You’re in for a mystery treat this time, with the first Honey West novel. (If you’re not familiar with Honey, she debuted in 1957—and created quite a stir as the first woman detective in a field dominated by hardboiled males. See my long intro directly before the book for a complete dossier on Honey.) Plus this issue we have an original tale from Nikki Knight (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), a great tale by David Dean (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), and the first Gabriel Gale mystery by G.K. Chesterton. And, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from the always-clever brains of Hal Charles (the writing team of Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet).
On the science fiction and fantasy side, we have a whopper of a fish tale from Carl Jacobi, military sci-fi from J.F. Bone, a fiendish alien plot from H.B. Fyfe, a tale of telepresence space exploration gone wrong from Daniel F. Galouye, and a short pulp novel from Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe).
Here’s the complete lineup—
Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:
“Never Know What You’ll Hear,” by Nikki Knight [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
“Who Spoiledapple Cider Days,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
“Mariel,” by David Dean [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
“The Fantastic Friends,” by G.K. Chesterton [short story, Gabriel Gale series]
This Girl for Hire, by G.G. Fickling [novel, Honey West series]
Science Fiction & Fantasy:
“Carnaby’s Fish,” by Carl Jacobi [short story]
“Weapon,” by J.F. Bone [short story]
“The Klygha,” by H.B. Fyfe [short story]
“Reign of the Telepuppets,” by Daniel F. Galouye [short novel]
Son of the Black Chalice, by Milton Lesser [short novel]