MY READER'S BLOCK: The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes

SCAM artist alert

Apparently there is someone calling themself "Luigi Calloway" out there who is claiming to be associated with the Mount TBR Reading Challenge. He is contacting authors and telling them if they pay him, then their books will be used for the challenge. It's possible he's also telling people they must pay to participate in any way. Please know that there is absolutely no charge associated in any way with this reading challenge and that this person does not represent me or anything associated with my blog. There will NEVER be a reason for anyone to have to pay for participation in any way for any of my challenges. If only people who exert this much time and effort on scamming people would put it into something worthwhile....like reading their own books!

Friday, January 25, 2019

The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes

The Secret Files of Sherlock Holmes (1990) by June Thomson is another collection of Holmes stories purporting to be from that battered tin dispatch case mentioned by Watson in "The Problem of Thor Bridge." Just imagine how big that case must have been (or how many separate pieces of that case there were)...given all the "discovered" stories that have appeared over the years. Thomson takes on the task of providing the world with the details behind Mr. James Phillimore's strange disappearance upon going back into his house for an umbrella; the secrets of the Amateur Mendicants; the case of Isadora Persano and the remarkable worm; and the real activities of the Notorious Canary Trainer...among others. Thomson gets a great many things right with these short stories--the relationship between Holmes and Watson, historical detail, and Watson's voice as narrator being the most notable. She does come up a bit short on story delivery in about half of these, however. Out of seven stories, one isn't solved at all and two are only half-solved. Not a great percentage for one of the greatest detectives of all time. And quite honestly there are only two solutions that I agree were necessary for Watson to keep quiet about--and only one due to national security. Given the great air secrecy shrouding these stories in the Canon, one can be forgiven for feeling a bit disappointed when the reasons for the delayed publication don't quite meet the level of caution implied in Watson's original accounts.

This was an amusing read, but not quite the knock-out Holmes pastiche that I expected. I had read enthusiastic reviews of her work featuring Holmes and looked forward to strong stories. It looks like this was her first collection of Holmes stories--perhaps her later collections are stronger. ★★★

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