This collection of apocryphal Sherlockiana has a special status: the stories herein are the first "authorised" pastiches that came out after the demise of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The rarest of rare collection og pastiches & parodies, edited by Ellery Queen, had been ruthlessly suppressed by Adrian Conan Doyle. Perhaps to amend the situation, or more accurately, perhaps to encash upon the public demand for more Holmes stories, he had collaborated with one of the greatest writers of mystery: John Dickson Carr, justly famous for his locked-room mysteries, to come up with these stories. The strong points that shout in the favour of the stories are: Holmes is true to canon, Watson is authentic, the settings and the characters don't create any discord with those of the canon, and the plots are tight (if not somewhat gimmicky, which takes away some of the re-read value. The stories are:
1) The Adventure of The Seven Clocks: Why does a nobleman keeps on smashing clocks?
2) The Adventure of The Gold Hunter: Can Holmes catch a murderer on the basis of his observations of a watch?
3) The Adventure of The Wax Gamblers: Was it a mistake on the part of the old watchmen, or have the two wax statues of gamblers really started playing cards?
4) The Adventure of The Highgate Miracle: What happened to the gentleman who, after rushing back to his house to collect his umbrella, had vanished from the face of earth?
5) The Adventure of The Black Baronet: There lies a dead man, and there is the suspect at hand who has some motive, but where is the knife that had killed the man?
6) The Adventure of The Sealed Room: Doors closed, windows closed, no intruder apparent, two shots fired accounting for the only two persons present in the room; but why is Holmes sure that this is cold-blooded murder and not just suicide?
7) The Adventure of The Foulkes Rath: The person who had qaurreled with the murdered person is found dazed near the body, holding the murder weapon, sleeves soaked in blood; but why is Holmes looking elsewhere for the murderer?
8) The Adventure of The Abbas Ruby: Who stole the ruby, or more importantly, who had got rid of the Camelias first?
9) The Adventure of The Dark Angels: When death sends its messenger, can Holmes save the doomed man?
10) The Adventure of The Two Women: Holmes & Watson risk all their honour & respectability to destroy the web of blackmail spun by a mastermind, but do they succeed?
11) The Adventure of The Deptford Horror: For years the members of the Wilson family are succumbing to heart conditions, then why does Holmes suspect diabolical shrewdness behind these deaths, and what can he do to save the girl who is now living in the shadow?
12) The Adventure of The Red Widow: a murder has taken place, the suspect is also not unknown, but what has the suspect done to the head of the murdered man?
The stories purloin (or should I say: draw inspiration) from some of the most well-known canonical tricks, or simply re-enginner them to suit the present needs. But many of the themes are distinctly darker and much more disturbing than anything Sir Arthur might have liked. Recommended.