This issue, we have 11 tales instead of our usual 10. Why? Because we felt like it! Or it’s a Mother’s Day special bonus. Whatever…just enjoy!This is another issue jam-packed with original stories. Tom Larsen and Anna Scotti (thanks to Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman), as well as Hal Charles and Robert Lopresti, lead off the pack with new mysteries. And Grigory Lukin, Eric Rutter, E.E. King, and Andrew Akers contribute new science fiction and fantasy. Classic rep...

A young teacher settles into a conservative town with a vanished predecessor and strict social codes, hoping for peace and a fresh start. But the students carry secrets, the adults bear unspoken tensions, and Melanie finds herself navigating not just lesson plans but a mystery with dangerous edges. When a dark discovery threatens to pull her into the town's buried shame, she must decide whether to comply, confront—or escape. In a town where appearances matter most, what lies beneath may pr...

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly.On the mystery side of things, we have original tales by Veronica Leigh (one that looks to be the start of a new series) and Richard A. McMahon (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken). Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman has selected a great tale by Anna Scotti, and our novel is The Talleyrand Maxim, by Golden Age author J.S. Fletcher. Plus, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.On the science fiction and fant...

"It’s a new year, which means (at least in the United States) that a lot of new novels and stories have entered the public domain—everything published in 1930, in fact. Since we draw on the public domain for some of our classic reprints, we’ll be going through 1930s publications in coming weeks and presenting some of the greats from that year. This issue, for example, we have Robert E. Howard’s “The Moon of Skulls,” featuring his other great hero, Solomon Kane.In t...

’Tis the season for tricks and treats, and boy do we have a lot of treats this time—including three firsts for us. For our first first, this issue, we have a Featured Author…British horror writer Edmund Glasby. Of course, longtime BCW readers are already familiar with his work, but this issue, we have three original horror novelettes (more than 20,000 words of terror), plus—our second first—a new interview with Ed in which he talks about his work and inspiration. Yes, we’ve run interviews ...

Here’s the complete lineup—Cover Art: Ron MillerNOVELSThe Porcelain Mask, by Johnston McCulleyThe creator of Zorro turns his deft hand to a pulp mystery novel.A Man Obsessed, by Alan E. NourseHis all-consuming drive for revenge led him to join the Mercy Men…Armed with Madness, by Mary ButtsA jaz...