Book excerpt: For this week's Black Cat Weekly, Michael Bracken has acquired an original mystery by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier, Barb Goffman found a tale by SJ Rozan that will surely satisfy crime fans, and Cynthia Ward tracked down a Matthew Hughes story. Plus, for the sheer silliness of it all, there’s a Mickey Spillane parody from 1954 (which manages to be both a mystery and fantasy…but wasn’t everything of Spillane’s?) and classics from R. Austin Freeman (a Dr Thorndyke story), a Nick Carter novel, and the first Skylark of Space novel by E.E. “Doc” Smith. Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Ripen,” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Death Takes a Swing,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “E-Golem,” by SJ Rozan [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Case Of Oscar Brodski,” by R. Austin Freeman [short story] A Human Counterfeit, by Nicholas Carter [novel] “The Shaky Undertaker,” by Ed Cox [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Shaky Undertaker,” by Ed Cox [short story] “To the Sons of Tomorrow,” by Irving Cox, Jr. [short story] “Mastermindless,” by Matthew Hughes [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Problem In Solid,” by George O. Smith [short story] “Sequel,” by Ben Smith [short story] The Skylark of Space, by E.E. “Doc” Smith [novel]