Black Cat Weekly #251

I’m up in Pittsburgh (we just bought a summer house here to visit our daughter) as I prepare this issue, and I’m struck by how different the local pace-of-life is for someone like me, who’s used to the hectic pace of the Washington, D.C. area. Polite drivers, friendly strangers, chatty cashiers. This is the lifestyle I remember from my midwestern childhood almost 60 years ago, which I thought long lost. But it’s actually still there. And I find I’ve missed it.

But that slower pace doesn’t mean we can miss deadlines, and this issue we have another winning lineup. Stories by Robert Lopresti, Ron Miller (a new Velda, P.I. story), Jacob Seinemeier, Bruce McAllister, and a locked-room mystery from Amritendu Mukherjee, with classics by Robert Bloch (author of Psycho), Richard R. Smith, and Edward Wellen. Plus a new solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles!

Here’s the lineup—

Cover Art: Ron Miller

NOVEL

Advance Agent, by John August

A hunted man crosses into wartime America with a single deadly mission.

NOVELETS

“Gatecrashers,” by Jacob Seinemeier

One ruined experiment. Six trapped rescuers. Too many deadly doors.

“Velda in Steel City,” by Ron Miller [Velda, P.I. series]

Did Madge Toth jump—or did someone in Steel City push her too far?

“Before Egypt,” by Robert Bloch

Who moved Egypt? Mike Mallison follows a mystery into deep space.

SOLVE-IT-YOURSELF MYSTERY

“Neighborhood Fireworks,” by Hal Charles

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



SHORT STORIES

“The Grudge,” by Robert Lopresti

An unlocked gym locker turns one man’s petty grudge into obsession.

“How to Be a Man,” by Bruce McAllister

Summer on a cattle ranch teaches two brothers one terrible lesson.

“Shadows Don’t Leave Prints,” by Amritendu Mukherjee

Did a grieving man die alone, or did the locked room itself tell a lie?

“The Huntress,” by Richard R. Smith

On a lonely road, a salesman meets a beauty with a deadly secret.

“The Voices,” by Edward Wellen

His body has become a receiver—and the first broadcast is murder!

Until next time, happy reading!

—John Betancourt

Editor, Black Cat Weekly