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The ninth issue of Black Cat Mystery features a stellar lineup of new stories (and one classic reprint). Here are— LAST RITES, by Stacy WoodsonTHE JERICHO TRAIN, by John M. FloydCORAL COVE, by B.A. PaulTHE ALLEY, by Ann AptakerSONNY'S ENCORE, by Michael BrackenSWITCH AND BAIT, by Cynthia WardBECOMING ZERO, by James A. HearnTHE MURDER OF JONATHAN GREYSTONE, by Barry FultonYOU GOTTA BE IN IT!, by Elliott CaponTHE YOU-DON'T-KNOW-THE-HALF-OF-IT-DEARIE BLUES, by Michael KurlandA FIGHTER BY HIS TRADE, by Graham Powell Classic reprint:SMELLING LIKE A ROSE, by Gil Brewer

Counter-intelligence agent Jacob Welker is on a special mission to find a group of scientists who could change the course of World War II in this smartly written historical espionage thriller. September 1939. Germany has declared war on Poland, and in German Pomerania, Professor Josef Brun is on the run from the SS, carrying secret documents that could change the course of the war. If he can make it to France or Britain. If he can survive... In America, counter-intelligence agent Captain Jacob Welker is handed a special assignment from President Roosevelt. Einstein believes the Nazis are aware of a new super weapon made possible by advances in atomic science, and only a small group of scientists can stop them winning the race to develop it. Enlisting the help of his British friends, Lord Geoffrey and Patricia Saboy, Welker must find the scientists and get them out of Germany from under the Nazi's noses. As a dangerous new world of physics gathers pace, can Welker prevent the war taking a catastrophic new turn?

'Settle in for a trip to a wonderful half-real, half-imaginary era.'— Richard A. Lupoff Mike and Chester, the alien-fighting hippies of The Butterfly Kid, have found their way from New York City to San Francisco — but that's just the first step of their odyssey. When Mike meets the girl of his dreams, he and Chester join her and her circus friends on a quest in search of a lost unicorn. Psychedelic hilarity ensues as they travel through time to encounter Victorian nudists, fire-breathing dragonettes, and live dinosaurs.Touted as a'brain-blowing science-fiction freak out'upon its 1969 publication, The Unicorn Girl is the second book in the Greenwich Village Trilogy, a shared-world scenario written by three different authors, all of whom appear in the books as characters. Dover Publications returns this cosmic adventure to print for the first time in nearly 40 years, along with its predecessor, The Butterfly Kid, and its sequel, The Probability Pad. This edition features an appreciative new Foreword by science-fiction author Richard A. Lupoff.

Counter-intelligence agent Jacob Welker recruits a number of civilians to help foil a suspected terrorist attack by German spies in New York in 1938.

Fine and Dandy chorine Lydia Laurent's strangled, nude body, accompanied by two complete suits of clothing, has been found in Central Park, and now Two-Headed Mary and Billie Trask are missing too. Since the police are as helpless as they always are in 1935, it falls to New York World columnist Alexander Brass and his cheerfully wide-eyed sidekick Morgan DeWitt to dig up the truth.

Fine and Dandy chorine Lydia Laurent's strangled, nude body, accompanied by two complete suits of clothing, has been found in Central Park, and now Two-Headed Mary and Billie Trask are missing too. Since the police are as helpless as they always are in 1935, it falls to New York World columnist Alexander Brass and his cheerfully wide-eyed sidekick Morgan DeWitt to dig up the truth.

A furtive tipster gives nightclub columnist Alexander Brass an envelope filled with photographs of several powerful people caught in compromising sexual positions. Intrigued, Brass sends a newspaper stringer to follow the mystery man. When the stringer is murdered, Brass and his team resolve to find the killer, running the gauntlet of blackmailing Nazis, accommodating nymphomaniacs and US senators on the way.

Follow the adventures of a famed newspaper columnist through 1930s New York City in this first installment of a witty and atmospheric historical mystery series. Columnist extraordinary Alexander Brass needs a story—but will his latest end in his own death? It all begins when a furtive tipster promises an explosive story and gives Morgan DeWitt—assistant to New York World celebrity newsman Alexander Brass—an envelope filled with photographs of the most compromising nature. But when the tipster turns up murdered, Brass and his team resolve to find the killer, running the gauntlet of blackmailing Nazis, accommodating nymphomaniacs and US senators on the way.

'KURLAND HAS MADE MORIARTY MORE INTERESTING THAN DOYLE EVER MADE HOLMES'ISAAC ASIMOV When American journalist Benjamin Barrett is sent to Constantinople to report on the sea trials of a new submarine, the assignment soon becomes more eventful than he had predicted. The submarine is sabotaged, and he is arrested for the brutal murder of a British spy. Rescue comes from an unexpected quarter: the enigmatic Professor Moriarty, who offers him his freedom—at a price. Barrett will start a new career in the Professor's employ, assisting him in the business he has been engaged on by the Russian government. There is a mysterious masked agent seeking to sow anarchy and destruction, and Moriarty must track him down and prevent a catastrophic attack at the highest echelons of British society. If only Sherlock Holmes will stop meddling in his affairs...

Professor James Moriarty, prominent scientist, keen analytical mind, and a dabbler in less than savoury doings, is somewhat surprised when an unknown caller is shot by a crossbow bolt on his doorstep. Meanwhile the Professor's one-time associates, the journalist Benjamin Barnett and his wife, the former Cecily Perrine, are having their own troubles on the Continent. Things turn deadly when they find themselves in the midst of an attempted assassination of a German prince, and in Vienna, the younger son of a British nobleman—indulging in'The Great Game'of amateur spying—finds himself framed for the murder of his paramour and the assassination of an Austrian Duke. While a lesser man might be daunted, Moriarty is merely intrigued. With the unwanted help of his often nemesis Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty must connect the many threads of the mystery. But he is facing his most cunning opponent to date, and this is no game...

Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft, spying, Baker Street, Russia, submarine, moriarty

'Kurland has made Moriarty more interesting than Doyle ever made Holmes.'Isaac Asimov London, 1887, and a vicious killer stalks the gas-lit streets of the capital. With a particular penchant for the blue-blooded aristocracy, he is leaving lordly corpses behind locked doors, and high society is in uproar. Scotland Yard call in the great Sherlock Holmes to hunt down the murderer, but even he is unable to bring the monster to justice. Several more noble throats are slit before the Yard turn to the one man who might be able to solve the bloody crimes: the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, ably assisted by American journalist Benjamin Barker, and the redoubtable Miss Cecily Perrine. However, Moriarty has his own unique methods of fighting evil, and he and Sherlock Holmes make for the most reluctant of allies... PRAISE FOR THE MORIARTY NOVELS'A deliciously complex and abundantly rewarding novel... Uncommon are the pleasures such writing affords.'Publishers Weekly'From whatever celestial outpost he now occupies, Conan Doyle must be beaming his approval.'West Coast Review of Books'Sherlock Holmes'most clever adversary... He's a fine sleuth and makes for a compelling protagonist. Splendid stuff.'Booklist

'KURLAND HAS MADE MORIARTY MORE INTERESTING THAN DOYLE EVER MADE HOLMES.'ISAAC ASIMOV London, 1892, and a young nobleman goes missing under distressing circumstances. Prince Albert Victor, grandson of Queen Victoria, has disappeared while visiting a house of ill repute, leaving behind a woman's body. Hoping to find the prince and to clear him of the murder, the royal family is looking for a brilliant—and, more importantly, discreet—investigator. With Sherlock Holmes unavailable, his brother Mycroft turns to the only man who just might be more brilliant—Professor James Moriarty. But the Professor is himself on trial for murder. In exchange for his release, the so-called'Napoleon of Crime'will use all his resources to track down the missing prince. If he fails, he may never again draw another free breath...

A compelling volume of original tales concerning Sherlock Holmes'legendary time in America With an introduction by Leslie S. Klinger, editor and compiler of all three volumes of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes, this collection of ten original stories brings light to one of the least examined periods in the life of the great detective—his time in the former colonies, the United States. This Holmes is a youthful one—a young man not yet set upon his course in life and in his famous lodgings at 221B Baker Street. In Richard Lupoff's'Inga Sigerson Weds,'he's come to America to represent the family at his sister's wedding. In'My Silk Umbrella,'Mark Twain narrates his fateful encounter with Holmes at a baseball game in Hartford, Connecticut; Steve Hockensmith narrates the meeting of the young William Gillette and the object of his later, most famous turn upon the stage; and Peter Tremayne reveals the intersection of Holmes and the Irish in the 19th century American midwestern landscape. With further stories by Marta Randall, Rhys Bowen, Peter Beagle, and others, the legend, the mythology and even the history of the world's greatest detective is further enhanced by these charming, clever and mystifying tales.

The rise of scientific thinking in finding, catching, and convicting criminals—and, just as important, freeing the innocent—has transformed society's assault on crime. Before scientific detective work, early attempts to maintain public safety relied on the severity of punishment rather than any probability of apprehension. But with the rapid development of the sciences in the nineteenth century, some techniques began to spill over into more effective police work. Michael Kurland's engrossing history of forensic science recounts this remarkable progress, which continues to the present. He traces the history of the major techniques of criminal detection and many of the minor ones. Here are Bertillon's physical measurements used to recognize habitual criminals; the study of fingerprints identifying criminals long after they have left the scene of the crime; Gravelle's comparison microscope comparing bullets to determine if they have been fired from the same gun; the development of bloodstain identification and, ultimately, the blood type involved. Mr. Kurland explains how once–accepted techniques have fallen by the wayside—handwriting analysis, for example—and how methods such as lie detectors, voice spectrum analysis, bite mark evidence, and other methods have proven unworthy. Finally Irrefutable Evidence explores the rise of modern DNA typing techniques, which have proven the innocence of many persons convicted of major crimes and resulted in the exoneration of more than two hundred on death row. With 12 black–and–white illustrations.

An anthology of eleven original Sherlock Homes tales set during the missing years between the apparent death and later return of Sherlock Holmes. Includes the Edgar Award finalist'The Adventure of the Missing Detective'by Gary Lovisi.In 1891, Sherlock Holmes in a struggle with his arch-enemy, the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, plunged with him over the Reichenbach Falls to his inevitable death. All of England - indeed the entire world - mourned the irreplaceable loss of the world's greatest detective. And that's where things stood until 1894 when Holmes suddenly reappeared in London, revealing himself to his friend Dr. John Watson, and resumed his activities as a consulting detective. Holmes remained very quiet and mysterious on those missing three years, never really revealing precisely where he'd been and what he'd done in the'hidden years.'Now, in this anthology of original stories the truth about those thirty-five months is unveiled and Holmes'adventures described. While some stories place Holmes in such familiar locations as New York and San Francisco, others find him high in the Himalayas or above the Arctic Circle. With stories from such writers as Rhys Bowen, Peter Beagle, Carolyn Wheat, Michael Collins and many others, Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years is a must-have book for every fan who has every wondered about the untold adventures of Sherlock Holmes.