MURDER SERVED COURSE BY COURSE

Sit down to a fabulous feast of deliciously wicked tales sure to please the palate of everyone with a taste for mystery, menace, and murder.

Here the great Nero Wolfe sets the table with his own special brand of deduction when he finds out why the price of a dish of caviar is death. Ed Hoch’s suave shamus Nick Velvet thinks filching a used teabag for $25,000 is a steal—until he discovers it’s filled with deadly consequences. And a dinner date with Isaac Asimov’s Black Widowers leads to a spicy story of premeditated murder.

From Dutch chocolate in Amsterdam that mixes the sweet and the sinister, to a fine wine in Curacao that leaves behind a lethal legacy, this superb selection of whodunits, shockers, and suspense serves up a memorable dish of delectable detection.

R.L. STEVENS • REX STOUT • CAROL CAIL • RUTH RENDELL • STANLEY ELLIN • ROALD DAHL • ISAAC ASIMOV • LORD DUNSANY • EDWARD D. HOCH • T.S. STRIBLING • NEDRA TYRE • JANVILLEM VAN DE WETERING • JAMES HOLDING • J.J. MARRIC • BILL PRONZINI • FRANCIS M. NEVINS, JR.

This anthology of mysteries involving food—usually murder mysteries involving poison—contains Asimov’s Black Widower story, “When No Man Pursueth.” As mystery anthologies go, I found it less objectionable than some, although I still can’t say I’m terribly excited about the whole thing. I can’t say that any of the stories really stuck out as being exciting or wonderful, although some were a memorable for being grotesque (usually involving the murder of humans for meat). Mystery fans should enjoy it; most Asimov fans probably won’t.

Contents

“When No Man Pursueth”