Isaac Asimov's Short Fiction: Black Widowers Mysteries

Copyright © 1995-2005 by Edward Seiler. All rights reserved.

The Guide to Asimov's Short Fiction

The Acquisitive Chuckle

Title Before Publication: The Chuckle
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, January 1972, pp. 6-16
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• Ellery Queen's Crookbook, Ellery Queen, ed. Random House, 1974
  

Ph as in Phony

Title When First Published: The Phony Ph.D.
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 1972, pp. 17-31
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Truth to Tell

Title When First Published: The Man Who Never Told a Lie
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1972, pp. 6-15
Collection:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time, Otto Penzler, ed. Dove Books, 1998, pp. 425-432
  

Go, Little Book!

Title When First Published: The Matchbook Collector
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 1972, pp. 57-70
Reprinted In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Anthology, Spring/Summer 1976, pp. 70-83
Collection:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• Ellery Queen's Giants of Mystery, Ellery Queen ed. Dial Press, 1976
  

Early Sunday Morning

Title When First Published: The Biological Clock
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1973, pp. 39-53
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Obvious Factor

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1973, pp. 6-20
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Pointing Finger

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 1973, pp. 34-48
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Miss What?

Title When First Published: A Warning to Miss Earth
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September 1973, pp. 6-19
Collection:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  

The Lullaby of Broadway

First Published In: Tales of the Black Widowers, 1974
Collection:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Yankee Doodle Went To Town

First Published In: Tales of the Black Widowers, 1974
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

The Curious Omission

First Published In: Tales of the Black Widowers, 1974
Reprinted In: Ellery Queen's's Mystery Magazine, December 1991, pp. 124-138
Collection:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Note: Based on "The Case of the Dying Hint", written for the Union Carbide Super Sleuth Contest, 1971

Out of Sight

Title When First Published: The Six Suspects
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 1973, pp. 119-135
Collections:

• Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Anthologies:

• Ellery Queen's Murdercade: 23 Stories from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen, ed. Random House, 1975
  
• Top Crime: The Author's Choice, Josh Pacter, ed. St. Martin's Press, 1983, pp. 1-16
  

When No Man Pursueth

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1974, pp. 113-128
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• Murder on the Menu, Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh, Martin H. Greenberg, and Isaac Asimov, eds. Avon, 1984, pp. 141-158
  

Quicker Than the Eye

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1974, pp. 6-20
Collections:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

The Iron Gem

Title When First Published: A Chip of the Black Stone
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 1974, pp. 6-22
Collections:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Three Numbers

Title When First Published: All in the Way You Read It
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September 1974, pp. 6-21
Collections:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Anthologies:

• Ellery Queen's Crime Wave, Ellery Queen, ed. Putnam, 1976
  

Nothing Like Murder

First Published In: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October 1974, pp. 84-98
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

No Smoking

Title When First Published: Confessions of an American Cigarette Smoker
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, December 1974, pp. 26-41
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Season's Greetings!

First Published In: More Tales of the Black Widowers, 1976
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

The One and Only East

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1975, pp. 119-133
Collections:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Anthologies:

• Classic Short Stories of Crime and Detection, Jacques Barzun & Wendell Hertig Taylor, eds. Garland,1983, pp.165-180
  

Earthset and Evening Star

First Published In: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1975, pp. 110-124
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  
• Opus 200
  

Friday the Thirteenth

First Published In: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1976, pp. 30-44
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

The Unabridged

First Published In: More Tales of the Black Widowers, 1976
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

The Ultimate Crime

First Published In: More Tales of the Black Widowers, 1976
Collection:

• More Tales of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space, Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh, eds. Bluejay Books, November 1984, pp. 337-355
  
• Another Round at the Spaceport Bar, George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer, eds. Avon (pbk), April 1989, pp. 121-138
  

The Cross of Lorraine

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1976, pp. 115-131
Collections:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Anthologies:

• Ellery Queen's Lost Ladies, Davis, 1983
  
• Great Tales of Crime & Detection, Charles Ardai, ed. Galahad, June 1991, pp. 140-155
  

The Family Man

Title When First Published: A Case of Income-Tax Fraud
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 1976, pp. 6-21
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

The Sports Page

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1977, pp. 67-83
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• Cloak and Dagger, Bill Pronzini & Martin H. Greenberg, eds. Avenel,1988, pp. 431-446
  

The Missing Item

First Published In: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Winter 1977, pp. 54-71
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• Asimov's Choice: Black Holes & Bug-Eyed Monsters, George Scithers, ed. Dale (pbk), 1977, pp. 110-131
  
• Isaac Asimov's Masters of Science Fiction, George Scithers, ed. Davis, 1978
  
• Science Fiction Masterpieces, Isaac Asimov, ed. Galahad Books, 1986, pp. 136-147
  
• Devil Worshipers, Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh, eds. DAW (pbk.), May 1990, pp. 35-53
  

Foreign Anthologies:

• Isaac Asimov's Choice, London: Hale, 1986, pp. 71-86
  

The Next Day

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1978, pp. 22-37
Collections:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Irrelevance!

Title When First Published: A Matter of Irrelevance
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1979, pp. 77-92
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

None So Blind

Title Before Publication: Come In
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 1979, pp. 126-141
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

To the Barest

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1979, pp. 41-54
Collections:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Backward Look

First Published In: Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, September 1979, pp. 24-41
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

Second Best

First Published In: Casebook of the Black Widowers, Jan 1980
Collection:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  

What Time Is It?

First Published In: Casebook of the Black Widowers, Jan 1980
Collections:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Middle Name

First Published In: Casebook of the Black Widowers, Jan 1980
Collections:

• Casebook of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Sixty Million Trillion Combinations

Title Before Publication: The Fourteen Letters
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 5, 1980, pp. 6-19
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Woman in the Bar

Title When First Published: The Man Who Pretended to Like Baseball
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 30, 1980, pp. 33-46
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

• The Sport of Crime, Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh, Martin H. Greenberg, and Isaac Asimov, eds. Lynx, 1989, pp. 1-18
  

The Driver

First Published In: Banquets of the Black Widowers, Sep 1984, pp. 45-60
Collection:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  

The Good Samaritan

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September 10, 1980, pp. 89-102
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

Anthologies:

• The Big Apple Mysteries, Carol-Lynn Rossel Waugh, Martin H. Greenberg, and Isaac Asimov, eds. Avon, 1982, pp. 4-19
  
• A Century of Mystery 1980-1989, Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini, eds. MJF Books, 1997, pp. 7-22
  

The Year of the Action

Title When First Published: The Gilbert and Sullivan Mystery
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, January 1, 1981, pp. 6-19
Collection:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  

Can You Prove It?

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 17, 1981, pp. 6-19
Reprinted In: Scholastic Scope, January 19, 1987, p. 3
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  

The Phoenician Bauble

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1982, pp. 5-18
Collection:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  

A Monday in April

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1983, pp. 32-45
Collection:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  

Neither Brute Nor Human

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1984, pp. 6-21
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Asimov Chronicles
  

The Redhead

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1984, pp. 113-127
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Best Mysteries of Isaac Asimov
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Wrong House

First Published In: Banquets of the Black Widowers, Sep 1984, pp. 179-196
Collections:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Intrusion

First Published In: Banquets of the Black Widowers, Sep 1984, pp. 197-212
Collection:

• Banquets of the Black Widowers
  

The Fourth Homonym

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1985, pp. 93-105
Collections:

• The Asimov Chronicles
  
• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

Unique Is Where You Find It

First Published In: The Edge of Tomorrow, Jul 1985, pp. 4-19
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

The Lucky Piece

First Published In: Puzzles of the Black Widowers, Jan 1990, pp. 46-67
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

Triple Devil

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1985, pp. 4-19
Collections:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Sunset on the Water

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 1986, pp. 44-57
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

Where Is He?

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1986, pp. 24-37
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

The Old Purse

Title When First Published: The Snatched Purse
First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1987, pp. 4-16
Collections:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

The Quiet Place

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1988, pp. 4-16
Collections:

• The Asimov Chronicles
  
• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

The Four-Leaf Clover

First Published In: Puzzles of the Black Widowers, Jan 1990, pp. 174-191
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

The Envelope

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, April 1989, pp. 89-101
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

The Alibi

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September 1989, pp. 59-71
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

Murder Takes a Holiday, Cynthia Manson, ed. Barnes & Noble, July 1992, pp. 542-552

The Recipe

First Published In: Puzzles of the Black Widowers, Jan 1990, pp. 234-253
Collection:

• Puzzles of the Black Widowers
  

Northwestward

First Published In: The Further Adventures of Batman, Martin H. Greenberg, ed. Bantam Books, Jul 1989, pp. 247-265
Reprinted In: Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, April 1990, pp. 97-111
Collections:

• Magic
  
• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Anthologies:

Tales of the Batman, Martin H. Greenberg, ed. MJF Books, 1995, pp. 103-122

Yes, But Why?

First Published In: The Armchair Detective, Spring 1990, pp. 132-141
Collection:

• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Lost in a Space Warp

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March 1990, pp. 81-93
Collection:

• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

Police at the Door

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, June 1990, pp. 137-150
Collection:

• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Haunted Cabin

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, October 1990, pp. 52-64
Collection:

• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

The Guest's Guest

First Published In: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1991, pp. 102-112
Collection:

• The Return of the Black Widowers
  

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