cover image The Black Eye

The Black Eye

Constance Little. Rue Morgue Press, $14 (154pp) ISBN 978-0-915230-45-7

Crime and comedy abound in this reprint of sibling mystery mavens Constance and Gwenyth Little's 1945 The Black Cat, in which a cast of lunatic characters grapple with problems of murders and manners. Eugenia Gates (who's staying at her friend's apartment for what's supposed to be a relaxing mini-vacation) has to fend off the advances of an amorous sergeant, deal with a nosy chaperone and put up with oddball neighbors and a lot of partying and that's even before folks start turning up dead.