The Secret Notebook of Sherlock Holmes

The Secret Notebook of Sherlock Holmes is short, silly fun. It’s got almost 30 stories in about 90 pages, and as you can see from the math, most are only two or three pages.

Some involve Holmes being surprised or not exactly distinguishing himself in deduction, but the jokes around settings and details of life in his times are amusing.

Guest stars include Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, and Irene Norton. Holmes solves mysteries involving the queen’s dogs, a missing ambassador, modern technology, a missing elephant, and a surprise for Lestrade. He’s outwitted by Mrs. Hudson and pranks Watson in his spare time.

Little is what it seems, and author Liz Hedgecock goes for humor over consistent case logic. That’s what makes this fun. It’s a fan’s light-hearted approach, and I found it a wonderful tonic when I’ve seen too much serious fandom debate. I appreciated that it was a quick read, well suitable for picking up in a few spare moments.