Sherlock Holmes Never Dies

by Craig Stephen Copland

Return to Baker Street, where the world's most famous detective encounters six new cases that require his expert touch. London's super sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, sets out with longsuffering Watson as the detectives of Scotland Yard are stumped yet again. Blood coats the street of Victorian England, but no evidence is clear and no suspect cleared of guilt. As to be expected, evil genius-the Napoleon of Crime-Professor Moriarty soon reappears. The great detective must thwart his diabolical machinations, but even Holmes is practically brought to his knees by shocking new discoveries only he can understand. Despite Moriarty's conniving, Sherlock will use the science of deduction to unravel mysteries of theft, abduction, political intrigue, and murder. Female characters take much deserved center stage in these updated stories, no longer willing to play the part of hapless victim or jealous wife. Meanwhile, Holmes and Watson traipse the globe in search of justice. No guilty party is safe, no matter the distance, from the all-knowing eye of the world's best detective and his daring sidekick.

Genres: Classics, Mystery

688 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2015

Reviews

[Jimmy Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read hundreds of Sherlock Holmes stories over the years. Craig Stephen Copland's Sherlock is new and reflective. The stories read well and kept my interest. Plots were unique and unpredictable. If you are looking for a good leisurely read, I suggest you try Copland.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes Never Dies by Craig Stephen Copland includes 6 new reworkings of original Holmes stories. I found these stories to be fun and an interesting re-visioning of Sherlock Holmes. In particular I appreciated the increased autonomy of female characters rather than the usual flat characterizations. Certainly a modern touch, but a welcome one.

If you are looking for work that emulates Doyle closely I think you may be disappointed but I am not sure that was the intent anyway so is not a valid criticism of the book, simply a division between what some may want and what this work is offering. The whole apples and oranges thing. If, however, you like a reworking that shows respect for the original while being unapologetically different, then I think you will enjoy this. Additionally, those who haven't read Doyle's Holmes will enjoy these as mysteries.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.

[Robert Enzenauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig Stephen Copalnd quickly became my favorite of the nou·veau Sherlock Holmes fiction authors as I have read single paperback stories. So I have bought eacn of the anthologies, and will read them "in order" and forward them to my adult daughter who is also a great reader of fiction. SO finished with FIRST of the anthologies, and what a great collection of SIX stories that are great stand-alone tributes to the genius of Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle.

[Stephanie Atchison · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining and clever

I love the integration in of Holmes and Watson and well known literary characters which is funny but also very clever. We’ll done, my dear Copland!

[Carol Giacoletto-Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would enjoy reading this book as much as I did. A true masterpiece!

[Ken Bruss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed assortment of new SH mysteries

[Dr. Alex Ruelas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although interesting to read, I found this book rather disappointing. I cannot say why, but the stories just do not seem Sherlock Holmes stories. I find it extremely difficult to imagine Sherlock saying 'Frankly my dear, I do not give a damn', which is the phrase with which one of the stories in this book is finished. Or saying and doing many of the things he and Dr. Watson pursue in these stories in order to solve the cases they solve, such as finding the King of England in the loo and taking him out of there, with his trousers still down, in order to save his life, although this was not done by Sherlock but by two American youths helping the great detective ¡. Apart from these problems with the content of the stories I have to say that the edition of this book is appaling, there are countless spelling mistakes and in many instances there are words which certainly do not fit the flow of the sentences i.e. the for that, then for than, etc.
If you are a lover and admirer of the pristine beauty of the original Sherlock Homes stories, I do not recommend you to read this particular book.

[PDC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun for fans of Holmes and Watson.

There are many exciting adventures here that if Holmes and Watson could have lived them, they would have. A great read.

[Jack Boone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretentious hooey

This prose exercise drives home the difficulty in writing parody. It doesn't help that the stories are riddled with name-dropping either.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of 6 stories featuring the well-known character, Sherlock Holmes. The stories seemed well-written and well-researched and fairly close to the style and tone of the originals.

[Helen Kirk]

Sylvia read this book. I'm posting her review here as I didn't see the actual book listed on Goodreads. Hmm. Here it goes ...

Sherlock Holmes Never Dies is a collection of four short mystery crime tales written by Craig Stephen Copland, that will entertain you—slowly. Each is a stand-alone narrative which runs approximately 30K words; all in keeping with Sherlock Holmes’ style; they are set in Europe around the late 1800’s.

The first story, The Cuckhold Man, is about a jerk military man who seeks Holmes’ services to locate his missing wife. The pace is fairly slow as Holmes interrogates a variety of suspects. Holmes wraps up his investigation with a bow and gives us a very satisfying ending which includes the jerk being put in his place.

The second novella entitled, The Impatient Dissidents is different from the first story as a terrorist throws a bomb into czar Alexander II’s horse drawn carriage—killing him. It’s up to Holmes and his sidekick, Watson, to find the murderer. This plot dragged a bit more in this story than the first, though excitement is high as the authorities chase their man wielding guns.

Holmes attends a medical lecture about the hearts and minds of soldiers, in the third story. Afterwards, upon visiting a veteran’s hospital, Holmes’ curiosity propels him to assist an exceptional soldier whose memory has failed him. Soon enough there are too many murders to keep track of and Holmes is in deep and digging for the truth. The Grecian Earned is a confusing story.

In The Naval Knaves, Holmes arranges an interview with a carpenter from Budapest to do some woodwork for a restaurant he is starting up. The carpenter didn’t make it, he was killed in his carriage. Holmes sets out to find the murderer in a long drawn out investigation. He uncovers a surprising twist and we learn the man did not die for nothing.

These bite-sized stories are great and this book is good bathroom reading material for mystery lovers. With no sex or profanity these stories employ plenty of violence to keep to keep your attention. I didn’t love Sherlock Homes Never Dies. I found it confusing. Not only the myriad killings, but the titles and subtitles ran together in my mind making remembering the stories rather difficult. It’s even confusing to look this book up on Amazon as the full title is: Sherlock Holmes Never Dies: Collection Six: New Sherlock Homes Mysteries Boxed Sets. Not to be confused with: Sherlock Homes Never Dies: Six New Adventures of the World’s Greatest Detective. This not my favorite book, but I did like it okay. I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.