Alphabetical Index of Mystery Reviews

There’s a Murder Afoot

Earlier this year I had the chance to meet the author Vicki Delany in Toronto. (The Bootmakers of Toronto, the local Sherlock Holmes society, were celebrating their 50th anniversary by having an event with guests and presentations.) So I thought I’d brush up on her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery series. So far I’ve read the first five, and I stopped to talk about that fifth book, There’s a Murder Afoot, because it’s the best one so far. And the reason […]

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Comic Classics: Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles

It’s the way the world works. I wrote a survey of all of The Hound of the Baskervilles graphic novel adaptations (for Sherlock Holmes magazine, issue #8, spring 2022), and as soon as I’m done, I find another one. Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles is an “old book by Arthur Conan Doyle” featuring “new doodles by Jack Noel.” Although labeled a “Comic Classic,” I was somewhat relieved to find that this isn’t really a comic. Instead, this […]

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An Unusual Method of Death, or The Similarity Between Sherdog and Miss Sherlock

While rereading Sherlock Bones volume 7, I noticed that Case 9, “The Stolen Face”, had a rather unusual method of death. Chapter 6, the final chapter, lays out what happened. Spoilers throughout this post. The murderer tries to create the impression the victim committed suicide. He gave the victim sleeping drugs, then placed her on the edge of the water tower on the roof, with a rope around her neck. When she woke up, she fell off the edge, hanging […]

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Sherlock’s Secretary

Addy Zhuang has a job many of us would kill for. He’s been hired to answer Sherlock Holmes’ mail. Well, the messages that people send to 221B Baker Street, one of the most famous addresses of all time. Sherlock’s Secretary is a present-day mystery novel that begins when someone steals some of Sherlock’s letters. Addy and true crime podcaster (and object of Addy’s crush) Zabel Carvalho follow the clues to find out who’s behind the theft and why. Along the […]

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A Study in Crimson: Sherlock Holmes 1942

There have been many Sherlock Holmes stories and pastiches set in both the classic (1890–1910, or thereabouts) and modern eras. A Study in Crimson: Sherlock Holmes 1942 takes a different approach, with a setting inspired by the 1940s Universal Pictures film series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. As told by Robert J. Harris, someone calling himself “Crimson Jack” is recreating the murders of Jack the Ripper. The book beautifully sets the stage with a minor case that introduces us […]

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Sherlock Holmes and the Molly-Boy Murders

In Sherlock Holmes and the Molly-Boy Murders, Margaret Walsh manages quite the feat: she combines the traditional feel of a classic Holmes pastiche with a modern sensibility when it comes to characters and motivations, enlivened with flashes of dry humor. Someone is killing and mutilating young men who dress as women. The variety of characters include a well-meaning woman who runs a safe house for young men of this type, a young baronet and his private secretary, and a medical […]

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Sherlock Holmes: Playing the Game

(I have begun reviewing Sherlock Holmes books for the website belonging to I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, the premier Sherlock Holmes podcast. This review originally appeared there.) Sherlockians know that “playing the game” means considering Arthur Conan Doyle’s role as Dr. John Watson’s literary agent. Doyle couldn’t have been the author, as Watson, of course, wrote those stories about his friend Sherlock Holmes. In Sherlock Holmes: Playing the Game , Cenarth Fox takes this approach to ludicrous but amusing extremes. […]

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Excerpt From New Enola Holmes Book

It’s said that success has many parents, while failure is an orphan. It’s also true that success, these days, has many children, as a positive response to, say, a movie leads to more related product. Which is my lead-in to the news that there’s a new Enola Holmes novel, out now. The original six volumes by Nancy Springer were published from 2006-2010, but given the success of the Netflix movie, they’re back, and there’s a new book in the series! […]

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