A Case of Domestic Pilfering

If you like Holmes and you like Wodehouse, you might want to try this slim, quick read. A Case of Domestic Pilfering was written 
by Rohase Piercy with Charlie Raven and was independently published in 2017.

In 1890, Guy Clements is a dramatic but addle-headed young man who prattles on and has gotten himself in temporary financial difficulty. His very close friend Max is visiting from the country.

Guy has previously met Dr. Watson at the horse races. Max is very much a fan of Sherlock Holmes, and so he is thrilled to make their acquaintance. They have drinks and conversations, which is convenient when Guy and Max get caught up in various complications.

Madeleine works as Guy’s housemaid but has plans to make money, whatever it takes. Her beloved brother Michael is a … I don’t know the Victorian for “rent boy”. Soon there’s a case with a missing necklace and a search for stolen government documents. It all whips together in an enjoyably twisty soufflé of schemes and mistaken assumptions and great friendships that makes for an enjoyable escapist read.

This frothy adventure combines the feel of a Sherlock Holmes case with a Wildean drawing room comedy. Piercy was the author of My Dearest Holmes, an early (1988) print novel in which Holmes and Watson are more intimate friends than some care to believe. There is no clear indication one way or another in this short novel as to the exact nature of Holmes and Watson’s relationship, although Guy and Max are physically intimate.

(This review originally appeared in So Far Down Queer Street Volume 1.)