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David Marcum This is Rich Ryan’s seventh Sherlock Holmes novel, and he continues to provide exciting stories. From the discovery of a body in the Tower Bridge construction site, the story rapidly progresses to reveal a plot aimed at Holmes himself. With increasing complexity, the story builds toward an exciting conclusion where justice triumphs. This book was quite enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the next one.     Also available from: Amazon USA         Barnes and Noble Amazon UK            Book Depository A quiet morning at Baker Street is thrown into turmoil by the arrival...

David Marcum Sherlockian Tim Symonds has long made a specialty of tying his excellently written Holmes pastiches to historical events. Often he writes about the early twentieth century, and Holmes’s post-retirement involvement in the events leading up to and during World War I. Now he backs up to 1898 – and Watson meets and old comrade from his days in the Army, and specifically the life-changing Battle of Maiwand in July 1880. The excellent mystery is matched by the meticulously researched details, and once again Mr. Symonds has produced a winner. Sound of The Baskervilles This tale doesn’t begin with...

David Marcum Mr. Finch is new to the world of Holmesian pastiche, but one hopes that he’ll make a triumphant return. The stories in this book were written with the noblest intentions: For his grandchildren. Like all great Holmes collections, they cover a wide variety of puzzles and locations. My particular favorite is the second in the book, “The Pike at Saltmarsh”, which is both mysterious and atmospheric. Highly recommended. Victorian Web In one respect, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a dismal failure. He had no success at all in killing off his key character at the Reichenbach Falls. Not...

Susan Knight What a magical mystery tour of a novel. A lot of the time I found myself as bemused as poor Dr Watson as what exactly was going on and who all these mad characters were, between maharajahs, femmes fatales, midget monocle manufacturers, doppelgangers, an aesthete who makes soup brewed from a mammoth’s femur… the list goes on and on.   Oh, and a couple of real people have walk-on parts, including Frederick William Burton, Irish-born artist and director of the National Gallery (dubbed William Frederick in the book – a mistake or part of the overall hall of mirrors...

David Marcum I’ll admit it: I’ve read very little written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – just the rather dull American segments set in the middle of “A Study in Scarlet” and “The Valley of Fear” and nothing else. When I was younger, I forced myself through those segments instead of skipping ahead to return to Dr. Watson’s masterful prose. Thus, I’ve never read “The Lost World” – although I’m aware of it, and its influences on later books. It was with great enjoyment that I was able to page through the edition prepared by James Malcuso, illustrated with Lego...