luna rey hall and Mary Thorson in conversation

The Bizarre Disappearance of Bella Riley follows a young woman who goes missing without explanation, leaving only a few troubling details behind. The book is framed as an episode of a fictional true‑crime Youtube show called “Autopsy of the Unsolved,” where the narrator walks the reader through the “real case” of Bella Riley’s disappearance.

luna rey hall is a queer non-binary writer. they write poetry/horror and are the author of six books including loudest when startled, which was longlisted for the 2020 Julie Suk Award, and the patient routine, which was longlisted for the Bram Stoker Superior Achievement in Poetry Award. their work has appeared in The Florida Review, The Rumpus, & Raleigh Review, among others. their latest novella, the bizarre disappearance of bella riley, was published by Brigids Gate Press in April 2026.

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A collection unlike any other, each story in A Woman's Guide to True Crime features shocking historical events examined through the eyes of victims, killers, or the women left behind. With emotional precision, an uncanny eye for fragility, and an all too grounded sense of unease, the sixteen stories in this collection explore what happens when the blood is washed away, examining everything from the after-effects of matricide in Milwaukee, to two cold, empty graves in Chicago, to a Missouri town where everyone witnesses a M**der but keeps their mouths shut, to a Californian Christmas torn apart by a tumbling Cessna, to a small barn outside Hinterkaifeck, Germany, where the dead ask if you, too, heard that sound from behind the walls.

Mary Thorson lives and writes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her short story, “Book of Ruth,” was included in Best American Mystery & Suspense ‘24, edited by Steph Cha and S.A. Cosby. Her short story, “Casadastraphobia,” was included in Best American Mystery & Suspense, ‘25, edited by Steph Cha and Don Winslow. Her work has been nominated for Best American Short Stories, a Derringer, and a Pushcart Prize. She hangs out with her two feisty daughters, the best husband, and a dog named Pam when she isn’t teaching high school English, reading, or writing ghost stories. She is represented by Lori Galvin at Aevitas Creative Management. Her debut short story collection A Woman’s Guide to True Crime is out with Rock and a Hard Place Press. She is currently working on a novel.

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