Free Fiction Monday: Trick Or Treat: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum
The teenage girl wrapped in a sheet calls herself Casper (as in “The Friendly Ghost”). But Secret Master of Fandom and private detective Spade doesn’t find her friendly and she’s definitely not a ghost. 
Paladin demands that Spade babysit Casper, and Spade never says no to Paladin. Even when it comes to babysitting on Halloween weekend, while Spade runs the second most important convention of the year. Because Paladin doesn’t ask favors; she solves crimes. And apparently, she—and Casper—need help only Spade can provide.
“Trick or Treat: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum” is free on this site for one week only. The story is also available for $2.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Omnilit, and in other ebookstores. For more on Spade & Paladin, check out Paladin’s website.
Trick or Treat:
A Spade/Paladin Conundrum
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The free story will be available for one week only. If you missed this one, click on the links above. There’s another free story lurking somewhere around the site. Track the story down, read, and enjoy!
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12 responses to “Free Fiction Monday: Trick Or Treat: A Spade/Paladin Conundrum”
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A New Mystery Story
Spade and Paladin return in “Unity Con.” Read an excerpt here!
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Best Mystery Stories of The Year!
“The heroine of Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s ‘Christmas Eve at the Exit’ struggles to make the holiday meaningful for her 10-year-old daughter while the pair are on the run….There isn’t enough Xanax in anyone’s medicine cabinet to calm the jitters these 20 skillful stories will unleash on a worried world.” —Kirkus
Thanks for the collected stories in one ebook. I became enamored as I read the first story, but it’s hard to remember to check back or dig for the others. I hope you keep writing this series, but I wish you the best in whatever you do.
Thanks, Dorotht. I will be doing more stories. Another is coming up in Hitchcock’s in one of the next few issues, and there is already another published uncollected story from Hitchcock’s a year ago. I’ll be doing more as soon as I finish the Retrieval Artist project. I enjoy these characters a lot (as you can probably tell) so I’ll be revisiting them often.
Interesting story, I’ll go check out the others.
Typo (missing word):
I knew little about Casper except that she was quiet and tiny and smelled [of] Bazooka Bubblegum
Thanks, Karen.
I love reading your and Dean’s short stories – but I willingly admit that my heart hitches a tiny bit when you give us a Spade and Paladin story – I adore them with much luvs.
Thank you!
You’re welcome. Glad you like them. 🙂
Kudos. Outstanding. Adored Casper.
Thanks! She’ll be in the AHMM story upcoming.
What a great mystery. I love the combination of a SMoFcon and Halloween. Wish I knew Spade. We could use him in Ops at Loncon.
You never know. He might be there. 🙂
*Love*
Are there other Spade/Paladin stories?
Oh, yeah. Four others up as e-books. Stomping Mad, The Karnikov Card, Pandora’s Box, and The Case of the Vanishing Boy. A new one will be out in Hitchcock’s in a month or two. Here’s all the information on Paladin’s website: http://www.paladinsanfrancisco.com