Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #43. If this isn’t the best issue we had to date, it’s pretty darn close. Lots of great tales are packed into this one—including not one, but two mystery novels (by Edwin Balmer and Nicholas Carter), three shorter mysteries (including a major new novelet by Robert Lopresti, a great reprint by Victoria Weisfeld, and a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles). On the science fiction side, we have an amazing set of stories by Daniel Marcus, Isaac Asimov, George O. Smith, Murray Leinster, and Robert Silverberg. It’s hard to get better than that. Oh, wait—we also have an interview with Robert Varley, courtesy of Darrell Schweitzer. This is another one of his “paleo-interviews,” going back to 1976, the time when Varley burst onto the scene and became one of this hottest writers in the field.

Here’s the complete lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:
“The Suicide Club,” by Robert Lopresti [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
A Wee Bit of Dough,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
Evidence, by Victoria Weisfeld [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
Ruth of the U.S.A., by Edwin Balmer [novel]
An Uncanny Revenge, by Nicholas Carter [novel]

Non-Fiction:
“Speaking with John Varley” [Interview with Darrell Schweitzer]

Science Fiction & Fantasy:
“Jesus Christ Superstore,” by Daniel Marcus [Cynthia Ward Presents short story]
“Let’s Get Together,” by Isaac Asimov [short story]
“The Undamned, by George O. Smith [short story]
“Planet of Sand,” by Murray Leinster [short story]
“The Guest Rites,” by Robert Silverberg [short story]

Robots and Empire