Black Cat Weekly #240

This issue, we have another fine selection of modern and classic stories, kicking off with original tales by Tom Milani (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), Ron Miller, Jon Matthew Farber, K.G. Anderson, Bud Pharo, and Phyllis Ann Karr. From a missing persons case to a classic-style locked-room mystery to vampires, magic, and Death personified, we have a slate of amazing tales this week.

   For those who like classics, we have a powerful suspense novel from Elisabeth Sanxay Holding, a Golden Age science fiction novella from Sam Merwin, Jr., and a Golden Age crime story from Hal Moore. And what issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles?

   Here’s the complete lineup—

Cover Art: Steve Hickman

NOVEL

Dark Power, by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding

   A young woman enters a dark house where nothing feels safe.

NOVELLA

“The White Rain Came,” by Sam Merwin, Jr.

   A telepath on Mars faces fear, love, and a world gone dry.

SOLVE-IT-YOURSELF MYSTERY

“Time’s Up,” by Hal Charles

   Can you solve the mystery before the detective? All the clues are there!

SHORT STORIES

“Riley Walker,” by Tom Milani [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

   She vanished in plain sight, leaving everyone chasing the wrong trail.

“Velda vs. the Red Menace,” by Ron Miller [Velda P.I. series]

   Velda heads to Coney Island and walks into a crazy Cold War mess.

“The Italian Cufflink Mystery,” by Jon Matthew Farber

   An odd cufflink and a locked room point in all the wrong directions.

“Just a Bit Too Fast,” by Hal Moore

   Can the law catch a bank robber who plans one move too far ahead?

“Another Name for Death,” by K.G. Anderson

   Who expects Death to show up at the counter with paperwork in hand?

“The Last Incarnation,” by Bud Pharo

   A broken heart, an old amulet, and a love that will not stay buried…

“To Bite a Queen,” by Phyllis Ann Karr

   A vampire plots treason to save his cursed family line.