The author of "The Comic Book Killer" offers up twelve tales of mystery, magic, and grouchiness - served with a liberal dash of sarcasm and cynicism. A woman's birthday celebration becomes a prelude to murder; an absinthe-minded author seeks inspiration from a bottle; a rare volume could destroy the love/hate relationship of two book dealers; an interplanetary romance is threatened by the untimely intervention of the Scorpion Men of Venus; and that's...