Black Cat Weekly #261

Chris Dreith · Maureen Bowden · H.K. Slade

Aug 2026 · Wildside Press LLC

Ebook

131

Pages

Tools

Eligible

About this ebook

For the next few months, we’re going to be focusing more on shorter works, as we clear out a large backlog of accepted material. This issue, we have 7 original shorts, plus a classic novelette and two short story reprints. (One is by me—I had to move a story at the last minute and filled the hole with one of my own. The other is a terrific noir tale by Fritz Leiber from 1961, only seen once since its original appearance, and that was more than 20 years ago in a 460-copy limited edition hardcover.)

Here’s the complete lineup—

Cover Art: Larry Blamire

NOVELETTE

“The Brat”, by Henry Slesar

A hunted child, an alien legacy, and a secret buried beneath Nebraska...

SOLVE-IT-YOURSELF MYSTERY

“Mystery Train Murder”, by Hal Charles

Can you solve the mystery before the detective? All the clues are there!

SHORT STORIES

“Crossing the Line”, by Chris Dreith [Michael Bracken Presents]

Alexandria Ash follows a trail of secrets across the Puget Sound.

“Artifacts”, by Floyd Sullivan

What secrets survive when a forgotten Chicago mansion comes down?

“The Loch”, by Jim Crompton

What happens when a traitor to a violent cause refuses to stay dead?

“Hannah”, by Bond Elam

Can a runaway girl survive the night with ruthless killers closing in?

“Purpose Made”, by H.K. Slade

Friday Hampton talks down a desperate man on the edge of violence.

“A Visitor from Back East”, by Fritz Leiber

Joe wasn’t nice to his girlfriends. Not even the dead one...

“Comic-in-Chief”, by Larry Hodges

When politics becomes comedy, can a president still govern the nation?

“Crystal”, by Maureen Bowden

When Rosie can read minds with Crystal’s help, crime gets complicated.

“Dogs Questing”, by John Gregory Betancourt

When dogs inherit the world, one ancient sin still haunts them all.

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