A young woman lawyer trying to break through the heavy bureaucracy of the Egyptian legal system gets her chance when the Public Prosecutor calls upon her to make an appearance in court. The case is an ugly one: a young bicycle messenger beaten to death for no apparent reason. Unless, concludes the lawyer, he was carrying a message someone didn't want delivered.
"When the Apricots Bloom" was first published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (June-July 2010) and short-listed for a Barry Award. Author Ellen Larson lived for fifteen years in Egypt.