News — sherlock holmes book reviews

Philip K Jones is one of the most respected, and meticulous Sherlock Holmes reviewers in the USA. Here he casts a close eye over Watsons Afghan Adventure, the debut Holmes pastiche from Keiran McMullen. "This is the only Sherlockian book I know of by this author.  It is Watson’s own tale of his experiences in Afghanistan.  The narrative is a very realistic exposition of a British Doctor’s life during the Second Afghan War.  I am not sure of the details of the campaigns involved, but the presentation is an accurate and intelligent view of what Watson would have seen and...

Philip K Jones (aka The Ill Dressed Vagabond ) is one of the leading Holmes reviewers in the USA. Here is his recent review of 'The Lost Stories of Sherlock Holmes' by Tony Reynolds. This is the first Sherlockian writing I have found by this author. It is a collection of eight short novellas, each set up similarly to the Canonical tales. Other than the language, which seems a bit modern, these tales read a lot like their originals. `The Giant Rat of Sumatra" takes place in London and migrates from a tale of murder to a story of a...

Phil K. Jones aka An Ill-dressed Vagabond is one of the USA's leading Holmes reviewers - here is his take on 'A Study in Crimson'. "This is the second book in Molly Carr’s ‘Watson – Fanshaw Detective Agency’ series. It follows events in The Sign of Fear rather directly and continues in much the same vein. Again, Watson natters, Holmes is always out on some sort of business, Lestrade needs help and odd clients turn up in the strangest places (or is that strange clients in oddest places?). It is difficult to be more specific as the author wanders from...

As a retired detective with the Metropolitan Police Keiron Freeburn has excellent experience which he has used to great effect with a very unusual take on The Hound of The Baskervilles. As with several reviews of this fascinating book the societies have been tough on the small mistakes, but another resounding thumbs up for a very unusual and memorable Holmes pastiche. "What we have here, apparently, are facsimiles of the original case files from both Scotland Yard and Devon County Constabulary. In fact this collection of witness statements, medical reports, and police reports is the work of a former member...

'The Sign of Fear' is the first in a series of Holmes pastiche novels from Molly Carr, a life long Dr. Watson expert. It features Mrs. Watson as a strong female lead character andthe book has gained very posititive reviews from Holme societies around the world. Here, Roger Johnson from the Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews the book for their newsletter;   "Never mind what you’ve been told: the former Mary Morstan is a woman with a past — so perhaps it’s natural that she should come within the orbit of the Napoleon of Crime. At least we can...