Haffner Press Publishing the Mystery Writing of Fredric Brown

Genre fans love to label things. There are good reasons and not-so-good reasons for doing so, but amidst the discussion, it’s easy to forget that sometimes science fiction writers write stories that aren’t science fiction. Case in point: Fredric Brown, classic science fiction author and (surprise!) mystery writer!

Haffner press is publishing the mystery works of Frederic Brown in two sweet-looking volumes. Here’s what’s in them:

1. “The Moon for a Nickel” (Detective Story Magazine, Mar. 38)
2. “The Cheese on Stilts” (Thrilling Detective, Jan. 39)
3. “Blood of the Dragon” (Variety Detective, Feb. 39)
4. “There Are Bloodstains in the Alley” (Detective Yarns, Feb. 39)
5. “Murder at 10:15” (Clues Detective Stories, May 39)
6. “The Prehistoric Clue” (Ten Detective Aces, Jul. 40)
7. “Trouble in a Teacup” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Jul-13-1940)
8. “Murder Draws a Crowd” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Jul-27-1940)
9. “Footprints on the Ceiling” (Ten Detective Aces, Sep. 40)
10. “The Little Green Men” (The Masked Detective, Fall 1940)
11. “Town Wanted” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Sep-7-1940)
12. “Herbie Rides His Hunch” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Oct-19-1940)
13. “The Stranger from Trouble Valley” (Western Short Stories, Nov. 40)
14. “The Strange Sisters Strange” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Dec-28-1940)
15. “How Tagrid Got There” (unpublished until 1986)
16. “Fugitive Imposter” (Ten Detective Aces, Jan. 41)
17. “The King Comes Home” (Thrilling Detective, Jan. 41)
18. “Big-Top Doom” (Ten Detective Aces, Mar 41)
19. “The Discontented Cows” (G-Men Detective, Mar. 41)
20. “Life and Fire” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Mar-22-1941)
21. “Big-League Larceny” (Ten Detective Aces, Apr. 41 [as by Jack Hobart])
22. “Selling Death Short” (Ten Detective Aces, Apr. 41)
23. “Client Unknown” (The Phantom Detective, Apr. 41)
24. “Your Name in Gold” (The Phantom Detective, Jun. 41)
25. “Here Comes the Hearse” (10-Story Detective, Jul. 41 [as by Allen Morse])
26. “Six-Gun Song” (10-Story Detective, Jul. 41)
27. “Star-Spangled Night” (Coronet, Jul. 41)
28. “Wheels Across the Night” (G-Men Detective, Jul. 41)
29. “Little Boy Lost” (Detective Fiction Weekly, Aug-2-1941)
30. “Bullet for Bullet” (Western Short Stories, Oct. 41)
31. “Listen to the Mocking Bird (NT) G-Men Detective, Nov. 41)
32. “You’ll End Up Burning!” (Ten Detective Aces, Nov. 41)
33. “Number Bug” (Exciting Detective, Winter 1941)
34. “Thirty Corpses Every Thursday” (Detective Tales, Dec. 41)
35. “Trouble Comes Double” (Popular Detective, Dec. 41)
36. “Clue in Blue” (Thrilling Mystery, Jan. 42)
37. “Death is a White Rabbit” (Strange Detective Mysteries, Jan. 42)
38. “Twenty Gets You Plenty” (G-Men Detective Jan. 42)
39. “Bloody Murder” (Detective Fiction, Jan-10-1942)

Appendix: Fredric Brown in Trade Magazines (Part One)

• The “V.O.N. Munchdriller” stories from The Michigan Well Driller
• The “Colonel Cluck” stories from The Michigan Well Driller and Independent Salesman
• The “Willie Skid” stories from Ford Dealer Service Bulletin
• The “Barnyard Bill” stories from Feedstuffs
• The “Homer Magus” stories from The Inventor
• The “Young Doctor Young” stories from The Layman’s Magazine
• “Movie Masquerade” from Hollywood Magazine

1. “Little Apple Hard to Peel” (Detective Tales Feb. 42)
2. “Death in the Dark” (Dime Mystery Mar. 42)
3. “The Incredible Bomber” (G-Men Detective Mar. 42)
4. “Pardon My Ghoulish Laughter” (Strange Detective Mysteries Mar. 42)
5. “Twice-Killed Corpse” (Ten Detective Aces Mar. 42)
6. “A Cat Walks” (Detective Story Magazine Apr. 42)
7. “Mad Dog!” (Detective Book Magazine Spring 1942)
8. “Moon Over Murder” (The Masked Detective Spring 1942)
9. “Who Did I Murder?” (Detective Short Stories Apr. 42)
10. “Murder in Furs” (Thrilling Detective May 42)
11. “Suite for Flute and Tommy Gun” (Detective Story Magazine Jun. 42)
12. “Three-Corpse Parlay” (Popular Detective Jun. 42)
13. “A Date to Die” (Strange Detective Mysteries Jul. 42)
14. “Red is the Hue of Hell” (Strange Detective Mysteries Jul. 42 [as by Felix Graham])
15. “Two Biers for Two” (Clues Detective Stories Jul. 42)
16. “You’ll Die Before Dawn” (Mystery Magazine Jul. 42)
17. “Get Out of Town” (Thrilling Detective Sep. 42)
18. “A Little White Lye” (Ten Detective Aces Sep. 42)
19. “The Men Who Went Nowhere” (Dime Mystery Sep. 42)
20. “Nothing Sinister” (Mystery Magazine Sep. 42)
21. “The Numberless Shadows” (Detective Story Magazine Sep. 42)
22. “Satan’s Search Warrant” (10-Story Detective Sep. 42)
23. “Where There’s Smoke” (Black Book Detective Sep. 42)
24. “Boner” (Popular Detective Oct. 42)
25. “Legacy of Murder” (Exciting Mystery Oct. 42)
26. “The Santa Claus Murders” (Detective Story Magazine Oct. 42)
27. “Double Murder” (Thrilling Detective Nov. 42 [as by John S. Endicott])
28. “A Fine Night for Murder” (Detective Tales Nov. 42)
29. “Heil, Werewolf!” (Dime Mystery Nov. 42 [as by Felix Graham])
30. “I’ll See You at Midnight” (Clues Detective Stories Nov. 42)
31. “The Monkey Angle” (Thrilling Detective Nov. 42)
32. “Satan One-and-a-Half” (Dime Mystery Nov. 42)

Appendix: “Fredric Brown in Trade Magazines” (Part Two)

• The “William Z. Williams”” stories from Excavating Engineer
• The “Feedum and Weep” stories from Feedstuffs