IT ALL STARTED with the loss of my luggage.I was returning home to England from a trip to the Tuscan towns by way of the Riviera, and I had registered my trunk to Genoa. On arriving at that city, however, I discovered, after much difficult enquiry, in the course of which I was assured that Italy, thanks to Signer Mussolini, was a great and glorious country which would shortly be undisputed mistress of the Mediterranean and the most efficient nation in Europe, that my effects had bee...

Our 79th issue features a pair of original mysteries by N.M. Cedeño (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Bryon Quertermous (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman). Cedeño is no stranger to BCW readers, having already appeared in our pages twice before. Hopefully Bryon Quertermous will match that hat trick, too.Rounding out the mystery section are a pair of novels: Francis Beeding’s The House of Doctor Edwardes (filmed by Alfred Hitchcock as Spell...

This is a smashing good crime novel with a modern tone and a plot that only Hitchcock could have done justice to. Screenplays were written for it but somehow it was never brought to the sceen. It should have been made into a film. Involving The League of Nations and Geneva in the early '20s, secret societies, villains and heroes, even a hint of sex slavery, this fast-paced thriller will keep you turning the pages and rooting for the good guys.

On his way to get married, British intelligence officer Colonel Granby is given a cryptic message by a dying agent. Distracted by his impending nuptials, Granby forgets about the note until his new wife Julia is kidnapped on their wedding day in Paris.Granby soon finds himself matching wits with a cunning adversary known as "The Mighty Magistro, Prince of Magicians," who will stop at nothing to uncover the secret contained in the agent's message.With Julia's life hanging in...

CONSTANCE Sedgwick, M.D., aged twenty-six, was staring at herself critically in the long mirror. As a young doctor of medicine, with a degree for which she had worked hard and long, she prided herself on being objective. She was looking at herself, so she said, as she had been taught to look at a bacteriological culture under the lens, very steadily and without prejudice.“How you strike a contemporary — that’s what I want to know,” she said, addressing the figure in the glass. “If I...

ROBERT ELDRIDGE sat back in his seat. The train would be moving presently. He looked at his watch.... Twelve minutes past seven. He had perhaps entered the train too soon. His compartment might at the last moment be invaded. Then, of course, he would have to move into another.He hoped it had not been noticed— this anxiety of his to avoid his fellow-men whenever he caught the 7:15 from Fenchurch Street. But that was hardly likely. There was nothing to excite suspicion or even comment...

I EMPTIED my stein, called for another and looked once more into the Platzl, The morning was warm and fine ; the season was late September, the 27th to be exact; and the air gave promise that St. Martin would not be cheated of his summer. Dust, chased in spirals by a light breeze, was dancing down the street and Munich was pleasant to look upon.I was sitting in one of the arched windows of the Hofbrauhaus, in whose dark halls men had grasped beer-pots, and drunk and swore, and quarr...

John Leslie Palmer (1885-1944) and Hilary St George Saunders (1898-1951)ROBERT ELDRIDGE sat back in his seat. The train would be moving presently. He looked at his watch.... Twelve minutes past seven. He had perhaps entered the train too soon. His compartment might at the last moment be invaded. Then, of course, he would have to move into another.He hoped it had not been noticed— this anxiety of his to avoid his fellow-men whenever he caught the 7:15 from Fenchurch Street. B...

A novel of psychological terror set in a mental asylum that became the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.From the outset, the air that Beeding's characters breathe crackles with ominous electricity. This is surely what appealed to Alfred Hitchcock when he found Beeding's The House of Dr. Edwardes and used it as the inspiration for his unforgettable film Spellbound.The "house" of the t...

Black Cat Weekly #101 presents 10 great tales of mystery. fantasy, and science fiction -- a pair of novels, a novella, and 7 short stories. Hours of great reading await!Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:“Lost Boy” by Neil S. Plakcy [Michael Bracken Presents short story]“The Case of the Disappearing Document” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]“River Secret” by Anne Swardson [Barb Goffman Presents short story]“A Network...

After winning a lottery, Miss Haslett, a middle-aged school mistress, seeks financial advice. She is introduced to a stockbroker, John Throgmorton, and shortly thereafter is found murdered. Scotland Yard's DI Martin is called in to investigate.

While traveling across Europe, a young man is drawn into a dangerous conspiracy after an accidental encounter places a mysterious document in his hands. What begins as a search for lost luggage soon plunges him into a world of coded messages, secret meetings, and ruthless enemies determined to silence him.Set against the tense political atmosphere of 1920s Geneva, the story blends espionage with classic detective elements as hidden allegiances and dangerous plots unfold. Following ...