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The Dispatch-Box of John H. Watson MD #4
Without My Boswell: Five Early Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Before John Watson had his fateful encounter with the eccentric beater of corpses at Barts, there was a consulting detective by the name of Sherlock Holmes, who had already built up a practice and a reputation that extended to Scotland Yard. However much he may have felt lost without his Boswell later in his career, Holmes was playing a solo game when he started out.
Here are five cases which helped to establish Sherlock Holmes in his career as the world's first consulting detective, all of which are mentioned by name in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:
The Tarleton Murders
The Case of Vamberry the Wine Merchant
The Singular Affair of the Aluminium Crutch
The Case of the Aboninable Wife
The Adventure of the Two Bottles
Here are five cases which helped to establish Sherlock Holmes in his career as the world's first consulting detective, all of which are mentioned by name in the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:
The Tarleton Murders
The Case of Vamberry the Wine Merchant
The Singular Affair of the Aluminium Crutch
The Case of the Aboninable Wife
The Adventure of the Two Bottles
- GenresMystery
142 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 11, 2014
2 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Hugh Ashton
68 books65 followersHugh Ashton was born in the UK in 1956. After graduating from the University of Cambridge, he worked in a variety of jobs, including security guard, publisher's assistant, and running an independent record label, before coming to rest in the field of information technology, where he assisted perplexed users of computers and wrote explanations to guide them through the problems they encountered.
A long-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988; writing instruction manuals for a variety of consumer products, assisting with IT-related projects at banks and financial institutions, and researching and writing industry reports on the Japanese and Asian financial industries, and writing promotional material for international business publications.
He has recently returned to the UK, and now lives in the cathedral city of Lichfield with his wife, Yoshiko.
He has recently published many volumes of highly-acclaimed Sherlock Holmes pastiches (the Deed Box and Dispatch-box series) with Inknbeans Press of California, with some reviewers hailing him as the re-incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition, the list of his thrillers currently includes: At the Sharpe End, featuring an expatriate consultant living in Tokyo, Kenneth Sharpe, who finds himself thrust into a world of violence and high finance; Leo's Luck, a story of rock 'n' roll, crime, romance, and the paranormal; and Balance of Powers, set against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis.
His historical works include: Beneath Gray Skies, an alternative history in which the American Civil War was never fought; Red Wheels Turning, set in an alternative Russia of 1917; and The Untime and The Untijme Revisited, Verne-ian 19th-century steampunk science fiction novels.
Children's books include the Sherlock Ferret series about the world's cutest detective, delightfully illustrated by Andy Boerger.
The collection of short stories Tales of Old Japanese describes some of the endearing characteristics of today's "silver generation" of Japan.
A long-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988; writing instruction manuals for a variety of consumer products, assisting with IT-related projects at banks and financial institutions, and researching and writing industry reports on the Japanese and Asian financial industries, and writing promotional material for international business publications.
He has recently returned to the UK, and now lives in the cathedral city of Lichfield with his wife, Yoshiko.
He has recently published many volumes of highly-acclaimed Sherlock Holmes pastiches (the Deed Box and Dispatch-box series) with Inknbeans Press of California, with some reviewers hailing him as the re-incarnation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition, the list of his thrillers currently includes: At the Sharpe End, featuring an expatriate consultant living in Tokyo, Kenneth Sharpe, who finds himself thrust into a world of violence and high finance; Leo's Luck, a story of rock 'n' roll, crime, romance, and the paranormal; and Balance of Powers, set against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis.
His historical works include: Beneath Gray Skies, an alternative history in which the American Civil War was never fought; Red Wheels Turning, set in an alternative Russia of 1917; and The Untime and The Untijme Revisited, Verne-ian 19th-century steampunk science fiction novels.
Children's books include the Sherlock Ferret series about the world's cutest detective, delightfully illustrated by Andy Boerger.
The collection of short stories Tales of Old Japanese describes some of the endearing characteristics of today's "silver generation" of Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 21, 2017
I may be the biggest supporter of Mr Hugh Ashton's pastiches out there, but this is a weak collection. The writing was winding, the plot development lacked excitement, and just when I wanted to know more about the characters, they ended and I had to ask myself, "is this really Hugh Ashton?!" O_o I DNF the last story.
Today I learned what "butt" is in Japanese.
Today I learned what "butt" is in Japanese.
August 31, 2016
This book is an anthology of five stories about the early career of Sherlock Holmes before he met John Watson.
Each one is based on a case mentioned in passing in the canon.
I will say here and now that Hugh Ashton is, quite possibly, the best Sherlock Holmes pastiche writer around. His stories feel as if they were written by Arthur Conan Doyle himself. Holmes and Watson remain perfectly in character, and the strength of their friendship simply shines.
Highly recommended to all Sherlock Holmes aficionados.
Each one is based on a case mentioned in passing in the canon.
I will say here and now that Hugh Ashton is, quite possibly, the best Sherlock Holmes pastiche writer around. His stories feel as if they were written by Arthur Conan Doyle himself. Holmes and Watson remain perfectly in character, and the strength of their friendship simply shines.
Highly recommended to all Sherlock Holmes aficionados.
April 14, 2015
I really enjoyed these short stories by Hugh Ashton. He writes some of the best Sherlock Holmes stories that are being written right now. This collection of stories, which are 5 stories, are based on cases that Holmes worked on before he met Watson.
What makes these stories so interesting, each story is based on a case that Holmes mentions to Watson in the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Out of the five stories in this collection, the one that I would pick as my favorite was the final story, where Holmes tells Watson the story behind this saying from "The Sign of Four," :the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance money." It is a gripping story, that your not really sure, who turns out to be the woman who killed the three little kids, until Holmes reveals it at the end.
What makes these stories so interesting, each story is based on a case that Holmes mentions to Watson in the original Sherlock Holmes stories. Out of the five stories in this collection, the one that I would pick as my favorite was the final story, where Holmes tells Watson the story behind this saying from "The Sign of Four," :the most winning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance money." It is a gripping story, that your not really sure, who turns out to be the woman who killed the three little kids, until Holmes reveals it at the end.
June 18, 2019
Hugh Ashton has been generally authoring good non-canonical Sherlock Holmes' books. And this one is no different.
Consisting of 5 different cases from Holmes' pre-Watson days, each of a different flavour and texture - from the light-hearted to the gruesome, all the cases are a delight to read. They show Holmes in a new light, back to the days when he was just learning to become the world's foremost consulting detective, and am sure Doyle would have approved of these.
A definite recommend to fans of Holmes!
Consisting of 5 different cases from Holmes' pre-Watson days, each of a different flavour and texture - from the light-hearted to the gruesome, all the cases are a delight to read. They show Holmes in a new light, back to the days when he was just learning to become the world's foremost consulting detective, and am sure Doyle would have approved of these.
A definite recommend to fans of Holmes!
November 21, 2023
Yet another Hugh Ashton, each of 5 the short stories as good as the previous story with titles eluded to the the Musgrave Ritual. All set before December 1881, before Watson and before 221b Baker Street - as indicated by the title. Read this set in an afternoon.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews