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A Real Nice Guy

William F. Nolan

First published April 1980
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

Jimmie is proud of the neatness of his work as the Phantom Sniper: 41 random kills and still unsuspected. So when the unknown woman he picks up for an evening's date wants to talk about sniper killings, he's pleased with her interest, displeased with some of the things she says. He has no idea how interested she really is.

Borderline speculative: this is a horror story that takes its terror from the spreading chaos of copycat crime and the sheer randomness of spree killers. Not exactly speculative, but uncanny.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
April 1980 Cover Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine, April 1980 Renown Publications, Inc. MAGAZINE 94
December 1984 Cover Things Beyond Midnight Scream/Press Collection 51
December 1984 Cover Things Beyond Midnight Scream/Press Collection 51
November 1994 Cover 100 Crooked Little Crime Stories Barnes & Noble Books Anthology 416
November 2000 Cover Things Beyond Midnight Babbage Press Collection |51
October 2001 Cover Dark Universe: Stories 1951-2001 Stealth Press Collection 131
December 2004 Cover Nightworlds Leisure Books / Dorchester Publishing Collection 336