Joris-Karl Huysmans

Marcel Schwob

Jean Lorrain

Janice Law

Michael P. Daley

Lou Perliss

Dan A. Stitzer

Jeremy Kitchen

Julia Bembenek

Mark Iosifescu

Villiers De L'Isle-Adam

Sam Kunkel

Tales of the Strange & Estranged

Echoes of a Natural World

Malcolm Jameson

Nicholas Carter

Otis Adelbert Kline

Naomi Kritzer

A.R. Morlan

George O. Smith

Hal Charles

N. M. Cedeño

Hulbert  Footner

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #37. Another hefty issue is in hand, featuring novels and novellas by some of the greats of the mystery and science fiction fields. And, as expected, our acquiring editors have found some true gems. Michael Bracken has selected an original suspense tale from from N. M. Cedeño, Barb Goffman has a mystery from the always-superb Janice Law, and Cynthia Ward has Naomi Kritzer’s “Evil Opposite”—a great alternate-universe tale (and our featured story this issue). Of course, there’s lots more—including a tale of the Mounties by Hulbert Footner, a historical adventure from Otis Adelbert Kline, a detective novel featuring Nick Carter, and science fiction and fantasy from George R. Smith (his classic novel The Fourth “R”), Malcolm Jameson, and A.R. Morlan. Plus a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles! Here’s the lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Serenity, Courage, Wisdom,” by N. M. Cedeño [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “A Ring of Truth,” by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery] “Good Girl,” by Janice Law [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Case of Adam Tasker, by Hulbert Footner [novel] An Unsolved Mystery, by Nicholas Carter [novel] “The Dragoman’s Confession,” by Otis Adelbert Kline [novella] “Murder in the Time World,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Evil Opposite,” by Naomi Kritzer [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “A Little Pinch Is All You Need,” by A.R. Morlan [short story] “Murder in the Time World,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] The Fourth “R”, by George O. Smith [novel]

Black Cat Weekly #37

The first three brilliantly realized novels in the Lambda Literary Award–winning historical mystery series featuring the real-life British painter. Spanning London during the Blitz to the postwar French Riviera to Tangier in the 1950s, these three mysteries in Janice Law’s award-winning Francis Bacon series richly reimagine the life of the famous and flamboyant Irish-born British painter as an “artist-sleuth . . . unflappable and acidly witty” as he courts danger, solves murders, and navigates international intrigue (Booklist). Fires of London: Francis Bacon patrols the streets of wartime London during the Blitz as an air raid warden, keeping watch for activities that might tip off the Axis powers. One night while making his rounds, the painter discovers an acquaintance from the gay bars murdered in Hyde Park. But he is only the first victim. Under cover of the blackout, someone is killing young gay men. When Bacon himself is suspected, he’s driven to find a killer on the ground, even as the Luftwaffe continues to rain death from the sky. Fires of London was a 2012 Lambda Literary Award Finalist for Best Gay Mystery. “Law does a bangup job of recreating London during the Blitz, and portraying real-life artist Francis Bacon as an unlikely sleuth.” —Publishers Weekly The Prisoner of the Riviera: World War II may be over, but the painter’s troubles are just beginning. After Bacon and his lover try to save a Frenchman gunned down outside a London gambling club, the casino owner approaches him with a proposition: He will forgive Bacon’s considerable debts if he delivers a package to the dead man’s widow on the French Riviera. What gambler could resist a trip to Monte Carlo? But against a bright backdrop of sun-drenched beaches, Bacon is soon drawn into dark intrigue and forced to gamble with his life. The Prisoner of the Riviera won the 2013 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Mystery. “Law is close to perfect in presenting the timeless charms of the Riviera, and she’s just as satisfying in shaping Bacon as a reluctant but brave and somewhat lucky sleuth.” —Toronto Star Moon Over Tangier: Following his unstable lover, David, from London to colonial Morocco, Bacon falls in with a thriving community of expats in Tangier who guzzle champagne while revolutionaries gather in the desert. But when the painter identifies a friend’s Picasso as a fake, he soon finds himself entangled in the police investigation surrounding the forger’s demise. Between the bustle of postwar Tangier and the emptiness of the desert, Bacon finds that in Morocco’s international zone, even the fakes can be worth killing for. “The pacing is good, the bad guys—and gals—are bad, and the integration of art and painting provides a solid framework on which to hang the story.” —Historical Novel Society

Fires of London, The Prisoner of the Riviera, and Moon Over Tangier

The Francis Bacon Mysteries Volume One

DIVA killer takes refuge in the blacked-out streets of wartime London, upending the world of one of Britain’s greatest painters in this chilling and captivating reimagining of the life of Francis Bacon /divDIV Francis Bacon walks the streets of World War II London, employed as a warden for the ARP to keep watch for activities that might tip off the Axis powers. Before the war, Bacon had travelled to Berlin and Paris picking up snatches of culture from a succession of middle-aged men charmed by his young face. Known for his flamboyant personal life and expensive taste, Bacon has returned home to live with his former nanny—who’s also his biggest collector—in a cramped bohemian apartment./divDIV /divDIVBut one night, death intrudes on his after-hours paradise. When a young man is found dead in the park, his head smashed in, Bacon and the rest of London’s demimonde realize that they have much more to fear than the faraway scream of war./div

Fires of London

Private investigator Anna Peters is not convinced about her client's innocence when she agrees to help hockey star Jurgen Parks clear himself of his teammate's murder, and when she arrives in Florida to start work, she must find out fast who is telling the truth. Reprint. AB.

Cross-Check

Michael Bracken

Black Cat Mystery Magazine is a new journal devoted to the best in mystery short fiction. Crime? Noir? Cozy? Private eye? You'll find all genres present and accounted for—with new tales by the best writers of today! The fourth issue features the following lineup: THE SHOW MUST GO ON, by Michael Bracken EMILY AND ELODIE, by Dara Carr PARTNERS IN CRIME, by Tracy Falenwolfe RHONDA AND CLYDE, by John M. Floyd THE IDEA, by Charlie Hughes THE BODYGUARD, by Janice Law TRIGGER WARNING, by Dennis Palumbo BLUE SKIES, by Keith Snyder A UNICORN IN THE HAREM, by Elizabeth Zelvin DON’T DO THAT, by Gil Brewer

Black Cat Mystery Magazine #5

Arthur Conan Doyle

C.E. Lawrence

Nick Andreychuk

Nicholas Briggs

Michael Mallory

Carole Bugge

Marc Bilgrey

Lenny Picker

M J Elliott

Brucew Kilstein

The seventh issue of "Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine" is another fine selection of tales about Sherlock Holmes, or in the Sherlockian spirit. Fiction: The Dead House, by Bruce Kilstein A Letter from Legrand, by David Ellis An Old-Fashioned Villain, by Nick Andreychuk The Premature Murder, by Michael Mallory The Double, by Janice Law The Way It Is (novel excerpt), by Carole Buggé A House Divided, by Marc Bilgrey Classic reprint: A Scandal in Bohemia, by Arthur Conan Doyle Features: From Watson’s Scrapbook (Editorial), by John H. Watson, M.D. Moriarty’s Mailbag, by Professor Moriarty The Adventures of the Six Napoleons...of Crime, by Lenny Picker C.E. Lawrence -- The Darker Half of Carole Buggé (interview) Sherlock’s Big Finish: An Interview with Nicholas Briggs, conducted by M J Elliott The Roots of the Psychic Detective in Fiction, by Lee Weinstein

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #7

Barb Goffman

Keith Brooke

Rafe McGregor

Mike McHone

Peter DiChellis

J.P. Seewald

Rebecca K. Jones

V.P. Kava

After a brief hiatus, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine is back with a new issue and a new editor. Here are tales in mystery and detection in the classic manner, with a fine selection of new stories, features, and a classic Holmes reprint. Here are: BEAUTY AND THE BEYOTCH, by Barb Goffman THE CASE OF THE COLONEL’S SUICIDE, by Rafe McGregor THE HOLMES IMPERSONATOR AND THE BAKER STREET IRREGULARS, by Janice Law THE BODY IN THE BACKYARD, by Peter DiChellis THE ADVENTURE OF THE GEEK INTERPRETER, by Hal Charles CEREAL KILLING, by J.P. Seewald LAST WISH AND TESTAMENT, by V.P. Kava FROM GREEN TO RED, by Mike McHone FAILURE TO OBEY, by Rebecca K. Jones TRACE EVIDENCE, by Keith Brooke THE ADVENTURE OF THE SECOND STAIN, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Features by Darrell Schweitzer, Kim Newman, and Martha Hudson. Edited by Carla Kaessinger Coupe.

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #29

A few months ago, Cath Tolland ran away from her life. Boarding a night bus with no credit cards or identification, using the last of her meager cash to buy a one-way ticket to Florida, Cath left behind her home, her friends, and a seemingly happy marriage--for reasons that not even she can remember. But now Cath is back home in Connecticut, in the arms of her loving, if distant, husband Derek-and watched over, perhaps a bit too closely, by her critical sister-in-law, Yvonne. Told that her mysterious disappearance was merely another symptom of ongoing mental problems, Cath tries her hardest to piece together her fragmented memories and make sense of her sudden flight. But why, if she has always suffered from mental problems, can, Cath remember ever speaking with a therapist? Why, if she and Derek have always had a happy marriage, is Cath beginning to remember evidence of "other women"? And-most terrifying-why does Cath feel that she should fear her husband? How much can Cath trust the vague terror that fills her memories now-the terror that may have bought her a seat on a night bus to Florida?

The Night Bus

The Lambda Literary Award–winning historical mystery series featuring the real-life British painter continues with three prequels set in Europe between the wars. In this second trilogy that predates the first in Janice Law’s award-winning Francis Bacon series, the Edgar Award–nominated author once again delightfully reimagines the famous and flamboyant Irish-born British painter as an “artist-sleuth . . . unflappable and acidly witty” as he courts danger, solves murders, and navigates international intrigue (Booklist). Nights in Berlin: In this first prequel, set in 1927, sixteen-year-old Francis is sent by his father to live with his uncle in Berlin as punishment for his flirtations with boys at school. But when Francis arrives, he finds Uncle Lastings welcoming countless men into his hotel room—some for pleasure, others to be recruited for the fight against Bolshevism. When the Nazis send Lastings fleeing for his life, Francis is left alone, penniless, and hunted, with only his keen sense of hedonism to distract him from a city that gets more menacing every night. Afternoons in Paris: Escaping Germany, young Francis finds refuge—and inspiration—in the cafés of Paris. But his peaceful life as a budding artist is short-lived when he hears gunshots and sees a Russian émigré cut down by an assassin. To escape murderous Russians, Francis must flee to the countryside and eventually lays low with an avant-garde theater company. When Uncle Lastings appears in Paris up to his old tricks, Francis will find himself once again pulled into a deadly game of international espionage. Mornings in London: The final volume in Law’s prequel trilogy comes full circle, with Francis returning to England. As much as Francis loves the nightclubs and back alleys of swinging Soho, he’s put aside his distaste for the pastoral life to rescue his favorite cousin, Poppy, a spirited young debutante who’s fallen for one Freddie Bosworth, an accused blackmailer with a love for Mussolini and more than one dark secret. When the cousins find Freddie on the manor grounds with his throat slit, Francis has another murder to solve.

Nights in Berlin, Afternoons in Paris, and Mornings in London

The Francis Bacon Mysteries Volume Two

John M. Floyd

Todhunter Ballard

Eleanor Cawood Jones

Larry Tritten

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #15—enjoy our holiday cat cover! The magazine is coming more sharply into focus, as our acquiring editors spread out through the mystery and science fiction fields and bring new stories to our lineup. This issue, we officially welcome Cynthia M. Ward to the editorial staff. She comes bearing a gift—Nancy Kress’s excellent science fiction story, “The Art of War.” Darrell Schweitzer was supposed to be back with his second acquisition this week (a comical Esther Friesner tale) but there were problems with the text and I’ve made a last-minute executive decision to push it back an issue or two, while it’s being fixed. I’ll slip in a replacement from my own backlist, another entry in my “Slab’s Tavern” series of fantasy bar stories. Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken have acquired a pair of original tales for us. First, Barb presents “The Importance of Being Urnest,” by Eleanor Cawood Jones. Then Michael selects “Romeo and Isabella” by John M. Floyd. Great stories, both. Thanks, everyone! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Westerns “The Writing Workshop,” by Janice Law [short story] “Romeo and Isabelle,” by John M. Floyd [short story] “Secret Santa,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself mystery] West of Quarantine, by Todhunter Ballard [novel] “The Importance of Being Urnest,” by Eleanor Cawood Jones [short story] “Dr. Kreener’s Last Experiment,” by Sax Rohmer [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy “Serendipity,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “The Art of War,” by Nancy Kress [short story] “Well Bottled at Slab’s,” by John Gregory Betancourt [short story] Forever We Die! by Stephen Marlowe [short novel]

Black Cat Weekly #15

In postwar France, a gambler finds that surviving his vacation may be a long shot. Peace has come to England and the blackout is over, but the gloom has yet to lift from London. One night, leaving a gambling club where he has run up a considerable tab, the young painter Francis Bacon, accompanied by his lover, sees a man gunned down in the street. They do what they can to stanch the flow of blood, but the Frenchman dies in the hospital. Soon afterward, Bacon receives a strange offer from the club owner: He will erase Bacon's debts if the painter delivers a package to the dead man's widow, Madame Renard, on the Riviera. What gambler could resist a trip to Monte Carlo? After handing over the parcel, Bacon learns that Madame Renard is dead -- and the striking young woman who accepted the delivery is an imposter. The Riviera may be lovely, but in 1945, its sun-drenched beaches can be just as dark as the back alleys of London.

The Prisoner of the Riviera

This series of free ebooks is designed to promote authors you may not have tried before. In this case, Janice Law. Here are 3 complete stories and sample chapters of her latest novel, Homeward Dove.

Wildside Press Present Discover a New Author: Janice Law

Janice Law

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