Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #23. Lots of good stuff this time—highlighted by a novel from Golden Age mystery author Rufus King, Duenna for a Murder. Plus a few novellas, and lots of great short stories, a solve-it-yourself mystery from Hal Charles, and great selections from Michael Bracken (Laird Long’s “Taken for a Ride”—which qualifies as both a mysery and a fantasy story) and Barb Goffman (Michael Allan Mallory’s “Random Harvest”).

On the science fiction side, the Cynthia Ward Presents story is missing this week, but that’s only because we have a fantastic alternate-history story from Cynthia herself! Check out her “On Stony Ground.” Plus an epic disaster story from Allan Danzig, a fantasy from Unknown by Lester del Rey and James H. Beard, a space-based tale by Richard Wilson, and a miniature military SF story from Larry Tritten.

Here’s the complete lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

“Soul Searching,” by Laird Long [short story]
“A Fine Kettle of Fish,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
“Dead Wrong,” by Frank Kane [short story]
“Taken for a Ride,” by Hulbert Footner [short novel]
“Random Harvest,” by Michael Allan Mallory [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
Duenna to a Murder, by Rufus King [novel]

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

“On Stony Ground,” by Cynthia Ward [short story]
“Corrigan’s Homunculi,” by Larry Tritten [short story]
“Carillon of Skulls,” by Lester del Rey and James H. Beard [short story]
“Abel Baker Camel,” by Richard Wilson [short story]
“The Great Nebraska Sea,” by Allan Danzig [short story]

The Armchair James Beard