Sherlock Holmes and the Swedish Enigma

by Barry Grant

The original super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, is back on the case - A corpse in a sarcophagus, a headless macaw, and a stolen slice of Black Forest gateau alert Sherlock Holmes to a macabre international crime in progress, and lead him through London’s backstreets to the gloomy moors of Cornwall. People vanish, Greek statues vanish. Even Holmes vanishes – to the distress of his companion, James Wilson, whose emails and text messages go unanswered. But Holmes is in top form, fully recovered from his journey through ice to the twenty-first century and ready to reveal a multitude of secrets . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

245 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Barry Grant is a pen name.

Barry Grant at age eleven boarded the North Coast Limited in Chicago and traveled to his uncles' farm in North Dakota to spend the summer . . . and there he spent every summer thereafter until he graduated from high school. None of the later journeys of his life - by boat up the Amazon, by Volkswagen Beetle over the Atlas Mountains to Zagora, and so on - ever matched those early journeys to North Dakota where he learned to love prairies, loneliness, big skies, and agriculture.

From the other side of his family he learned to love higher culture. On holiday visits to his grandmother's house in Moline, Illinois, he found his deceased grandfather's library in barrister bookcases that lined the walls and reached to the ceilings of the living room and every bedroom. In those cases he discovered travel of a different kind - books of every sort, among them the complete works of Mark Twain, Victor Hugo, Poe, Shakespeare, Dickens, Kipling, Burns, and Conan Doyle.

He is co-author of a translation from the Chinese, A Woman Soldier's Own Story: the Autobiography of Xie Bingying, published by Columbia University Press in 2001 and by Berkley Books in 2003. He has lived in England, Spain, eleven of the United States, and now lives in Wisconsin. Among his hobbies are cycling, bread baking, piano improvisation, and tennis.

Reviews

[Ira Rimson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every Sherlock Holmes revival I've read falls far short of the originals. "The Swedish Enigma" maintains the caliber. In addition to being excessively verbose, the only "Swedish" connection is the ostensibly evil Lars Lindblad, who appears out of nowhere about 3/4 through the book. The plot is convoluted, with little relevance from one subplot device to the next. The dead giveaway of all pseudo-Holmes contrivances is the line referring to "...the case that Watson failed to record...". The eventual outcome is unbelievable, made worse by the author's need to "tell" rather than "show" its details because of their complexity. A semi-interesting read for someone interested in how Holmes-Redux fails.

[Schnaucl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as much as The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes. There wasn't much of Sherlock. Most of the book was about Wilson acting on his own.

I realized I want to see more of Holmes dealing with being 90 years in the future. We never got to see his initial reaction to his new circumstances. We never saw him grieve for his friends or his family, no long dead.

[Arun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didnt like the flow.. Tried to read one Sherlock Holmes novel and see if I can hang in there and enjoy at the same time.. but this one has too many poems and phrases that just were beyond me.. sorry.. maybe didnt have the patience to sit through. Had to drop it off after few chapters..

[Terry Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first two books. This one moved a little slowly and there too much of the book consisted of endless emails from Wilson. Good ending

[Lynda Demsher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've now read three of Barry Grant's Sherlock Holmes adventure stories. Grant is a skillful writer and good with detail. He also delivers the classical deductions his hero is famous for as well as intricate plots that are unraveled meticulously by Holmes and his new sidekick Wilson. The premise that Holmes was brought back to life and is now solving modern mysteries is a bit of a stretch, but it does open the door for comparisons between Edwardian Age detective work and modern law enforcement technology. I enjoyed all three books, but only gave this one four stars because the story played out mostly in the dialogue of the characters and not in the action. Otherwise, it was a good story that left an opening for future adventures of Grant's modern Holmes.

[Bradley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sherlock is mostly off-screen for the first half of the novel. Up till then, the book was mostly the exploits of the faux Dr. Watson. As others have noted, there is little that is Swedish in the book except for one character who happens to be Swedish and who never appears except via computer. I don't think Sherlock fans will be much interested in this book. If the characters had different names and a few details were changed, no one would ever guess this had anything to do with the classic Holmes.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun exciting read of a modern day Sherlock Holmes. The enigmatic author Barry Grant appears to have resurrected Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as perhaps his writing partner in this most enjoyable modern retelling of a character that can not die. The mystery is good, complex fun, with good clues to lead you along the path. Sherlock is true to form. It is a fun, and quick read prefect for the summer ahead.

[SB Senpai Manga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read, but not one of the better Holmes stories I've read.
I believe the reason is because I read the third book first, something I will rectify soon.
This one may not go well for diehard Holmesians/Baker Street Irregulars.

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy, fun read.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes in modern times. Was really interesting and fun to read.