menu

Lost Sci-Fi

chevron_right

Stop, You’re Killing Me! By Stephen Marlowe Episode #18

Stephen Marlowe | May 24, 2022
  • play_circle_filled

    Stop, You’re Killing Me! By Stephen Marlowe Episode #18
    Stephen Marlowe

STOP, YOU’RE KILLING ME!

Episode #18 · Written by Stephen Marlowe · Narrated by Scott Miller

Frank Foley knows what it means to be targeted, but discovering that the danger is coming from inside his own home changes everything. The attacks are precise, escalating, and impossible to dismiss, yet the people responsible have no memory of committing them. The story tightens around a single fear: if someone can turn loved ones into weapons, there is nowhere left to hide.

The explanation offered to Foley is as unsettling as the danger itself. A client claims knowledge of events that have not yet happened and insists that a machine still under construction has already changed lives. Foley is pulled into a conflict where protection and destruction are both viable paths, and where payment, survival, and disbelief collide in ways that leave no clean exit.

Rather than leaning on spectacle, the story builds tension through conversation, pressure, and irreversible choice. Every offer comes with a cost, and every refusal carries consequences that stretch beyond the present moment. The result is a tightly controlled narrative where time is not a backdrop, but a fragile condition that can be shattered by a single decision.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Marlowe was an American writer whose work spanned science fiction, crime, and literary fiction, with stories published in venues including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Galaxy, and Amazing Stories. He was also known for his mystery novels and his Edgar Award–winning contributions to crime fiction, bringing a hard-edged sensibility to speculative ideas.

In Stop, You’re Killing Me!, Marlowe applies noir pacing and dialogue-driven tension to a speculative premise, allowing moral pressure and personal risk to drive the narrative. The story stands as a clear example of his ability to merge genres without softening either one.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Stop, You’re Killing Me! By Stephen Marlowe — a vintage science fiction thriller where a private detective faces murder, money, and a future that should not exist.

LOST SCI-FI PREMIUM

Unlock Ad-Free Listening + Exclusive Bonus Episodes

For less than 17 cents a day, unlock every episode ad-free.

Subscribe to Lost Sci-Fi Premium vintage science fiction podcast Start Your Free 7-Day Trial →

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 43 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 4.2 million listens.

Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.

What listeners are saying:

★★★★★ “What a treasure! Found this podcast purely by accident! Brilliant!!”
— KSFJLC

★★★★★ “Great discovery. Just found this and it’s a real gem. I love the enthusiasm and the narration. I find it a great escape.”
— Bedford Nick

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.

📬 JOIN LOST SCI-FI WEEKLY

40,000+ Listeners Can’t Be Wrong

Get vintage sci-fi stories, podcast episodes, and surprises every Monday.

FREE SCI-FI EVERY WEEK

✅ Check your email and confirm — that unlocks your free sci-fi downloads.

No spam in this galaxy. You can eject anytime.





  • cover play_circle_filled

    01. Lancelot Biggs Master Navigator
    Nelson S. Bond

  • cover play_circle_filled

    02. The Day The Monsters Broke Loose
    Robert Silverberg

  • cover play_circle_filled

    03. Hide and Seek
    Arthur C. Clarke

  • cover play_circle_filled

    04. Two Black Bottles
    H. P. Lovecraft

  • cover play_circle_filled

    05. Don’t Look Now
    Henry Kuttner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    06. Cosmic Tragedy
    Thomas S. Gardiner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    07. The Broken Axiom
    Alfred Bester

  • cover play_circle_filled

    08. Gambler's Asteroid
    Manly Wade Wellman

  • cover play_circle_filled

    09. Process
    A. E. van Vogt

  • cover play_circle_filled

    10. The Old Timer
    Richard R. Smith

  • cover play_circle_filled

    11. Dead Man's Planet
    Russ Winterbotham

  • cover play_circle_filled

    12. The Secret Flight of Friendship Eleven
    Alfred Connable

  • cover play_circle_filled

    01. Welcome to LostSciFi.com

  • cover play_circle_filled

    02. The Madness of Lancelot Biggs by Nelson S. Bond

  • cover play_circle_filled

    03. Don't Look Now by Henry Kuttner

  • cover play_circle_filled

    04. Poor Little Warrior by Brian W. Aldiss

  • cover play_circle_filled

    05. The Life–Work of Professor Muntz by Murray Leinster

  • cover play_circle_filled

    06. The Black Ewe by Fritz Leiber

  • cover play_circle_filled

    07. A Walk in the Dark by Arthur C. Clarke

  • cover play_circle_filled

    08. Time Enough At Last by Lynn Venable

  • cover play_circle_filled

    09. Duel on Syrtis by Poul Anderson

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The One That Got Away by Chad Oliver Episode #567
    Chad Oliver

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Thought Machine by Ray Cummings Episode #566
    Ray Cummings

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Measure of a Man by Randall Garrett Episode #565
    Randall Garrett

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Gray Cloud by Walter Kubilius Episode #564
    Walter Kubilius

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Human Element by Leo P. Kelley Episode #563
    Leo P. Kelley

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Cast The First Shadow by Marc Brandel Episode #562
    Marc Brandel

  • cover play_circle_filled

    What A Man Believes by Robert Sheckley Episode #561
    Robert Sheckley

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Middle Of The Week After Next by Murray Leinster Episode #560
    Murray Leinster

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Crisis on Titan by James R. Adams Episode #559
    James R. Adams

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Strangers to Straba by Carl Jacobi Episode #558
    Carl Jacobi

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The World In The Balance by J. P. Marshall Episode #557
    J. P. Marshall

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Factory In The Sky by Basil Wells Episode #556
    Basil Wells

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Incubator Man by Wallace West Episode #555
    Wallace West

  • cover play_circle_filled

    Star Chamber by H. B. Fyfe Episode #554
    H. B. Fyfe

  • cover play_circle_filled

    The Outsider by H. P. Lovecraft Episode #553
    H. P. Lovecraft

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play