Reading Rumble Round 5

Early 20th century gothic author Marjorie Bowen returns to the TFC ring.

Biliography https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?12578

Collections in print from Amazon https://amzn.to/3EWyU6t

The Fair Hair of Ambrosine by Marjorie Bowen
The Last Bouquet: Some Twilight Tales, 1933

A clerk in Revolutionary era France is haunted by a murdered former lover. Telegraphed ending, but atmospheric enough.

Available in The Bishop of Hell and Other Stories, from Amazon https://amzn.to/3uEXYdD

The Events Concerning a Nude Fold-Out Found in a Harlequin Romance by Joe R. Lansdale

Dark at Heart 1992 - available from AbeBooks affiliates.abebooks.com/DVYg9b

Amateur detectives get intrigued by a vandalized page of a porn mag stuck in a Harlequin romance sold to a used bookstore by a disgraced circus dog trainer.

Science Challenges Crime Part 5: Rough on Rats by John Kobler
Black Mask October 1938

Dry history of toxicology. The highlight is an early technique - having doctors taste the vomit of a dead child and then taste various poisons to see what matched.  Science!

Black God's Kiss by C.L. Moore
Weird Tales October 1934

Conquered warrior Jirel travels to the pits of hell for a weapon to claim revenge on the man who defeated and forced a kiss on her. Beautifully descriptive, thought there's only so many times you can use "dark" and "cold".

Collected in Jirel of Joiry, available from Amazon https://amzn.to/3FXU3Pq

Kobler's pushed against the ropes, but rallies back to the center of the ring. All four authors stay in the ring.