Asimov's Mysteries, published in 1968, is a collection of 14 short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...

, all of them science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 mysteries

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 (although, as Asimov admits in the introduction, some are only borderline). The stories were all originally published in magazines between 1954 and 1967.

Four stories in the collection feature the character of Wendell Urth, who is a leading extra-terrologist (an expert on alien worlds and life originating on them). Urth is eccentric in that he has a phobia

Phobia

A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...

 of all mechanical forms of transport (an exaggeration of Asimov's own aversion to flying). Physically Urth resembles Norbert Wiener

Norbert Wiener

Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician.A famous child prodigy, Wiener later became an early researcher in stochastic and noise processes, contributing work relevant to electronic engineering, electronic communication, and control systems.Wiener is regarded as the originator of cybernetics, a...

.

He appears in the stories when he is consulted by an agent of the Terrestrial Bureau of Investigation, H. Seton Davenport, in cases which have him baffled - a parallel with the way in which Inspector Lestrade consults Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

. In a fifth story in the collection, The Dust of Death, Asimov shows Davenport a generosity that Conan Doyle

Conan Doyle

Conan Doyle is a rugby player. His club is Garryowen. His usual position is inside centre, but he also plays out-half. He has made two appearances for Munster Rugby in the Magners League, but was released by Munster at the end of the 2008/2009 season. While at Munster he was selected for the...

 never extended to Lestrade in demonstrating the former's ability to solve a case for himself without outside assistance.

Contents

• "The Singing Bell
  The Singing Bell
  The Singing Bell is a science fiction mystery short story by Isaac Asimov that first appeared in the January 1955 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries...
  
  " (1954, a Wendell Urth story)
• "The Talking Stone
  The Talking Stone
  "The Talking Stone" is a science fiction mystery short story by Isaac Asimov which first appeared in the October 1955 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries...
  
  " (1955, a Wendell Urth story)
• "What's in a Name?
  What's in a Name?
  "What's in a Name?"' is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the June 1956 issue of The Saint Detective Magazine under the title Death of a Honey-Blonde and was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries under its original title.-Plot summary:An unnamed detective...
  
  " (1956)
• "The Dying Night
  The Dying Night
  The Dying Night is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the July 1956 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and was reprinted in the collections Nine Tomorrows , Asimov's Mysteries , and The Best of Isaac Asimov...
  
  " (1956, a Wendell Urth story)
• "Pâté de Foie Gras
  Pâté de Foie Gras (Asimov)
  Pâté de Foie Gras is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov which was first published in the September 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It appeared in Asimov's 1957 science essay collection Only a Trillion, in his 1968 short story collection Asimov's Mysteries, and in The Complete...
  
  " (1956)
• "The Dust of Death
  The Dust of Death
  The Dust of Death is a science fiction/mystery short story by Isaac Asimov that was first published in the January 1957 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine and reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries.-Plot summary:...
  
  " (1957)
• "A Loint of Paw
  A Loint of Paw
  A Loint of Paw is a vignette by Isaac Asimov, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in August 1957. It was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries and the 1986 collection The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov. The title of the story is a play on the words "a...
  
  " (1957)
• "I'm in Marsport Without Hilda
  I'm in Marsport Without Hilda
  "I'm in Marsport Without Hilda" is a short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the November 1957 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine, and was reprinted in the collection Nine Tomorrows in 1959, in a slightly censored form. The complete original version appeared in Asimov's...
  
  " (1957; a bowdlerized
  Thomas Bowdler
  Thomas Bowdler was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work, edited by his sister Harriet, intended to be more appropriate for 19th century women and children than the original....
  
   version of this story appeared in the collection Nine Tomorrows
  Nine Tomorrows
  Nine Tomorrows is a collection of nine short stories and two pieces of comic verse by Isaac Asimov. The pieces were all originally published in magazines between 1956 and 1958, with the exception of the closing poem, "Rejection Slips", which was original to the collection. The book was first...
  
  )
• "Marooned Off Vesta
  Marooned Off Vesta
  Marooned Off Vesta is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was the third story written by Asimov, and the first to be published. Written in July 1938 when Asimov was 18, it was rejected by Astounding Science Fiction in August, then accepted in October by Amazing Stories, appearing in...
  
  " (1939)
• "Anniversary
  Anniversary (Asimov)
  Anniversary is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the March 1959 issue of Amazing Stories and subsequently appeared in the collections Asimov's Mysteries and The Best of Isaac Asimov...
  
  " (1959, a Multivac story)
• "Obituary
  Obituary (Asimov)
  Obituary is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the August 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and reprinted in Asimov's 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries....
  
  " (1959)
• "Star Light" (1962)
• "The Key" (1966, a Wendell Urth story)
• "The Billiard Ball
  The Billiard Ball
  "The Billiard Ball" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, written in September 1966 and first published in the March 1967 issue of If. It appeared in Asimov's 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries, in his 1973 collection The Best of Isaac Asimov in his 1986 Collection Robot Dreams and in...
  
  " (1967)