There’s been a murder in Heaven. The first murder. The first sin, in fact. Recounted to a human of the modern era, angel Raguel narrates a murder mystery that occurred before humans were even “invented.” Raguel, Angel of Vengeance, was called upon by angel Lucifer to discover who had murdered one of the angels and why. The reasons are tangled in the creation of Earth and the forthcoming fall of Lucifer, not to mention the fate of the young man listening to the story. It is like a Greek myth and a noir detective mystery set in the heavenly realm.
Neil Gaiman is the author of many short stories and novels, from the fantastical to the spooky. His books, like Stardust and MirrorMask, have been adapted for film, and books like American Gods adapted for TV. @neilhimself
You can get Murder Mysteries as a graphic novel or read it in the Smoke & Mirrors short story collection, but nothing beats the 2000 radio drama version. The main character/narrator is played by Michael Emerson, five years before he went on to star as Benjamin Linus in Lost, and the co-star the renowned Brian Dennehy. Other actors include Anne Bobby, Chritopher Burns, Thom Christopher, Ed Dennehy, Traci Godfrey, and Evan Pappas. As a short story, the entire drama is about an hour and twenty minutes.
You can listen for free on the internet (YouTube, etc.), or it comes as part of the set Two Plays for Voices, alongside Gaiman’s dark Snow White story Snow Glass Apples.
Jaime Pond is the editor of Anglonerd. She lives and works in NYC. Murder Mysteries is her favorite Neil Gaiman story. Follow Jaime on Twitter.
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