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Sherlock Holmes Adventures #6
Sherlock Holmes: The Game's Afoot
Once more, the game's afoot as Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street returns in twenty new adventures specially commissioned for Wordsworth's Mystery & Supernatural series. The celebrated detective, along with his friend and biographer, Dr Watson, investigate a variety of baffling mysteries that will delight fans of the famous sleuth. Striding through the foggy gas lit streets of London, Holmes tackles such cases as the puzzle of the Green Skull, the secret of the Brown Box, the conundrum of the Dragon of Lea Lane, as well as coming face to face once again with the Sussex Vampire. We also learn what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls when Holmes had his fateful encounter with Professor Moriarty. David Stuart Davies, Denis O. Smith, Mark Valentine, Matthew Booth, M.J. Elliott and the other talented writers who have contributed to this collection have followed closely in the footsteps of Arthur Conan Doyle in creating a wonderful feast of Sherlockian entertainment.
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2007
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183 people want to read
About the author
David Stuart Davies
198 books141 followersDavid Stuart Davies was a British writer. He worked as a teacher of English before becoming a full-time editor, writer, and playwright. Davies wrote extensively about Sherlock Holmes, both fiction and non-fiction. He was the editor of Red Herrings, the monthly in-house publication of the Crime Writers' Association, and a member of The Baker Street Irregulars and the Detection Club.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 21, 2023
Sherlock Holmes detractors have occasionally criticised the original Arthur Conan Doyle stories, apparently thinking that the solutions were sometimes easy enough that they hardly required a genius like Holmes to solve them.
I imagine the problem is one of over-familiarity with the original stories, and with many imitative mysteries. We have become so used to second-guessing detective stories that it has become easier to return to Conan Doyle and work out his puzzles, while modern writers try to heap enigmas onto riddles in a bid to keep the reader guessing.
As this volume shows, the art of trying to write a traditional Sherlock Holmes story is not as easy as Conan Doyle makes it look. The stories are by no means dreadful, and yet they somehow lack the creative spark of the original author.
This is surprising since the writers are clearly obsessed with Sherlock Holmes minutiae and approach the subject with the same obscure enthusiasm that Holmes uses to write a paper on the motets of an obscure composer.
David Stuart Davies (the book’s editor) is careful to choose stories that do not break the rules too much. Watson will not solve a case. Holmes will not prove to be Moriarty. Supernatural phenomena will not prove to be real. Lestrade will not be murdered. And so on. There will also be plenty of fog in these stories. Lots of fog.
That is not to say that there are not one or two attempts to beat Conan Doyle at his own game. Sadly these are the weaker stories. A sequel to The Sussex Vampire is an audacious idea, but the solution is just a little too far-fetched. An attempt to explain what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls only leaves an inconclusive finish.
Otherwise the stories attempt to recreate the originals, with only one narrative that is not supplied by Watson. Conan Doyle stories are often alluded to, and the mysterious tales Conan Doyle mentioned but did not tell are referenced. Sadly none of the writers attempt to tell us about the giant rat of Sumatra, or the worm in the matchbox of a kind never seen before that was found by a madman, or the story behind the politician, the trained cormorant and the lighthouse.
There are some of the bold deductions that Holmes often makes, but occasionally they seem more tenuous than the ones Conan Doyle would have had his detective make. At other times, Holmes investigates in a procedural manner that would have produced an equally good result for a Lestrade.
One curious running theme in a few of the stories is the possible impact that Watson’s published accounts might have on the work of Holmes. Could they inspire copycats? Might someone take on Holmes using tricks to lure him in that they learned from the stories? Would an elderly Holmes need to read Watson’s stories to remind himself what happened, and would he belatedly find them helpful?
Sometimes though the relationship between Holmes and Watson seems more fractious than in the original stories. Holmes is more insensitive and even insulting than he is in Conan Doyle’s stories. In one tale, Watson shows professional jealousy, and tries too hard to out-Holmes Holmes. He fails badly of course, and this makes him only appear doltish. Still this is better than falling asleep on the job, as he does in another story.
Holmes alternates here between spates of kindness, and levels of coldness that exceed those in the original stories. He is impatient with clients, and more easily disappointed before he has heard the full story. Sometimes his range of interests seem a little too extended for a man who never wanted to learn anything that did not help him with his job.
Would Holmes really quote Shakespeare, for example? How much knowledge of heraldry do we imagine Holmes had, and would he really care that much about helping two amiable posh siblings to win a dispute over the right to put a coat of arms over their home?
In another story, Holmes is asked to substitute fake jewellery for real jewellery supposedly to appease the customer to whom the thief is selling the item, but at no point does Holmes ask the obvious question whether his client is being genuine, or is in fact the real thief? Should this not be investigated before proceeding? Fortunately for Holmes, his client is honest.
Still the basic tics and detailed allusions are here, so it is possible when reading them to imagine that they are indeed supplying us with information that the original stories left out. Here are a few of the stories Watson could not publish. Here are explanations of how Watson sold his doctor’s surgery so easily, and why Holmes could live abroad so long when he was thought to be dead.
There is nothing profound here, but there wasn’t in the original stories either. In the end though they are rather like the fake jewellery passed around by the crooks Holmes meets. What I need as a reader is the genuine article.
I imagine the problem is one of over-familiarity with the original stories, and with many imitative mysteries. We have become so used to second-guessing detective stories that it has become easier to return to Conan Doyle and work out his puzzles, while modern writers try to heap enigmas onto riddles in a bid to keep the reader guessing.
As this volume shows, the art of trying to write a traditional Sherlock Holmes story is not as easy as Conan Doyle makes it look. The stories are by no means dreadful, and yet they somehow lack the creative spark of the original author.
This is surprising since the writers are clearly obsessed with Sherlock Holmes minutiae and approach the subject with the same obscure enthusiasm that Holmes uses to write a paper on the motets of an obscure composer.
David Stuart Davies (the book’s editor) is careful to choose stories that do not break the rules too much. Watson will not solve a case. Holmes will not prove to be Moriarty. Supernatural phenomena will not prove to be real. Lestrade will not be murdered. And so on. There will also be plenty of fog in these stories. Lots of fog.
That is not to say that there are not one or two attempts to beat Conan Doyle at his own game. Sadly these are the weaker stories. A sequel to The Sussex Vampire is an audacious idea, but the solution is just a little too far-fetched. An attempt to explain what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls only leaves an inconclusive finish.
Otherwise the stories attempt to recreate the originals, with only one narrative that is not supplied by Watson. Conan Doyle stories are often alluded to, and the mysterious tales Conan Doyle mentioned but did not tell are referenced. Sadly none of the writers attempt to tell us about the giant rat of Sumatra, or the worm in the matchbox of a kind never seen before that was found by a madman, or the story behind the politician, the trained cormorant and the lighthouse.
There are some of the bold deductions that Holmes often makes, but occasionally they seem more tenuous than the ones Conan Doyle would have had his detective make. At other times, Holmes investigates in a procedural manner that would have produced an equally good result for a Lestrade.
One curious running theme in a few of the stories is the possible impact that Watson’s published accounts might have on the work of Holmes. Could they inspire copycats? Might someone take on Holmes using tricks to lure him in that they learned from the stories? Would an elderly Holmes need to read Watson’s stories to remind himself what happened, and would he belatedly find them helpful?
Sometimes though the relationship between Holmes and Watson seems more fractious than in the original stories. Holmes is more insensitive and even insulting than he is in Conan Doyle’s stories. In one tale, Watson shows professional jealousy, and tries too hard to out-Holmes Holmes. He fails badly of course, and this makes him only appear doltish. Still this is better than falling asleep on the job, as he does in another story.
Holmes alternates here between spates of kindness, and levels of coldness that exceed those in the original stories. He is impatient with clients, and more easily disappointed before he has heard the full story. Sometimes his range of interests seem a little too extended for a man who never wanted to learn anything that did not help him with his job.
Would Holmes really quote Shakespeare, for example? How much knowledge of heraldry do we imagine Holmes had, and would he really care that much about helping two amiable posh siblings to win a dispute over the right to put a coat of arms over their home?
In another story, Holmes is asked to substitute fake jewellery for real jewellery supposedly to appease the customer to whom the thief is selling the item, but at no point does Holmes ask the obvious question whether his client is being genuine, or is in fact the real thief? Should this not be investigated before proceeding? Fortunately for Holmes, his client is honest.
Still the basic tics and detailed allusions are here, so it is possible when reading them to imagine that they are indeed supplying us with information that the original stories left out. Here are a few of the stories Watson could not publish. Here are explanations of how Watson sold his doctor’s surgery so easily, and why Holmes could live abroad so long when he was thought to be dead.
There is nothing profound here, but there wasn’t in the original stories either. In the end though they are rather like the fake jewellery passed around by the crooks Holmes meets. What I need as a reader is the genuine article.
July 11, 2020
A collection of 20 new short stories featuring Holmes and Watson. Each are well written and would fit well into the Holmes canon and would also make good source material for television adaptations. At 400 pages and with small print it did take me longer to read than I was expecting.
September 28, 2012
This collection is described by the editor as “… a new batch of twenty adventures … to fascinate and entertain you.” The recent appearances of several assemblages of Sherlockian tales constructed around one theme or another have tended to jade the palates of Sherlockians for specialized sorts of mysteries. Without citing any particular example, I have noted, and reviewed, a number of specialized collections in recent times to the point that the appearance of a solid ‘clump’ of Sherlockian entertainment is a welcome arrival. Unfortunately, the Publisher has not seen fit to include credits for earlier publications of many of the included items.
The tales published here for the first time include two well executed stories by Matthew Booth, “The Tragedy of Saxon’s Gate” and “The Dragon of Lea Lane.” One of three included by the editor, his “The Adventure of the Whitrow inheritance,” introduces a particularly cheeky villain. A new effort by M. J. Elliot, “The Adventure of the Forgetful Assassin,” describes a new and unique murder weapon. Rafe McGregor’s “The Long Man” is a chilling echo of a real-life occurrence. Two new tales by Chrisopher Sequeira. “The Return of the Sussex Vampire” And “The Adventure of the Haunted Showman,” both point up the effect of Watson’s story telling on Holmes’ practice. The single new entry of three by Denis O. Smith, “The Adventure of the Brown Box,” is a classic Sherlockian tale. Two efforts by Mark Valentine complete the list of new tales, “The Adventure of the Green Skull” highlights one of the horrors of Nineteenth Century Industrialism and, “Jerusalem Keep,” written with the help of John Howard, employs Sherlock Holmes, Antiquarian, as an expert witness in a unique court.
Old favorites reprinted here include a selection of hard-to-get items. Two by Davies, “Sherlock Holmes and the Ghost of Christmas Past,” from The Strand, and “Sherlock Holmes and the Reichenbach Secret” from Sherlock magazine, have only been available in old magazines. Now Mr. Gulli, of The Strand, and Mr. Davies, of Sherlock, no doubt have copies available, but they are hard for the rest of us to find. M. J. Elliot’s “The Adventure of the Hanging Tyrant” appeared in Curious Incidents II and John Hall’s “The Adventure of the Christmas Bauble” was only to be found in another back issue of Sherlock Magazine. On the other hand, his “The Disappearance of the Cutter Alicia” appeared first in The Shoso-In Bulletin and was later reprinted in The Strand Magazine.
Denis O. Smith’s “The North Walk Mystery” and “The Adventure of the Richmond Horror” both appeared in editions of Sherlock Magazine, but ‘North Walk’ was also published in Volume 4 of Smith’s Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes. Allen Stockwell’s “The Adventure of the Intermittent Jig-Saw Puzzle” originally appeared in the second edition of his The Singular Adventures of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, but not in the first. In addition, there it was titled simply “The Intermittent Jig-Saw Puzzle.” Both of June Thomson’s tales, “The Case of the Vanishing Barque” and “The Case of the Gustafsson Stone,” originally appeared in her The Secret Notebooks of Sherlock Holmes.
I believe we may conclude that the editor has succeeded in his goal
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones; April, 2008.
The tales published here for the first time include two well executed stories by Matthew Booth, “The Tragedy of Saxon’s Gate” and “The Dragon of Lea Lane.” One of three included by the editor, his “The Adventure of the Whitrow inheritance,” introduces a particularly cheeky villain. A new effort by M. J. Elliot, “The Adventure of the Forgetful Assassin,” describes a new and unique murder weapon. Rafe McGregor’s “The Long Man” is a chilling echo of a real-life occurrence. Two new tales by Chrisopher Sequeira. “The Return of the Sussex Vampire” And “The Adventure of the Haunted Showman,” both point up the effect of Watson’s story telling on Holmes’ practice. The single new entry of three by Denis O. Smith, “The Adventure of the Brown Box,” is a classic Sherlockian tale. Two efforts by Mark Valentine complete the list of new tales, “The Adventure of the Green Skull” highlights one of the horrors of Nineteenth Century Industrialism and, “Jerusalem Keep,” written with the help of John Howard, employs Sherlock Holmes, Antiquarian, as an expert witness in a unique court.
Old favorites reprinted here include a selection of hard-to-get items. Two by Davies, “Sherlock Holmes and the Ghost of Christmas Past,” from The Strand, and “Sherlock Holmes and the Reichenbach Secret” from Sherlock magazine, have only been available in old magazines. Now Mr. Gulli, of The Strand, and Mr. Davies, of Sherlock, no doubt have copies available, but they are hard for the rest of us to find. M. J. Elliot’s “The Adventure of the Hanging Tyrant” appeared in Curious Incidents II and John Hall’s “The Adventure of the Christmas Bauble” was only to be found in another back issue of Sherlock Magazine. On the other hand, his “The Disappearance of the Cutter Alicia” appeared first in The Shoso-In Bulletin and was later reprinted in The Strand Magazine.
Denis O. Smith’s “The North Walk Mystery” and “The Adventure of the Richmond Horror” both appeared in editions of Sherlock Magazine, but ‘North Walk’ was also published in Volume 4 of Smith’s Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes. Allen Stockwell’s “The Adventure of the Intermittent Jig-Saw Puzzle” originally appeared in the second edition of his The Singular Adventures of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, but not in the first. In addition, there it was titled simply “The Intermittent Jig-Saw Puzzle.” Both of June Thomson’s tales, “The Case of the Vanishing Barque” and “The Case of the Gustafsson Stone,” originally appeared in her The Secret Notebooks of Sherlock Holmes.
I believe we may conclude that the editor has succeeded in his goal
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones; April, 2008.
November 20, 2010
A great selection of new Sherlock Holmes stories.
Considering the variety of authors, this selection forms a remarkably cohesive set stylistically. It is very faithful to Arthur Conan Doyle's original writings, and, for the most part, provides entirely plausible (and rather clever) additions to the lives and adventures of Holmes and Watson. There are a number of references to the original stories which help contextualise the characters and adventures in a pleasing way.
There are occasions when, in my opinion, the plots stray slightly too far into speculation -- the last story, concerning Moriarty's identity and demise, is a particular example. However, they are still very interesting and worthwhile reads; and the speculation can actually be very stimulating if you don't mind sacrificing a little authenticity!
Highly recommended to Holmes fans. Naturally though, I would always recommend that new Holmes readers start out with the original stories before reading this book.
Considering the variety of authors, this selection forms a remarkably cohesive set stylistically. It is very faithful to Arthur Conan Doyle's original writings, and, for the most part, provides entirely plausible (and rather clever) additions to the lives and adventures of Holmes and Watson. There are a number of references to the original stories which help contextualise the characters and adventures in a pleasing way.
There are occasions when, in my opinion, the plots stray slightly too far into speculation -- the last story, concerning Moriarty's identity and demise, is a particular example. However, they are still very interesting and worthwhile reads; and the speculation can actually be very stimulating if you don't mind sacrificing a little authenticity!
Highly recommended to Holmes fans. Naturally though, I would always recommend that new Holmes readers start out with the original stories before reading this book.
December 31, 2014
Simply the worst collection of Sherlock Holmes stories I have ever (attempted to) read. Some passable stories are surrounded by dreck. I have no idea how most of these stories were selected, or, worse still, selected en mass. I feel sorry for the good to passable authors. They're outnumbered and outgunned.
The point where I gave up on anything good in this collection (and continued on in grim fascination) was the story which put forward the idea that the elderly Watson, for no clear reason, became a Bolshevik, an atheist, and such a strident anti-spiritualist that he cut all ties with Conan Doyle after a row.
Is this the canonical Watson by any stretch of the imagination?
The rest, though less absurd, is no better. Stay away; read virtually any book of short stories instead.
The point where I gave up on anything good in this collection (and continued on in grim fascination) was the story which put forward the idea that the elderly Watson, for no clear reason, became a Bolshevik, an atheist, and such a strident anti-spiritualist that he cut all ties with Conan Doyle after a row.
Is this the canonical Watson by any stretch of the imagination?
The rest, though less absurd, is no better. Stay away; read virtually any book of short stories instead.
April 20, 2014
An entertaining pot-pourri of modern Sherlock Holmes stories. As might be expected with a collection of this sort, the quality is variable, but in only a couple of the stories did I feel that it was really below par. There are also some crackers - June Thomson's The Case of the Gufstasson Stone is a wonderfully gripping story of jewellery theft that puts Holmes and Watson in real jeopardy, and the editor's own The Reichenbach Secret sees the two friends wistfully recalling their glory days from Holmes's cottage by the sea in 1914, and revealing what really happened at the Reichenbach Falls. C
October 29, 2012
Was a little disapointed with this book as it claims on the front to be tales of mystery and the supernatural but only the first story could claim to have anything to do with supernatural elements at all.
The rest of the stories were ok but not really what I was looking for when I picked up this book.
The rest of the stories were ok but not really what I was looking for when I picked up this book.
August 3, 2012
A collection of mediocre to good stories, but the latter were slightly more. There were rehash of some old tropes, and some were re-writes of canonical classics. Nevertheless, the book is worthy of being read in gloomy evenings.
January 15, 2022
A mixed bag but true to form.
April 22, 2009
Probably the best collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiches I have read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews