SOLVED

Sixteen short stories—some puckish, several conspiracy- oriented, and all never-published-before (for good reason)—that rework and supposedly ``solve'' various real-life notable mysteries. Predictably, the Kennedy assassination is front and center, with William J. Reynolds tackling it from Ruby's point of view, Barry N. Malzberg focusing on governmental goons, and Rex Miller and coauthor Dr. Fred L. King pairing it with Lincoln's murder and finding compelling (to them) similarities. Barbara Paul, in the most successful entry here, assigns yet another identity to Jack the Ripper, while Brian Hodge sets a scandal-sheet reporter, in a jaunty p.i. tone, on the trail of whoever shot up John Belushi for the last time. More fanciful are William L. DeAndrea's student laser-project, which rousts the Challenger; Alan Dean Foster's glimpse of Marilyn Monroe (she lives!); and Sean Flannery's royal ``control'' of Philby, et al. Plus: Janis Joplin's o.d., Jim Morrison's death, Andropov's hospital stay, Martin Bormann's last moments, and the real Lindbergh baby kidnapper are imagined by, respectively, Nancy A. Collins, Rick Hautala, Brian Harper, Matthew J. Costello, and William H. Hallahan. Ho-hum, overall, and not as interesting as the true-crime antecedents.