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Secret Sherlock Holmes #3
Sherlock Holmes: The Secret Journals
Secrets, suspense, and conspiracy. London through the eyes of the great Sherlock HolmesAs Dr Watson’s old manuscripts, deliberately unpublished to protect the names of those they concern, are released into the public, a multitude of previously unseen cases are revealed. An American millionaire receives threatening letters from a sinister Black Hand... A mysterious box terrifies a shop keeper... Holmes and Watson feel the influence of an old enemy from beyond the grave... And a tragedy occurs which Sherlock Holmes will never be able to forgive himself for failing to prevent.From the smoky streets of London to a countryside mental institution, the renowned detective and his faithful sidekick Watson must use all their cunning skills to solve this array of mysteries. With murders, madness and diamonds abound, June Thomson continues the Holmes canon with a brilliance and ingenuity that perfectly captures where Conan Doyle left off.JUNE THOMSON, a former teacher, has published over thirty novels, twenty of which feature her series detective Inspector Jack Finch and his sergeant, Tom Boyce. She has also written six pastiche collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Her books have been translated into many languages. June Thomson lives in St Albans, Hertfordshire.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 1994
20 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
June Thomson
70 books21 followersJune Thomson, a former teacher, has published 24 crime novels, 18 of which feature Detective Chief Inspector Jack Finch and his sergeant, Tom Boyce. She has also written six short story collections of Sherlock Holmes pastiches. Her books have been translated into many languages. She lives in St Albans in Hertfordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 23, 2025
These are up there with the best of the Sherlock Holmes pastiches. The voice of Dr Watson does ring true to the original. I really enjoyed rereading these stories.
January 27, 2016
Quite good - and tie in nicely with the canon
August 23, 2025
That very rarest of literary finds: a collection of new Sherlock Holmes adventures without a single dud.
September 21, 2019
In recent years several authors have written pastiches of the Sherlock Holmes stories. This is the best I have come across. The author has taken hints from the canon of investigations which Dr. Watson recorded but, for one reason or another, did not publish. She has expanded these hints into full stories and in so doing has caught the flavour of Conan Doyle's style extremely well. The stories purport to have been edited and written by a descendant of the original Watson, a Dr. John F Watson. There are numerous footnotes, many explaining the references of the stories now published, from which it's reasonable to assume that the later Dr. Watson is a rather pedantic gentleman!
June 24, 2021
Sherlock Holmes missing cases a truly great read.
This book brings into your cannon knowledge the story’s of the missing cases, all capturing the essence of the era and the duos capers in and around London and beyond. Some truly engaging and very entertaining stories. Makes you want to read the next collection.
This book brings into your cannon knowledge the story’s of the missing cases, all capturing the essence of the era and the duos capers in and around London and beyond. Some truly engaging and very entertaining stories. Makes you want to read the next collection.
February 27, 2022
Very good indeed. The closest to the 'tone' of the ACD originals that I have found so far.
She has written three other collections that I have also downloaded.
She has written three other collections that I have also downloaded.
April 13, 2022
Decent pastiche of the Holmes tales. Thomson does a good job finding Watson's voice. Nothing special, but an enjoyable read for fans of the original stories.
May 6, 2025
This book brings into your canon knowledge the story’s of the missing cases, the author has taken hints from the canon of investigations which Dr. Watson recorded but, for one reason or another, did not publish , with that she capture the essence of the era and the duos capers in and around London and beyond. She has expanded these hints into full stories and in so doing has caught the flavour of Conan Doyle's style extremely well. Some truly engaging and very entertaining stories. Makes you want to read the next collection.
There are numerous footnotes, many explaining the references of the stories now published, from which it's reasonable to assume that the later Dr. Watson is a rather pedantic gentleman.To have a Sherlock series that is well developed , easy to read , is true to the canon and the mysteries are enjoyable.
There are numerous footnotes, many explaining the references of the stories now published, from which it's reasonable to assume that the later Dr. Watson is a rather pedantic gentleman.To have a Sherlock series that is well developed , easy to read , is true to the canon and the mysteries are enjoyable.
October 17, 2023
What a great fine. To have a Sherlock series that is well developed , easy to read , is true to the canon and the mysteries are enjoyable.
This is the first one I have read by Thomson , but I have just ordered four more.
Seven stories running about 40 pages each. I like the fact she doesn’t over load with to many characters.
This is the first one I have read by Thomson , but I have just ordered four more.
Seven stories running about 40 pages each. I like the fact she doesn’t over load with to many characters.
March 27, 2024
Another small collection of seven short tales well worthy of the four stars. The stories ranged from good to great, I especially enjoyed "The Case of the Shopkeeper's Terror" and "The Case of the Colonel's Madness", so, all in all a satisfying read.
April 28, 2020
Just not Conan Doyle...
February 9, 2017
THE SECRET JOURNALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES is a straightforward collection of pastiches by author June Thomson. The best thing about these tales is that they're very carefully written to tie into the original chronology of the Conan Doyle efforts and the period details are exceptionally researched. The main characters are also carefully constructed as to fit with their depictions in the originals. Saying that, these stories do lack a crucial spark of greatness and inevitably they're not a patch on the Conan Doyle tales.
THE CASE OF THE MILLIONAIRE'S PERSECUTION is about a rich American who receives a series of death threats in the post, all of them marked with a black fingerprint. It sets the tone for the rest of the book and contains some vintage thrills although the solution is a little contrived. THE CASE OF THE COLONEL'S MADNESS is worse, about an old army friend of Watson's wrongly imprisoned in an asylum. The events described are just too routine to grab the reader's attention.
THE CASE OF THE ADDLETON TRAGEDY is set on Bodmin Moor and more interesting. An archaeologist's life is in danger and Holmes must intervene. The conspiracy stuff is fun but the tale lacks decent atmosphere and the story seems suspended in limbo as a result. THE CASE OF THE SHOPKEEPER'S TERROR tells of an old shopkeeper whom Holmes discovers cowering inside his own store, in fear for his life. There's little mystery here, just an underwhelming plot to propel the story.
THE CASE OF THE FRIESLAND OUTRAGE is about a wealthy man who is apparently kidnapped from on board a ship. There's a neat twist halfway through which lifts the tale even though the subsequent solution is a little pat. It's one of the better stories though, unlike THE CASE OF THE SMITH-MORTIMER SUCCESSION which is about a solicitor's client whose body is found beneath a bush. This one is fast-paced but has a remarkably obvious solution and an overdose of red herrings. The last story is THE CASE OF THE MAUPERTUIS SCANDAL and about a European fraudster who is using a stolen stash of diamonds as bait to swindle aristocrats across the continent. It's the best of the bunch, with an adversary who finally proves a match for Holmes and a tough plot providing thrills at every turn. A shame, really, that the rest of the stories don't have the same level of sophistication as this one.
THE CASE OF THE MILLIONAIRE'S PERSECUTION is about a rich American who receives a series of death threats in the post, all of them marked with a black fingerprint. It sets the tone for the rest of the book and contains some vintage thrills although the solution is a little contrived. THE CASE OF THE COLONEL'S MADNESS is worse, about an old army friend of Watson's wrongly imprisoned in an asylum. The events described are just too routine to grab the reader's attention.
THE CASE OF THE ADDLETON TRAGEDY is set on Bodmin Moor and more interesting. An archaeologist's life is in danger and Holmes must intervene. The conspiracy stuff is fun but the tale lacks decent atmosphere and the story seems suspended in limbo as a result. THE CASE OF THE SHOPKEEPER'S TERROR tells of an old shopkeeper whom Holmes discovers cowering inside his own store, in fear for his life. There's little mystery here, just an underwhelming plot to propel the story.
THE CASE OF THE FRIESLAND OUTRAGE is about a wealthy man who is apparently kidnapped from on board a ship. There's a neat twist halfway through which lifts the tale even though the subsequent solution is a little pat. It's one of the better stories though, unlike THE CASE OF THE SMITH-MORTIMER SUCCESSION which is about a solicitor's client whose body is found beneath a bush. This one is fast-paced but has a remarkably obvious solution and an overdose of red herrings. The last story is THE CASE OF THE MAUPERTUIS SCANDAL and about a European fraudster who is using a stolen stash of diamonds as bait to swindle aristocrats across the continent. It's the best of the bunch, with an adversary who finally proves a match for Holmes and a tough plot providing thrills at every turn. A shame, really, that the rest of the stories don't have the same level of sophistication as this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2013
Hmmmm.......
These tales, written by June Thomson, are in some ways pretty good.....but there are 2 major problems I had with them.
To deal with the positives first: The characterisation is very good, & (Unlike Anthony Horowitz, who's "The House of Silk" I reviewed some time ago), she has "got" Watson: our chronicler comes across as authentic, as indeed does Holmes. The cases are well-thought out, and do seem to follow Conan Doyle's ways of writing well.
However.....I think the pacing is off: Conan Doyle's tales were fast-paced, and some of these come over as a little too leisurely- there is little of the urgency of the original stories here. Secondly, the footnotes....! Virtually every page seemed to have a footnote, all of which were clunkingly written! These soon started to annoy me hugely, & the book would be much improved without them.
So... a good effort, but needs work. Secondhand or library.
These tales, written by June Thomson, are in some ways pretty good.....but there are 2 major problems I had with them.
To deal with the positives first: The characterisation is very good, & (Unlike Anthony Horowitz, who's "The House of Silk" I reviewed some time ago), she has "got" Watson: our chronicler comes across as authentic, as indeed does Holmes. The cases are well-thought out, and do seem to follow Conan Doyle's ways of writing well.
However.....I think the pacing is off: Conan Doyle's tales were fast-paced, and some of these come over as a little too leisurely- there is little of the urgency of the original stories here. Secondly, the footnotes....! Virtually every page seemed to have a footnote, all of which were clunkingly written! These soon started to annoy me hugely, & the book would be much improved without them.
So... a good effort, but needs work. Secondhand or library.
June 6, 2015
I loved reading this book because I liked the way that every single short story was different and it had its own suspense throughout these stories. I also liked the way that the stories were written with a more of a Victorian way of writing with Victorian words used rather than modern words. As a reader I felt like I could see everything that John Watson witnessed and I loved the way that June Thomson wrote the stories like that, so that the reader could have that experience.
I strongly recommend this to anyone that likes the Sherlock movies (starring RDJ) and the BBC Sherlock series (starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman). But I think that the original stories will be better, and I can't wait to read them.
I strongly recommend this to anyone that likes the Sherlock movies (starring RDJ) and the BBC Sherlock series (starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman). But I think that the original stories will be better, and I can't wait to read them.
July 13, 2014
The 3rd book in Secret Sherlock Holmes series by June Thomson will not disappoint fans of Holmes and Watson, who have read her other works, viz. Secret Archives of Sherlock Holmes and Secret Notebooks of Sherlock Holmes.
Written with the same flair as the other two, here readers may obtain closure on the cases of Colonel Warbuton's madness, the one on Friesland, and Smith-Mortimer Succession case. The Maupertuis Scandal case and the Shopkeeper's Terror case could have been better done, IMO, but it nonetheless thrills the reader.
A good read...
Written with the same flair as the other two, here readers may obtain closure on the cases of Colonel Warbuton's madness, the one on Friesland, and Smith-Mortimer Succession case. The Maupertuis Scandal case and the Shopkeeper's Terror case could have been better done, IMO, but it nonetheless thrills the reader.
A good read...
August 20, 2012
Circulo de Leitores
March 6, 2015
Very true to canon, but a bit flat and talky in execution at times.
October 21, 2015
Why is Holmes referred to as "my old friend" on almost every page? It is very repetitive. Some of the stories were quite good though.
January 8, 2017
Good fun. I especially liked the footnotes tying the stories to the original adventures.
May 26, 2014
Not as good as originals, but still enjoyable tales
December 12, 2015
disappointing. Think I was put off by the ton of footnotes on everypage.
Read
May 9, 2017In a way, they're solid enough Holmes stories but they lack.. something. I didn't find a single one particularly memorable, and likely won't read this again.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews