it anymore. Their profiles would either be completely empty, some long tirade about “women on this app,” or would say stuff like, “Interests: Nice headlights and a big undercarriage.” Um, this is a dating app, sir. Go to Carfax! I managed to go on a few dates. The craziest guy had a profile picture of Ronald McDonald, what I assumed was some kind of joke, but when I arrived for our date in the park and saw a tall man with a re...

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The Loyalist

Matthew Deng

Weekly Contest #347

In a country named Landfar, there lived a man by the name of Jerry Tinone. Jerry was a long-time supporter of the country’s government, which was described by their neighbors as an oppressive dictatorship. However, that fact didn’t dissuade Jerry from being a staunch supporter of the government whom he proudly praised in front of the rest of his family as being guardians of his country and people. This would often lead to arguments between him and his family members whenever there were gatherings. During one gathering, the arg...

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The Unexpected

Garrett Dunn

Weekly Contest #347

A car sped down a dimly lit road late at night. The hum of the engine blended with the faint glow of the dashboard, casting soft light across the driver’s face. For a moment just a moment his attention slipped. His eyes dropped to his phone. When he looked back up, a figure stood in the road. The brakes screamed. Rubber burned against asphalt as the car lurched forward, then shuddered to a violent stop just inches from the man’s legs. Silence followed. The stranger didn’t move at first. Then he stepped closer, breath uneven, shoulders rising...

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The worst kind of time capsule

Michaelah M

Weekly Contest #347

Thunk. The shovel’s progress through the dirt ceases. It’s replaced by two soft hands scrabbling at the dirt. A finger nail bends, breaks, leaving a trail of blood. Undaunted by this, dirt is flung away to reveal a braided tan handle. The body belonging to the hands heaves itself out of the hole and then yanks and wiggles the handle. Years of decomposing unsurprisingly has affected it. One end breaks, leaving only one end of the rope barely hanging on to the metal surface it is attached to. The hands swipe sweaty hair falling out its ponytai...

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The Drunk Fish

JF Bacon

Weekly Contest #347

The Drunk Fish was no different from other Yorkshire pubs in the late nineties. Divided into two rooms – or ‘bars’ – they were separated by doors, but shared the same bar counter. Both rooms generously offered worn, sticky carpet underfoot; aged oak furniture littered with torn beermats; tatty chintz curtains; and faded floral wallpaper throughout.In the public bar, a TV fought to be heard over the high-pitched sound of two jackpot machines and darts thumping a dart board. Raucous chatter about restrictions imposed on the steel factory which...

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Something There

Nick Matsas

Weekly Contest #347

I live a different life. One thing my family does not know about, and if I told you, we’d both be killed. When I sit at the table with my boys and girls, it is for such a short time that you could say that it is not my life, or at least where I spend it. I took an oath, and rule five says: If your wife is giving birth and we call you, you come, and it is true. I live that life. My life. Our life. I know Vito Corleone says a man who doesn’t spend time with his family is not a man, but he’s a character, and I’m the real thing. I run brothels, ...

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NIGHTMARISH CUSTOMERS AND CUNNING PLOYS TO STEAL THE OWNER'S DATA

Anna Cuccuru

Weekly Contest #347

The room and breakfast in Ferrara, in the Emilia-Romagna region, represent a category of structure as a guesthouse very clear in the description: it is an apartment with two or six rooms with bathroom, kitchen, apartment shared in the common areas with other guests, where self-service detergents and breakfast are provided, complete with pdf information downloadable from the website of the Emilia-Romagna region where the owner does not reside and therefore a morbid curiosity Created Placed by the customers to know where he lives, if he owns o...

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Cause and Effect

Vanessa Osbourne

Weekly Contest #347

CW & A/N: Mentions of past child abuse, gaslighting/coercion, mentions of past drug/alcohol abuse, OD, cursing, absent parents, religious psychosis???, matricide.) (Also kind of ties into the prompt of: Center your story around someone who finally achieves their biggest goal — only to realize it cost them everything.) The sky’s the color of someone else’s faded memory, muted to a grey as bleak as the outcome of all life. It begins and ends the same way: with a bright light, and with a perpetual darkness. In between we fill it with th...

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The Last Straw Of Schadenfreude

Adam Wilson

Weekly Contest #347

My name is unimportant. The players are the opposite. The events that I transcribe are real. Let me set the stage. I dwell in the heart of Stalithe, a city not unlike Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York City. Especially the latter, as the Towers only were toppled a year prior. I have seen monsters of the two-legged and four-legged variety. And at the center, is the Kestrel. I have made a study of this "hero." His dedication to the public good is very questionable. He has only been in operation for 4 years. I am convinced of his identity. As...

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