Charmingly insidious and satisfyingly devious, these 100 baffling little mysteries—selected by such prominent authors as Isaac Asimov—are just the thing to suit your most malevolent mood. These tales come from the pen of many well-known writers in the field, including Michael Gilbert, Edward Wellen, Edward D. Hack, Bill Bronzini, Lawrence Treat, and Francis Nevins, Jr. Whether it’s “The Unfriendly Neighbor,” or a “Class Reunion,” “A Recipe for Revenge,” or “An Exercise in Insurance,” these stories are sure to keep you up all night, puzzling over their possible solutions. Each one has its own particular and irresistible appeal: an unexpected twist, a delectable puzzle, a devastating revelation, or perhaps even a refreshing display of pernicious spit Six Words by Lew Gillis The Little Things by Isaac Asimov A Matter of Life and Death by Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg Perfect Pigeon by Carroll Mayers The Cop Who Hated Flowers by Henry Slesar Trick or Treat by Judith Garner Twice Around the Block by Lawrence Treat An Easy Score by Al Nussbaum The Good Lord Will Provide by Lawrence Treat and Charles M. Plotz Boomerang by Harold Q. Masur The Way It's Supposed to Be by Elsin Ann Graffam Thank You Mr Thurston by Ed Dumonte Funeral Music by Francis M. Nevins Jr. Murder Will Out by Edward Wellen An Insignificant Crime by Maxine O'Callaghan The Stray Bullet by Gary Brandner A Night Out with the Boys by Elsin Ann Graffam Office Party by Mary Bradford Come the Dawn by Michael Kurland Acting Job by Richard Deming The Last Smile by Henry Slesar Grief Counselor by Julie Smith The Best Place by A. F. Oreshnik Dead End by Alvin S. Flick Pure Rotten by John Lutz Grounds for Divorce by James Holding Inside Out by Barry N. Malzberg The Bell and The Box by Isak Romun The Physician and the Opium Fiend by R. L. Stevens Over the Borderline by Jeff Sweet It Could Happen to You by John Lutz Class Reunion by Charles Boeckman The Way It Is Now by Elaine Slater The Hot Rock by James McKimmey A Puff of Orange Smoke by Lael J. Littke The Chicken Player by Joe L. Hensley Nothing but Bad News by Henry Slesar The Quick and the Dead by Helen McCloy An Exercise in Insurance by James Holding The Old Heap by Alvin S. Fick As the Wheel Turns by Jane Speed Knit One Purl Two by Thomasina Weber The Paternal Instinct by Al Nussbaum What Kind Person Are You by Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg Shatter Proof by Jack Ritchie Out of Order by Carl Henry Rathjen The Handy Man by Marion M. Markham Nightmare by Elaine Slater Recipe for Revenge by Jane Speed Sweet Fever by Bill Pronzini Two Postludes by Isak Romun A Deal in Diamonds by Edward D. Hoch The Last Day of Shooting by Dion Henderson Blisters in May by Jack Ritchie The Collector by Patricia M. Mathews House Call by Elsin Ann Graffam The Adventure of the Blind Alley by Edward Wellen The Unfriendly Neighbor by Al Nussbaum A Feline Felony by Lael J. Littke Don't I Know You by Henry Slesar Meet Mr Murder by Morris Hershman Co-Incidence by Edward D. Hoch Alma by Al Nussbaum Grand Exit by Leo R. Ellis Hunting Ground by A. F. Oreshnik The Big Trip by Elsin Ann Graffam Dutch by William F. Nolan Loaded Quest by Thomasina Weber Hand in Glove by James Holding The Slantwise Scales of Justice by Phyllis Ann Karr Child on a Journey by Fred S. Tobey The Witches in the Closet by Anne Chamberlain Setup by Jack Ritchie A Very Rare Disease by Henry Slesar Two Small Vials by Elsin Ann Graffam Sweet Remembrance by Betty Ren Wright A Dip in the Poole by Bill Pronzini Doctor's Orders by John F. Suter Mrs Twiller Takes a Trip by Lael J. Littke Such a Lovely Day by Penelope Wallace Matinee by Ruth Wissmann Big Mouth by Robert Edmond Alter The Weathered Board by Alvin S. Fick Lot 721/XY258 by R. L. Stevens Thirteen by Edward D. Hoch Operative 375 by Gary Brandner He'll Kill You by Richard Deming Caveat Emptor by Kay Nolte Smith The Facsimile Shop by Bill Pronzini and Jeffrey Wallman A Corner of the Cellar by Michael Gilbert Every Fifth Man by Edward D. Hoch The Pro by Robert H. Curtis Nobody That's Who and Pigeon by William F. Nolan The Prisoner by Edward Wellen The Sooey Pill by Elaine Slater Back Up by Barry N. Malzberg and Wide O—by Elsin Ann Graffam.
Authors
Isaac Asimov was a Russian-born, American author, a professor of biochemistry, and a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Professor Asimov is generally considered one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. He has works published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (lacking only an entry in the 100s category of Philosophy). Asimov is widely considered a master of the science-fiction genre and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He penned numerous short stories, among them "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time, a title many still honor. He also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as a great amount of nonfiction. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French. Most of Asimov's popularized science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include his Guide to Science, the three volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery. Asimov was a long-time member and Vice President of Mensa International, albeit reluctantly; he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs" He took more joy in being president of the American Humanist Association. The asteroid 5020 Asimov, the magazine Asimov's Science Fiction, a Brooklyn, NY elementary school, and two different Isaac Asimov Awards are named in his honor.
