Book excerpt: Our mysteries this issue include Josh Pachter’s “The Secret Lagoon” (Michael Bracken’s pick), Larry Allen Tyler’s “Just a Little Before Winter’s Set In” (selected by Barb Goffman) and a solve-it-yourself from Hal Charles (the writing team of Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet). A futuristic detective tale by Larry Tritten, and a classic Nick Carter novel from 1903, The Plot That Failed, round things out. On the science fiction & fantasy side, we have a vampire classic by Carl Jacobi, “Revelations in Black” (which was also the title story of one of his Arkham House collection); “Bullard Reflects,” by Malcolm Jameson, which is classic SF from Astounding; “Strike,” by Richard Wilson, about newspaper reporters coming a shipping strike in space; and “Three Bananas,” by Larry Tritten—which is one of his gonzo cross-genre mashups. Fun stuff. Plus the already-mentioned “Extended Family,” by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. (Did we mention that this is one of those stories you won’t want to miss?) Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense “The Secret Lagoon,” by Josh Pachter [short story] “The Game’s Afoot,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Just a Little Before Winter’s Set In,” by Larry Allen Tyler [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Plot That Failed, by Nicholas Carter [novel] “Three Bananas,” by Larry Tritten [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy “Extended Family,” by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough [Cynthia Ward Presents, short story] “Bullard Reflects,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] “Three Bananas,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “Strike,” by Richard Wilson [short story] “Revelations in Black,” by Carl Jacobi [short story]