A private investigator hunts a killer and uncovers a fantastic and horrifying secret.…An important man is murdered and there are numerous suspects—each from a different planet.…A computer helps a young man solve a puzzle—and assumes the personality of a long-dead gangster.…

Isaac Asimov has conspired with collaborators Martin Harry Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh to mastermind this diabiolically clever anthology in which each of the classic categories of crime fiction is represented by a science fiction tale.

Here are such science fiction greats as Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Clifford Simak, Jack Vance, and the illustrious Dr. Asimov himself writing cosmic variations on the whodunit, how-done-it, why-done-it, the hard-boiled detective, the police procedural, and even a brand-new category—the psychic detective story.

A brilliant compendium of the fantastic and the mysterious which is sure to become a classic in both fields.

This is a surprisingly pleasant anthology. It contains Asimov’s own “The Singing Bell”, which is not perhaps the best of the Wendell Urth mysteries but good enough. In addition, it has twelve other stories which are all good. Particularly noteworthy are Randall Garrett’s “The Ipswich Phial,” Charles V. De Vet and Katherine MacLean’s “Second Game,” Larry Niven’s “ARM,” Edward Wellen’s “Mouthpiece,” Wilson Tucker’s “Time Exposures,” and William Tenn’s “Time in Advance.” This is very definitely a worthwhile collection, blending some of the best ideas of science fiction with those of the mystery.

Contents

“The Singing Bell”