Can You Survive the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes?

Can You Survive the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes? combines the interactivity of a choose-your-own-path book with three classic Sherlock Holmes stories: “The Red-Headed League,” “The Speckled Band,” and to say the other would be giving things away. The reader gets to pretend to be Sherlock Holmes himself, which is fun, particularly as you can’t be too cautious. You’re told at the start that Moriarty may have sent you a case as a trap, but if you turn down too many, […]

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The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

I have just read a historical mystery that I adored! The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies stars Lady Augusta and her twin sister Julia and is set in Regency London. The two women are in their forties and unmarried, so everyone, particularly their officious brother, thinks they should be ignored. Instead, they wind up helping women who have no other option. They recover blackmail letters and set out to rescue a wife kept prisoner by her husband. Along the way, […]

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Holmes Coming

I’m a fan of “Sherlock Holmes in the modern era” stories. I love the way they illustrate how the detective character is timeless while making entertainment out of the culture clash between the Victorian era and today. The latest version I’m aware of is the novel Holmes Coming, published at the end of 2022. Dr. Amy Winslow, through a complicated series of events, winds up being present when an earthquake awakens a crazy man from a steampunk laboratory. She takes […]

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Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History

What a fascinating tiny bit of comic history! I’d only heard about Marvel value stamps before in the context of back issues with clipped pages. I had no idea of the scope of the project, or what any of them actually looked like. Marvel Value Stamps: A Visual History, edited by Charles Kochman, is incredibly comprehensive. Every stamp is pictured in the context of one of the letter pages where it first appeared, with a list of any other appearances, […]

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Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects

The catalogue for the Sherlock Holmes in 221 Objects exhibit is a worthwhile read for more than just Sherlockians — it provides intriguing insight into some publishing history. The exhibit, featuring items from the collection of Glen S. Miranker and curated by him and Cathy Miranker, has appeared in several key locations for fans of the great detective: the New York Grolier Club from January through April 2022; the Lilly Library in Bloomington, Indiana (where I saw it), from August […]

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Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade

As many viewers of the Enola Holmes movie did, I suspect (particularly given the prominent bullet on the cover of this book), I found myself curious about the book series that inspired it. There were six young adult novels, originally, written by Nancy Springer and published from 2007 to 2010. The series picked back up after the success of the movie, with Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche released last year. It opens with a prologue in which Sherlock Holmes, […]

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The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars

Since I like Sherlock Holmes and Golden Age mysteries and old Hollywood, Anthony Boucher’s The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars was an enjoyable read for me. It’s important to remember that this was originally published in 1940. Which explains why there’s one major female character, Maureen O’Breen, an attractive redhead who works in publicity for a film studio making a new Sherlock Holmes movie. (Maureen is the sister of Boucher’s series character, a PI in LA. Boucher was better-known […]

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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 […]

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