News — book review

"Absolutely charming old world style. This book reaches back to the classical Sherlock Holmes story telling but without the unconnectable instances and characters that sometimes enter the pages of the old ones. I feel that this author has successfully taken the much loved story of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and made it enjoyable for new generations. Being based on fact, this mystery will be a delight for historical fiction fans as well as those that enjoy historical and mystery genres. I don’t normally find this genre to my taste, but enjoyed this story a lot and appreciated the author’s...

"Brian W. Pugh continues to revise his A CHRONOLOGY OF THE LIFE OF SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (Mar 13 #6); the third edition (London: MX Publishing, 2014; 303 pp.) delightful and valuable as a resource for information about the life and work of Conan Doyle.  The chronology starts in 1755 (the birth of James Doyle) and ends in 1998 (the memorial service for Dame Jean), and there are splendid photographs (old and new), a list of statues and plaques around the world, a new section detailing his Arctic voyage in 1 880, careful citations of sources, and much more." A Chronology...

"Diane Gilbert Madsen has given readers another winner in the DD McGill Literati Mystery Series. The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper is a marvelous tale of DD McGill who is an investigator for insurance fraud and her bookseller friend, Tom Joyce, who is asked to assess the value of the literary estate of a wealthy Chicago estate owner. McGill immediately alienates herself from those associated with the estate and Tom experiences a nasty fall down a flight of stairs. Even though the police believe the fall to be an accident, McGill is convinced it was an...

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes "The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes by Phil Growick (MX; 14 May;), sequel to The Secret Journal of Dr Watson, is like a rich plum-pudding, full of diplomacy, intrigue and deception. The earlier book told how Holmes, Watson and Sidney Reilly rescued Tsar Nicholas II and his family from the Bolsheviks. Now we learn what became of them all." The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including   Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .

"There are bad pastiche writers, there are good pastiche writers and there are brilliant pastiche writers such as David Stuart Davies, June Thomson, Hugh Ashton, Mike Hogan etc. Now, we must add to the list of brilliant pastiche writers the name of John Heywood for this collection of stories is straight out of ‘1895, hansoms and gas-lit streets’. There is no filler here, each story is a gem and the author’s control of his characters and their dialogue is well nigh indistinguishable from the work of ACD. Yes, I know that kind of thing pops up in many reviews, but...