Anna & Matchstick and Other Berlin Stories
(2026)(A book in the Alaric von Trelow Mystery series)
A collection of stories by Jason Collings
A collection of five short stories and one novella set in the world of the Alaric von Trelow Mysteries, investigations into murders and other crimes in Germany of the early Weimar Republic.
The Wrong Boots – May 1917 – In the trenches of the Western Front, a man is found dead, killed by a stray mortar bomb. Common enough, except to Alaric von Trelow something doesn’t look right. The man is wearing the wrong boots.
Home for Christmas – December 1918 – Returning to his family home at Christmas, for the first time since the start of the war, Alaric von Trelow has plenty of concerns. Most notably building bridges with his young son, Paul, and avoiding conflict with his father. Mysterious disappearances prove an unexpected, but not unwelcome, distraction.
The Widow’s List – March 1919 – A rich man lies dead in his own walled rose garden. The family seem to want it ruled suicide, which is exactly what it looks like. But Kriminalkommissar Dietz’s gut doesn’t like it and whilst they might shut the door in his working-class face, they won’t turn Alaric von Trelow away.
The White Veil – July 1919 – A wealthy young bride is found strangled in her own bed with her wedding veil. To avoid the scandal of a police investigation her powerful father-in-law agrees to an alternative: Alaric von Trelow.
Anna & Matchstick – November 1919 – Anna von Trelow, now a law student in Berlin, decides that with her brother Alaric in Africa, someone needs to investigate Berlin’s mysterious happenings. Dragging along, Matchstick, self-proclaimed ‘best thief you’ll never see,’ she sets herself to the task. Together they find trouble, kidnapping, secret societies, and a little stone idol some people seem to be willing to kill to retrieve. Which was pretty much exactly what she was hoping for!
The Brandenburg Interview – January 1920 – In the final story, Louis Randolph Beck, former Guards officer, bon viveur, and sometime gigolo, now executive manager of the Brandenburg Hotel, offers a reporter a confidential interview. The subject? The notable private enquiry agent, his friend and former comrade, Alaric von Trelow.
Genre: Mystery
The Wrong Boots – May 1917 – In the trenches of the Western Front, a man is found dead, killed by a stray mortar bomb. Common enough, except to Alaric von Trelow something doesn’t look right. The man is wearing the wrong boots.
Home for Christmas – December 1918 – Returning to his family home at Christmas, for the first time since the start of the war, Alaric von Trelow has plenty of concerns. Most notably building bridges with his young son, Paul, and avoiding conflict with his father. Mysterious disappearances prove an unexpected, but not unwelcome, distraction.
The Widow’s List – March 1919 – A rich man lies dead in his own walled rose garden. The family seem to want it ruled suicide, which is exactly what it looks like. But Kriminalkommissar Dietz’s gut doesn’t like it and whilst they might shut the door in his working-class face, they won’t turn Alaric von Trelow away.
The White Veil – July 1919 – A wealthy young bride is found strangled in her own bed with her wedding veil. To avoid the scandal of a police investigation her powerful father-in-law agrees to an alternative: Alaric von Trelow.
Anna & Matchstick – November 1919 – Anna von Trelow, now a law student in Berlin, decides that with her brother Alaric in Africa, someone needs to investigate Berlin’s mysterious happenings. Dragging along, Matchstick, self-proclaimed ‘best thief you’ll never see,’ she sets herself to the task. Together they find trouble, kidnapping, secret societies, and a little stone idol some people seem to be willing to kill to retrieve. Which was pretty much exactly what she was hoping for!
The Brandenburg Interview – January 1920 – In the final story, Louis Randolph Beck, former Guards officer, bon viveur, and sometime gigolo, now executive manager of the Brandenburg Hotel, offers a reporter a confidential interview. The subject? The notable private enquiry agent, his friend and former comrade, Alaric von Trelow.
Genre: Mystery