Sherlock Holmes and the Sandringham House Mystery

Sherlock Holmes #9

by Val Andrews

London. The capital of an empire. And, once again, the game is afoot! In this highly thrilling mystery, Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr Watson embark on a mission to find a painting stolen from one of the King’s residences while the Royal Illusionist, Horace Goldin, was performing. While not currently under suspicion, the cheerful foreigner Goldin would like to have the matter resolved as quickly as possible and seeks the duo’s aid. Holmes and Watson travel to Sandringham House disguised as assistants in the illusionist’s act and discreetly investigate the matter. Navigating mysteries and kings, illusions and brutish aides, the duo explore Sandringham House and its grounds, racing against the clock to solve the mystery. Holmes and Watson work to find the truth, but this truth may get Holmes in a bit of trouble… Set against the backdrop of a pre-World War 1 England, ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Sandringham House Mystery’ is a journey that both Holmes and Watson find to be full of twists and turns right until the very end. 'A treat for any fan of the great detective.' - Robert Foster, best-selling author of 'The Lunar Code'. Val Andrews (15 February 1926 – 12 December 2006) was a music hall artist, ventriloquist and writer. Andrews was a prolific writer on magic, having published over 1000 books and booklets from 1952. He also authored Sherlock Holmes pastiches and Houdini's novels.

Genres: Mystery

99 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Val Andrews was a music hall artist, ventriloquist and writer.
Andrews was born in Hove, Sussex, England a few hours after Valentine's Day, hence his name. Son of an architect, he was introduced to magic by his father. Andrews was a prolific writer on magic, having published over 1000 books and booklets from 1952. He also authored Sherlock Holmes pastiches and Houdini's novels. He lived for a number of years in Brighton, then in London (from 1943 onwards) where he joined the London Society of Magicians.

Reviews

[Ken B · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

1902 Holmes' new client Horace Goldin, was performing for the king at Sandringham House when a painting was stolen and replaced by a fake. To totally clear his name he would like Holmes to investigate.
An entertaining Holmes mystery

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holmes and Watson are visited by Goldin, an illusionist, who is afraid to be accused of stealing a painting from the king. They go undercover to with him to the king to uncover the mystery. There are a few other additional things involved in the story.

Fairly worthy Holmes' story, but thought some of the added stuff was unnecessary.

[John E Kilduff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A painting and 221B

To recover the painting and save his residence is a story woven together with imagination and good storytelling. An enjoyable read.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complex but lively plot, a king with the personal touch, and a near done-to-death Holmes makes this an engaging, but not stellar, read.

[Michael Westcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The King and I

Well done. The writing was superb bringing these almost mythical characters back to life. A quick entertaining read, fun and interesting. Quite enjoyable.

[Peter Cornell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A long way from the real Holmes and Watson

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holmes has a command performance!

Sherlock Holmes and the Sandringham House Mystery by Val Andrews

The year is 1902. ‘Horace Goldin, “The Whirlwind of Wizardry,” has come to 221B with a problem. Recently, Goldin has been honored with a command performance to King Edward given at Sandringham House.

The affair went off without a hitch, but upon returning from Sandringham, Goldin has been notified that a Rembrandt has been stolen and replaced with a not too good forgery. The Kings servants are above suspicion and all the guests of noble birth. Even Kaiser Wilhelm, who is King Edward’s cousin, is thought to be above suspicion.

Lestrade thus feels that the guilty party has to lie among the performers of Goldin’s company. The fact that one woman is a quick-sketch artist adds to this suspicion. Yet unknown to the performers, their bags were searched before they were allowed to leave. No trace of the painting could be found.

Now Goldin is required for a repeat performance at Sandringham House. He will take Holmes and Watson along disguised as magician’s helpers.

Yet very soon it is Sherlock Holmes himself that turns up missing! Lestrade and Watson must pull out all of the stops to find the great detective before it is too late!

I liked this one. It isn’t the best of Val Andrews’ Holmes essays, but it does have its moments. I will give it three stars.

Quoth the Raven…

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

aargh. If the author would stick to one plot instead of trying to do so much in the short amount of space he has, I'd be grateful. The main plot of this novel was good -- Sherlock Holmes is called upon by a stage magician who had the honor of performing for his majesty King Edward VII at Sandringham House. While there, a theft of a valuable Rembrandt painting occurred, and even though the magician has been cleared of the theft, he worries that his reputation will suffer if word gets out. So he asks Holmes & Watson to help him. The magician has been invited to return to Sandringham House to once again perform, and wants Holmes & Watson to accompany him & investigate the theft. Now that is a good plot, but instead of trying to flesh that out somewhat, we have two other plot lines that muddy what could have been a good story. -sigh-

If you're planning on trying this as your first Holmes pastiche, don't. Try some others, then come back around to this one -- it's not as enjoyable as others I've read.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of the better stories by this author mainly because of factual errors. Edward VII keeps referring to Wilhelm II as his cousin when actually Edward is his uncle. Then there is another error when it refers to Wilhelm II as Kaiser of Austria-Hungary, which would surprise the actual ruler of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph.

Besides, these errors the story is rather implausible, particularly Holmes' encounter with the German bad guys and subsequent imprisonment. I did like the touch of the Great Detective saving 221B for Mrs. Hudson however.

[Outlander · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best SH tales Val Andrews has written that I have read and this one is ripe for TV or a movie. The royal connection is always a draw with all the pomp and ceremony, not to mention the costumes, but add to that the intrigue of Kaiser Wilhelm's treachery to King Edward and his treatment of SH ! A must read for the SH fan.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable

It's very nice to be able to read new adventures of Sherlock Holmes. But this author seems to have channeled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle quite splendidly. You will enjoy the journey to the time of King Edward VII.

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited One of several Sherlock Holmes stories by an assorted group of authors, wanted to go through them all. Liked it, just didn't love it, sort of the right style and all but....