The Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes

The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Denis O. Smith (2014) is an outstanding collection of non-canonical stories featuring the great detective. Smith manages to duplicate Watson's narrative voice with great skill--slipping only occasionally. The stories are very reminiscent of the original short stories without appearing to be mere copies of Doyle's work. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and finding myself once again on the fog-shrouded streets of Holmes's London. I have two minor quibbles. First, there are two longer stories--almost novella-length--included (making this a mammoth-sized book, indeed!) and Smith seems to lose his narrative voice most in these. He maintains Doyle's style much better in the shorter works. Second, I'm not certain what dictated the order of the stories--whether they were published as short stories elsewhere first and then gathered in publication/writing order or if some other criteria was used--but I would have enjoyed them a bit more if the stories had appeared chronologically per the Holmes/Watson relationship. We skip from them having roomed together for some time to Watson being married and no longer sharing rooms to a story from the earliest days of their shared rooms and then back forth between the first two options mentioned. Again, minor quibble that didn't prevent me from enjoying myself, it just caused a bit of a disruption in the flow of the work as a whole. Four and 1/4 stars. [finished late last night: 4/13/14]

 Here is a run-down of the stories included:
 "The Adventure of the Crimson Arrow": A man is killed with a certain archer's arrow. Holmes shows how it is possible that the archer in question is innocent.

"The Adventure of Kendal Terrace": Mr. Claydon comes home unexpectedly to find his entire household (wife & servants) missing and strangers in possession of the house as if they had always lived there. Holmes gets to the bottom of it all.

"A Hair's Breadth": Holmes uses a single hair to find the killer of a harmless old lady.

"The Adventure of the Smiling Face": A professor of Classical Archaeology is plagued with ominous notes and a tile with the face of a smiling woman. When the professor is found dead with only one set of footprints leading to the spot where he was found, the authorities are quick to call it accident. But Holmes knows better.

"The Adventure of the Fourth Glove": The Latchmere diamond has been stolen and Holmes must find the culprit. The clue is the fourth glove. (That's no spoiler...and I challenge you to figure out what the glove means.)

"The Adventure of the Richmond Recluse": Mr. David Boldero's brother has gone missing--apparently at the hands of their uncle who scooped the family fortune when their grandfather died. But there is no proof.  Holmes discovers what happened to the brother...and who really should have inherited.......

"The Adventure of the English Scholar": Mr. Rhodes Harte meets a learned English Scholar on the train.  When Dr. Kennett alights from the train, he leaves his satchel behind. Harte, a kindly good citizen, attempts to return the property...only to find himself in the middle of an international intrigue. He, of course, consults with Holmes who soon finds the truth of the matter.

"The Adventure of the Amethyst Ring": Holmes investigates the disappearance of Jack Prentice, a former dealer of stolen goods who has since gone straight.

The Adventure of the Willow Pool": Captain returns from India to find that his father and all of the townspeople have inexplicably taken against him. No one will tell him why (they all assume he knows what despicable thing he has done). Holmes finds the answer....and a murderer.

"The Adventure of Queen Hippolyta": Mr. Godfrey Townsend is abducted one morning on his way to the dentist and taken to a deserted house. His abductors leave for a short time (locking him in a room)...and fearing that he might be robbed of his expensive cigar case, he hides it under a floor board. The men return with a woman who is furious when she sees Townsend--they have grabbed the wrong man! He is knocked out and awakens in Hyde Park with no clue where the abandoned house might be. He comes to Holmes hoping he can help him find his case. Holmes does--and moreover discovers the secret behind the abduction.

"The Adventure of Dedstone Mill": Holmes takes on one of his youngest clients when Miss Harriet Borrow, age 14, engages him to help discover several things: who is trying to kill her younger brother, where their lovely aunt may be, and what happened to their friend, the tutor. It is a diabolical plot indeed.

"An Incident in Society": The military's secret codes have been copied and it's up to Holmes to stop the information from being passed to an infamous international spy.

R.I.P. Peril on the Screen

Last year when I signed up for the R.I.P. "Challenge," I decided to add to my usual commitment by doing a Vincent Price film view-a-thon--and quite fun it was, too.  But I had no intention to watch any films this year, I'm just not much for watching scary movies (I'm a big scaredy-cat, truth be told).  However, my online wanderings led me to a Sherlock Holmes movie that I hadn't seen before: The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, a TV movie from 2002 starring Matt Frewer as Holmes and Kenneth Welsh as Dr. Watson.

In The Case of the Whitechapel Vampire, Holmes is called in to investigate a series of deaths connected with the abbey in Whitechapel.  Members of the abbey had been on a mission trip to Guiana where they encountered the worship of a vampire-bat-like demon called Desmodo.  There is an outbreak of deaths which are attributed to rabies and many bats are killed.  When members of the abbey's order begin to die and are found with puncture marks on their necks, superstition says that Desmodo has appeared in bat form to exact revenge for the death of his "children."  The mission trip is cancelled and Brother Marstoke thinks that he and the others will be safe once they return to England.  But another death occurs and he consults with Holmes--just in case a human hand is involved, even though Marstoke does not rule out a diabolical source.

Holmes, of course, does not believe in the supernatural and begins to question the members of the abbey.  He discovers conflict among the brothers and with a certain Dr. Chagas who considers himself the protector of bats.  The residents of Whitechapel are certain that the doctor is a vampire (evidenced by the fact that he only goes out at night--and that he was out on the nights of further attacks). Holmes is just as certain that the doctor is innocent and works to prove him so.

An enjoyable evening--though Matt Fewer is no Jeremy Brett.  The movie has a very theatrical quality about it.  The scenes feel much more like a play production than a movie experience.  There are moments where the characters pause--most noticeably--almost as if they are waiting for some sort of audience response. And there is a huge effort to give the film a spooky, other-worldly atmosphere. A decent movie and a decent story--worth the time if you're interested in a different version of Holmes, but not necessarily a must-see.

The film is billed as a "non-canonical movie based on an original story."  No mention of what story--Wikipedia lists the author as director Rodney Gibbons.  I would have to say, however, that The Whitechapel Vampire owes much to the Holmes film with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce: The Scarlet Claw.  In both films a supernatural creature--either a vampire or a clawed beast--is said to be the cause of the deaths, but Holmes knows better.  The human beast is murderous enough.  And the method of murder is very similar as well.

A Study in Scarlet: Review

The lead-in to one of the most famous friendships in all of fiction: 


Young Stamford looked rather strangely at me over his wine-glass. "You don't know Sherlock Holmes yet," he said; "perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion."
"Why, what is there against him?"
"Oh, I didn't say there was anything against him. He is a little queer in his ideas -- an enthusiast in some branches of science. As far as I know he is a decent fellow enough." 

And, then, the famous meeting:

"Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said Stamford, introducing us.
"How are you?" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."

The Study in Scarlet was the world's introduction to the first consulting detective.  In it we are introduced to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson--along with recurring character Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard.  Holmes and Watson meet and decide to share lodgings (to share the costs).  Watson is curious to discover what exactly his new roommate does: he meets him in a lab, knows from a mutual acquaintance that he's studying various sciences--but not apparently for the purposes of being a doctor, and watches as an odd assortment of people come to talk with Holmes in their sitting room.  Finally, Holmes receives a message from Gregson of the Yard inviting him to take an interest in a very odd death--and Watson learns of Holmes's standing as an amateur detective.

They are off and running on the case of the death of Enoch Drebber--a man found dead in an empty house with no trace of violence on his person and no visible cause of death, despite the vast amount of blood in the room.  Holmes will scour the room (and the outdoors surrounding the house) for clues and discover that the death has it roots in the southwestern U.S.  With the help of his Baker Street Irregulars, the band of street urchins who serve as his eyes and ears in the city, he manages to track the culprit down in three days.


I grew up on Sherlock Holmes.  My big ticket item for Christmas when I was about ten years old was a green, leather-bound edition called The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes.  I read "The Red-Headed League" long before it was required in high school English. I'm revisiting the first recorded case of the famous consulting detective for a couple of challenges and just have a couple of thoughts on this delightful Victorian mystery about love and revenge.  

First, I love the meeting between Holmes and Watson.  Two strangers meet up, answer a couple of questions apiece, and immediately decide to share lodgings.  Can't see that happening in this day and age--at least I wouldn't want to share an apartment with someone I knew had been beating up dead bodies in his spare time.  Not without knowing him for longer than about 15 minutes, anyway.  It's amazing how times have changed--Doyle apparently knew that his audience wouldn't even bat an eye at that scenario.

And, second, the Baker Street Irregulars.  I enjoyed them when I first read these stories.  But I appreciate them even more now and I realize that I wish they had shown up in more stories.  Doyle uses them in Study and then in The Sign of Four and then, as far as I remember, they just sort of disappear.  I realize that Holmes and Watson are the main characters....but I do think judicious use of the Irregulars would have been a good thing sprinkled throughout other stories.

Five stars for a terrific reread.

Quotes:

The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man.

Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning.

I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones. ~Holmes

I'm not sure about whether I shall go. I am the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood in shoe leather -- that is, when the fit is on me, for I can be spry enough at times. ~Holmes

It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment. ~Holmes

There is nothing like first hand evidence; as a matter of fact, my mind is entirely made up upon the case, but still we may as well learn all that is to be learned. ~Holmes

I'm not going to tell you much more of the case, Doctor. You know a conjuror gets no credit when once he has explained his trick, and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all. ~Holmes

I must thank you for it all. I might not have gone but for you, and so have missed the finest study I ever came across: a study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it. ~Holmes to Watson

I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions, it invariably proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation.  ~Holmes


It is a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery. The most commonplace crime is often the most mysterious because it presents no new or special features from which deductions may be drawn.  ~Holmes


What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. The question is, what can you make people believe that you have done. ~Holmes

His Last Bow: Review

His Last Bow (originally, Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes) is a collection of 7-8 Holmes tales, including the title story.  "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" appears in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes in British editions, but is added to the American edition of His Last Bow.  A story that deals with adultery, it was thought when Memoirs was published to be too risqué for the American public at the time. So, the story was held back and added later to His Last Bow. These are all quite good.  I thoroughly enjoyed the stories back in junior high school when I first read them and I enjoyed them just as much in this re-read.  Four stars--both then and now.

"The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge": Mr. Scott Eccles is invited to spend the night at the home of a Spanish gentleman he has just met.  During the night, the man and his servants disappear, leaving Eccles alone and baffled.  Eccles consults Holmes--only to find out that Garcia, the Spaniard, has been murdered. What was the purpose behind the invitation...and why was Garcia killed?

"The Adventure of the Cardboard Box": Miss Cushing, a maiden lady of fifty, is the recipient of a rather nasty little package...a cardboard box with a pair of human ears laid down in salt. Is it just a joke--in very poor taste--by her former boarders who were medical students? Or is there something more sinister afoot?

What object is served by this circle of misery and violence and fear? It must tend to some end, or else our universe is ruled by chance, which is unthinkable. But what end? There is the great standing perennial problem to which human reason is as far from an answer as ever. ~Holmes

"The Adventure of the Red Circle": Mrs. Warren has an odd lodger.  For five pounds a week (way more than the going price), he asks to taker her rooms--the money is hers if she will leave him completely alone.  Neither she nor her husband have set eyes on him for ten days and it has made her afraid.  And so she comes to Holmes with her story.  Her husband is abducted and Holmes helps track down a notorious member of the Italian underworld.

Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last. ~Holmes

"The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans": Sherlock's brother, Mycroft, makes an appearance in this story of murder and the lost plans to a secret submarine. Holmes must prove the guilt or innocence of a certain government clerk.

But that Mycroft should break out in this erratic fashion! A planet might as well leave its orbit. ~Holmes

We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. ~Holmes

"The Adventure of the Dying Detective": Holmes must go to death's door (his own) to bring a cold blooded killer to justice. It begins to look like even his friend Doctor Watson will be unable to save him from the mysterious illness that has overtaken him.

"The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax": As the title indicates, Lady Frances is missing.  Holmes sends Watson to Lausanne to investigate.  Watson is led to Germany where Lady Frances apparently met a couple by the name of Schlessinger as well as a large bearded man.  When Watson contacts Holmes to report, all Holmes wants to know is the shape of Schlessinger's left ear.

"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot": Or, as Holmes refers to it, "The Cornish Horror"--the strangest case he ever handled. Holmes is told by a Harley Street specialist that he must take a complete rest if he is to avoid a breakdown. He & Watson head to the Cornish coast where Holmes winds up investigating the murder of the sister of a man named Tresginnis and the madness of his brothers.

To let the brain work without sufficient material is like racing an engine. It racks itself to pieces. ~Holmes

"I followed you."(Holmes)
"I saw no one."(Dr. Sterndale)
"That is what you may expect to see when I follow you." (Holmes)

Sherlock Holmes & the Treasure Train: Review

Frank Thomas is, according to Wikipedia, an American actor, author, and bridge-strategy expert who became fascinated with the character of Sherlock Holmes after watching William Gillette perform the part during his farewell tour.  This led him to pen nine Holmes novels, including Sherlock Holmes and the Treasure Train. This is Thomas's fourth effort....and may I just say I don't think I'll be seeking out any of the others.  To quote Inspector MacDonald, "...there's something about it that just doesn't sit comfortable....[T]he taste isn't right."  This is a case of an American enthusiast trying way too hard to write a British story.  And not just any British story, but a novel about Holmes.  There are plenty of American authors who can pull this off pretty well.  Thomas, unfortunately, is not one of them.  

You'd think a Holmes enthusiast might actually have immersed himself in the works of Conan Doyle, the better to imitate his style.  And the better to capture Watson's voice as narrator.  Yeah, no.  The rhythm and cadence and word choice doesn't remind me of Conan Doyle--except briefly in very spotty patches  He sprinkles his work with Americanisms--often putting them in the mouth of Holmes and trying to make it okay by having Holmes say, "As our American cousins would say...." Why the heck do we need to know what the American cousins would say?  It's not as if the client is American.  BUT, just to remind us that this IS a British story, he also has Holmes throwing about "old chap" or "good chap"  and "old fellows" like a bad English impersonator.  AND, to remind us just who we're dealing with here, Watson--our jolly narrator, what ho--tells us every other page that we're reading about "the great detective," "the world's only consulting detective," "the sleuth," etc.  The only time Watson isn't calling him by one of these designations is when he's calling Holmes "my intimate friend" in the most awkward way.  Not just once--repeatedly.  Seriously?  A solid, British man of the Victorian age blatantly claiming intimacy in front of the reading public?

So, what about the story? Well, here we go...another battered tin dispatch box crammed with papers has come to light--this time found by Thomas who was in Charing Cross avoiding bombs during the Blitz.  Whew.  By my reckoning, Dr. Watson must have stashed about 50 boxes of case notes.  This particular Holmes pastiche revolves around a Great Train Robbery...rivaling the story told by Michael Crichton ten years earlier.  Oops, does that seem like a coincidence to you?  Here we have a half million pounds of gold disappearing from an armored train that is bound for a meeting with French authorities and a golden trip across the Channel.  The case involves sharpshooters, men of high finance, undercover agents, and cold blooded murder.  Before it's all over, Watson will be kidnapped and will have earned the title "The Fastest Gun on Baker Street."  And Holmes will discover how the gold could disappear before it was ever stolen.   Such a fun-sounding adventure....that just doesn't quite deliver.  The mystery itself is fairly decent.  It has enough twists and turns at the end to keep the reader guessing.  But it's just not enough to make the story successful in the Holmes tradition.  Two stars.


 

More Holmes for the Holidays: Review

This is a decent collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiches written with a Christmas holiday theme. There are eleven stories in all--written by well-known mystery writers like Anne Perry, Edward D. Hoch, Peter Lovesy and Jon Breen as well as tales from science fiction and western writers like Bill Crider and Tanith Lee. And a few of the authors have dipped their toes in Holmes tributes in the past (Loren D Estleman and Daniel Stashower, for example). There are a wide range of themes from a stolen Stradivarius to a second adventure with a previous client to a puzzle involving a beautiful woman and a family curse. We also find Holmes solving mysteries for the likes of Oscar Wilde, O. Henry, Charles Darwin and Timothy Cratchit (Tiny Tim).

Just as there is a wide range of themes, there is a fairly wide range of expertise in this collection. The stories are obviously meant as homage to the Master, but few of the authors get the voice of Watson down correctly and there are occasional missteps in the relationship between Holmes and the good doctor. But regardless of the flaws, the stories are on the whole interesting and well worth the read--especially at this time of year. Three stars.

Starring Sherlock Holmes: Quick Review

I discovered Starring Sherlock Holmes by David Stuart Davies when I was looking the author up on Goodreads (while doing another review). It has a huge picture of Jeremy Brett as Holmes on the cover, so I was immediately taken with it. And immediately ordered it up via our library's hold system. Got it today and devoured it in one sitting.

An absolutely lovely coffee table book giving the history of Holmes in film (and television) from the earliest silent versions through 2007. Tons of pictures and excellent reviews and synopses by Davies. Of course, now Davies needs to update the book...to add the latest Holmes series with Benedict Cumberbatch (not that I care for it, but lots of folks do) and the 2009 movie with Robert Downey Jr.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking back over the years at all the incarnations of the Great Detective. For me, Jeremy Brett in his prime will always be the ultimate Holmes. With Basil Rathbone running a close second. I only wish that we had kept Holmes in period with the Rathbone films. Updating him and making him a propaganda item against the Nazis may have been patriotic, but it did no favors to Doyle's work. Give me a proper Victorian Holmes any day. Five stars for a wonderful reference book.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes: Review

In The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes, Loren D Estleman has pulled off one of the most successful Holmes pastiches to mix Holmes with other literary characters. The Wellmans' Sherlock Holmes & the War of the Worlds was decent, but disjointed. Estleman manages to blend Holmes and Watson into Stevenson's story of good and evil with great ease. And the story is a familiar one--even if one has not read Stevenson's novel, one knows what the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" means.

In Estleman's telling of the story, Mr. Utterson consults Sherlock Holmes when he is worried about his friend Dr. Jekyll's odd bequest to the unknown Mr. Edward Hyde. Holmes barely begins to investigate Hyde's movements and what terrible hold he must have on Jekyll before Utterson calls him off the case. It isn't until the Queen herself asks Holmes to investigate the death of Sir Danvers Carew--a murder committed at the hands of Hyde--that Holmes is officially on the case. Holmes continues to be interested in the links between the evil Mr. Hyde and the highly respectable doctor.

Estleman remains faithful to the original Jekyll & Hyde story, having Holmes take the actions of Utterson in some portions and adding logical actions of his own where necessary. Estleman is also very faithful to the Doyle canon. He perfectly portrays the relationship between Holmes and Watson. And he does a very good job at writing in the Doyle style. Holmes fans and Stevenson fans alike should enjoy this story. It is not as action-packed as some Holmes pastiches, but it remains true to the Great Detective's spirit. An engaging story--and one that does not suffer at all from the reader knowing the answer to the mystery from the beginning. One might even say that it's nice to be ahead of Holmes for once. Three and a half stars.

The Giant Rat of Sumatra: Review

Synopsis: Among all the tantalizing mysteris of Sherlock Holmes, none is more famous than the great untold story of The Giant Rat of Sumatra. A tale that according to Richard L. Boyer involes a mysterious ship lying at the London docks with a terrifying beast caged in the hold; a night of fire and terror & a dead sailor who was on his way to consult with Holmes; a beautiful young woman abducted and held for ransom; and Watson captured by a madman with Holmes powerless to help. No wonder the great detective called this "a story for which the world is not yet prepared."

The story of the giant rat, which Holmes alludes to in "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," is one which has fascinated Holmes fans for decades. Several authors have attempted to the tell the tale in both short story and novel-length versions. This is the third such that I have read. Boyer very nearly had me completely in this pastiche published in 1976. It's an interesting tale and Boyer most definitely knows his Holmes. The action is brisk and he has done a fairly good job in an attempt to mimic Doyle's style. The characters of Holmes, Watson and Lestrade are pretty solid and I was swept along, believing it all until Dr. Watson, as narrator, started throwing way too many "my dear readers" at me. Watson seemed to have suddenly turned into a female protagonist in a Victorian melodramatic novel, rather than the bluff, stalwart companion I had known and loved. And then there's the grand finale....the identity of the mastermind behind the scheme was a bit much to swallow. Putting aside his identity (which was a bit much for me in and of itself), the action seemed to put him on a par with Moriarty, not in scope--there is no large organization involved--but in range. How this character amassed the wealth that must have been necessary is beyond me.

In the end I find myself giving Boyer's effort three stars. This is a good, solid rendering of Holmes. I was interested in the mystery and enjoyed seeing how he pulled off the "giant rat." Had it not been for the "dear readers" and the final scenes, I would have unreservedly raised the rating to four stars.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Letter S

Now up to day 19 of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. Every day in April (except Sundays) I will be doing a post for each letter of the alphabet. It is my plan to make most of my posts reading &/or book-related. April 22nd is brought to you by the Letter S.

S is for Sherlock Holmes. I realize that there is very little that I can add to everything that has been said about Sherlock Holmes. There are societies in both England and America devoted to the Master and who debate every little detail of his life and adventures as written up by his good friend, Dr. John Watson. But I also realize that if I did not do homage to one of the greatest detectives in English fiction that I would be leaving a major hole in my development as a mystery-lover.

As one of my other posts indicated, I first fell in love with mysteries because of Nancy Drew. And while I read many of the other young adult mystery series (Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators), my next real step into the world of detective fiction was with Sherlock Holmes. I distinctly remember spying the green, faux-leather volume sitting in a pride-of-place display in Walden Books in the Fort Wayne mall. Christmas of 1982. It was the only thing I really wanted for Christmas that year. At 799 pages, once I unwrapped it Christmas morning, it was the biggest book I had ever owned. And I loved it. I was well-acquainted with "The Red-Headed League" before 10th grade English ever thought to assign it as part of the curriculum. I already knew Holmes' methods and knew that he never once said, "Elementary, dear Watson."

Sherlock Holmes may not have been the fair-play detective that I would learn to love in my Golden Age mysteries. He was constantly seeing and snatching up clues that he never produced for Watson or the reader until the very end, but I still enjoyed watching him work. Following him through his adventures from The Study in Scarlet all the way through to His Last Bow and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, I was thoroughly caught up in the Victiorian time period, the beginnings of the scientific approach to detection that Holmes put to use, and his constant chiding that Watson may see, but he did not observe. I also enjoyed his mastery of the art of disguise. And I know my love for mysteries would have been far different if I had never encountered London's brilliant "consulting detective."

Crime Fiction Alphabet: Letter M

Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise sponsors The Aphabet in Crime Fiction community meme. your post MUST be related to the first letter of the book's title, the first letter of the author's first name or the first letter of the author's surname. You can write a book review or a bio of an author so long as it fits the rules somehow.

This week is all about the letter M. M is for Martin Davies...and Mrs. Hudson and Malabar. As in Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose. I read this one last December....here is my reveiw:

When a maharajah decides to give England and Queen Victoria the famous Malabar Rose, a ruby of great price, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are requested to guarantee its safety. They, along with Inspector Lestrade and one of Britain's most trusted military minds, come up with a plan that should guarantee the jewel's safety. But they have miscalculated the talents and determination of the Great Salmanazar--a famous magician who makes more than rabbits appear and disappear. It's up to Mrs. Hudson to give the great detective a lesson in housekeeping details which hold the secret to the jewel's disappearance.

Mrs. Hudson & the Malabar Rose by Martin Davies is the second in this fun, light-hearted series. As long as you aren't a dyed-in-the wool Sherlockian who takes her canon seriously, you should enjoy this. Otherwise, it might give true Sherlockians fits to find the Master bested by his housekeeper. This is a nice, cozy little mystery...just right for a winter's evening. The writing is pure and clean and the story whizzes on by. It is a delight to watch Mrs. Hudson and her side-kick Flotsam (Flottie) as they track down clues such as the purple socks, the mechanical toys, and the disappearance of the man who went back inside for his umbrella (sound familiar, Sherlockians?). I recommend this solid mystery to anyone who can take a lighter side of Holmes or who is looking for a quick, fun read in the Victorian era. A solid three star outing.

Vintage Mystery Sunday: Sherlock Holmes

Since one of the great loves of my reading life happens to be Vintage Mysteries, I decided to find a way to feature them on my blog beyond the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge which I am sponsoring and the frequent reviews of my current reads. Here on Vintage Mystery Sunday I plan to revisit classic mysteries that I have read and loved before blogging took over my life and I began reviewing everything I read.

I realize that there is very little that I can add to everything that has been said about Sherlock Holmes. There are societies in both England and America devoted to the Master and who debate every little detail of his life and adventures as written up by his good friend, Dr. John Watson. But I also realize that if I did not do homage to one of the greatest detectives in English fiction that I would be leaving a major hole in my development as a mystery-lover.

As the last post indicated, I first fell in love with mysteries because of Nancy Drew. And while I read many of the other young adult mystery series (Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators), my next real step into the world of detective fiction was with Sherlock Holmes. I distinctly remember spying the green, faux-leather volume sitting in a pride-of-place display in Walden Books in the Fort Wayne mall. Christmas of 1982. It was the only thing I really wanted for Christmas that year. At 799 pages, once I unwrapped it Christmas morning, it was the biggest book I had ever owned. And I loved it. I was well-acquainted with "The Red-Headed League" before 10th grade English ever thought to assign it as part of the curriculum. I already knew Holmes' methods and knew that he never once said, "Elementary, dear Watson."

Sherlock Holmes may not have been the fair-play detective that I would learn to love in my Golden Age mysteries. He was constantly seeing and snatching up clues that he never produced for Watson or the reader until the very end, but I still enjoyed watching him work. Following him through his adventures from The Study in Scarlet all the way through to His Last Bow and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, I was thoroughly caught up in the Victiorian time period, the beginnings of the scientific approach to detection that Holmes put to use, and his constant chiding that Watson may see, but he did not observe. I also enjoyed his mastery of the art of disguise. And I know my love for mysteries would have been far different if I had never encountered London's brilliant "consulting detective."

Baker Street Challenge

I should know better than to try and fight the siren song of a good challenge. Especially when I have books sitting on the TBR piles that will just fit right into the needs of the challenge.

So, I'm signing Baker Street Challenge, an annual reading challenge for one of the most iconic and enigmatic literary figures, Sherlock Holmes. We'll be celebrating Doyle's original stories as well as the rich world of new adventures his works have inspired.

The Rules

1. Choose a goal from the reading tier below and add your name to the sign up page.

2. The challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2011. You can sign up for the challenge at any time before December 31, 2011.

2. You do not have to choose your books in advance. You may change your reading list at any point in the challenge.

3. Overlapping with other challenges is fine.

4. Audio books and eBooks are allowed.

5. Feel free to post reviews or general thoughts about your reading to the Baker Street Challenge blog. Please e-mail me at bookishruth [at] gmail [dot] com to be added as a contributor.

Reading Tier

Three Pipe Problem: 3 books
The Sign of Four: 4 books
Five Orange Pips: 5 books
Seven Percent Solution: 7 books


Ready to sign up for the challenge or need more info? Head over to the Main Page or the Sign Up page.

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I'm signing up for the Five Orange Pips. Here are my planned books (since I've read all of the canon, I'll be doing pastiches for the most part):

1. The Giant Rat of Sumatra by Richard L Boyer (pastiche) [5/7/11]
2. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes by Loren D Estleman (pastiche) [8/2/11]3. The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (non-Holmes) [3/29/11]
4. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Scroll of the Dead by David Stuart Davies (pastiche) [9/7/11]
5. Sir Nigel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (a non-Holmes book by Doyle) [8/21/11]
6. The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King (pastiche)

Commitment complete: 9/7/11

Mrs. Hudson & the Malabar Rose: Review

When a maharajah decides to give England and Queen Victoria the famous Malabar Rose, a ruby of great price, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are requested to guarantee its safety. They, along with Inspector Lestrade and one of Britain's most trusted military minds, come up with a plan that should guarantee the jewel's safety. But they have miscalculated the talents and determination of the Great Salmanazar--a famous magician who makes more than rabbits appear and disappear. It's up to Mrs. Hudson to give the great detective a lesson in housekeeping details which hold the secret to the jewel's disappearance.

Mrs. Hudson & the Malabar Rose by Martin Davies is the second in this fun, light-hearted series. As long as you aren't a dyed-in-the wool Sherlockian who takes her canon seriously, you should enjoy this. Otherwise, it might give true Sherlockians fits to find the Master bested by his housekeeper. This is a nice, cozy little mystery...just right for a winter's evening. The writing is pure and clean and the story whizzes on by. It is a delight to watch Mrs. Hudson and her side-kick Flotsam (Flottie) as they track down clues such as the purple socks, the mechanical toys, and the disappearance of the man who went back inside for his umbrella (sound familiar, Sherlockians?). I recommend this solid mystery to anyone who can take a lighter side of Holmes or who is looking for a quick, fun read in the Victorian era. A solid three star outing.

The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes: Review

Synopsis: When James Wilson retires from journalism (a stint in Afganistan, of all places), he decides to settle down in a small Welsh town with a roommate, a Mr. Cedric Coombes, and at first he thinks little of his new friend's eccentric behaviour. But he can't shake the feeling that he knows him from somewhere else. As Coombes displays his astonishing deductive prowess, and becomes embroiled in the police investigation of the bizarre death and murder of a man a bathtub, Wilson begins to wonder just who this Coombes is....

My take: Strange is certainly a word for it. As a pastiche of Holmsian fare, The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes by Barry Grant is passable. Buried in this bare-faced retelling of the original meeting of Holmes and Watson--only it's "Coombes" and Wilson--are some interesting bits of story-telling. Bits would be the key word. The entire scenario regarding Holmes's appearance in the 21st Century is highly improbable, if not down-right impossible. But, okay, let's suspend our disbelief on that count. The mystery itself is fairly interesting and watching Holmes come to grips with the world he has been "reborn" into is a pretty problem indeed. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that the world's first consulting detective and arguably one of the more brilliant men of all (fictional) time can quickly come up to speed with the ways of the internet and DNA cloning.

Where Grant really falls down is in his inability to properly convey the spirit of the original stories. There are moments--brief glimmers, but they are few and far between. And he completely turned me off by using Holmes as a political platform. It does not matter to me how much in agreement I may or may not be (I am fairly a-political when it comes to spreading my views hither and yon)--I do not care to see one of the most beloved fictional characters used as Barry Grant's soap box. Please, Mr. Grant, if you want to write a political book, then by all means do so--but make sure it gets shelved properly in the non-fiction area.

Two stars out of five. Mainly for the love of Holmes and the brief glimmers of what this book could have been. Overall, a fairly disappointing read.

Sherlock Holmes & The War of the Worlds

In The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The War of the Worlds, Manly W. Wellman and Wade Wellman have taken the Sherlock Holmes we all know and love and joined him up with Doyle's other brilliant character, Professor Challenger. These two analytical men investigate and try to come up with a response to the alien invasion previously chronicled in H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. There are several startling revelations...one in particular about Holmes and a few that "set the record straight" (as Watson would put it) about the events In London during the attack.

Overall, the Wellmans do an adequate job of telling their story and incorporating the worlds of Doyle and Wells. It is a bit disjointed in places...evidence that the novel was originally published as several "articles" which were meant to tell the "truth" about the Martian invasion. I think the portions which focus on the Professor's and Watson's point of view work best. Some of the writing from Holmes' point of view don't ring quite as true. I definitely enjoyed the interactions between Holmes and Challenger, and I am now eager to read the works that feature the egotistical professor.


***Spoiler Alert***
My major quibble with the story is the supposed romance between Holmes and Mrs. Hudson. There is no way that anyone will get me to believe that Watson, dull as he is sometimes portrayed, would have missed that relationship's reality. AND, given the good doctor's inclination to describe and have great sympathy for the beautiful women who employ Holmes as clients, you can't tell me that he wouldn't have mentioned that Mrs. Hudson was a youngish (30-ish), blonde, blue-eyed, statuesque, beauty. If there's anything the doctor notices, it's a pretty face.

Three stars out of five.

My Sherlock Holmes: Untold Stories of the Great Detective

Just finished this collection of stories about Holmes--all told from the viewpoint of one of the other characters in his stories. It was very interesting to see Holmes through the eyes of someone other than Watson. Although, of course, any time one reads Holmes stories from outside the canon they must be taken with a grain of salt. My favorites were "The Dollmaker of Marigold Walk" (the 1st Mrs. Watson); "Call Me Wiggins" (the "chief" of the Baker Street Irregulars); "The Witch of Greenwich" (Billy, the page) and "Mrs. Hudson Reminisces." I still don't get the authors who insist on putting Mycroft in league with Moriarty. Had to suffer through another one of those...otherwise, I would have given a full four stars in Visual Bookshelf. And, of course, we had to have a few stories that showed Holmes in a less than glowing light (Dupin, Moriarty, & Col. Moran all have a chance to have their say on the Great Detective). I was a bit disappointed that none of the authors chose to write from the viewpoint of Lestrade....he only shows up in the last section, titled "The Others," and is given very little space.

The Veiled Detective (or This Ain't Your Mama's Sherlock Holmes)

Just as a warning this is full of spoilers.

This is a deer in the headlights book. A watching an accident and just can't take your eyes off of it book. I hated it but just could not stop reading it. It sucked me in and kept me there, watching all sorts of absolutely WRONG things happening to some very beloved characters. So---I'm supposed to believe that just about everybody of importance in the Sherlock Holmes stories was in Moriarty's pay or connected to his diabolical organization in some way??? That Watson and Mrs. Hudson and MYCROFT are all on the Professor's payroll? That Moriarty OWNS 221 B Baker Street? Right. Yeah, I'm swallowing that one (or three or however many impossible things I'm supposed to believe--before or after breakfast). And, yet, I could not put the thing down. I finished it off in one afternoon. I suppose so I could have the dreadful thing done and off my hands. If you want a book you can't put down, then this may be the book for you. If you're looking for a good Holmes and Watson story that works well with what you know of the canon, not so much. One star out five.

From Dead Center on...

So...I discovered why I've never heard of this author before. She's not exactly among the ranks of Christie or Sayers or, on this side of the pond, Daly. A mediocre mystery at best....it certainly didn't play fair by Golden Age rules (despite it's being produced during the proper time period). Having vital information sprung upon the reader at the end was most disconcerting. The best part was the accurate portrayal of police reaction to an "amateur sleuth"....regarding Janet Keith as a nuisance rather than greeting her with an "oh, yes, please do our job for us." It was rather nice to see her deflated at the end when the official detectives revealed that they had already discovered all the clues she so eagerly had to offer (and had misinterpreted). I'm usually on the side of the amateur--after all I have a great fondness for Lord Peter Wimsey and Miss Marple--but Miss Keith was immensely annoying in her sleuthing style. I think Ms. Collins would have done better to use this character in a straight fiction novel--of the drawing room comedy sort. The Keith household (apart from delving in the murder) is a delightful mix of eccentrics and would have been better used in a different sort of book.



Having finished Dead Center, I moved on to Laurie R King's The Art of Detection. This was a very quick read...finished it up early this evening. It is a nicely plotted mystery that manages to bring the atmosphere of Holmes' era to modern day San Francisco. The story revolves around a Holmes fanatic who is killed in what looks to be precisely the manner of a murder in a recently discovered "lost Sherlock Holmes story." Is the story authentic? Was the victim killed because of the manuscript or was it more personal and more ancient reasons? King does an excellent job of pulling off the story within a story and tying all the ends together. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Next up: London After Midnight. A collection of stories that give the reader a fictional tour of the criminal haunts of London.