The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars

Fergus O'Breen Mysteries #2

by Anthony Boucher

A Sherlock Holmes script sparks controversy and murder in Hollywood in a “most engrossing mystery” from the author of Nine Times Nine (The New Yorker).   Anthony Boucher was a literary renaissance an Edgar Award–winning mystery reviewer, an esteemed editor of the Hugo Award–winning Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, a prolific scriptwriter of radio mystery programs, and an accomplished writer of mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. With a particular fondness for the locked room mystery, Boucher created such iconic sleuths as Los Angeles PI Fergus O’Breen, amateur sleuth Sister Ursula, and alcoholic ex-cop Nick Noble.   When Metropolis Pictures announces plans to make a movie out of an Arthur Conan Doyle classic, it triggers outrage from a group of Sherlock Holmes fans called the Baker Street Irregulars. In hopes of calming their protest, the studio invites the five members to advise on the film, and even throws them a celebration in a house numbered 221B.   Also on the guest list is Los Angeles police detective A. Jackson. He was hoping to spend his night off hanging out at a Hollywood party with his brother, Paul, the famous actor. Instead he finds himself in one of the most bizarre murder cases he’s ever encountered, complete with cryptograms and a disappearing corpse, all of which results in a “delightfully farcical narrative, which offers a surprise on nearly every page” (The New York Times Book Review).  

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Classics, 20th Century, Detective, Adult

331 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

William Anthony Parker White, better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher, was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas. Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym "H. H. Holmes", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it " Herman W. Mudgett" (the murderer's real name).
In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel Nine Times Nine was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time.

Reviews

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This belongs to the genre I think of as"bizarrely whimsical mysteries," mostly written in the 30s and 40s, by authors like Boucher and John Dickson Carr. I generally like them, but this one really tested me. The set-up is fun: a group of Sherlock Homes fanatics are upset that a hard-boiled crime author has been signed by Metropolis Pictures to write a film of The Adventure of the Speckled Band, so as a PR move, the studio boss invites five of them to come to Hollywood to keep an eye on the production. Right off the bat, the writer is found dead in the house the five are sharing. So far, so good. But halfway through the book, the five go off on "bizarrely whimsical" adventures that seem tied only loosely to the Holmes movie-murder contretemps. And the book lost me. I finished it, and half the wrap-up was satisfying, but half was not. It's a fast read, but not Boucher's best.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are pastiches of the canon. There are stories hinting at various untold adventures of the Great Detective, while being as different from the canon as possible. And then there is this book. Anthony Boucher, whose literary output deserves a lot more attention than it gets, had created a masterpiece of Sherlockiana in this novel. The gist of the story can be found nearly everywhere. But unless you read this book (and the chronicles of Baker Street Irregulars), it wouldn't be possible to gauge the intelligent manner in which threads of every possible colour (whims & passion of those who were privileged enough to become members of BSI, wartime conspiracy, Hollywood, murder-mystery, police-procedural, locked-room mystery, romance, lots & lots of dry humour & wit) were woven together on the matrix of the canon, to weave a tapestry that is indispensable for any lover of Sherlockiana. The book is sadly out-of-print, and this should be remedied by the good publishing houses who have given us many a lost classic back, in recent times. Highly Recommended.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic Sherlock Holmes inspired mystery that uses character names and storylines from ACD's work in a Golden Age story set around a Hollywood movie. The Baker Street Irregulars, a real-life Holmes scholarly fan club, are brought in to advise on the project, and murder and mayhem ensue. We are treated to a wacky cast of characters, zany adventures, and a police force trying to keep up with it all. A breezy read with well-developed plotting and characters, this was a delight.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found this on the shelf after I just recently became aware of the fact that the person who Bouchercon is named after actually reviewed mysteries and also wrote them. (I have so much to learn in life!) Unfortunately, I would not race out to find other titles by him. I always feel the need to finish titles, and while the beginning of this was interesting, it just did not carry through for me. The middle, with all sorts of Holmesian allusions and connections dragged and had to be gotten through. Maybe readers who are much more familiar with Sherlockiana would appreciate. And perhaps I should try a different title before I decide to abandon Boucher, who by the way, wrote some titles under the pseudonym of Henry Holmes, the Chicago serial killer of Devil in the White City fame.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gem is part of a series of "American Mystery Classics," and that's just about right. A 1940's mega-movie studio, receiving too many complaints about the author picked to adopt Doyle's story "The Speckled Band," hits on the idea of inviting some of the Baker Street Irregulars to Hollywood to act as advisors, not that the writer, obnoxious Stephen Worth, is going to listen to them. Thus the strange group--including a refugee Austrian judge, a retired physician, a college professor, and a self-effacing novelist end up staying in a rented house, chaperoned (on and off) by the studio publicity girl, a police lieutenant, and a housekeeper remarkably named Mrs. Hudson. When Worth vanishes, leaving only blood behind, each undergoes mysterious adventures--but each adventure points a finger at one of the others. That calls for the on-duty police to intervene, and you'll never guess the sergeant's name...

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bring all your “Holmesian” trivia and knowledge to the reading of this book…it will draw on all the quirks & details. Very clever.

[Karen A. Haunert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly charming

I had to read this. It was fate. I was sorting through a box of my father's Sherlockian verse and BSI memorabilia (he was a BSI) in preparation for selling our parents' house, when this book appeared among the new ebook acquisitions for the San Francisco Public Library. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is. This book is hilarious, which surprised me. You should be familiar with the Sherlock Holmes stories to get the references, but you don't have to be BSI-level crazy about Holmes to enjoy it. It's worth reading for the opening chapters' treatment of 1940 Hollywood alone (it hasn't changed much). I confess I figured out a couple things very early; Sherlock Holmes has had a strong effect on the modern detective story. But I did end up surprised at the end. Boucher wrote a detective novel that somehow salutes and lampoons the BSI at the same time, and while it is very much set in 1940 Hollywood, it is very lively and feels current at the same time.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well done

At first the monologues of what happened to each of them bugged me. It just seemed like a lot of words. But then they started to fit in as pieces. I was suspicious of who the murderer was early but the solution is brilliant.

[Teemu Öhman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murha 221B:ssä on Holmes-fanin kirja Holmes-faneille. Juoni perustuu Arthur Conan Doylen alkuperäisjuonien sovittamiseen Holmes-elokuvan tekoon sotkeutuvien Holmes-fanaatikkojen kiusaksi (ja kuolemaksi). Itse olen lukenut kaikki Holmes-tarinat useampaan kertaan, joten minulle juoni toimi, mutta voipi olla, että jos Holmes-kokemus perustuisi vaikkapa vain taannoiseen Sherlock-sarjaan tai Jeremy Brettin tähdittämän sarjan katsomiseen 1980-90-luvuilla, juoni olisi liian absurdi ja härö. Nyt iso ilo tuli loputtomien Holmes-viittausten hoksailusta.

Tätä on siis minun aika mahdotonta arvioida vain kirjana, koska tämä ei ole oikeastaan perinteinen kirja, vaan lukijan nokkeluus- ja muistitesti ja Anthony Boucherin oman oveluuden esittelyä. Sellaisena tämä toimi minulle erinomaisesti, mutta ymmärrän hyvin, jos jollain muulla tökkää pahemman kerran.

4,5/5

[Josh Hitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this is considered the granddaddy of Holmes pastiches, but I just couldn't get into it. The first part is all a waste because it's obvious and really after that who cares but really the last bit is fairly easy too. It's written well enough, but after a while, you just want it over with. Basically, someone who hates Holmes is writing a screenplay for a Holmes movie. The Baker Street Irregulars is a club of established men who are in love with the works of Doyle and don't want this unworthy to sully the name of Holmes. Finally, the studio decides to get five of them to overview the making of the film to keep the bad press down. However, there is a murder investigation involving the group, and they try and solve it with Holmesian deductions.

Can't really recommend it. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood since I enjoy Doyle and most of the Holmes pastiches I've read. However, this just sort plodded along, and I never liked anybody enough to care. Especially since the mystery really wasn't much of a mystery.

[Gabriele Crescenzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Boucher è certamente una delle personalità più significative del panorama giallo novecentesco. Lettore vorace, intellettuale raffinato ed eclettico, stimato critico prestatosi saltuariamente al mestiere di scrittore, con risultati tra l'altro eccelsi, come dimostrano capolavori quali "Nove volte nove" (1940) e "La chiave del delitto" (1941), Boucher, grazie al suo acume editoriale e alle sue numerose e precise analisi, ha lasciato un'impronta indelebile nell'ambito della letteratura gialla della Golden Age.
"Chi sa fa, chi non sa insegna" non è dunque un motto particolarmente calzante per la poliedricità di Boucher, il quale, non accontentandosi di analizzare il genere con il piglio dell'erudito, decise di cimentarsi personalmente nel campo, dimostrando così come, in alcuni casi, il critico possa anche essere un talentuoso romanziere. Queste due anime che caratterizzano la sua particolare formazione letteraria emergono spesso nelle sue opere sottoforma di trame impostate sulla ripresa e sul sovvertimento dei motivi ricorrenti più comuni del genere. È un po' come se all'interno dell'invenzione letteraria non riuscisse mai completamente a distaccarsi dagli intenti divulgativi e didascalici propri dello studioso.
Il romanzo in cui emerge maggiormente questo dualismo distintivo della sua personalità, in cui coesistono nel contempo creazione narrativa e parodia metaletteraria, è sicuramente "Gli Irregolari di Baker Street" ("The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars", 1940).

"Gli Irregolari di Baker Street" è un romanzo irriverente, divertente e originale che, pur nel suo chiaro intento di elogio nei confronti della più grande e influente figura nella storia del giallo, Sherlock Holmes, dimostra una vena parodica e inventiva tale da trascendere il rango di sincero omaggio e imporsi come romanzo poliziesco di per sé e ironico affresco dello scenario narrativo contemporaneo. Un'opera dunque che racchiude nelle sue molteplici chiavi interpretative tutte le sfaccettature del suo autore e dello stesso universo del mystery.

Los Angeles, 1939. La società cinematografica "Metropolis", guidata dall'inquieto produttore F.X. Weinberg, ha deciso di realizzare un film ispirato al racconto holmesiano "L'avventura della banda maculata", la cui sceneggiatura è stata affidata al collerico e detestabile Stephen Worth, ex investigatore privato divenuto in seguito scrittore di hard-boiled. L'assegnazione di questo incarico a Worth, che in più occasioni ha esternato il suo disprezzo per l'opera doyliana, scatena un'ondata di furiose proteste da parte degli appassionati holmesiani, specie dall'associazione nota come "Gli Irregolari di Baker Street", circolo che raduna i migliori conoscitori e ammiratori del Canone di Doyle, la quale inizia a subissare la Metropolis di lettere minacciose per chiedere l'immediato licenziamento dello sceneggiatore. Il timore di uno stravolgimento totale della storia originale, nonché di una resa calunniosa del segugio di Baker Street, è tale che persino grandi personalità quali Alexander Woollcoot e Christopher Morley si mobilitano in favore della causa dei "puristi". Nessuno è però più terrorizzato di F.X. Weinberg che, nonostante preveda un flop enorme della pellicola se affidata a Worth, tuttavia non può licenziare l'uomo a causa di una subdola clausola contrattuale. Trovandosi tra due fuochi, Weinberg, su consiglio della sua astuta segretaria Maureen O'Breen, pensa di salvare il salvabile invitando i membri degli Irregolari ad assumere l'incarico di consulenti alla produzione del film, offrendo loro vitto e alloggio nella propria lussuosa dimora. Il gruppo, estasiato dall'idea di difendere l'onore di Holmes grazie alla sua consulenza, accetta volentieri. Così il presidente, lo stimato medico Rufus Bottomley, assieme agli altri componenti, il mite professore Drew Furness, il timido scrittore Jonadab Evans, il gioviale esule Otto Federhut e il cinico direttore giornalistico Harrison Ridgly III, parte alla volta della California pronto a dar battaglia a Stephen Worth.
Giunto il giorno del loro arrivo, Maureen è alle prese con i numerosi preparativi per la festa organizzata per accogliere gli Irregolari in casa Weinberg, per il cui numero civico, 221B, il produttore era riuscito ad ottenere l'autorizzazione del municipio. Nel caos generale, tra camerieri e fattorini che ronzano nella residenza, Maureen deve occuparsi anche di strani pacchi e lettere indirizzati a Worth, mentre è in attesa della nuova governante assunta. Il suo nome? Mrs Hudson ovviamente, per restare in tema e stemperare le critiche degli holmesiani.
Arriva finalmente la sera e la festa, a cui partecipano anche molti giornalisti e critici, sembra un successo. All'improvviso però compare sulla scena Stephen Worth, nonostante nessuno si sia premurato (e a ragione) di invitarlo. Spinto dall'alcol, Worth inizia a minacciare platealmente gli Irregolari, accusandoli di nascondere segreti oscuri di cui lui è tuttavia a conoscenza. Come è inevitabile, scoppia una rissa, sedata subito dall'intervento del tenente Jackson, presente al ricevimento. Worth, accasciatosi a terra completamente ubriaco, viene trasportato in una delle camere libere della casa. Questo episodio spiacevole, ma fruttuoso per i cronisti di gossip, pone ufficialmente fine all'evento. Mentre Weinberg, prefigurando i titoli di giornale dell'indomani, tenta inutilmente di usare i suoi agganci per mettere tutto a tacere, Maureen accetta la proposta di Furness di accompagnarla in auto fino a casa sua. La ragazza sale per prendere il soprabito nella veranda ma, passato del tempo, non scende. Furness, stizzito per l'attesa, va a controllare al primo piano e trova la ragazza svenuta nel corridoio. Una volta ripresi i sensi, Maureen racconta una storia raccapricciante: dopo essere stata vista e chiamata da Worth, che si era apparentemente risvegliato dalla sbornia, mentre passava davanti alla sua porta, qualcuno, nascosto all'interno della sua stessa camera, aveva sparato all'uomo in pieno petto. Purtroppo la ragazza, cercando di scappare, era stata colpita alla nuca, perdendo conoscenza.
Andando a controllare la stanza di Worth, il tenente e gli Irregolari si trovano dinanzi ad uno spettacolo straniante. Non tanto per il fatto che il cadavere è scomparso, ma per l'abbondanza di citazioni holmesiane che il colpevole, quasi a farsi beffa degli appassionati, ha lasciato sul luogo del crimine: dalla scritta RACHE composta con il sangue sul muro (da "Uno studio in rosso") alla pistola trovata nel giardino, sotto la finestra della camera, legata ad un libro di Furness tramite una corda (che ricorda la situazione in "Il problema di Thor Bridge"). Altri strani indizi sono rappresentati da una fascia nera e un pezzettino di vetro nel cestino. Se ciò non bastasse, si scopre che le strane buste indirizzate a Worth e precedentemente ritirate da Maureen contengono un messaggio in codice che sfrutta il sistema utilizzato ne "L'avventura dei pupazzi ballerini" e cinque semi d'arancio, richiamo all'omonimo racconto di Doyle. Cosa sta succedendo in quella casa? Chi è che si diverte a seminare tracce che rimandano ai casi celebri del detective di Baker Street?
Il tenente Jackson, con l'aiuto del suo superiore Finch, dovrà appellarsi alla profonda conoscenza degli Irregolari per ritrovare il corpo di Worth e per svelare il piano di un assassino follemente fedele al Canone. Follemente, purtroppo, in senso letterale.

"Gli Irregolari di Baker Street" è un romanzo "sui generis", che si imposta come un divertissement parodico, ma riesce al contempo a dimostrarsi un solido romanzo giallo, grazie ad una trama ben congegnata, in cui citazioni e rimandi non risultano meri ornamenti, ma funzionali all'enigma centrale. È un'opera dalle molteplici sfaccettature, perennemente in bilico tra serio e faceto, tra narrazione vera e propria e satira scanzonata.
Questa "varietas" tematica si riflette anche sulla struttura dell'opera, che risulta dunque eterogenea e irregolare.
Il romanzo si apre infatti con una serie di missive inviate dal produttore F.X. Weinberg al Centro di documentazione per reperire notizie in merito agli Irregolari che tanto avevano ostacolato la realizzazione del film. In tale contesto viene illustrato il manifesto e il rigido regolamento di questo gruppo selezionato di appassionati holmesiani, ricalcato ironicamente sulla reale e omonima associazione di cui anche Boucher fece parte. Al tono evidentemente parodistico di queste pagine, volto a inserire il libro, sin dall'esordio, in una dimensione ludica e irriverente, si associa anche il tentativo di rendere realistico l'entourage degli Irregolari attraverso una descrizione approfondita delle loro attività. Seguono poi le lettere inviate da Weinberg ai singoli membri del club per invitarli ad assumere l'incarico di collaboratori nella produzione della pellicola, in cui, attraverso la replica dei destinatari e i brevi intermezzi narrativi che si focalizzano su di loro, l'autore delinea efficacemente con brevi pennellate le diverse personalità, gettando luci e ombre sulle loro vite, utili a generare già un senso di suspense.
Dopo questa particolare introduzione, premessa descrittiva dei successivi, bizzarri eventi, si passa alla narrazione centrale, con la riunione degli Irregolari a casa Weinberg e i successivi eventi che conducono all'ingloriosa e beffarda fine del violento Stephen Worth. In questa sezione centrale, Boucher si diverte a inserire nella trama gialla numerosi riferimenti a Doyle, che non sono solo espressione di un acuto citazionismo, ma parti integranti del meccanismo giallo, veri e propri indizi da decifrare per comprendere la soluzione.
La parodia sopraffina dell'opera tuttavia non si limita all'inserimento di materiale tratto fedelmente dal Canone: nella seconda parte dell'opera, dopo le prime indagini sull'omicidio e sulla scomparsa del cadavere di Worth, il flusso narrativo viene interrotto e subentra una lunga digressione in merito alle avventure in cui ogni membro degli Irregolari si è trovato coinvolto il giorno seguente al delitto, che sono ispirate ai più noti casi holmesiani. Il romanzo, che si impostava come una classica vicenda gialla arricchita da omaggi al mondo holmesiano, si trasforma improvvisamente in un racconto surreale, straniante e irrealistico, in cui quel confine tra realtà e fantasia letteraria, tra la California della fine degli anni '30 e l'universo letterario di Holmes, nella Londra vittoriana, sembra infrangersi totalmente e l'una sembra confluire e fondersi con l'altra. A parte alcuni eventi di chiaro marchio doyliano, la trama sembra sprofondare in un abisso di follia e assurdità. Se Carroll si fosse mai cimentato nella composizione di un giallo, avrebbe scritto qualcosa del genere.
Tra chi è stato portato in segreto in una vecchia costruzione piena di spie tedesche (con chiare assonanze con il racconto "L'ultimo saluto"), chi riceve la visita di un colonnello con una strana scatola (citazione a "L'avventura della scatola di cartone") e chi invece rimane invischiato in un agguato con un serpente velenoso (ovvio riferimento a "L'avventura della banda maculata"), la trama si tinge di una vena di sana pazzia, catapultando il lettore quasi in una dimensione onirica, disturbante. Questa lunga digressione, apparentemente fuori luogo e in eccessivo contrasto rispetto alla lineare narrazione precedente, non solo contiene alcune tracce essenziali per chiarire alcuni aspetti del delitto, ma ha anche la funzione di confondere le idee del lettore in un turbinio di eventi singolari, complicando la già intricata e fitta trama di citazioni e rimandi letterari e portando quella parodia bonaria della prima parte all'estremo.
Alla fine, in una girandola di false ipotesi, giunge la soluzione che chiarisce i motivi dietro l'assurdità degli eventi e riporta la narrazione su un piano prettamente logico e razionale.

"Gli irregolari di Baker Street" è dunque un romanzo complesso, molto articolato, fondato su più livelli di interpretazione.
Innanzitutto bisogna considerarlo come un omaggio sentito e appassionato al detective che più di ogni altro ha cambiato la storia del genere, il mastino di Baker Street Sherlock Holmes. La passione e l'ammirazione sincera di Boucher per Doyle si esplicita nella stretta interdipendenza tra la trama del romanzo e il mondo narrativo del Canone, in cui l'uno converge nell'altro in una dipendenza inscindibile. È un romanzo che senza il Canone non potrebbe assolutamente esistere e che dunque prevede da parte del lettore una conoscenza minima della produzione su Holmes. Lo sfoggio di erudizione dell'autore sulla materia è notevole, per l'enorme quantità di citazioni presenti che, tuttavia, non si collocano su un piano secondario, puramente ornamentale ed erudito, ma assumono un ruolo decisivo nella vicenda gialla e talvolta plasmano la storia stessa, come nel caso delle strane avventure degli Irregolari. Dunque Holmes è tema centrale ma anche mezzo per distrarre e invischiare il lettore in una intricata rete di rimandi letterari che stordiscono e allontanano dalla reale soluzione. Insomma, il motto dell'opera sembra essere "more is more", nascondere tracce vitali nell'abbondanza di piste metanarrative.

Il romanzo, pur esaltando il genere giallo attraverso la sua creazione più significativa, ha un'indubbia e preponderante componente parodica, tratto che impregna l'opera in ogni suo aspetto e che rende la trama divertente e leggera. 
In primis la caricatura investe il mondo del giallo classico, rappresentato dal Canone holmesiano: il frequente citazionismo, l'inserimento di elementi appartenenti alle varie storie di Doyle, la presenza di devoti seguaci di questo autore, considerato alla stregua di un messia sceso in terra per diffondere i principi di logica e razionalità, per quanto parti integranti della storia centrale, assumono proporzioni assurde, ridicole, che sprigionano una pungente e acuta ironia. Quest'assurdità satirica, volta a deformare i caratteri distintivi del genere, emerge soprattutto nei vari indizi holmesiani lasciati sulla scena del crimine, nei molteplici bizzarri oggetti che contornano le vicende (semi di arancio, pistole legate a dei pesi, messaggi in codice con pupazzi ballerini) e negli avvenimenti letterari traslati in maniera surreale nel mondo reale. Proprio sul contrasto tra realtà e finzione letteraria, in cui vigono leggi diverse e incompatibili, acuite tra l'altro dal contrasto tra la spiccia prosaicità dell'ambientazione californiana e il sensazionalismo e lo spirito adrenalinico di cui è pregna l'atmosfera ottocentesca scaturita dagli accadimenti simil-holmesiani, Boucher istituisce una narrazione scanzonata e impertinente.
Quest'indole parodistica, lungi dall'essere fine a sé stessa, utile solo per creare un colto divertissement, lascia intravedere una acuta e dissacrante analisi dell'universo letterario giallo. Dietro la piacevole leggerezza su cui si fonda l'intero romanzo, fa infatti capolino il Boucher critico, sempre attento a coniugare utile e dilettevole, puro intrattenimento e beffarde parentesi divulgative.
Tale aspetto è ravvisabile soprattutto nel contrasto antitetico, da cui si snoda l'intera trama principale, tra Worth e gli Irregolari di Baker Street: in tale contrapposizione l'autore ripropone, nella finzione gialla e in chiave umoristica, l'eterna diatriba tra i puristi del mystery deduttivo, che esaltano il carattere puramente evasivo del genere, e i modernisti dell'hard-boiled/noir, sprezzanti verso le astrattezze inverosimili del giallo classico e interessati a sondare il crimine dal punto di vista sociale, politico, esistenziale. Una battaglia dagli esiti letteralmente fatali.
Entrambi gli schieramenti, il cui scontro genera momenti di grande ilarità e snodi narrativi importanti nell'intreccio, sono esposti alla sferzante mordacità di Boucher: dei puristi, rappresentati dagli Irregolari, irriducibili difensori del Canone, vengono messi in evidenza l'eccessivo idealismo, a volte sconfinante nell'irrealismo totale (di cui espressione sono le surreali avventure dei vari membri che, collocate in un contesto pragmatico, mostrano tutta la loro assurdità) e il ridondante sensazionalismo; d'altra parte, invece, è mostrata un'eguale inverosimiglianza nei generi più moderni, troppo crudi e alla ricerca frenetica, e spesso inutile, di profondità introspettiva. Se dell'uno è ridicolizzata la scarsa aderenza alla realtà, dell'altro viene messa in luce la pomposa supponenza (e quale modo migliore per ironizzarci sopra che contornare il cadavere di Worth, degno rappresentante del filone hard boiled, di elementi chiaramente holmesiani?).
Attraverso questa azione dissacrante, non vi è tuttavia un intento derisorio, volto a mostrare, attraverso la deformazioni, le falle e il surrealismo di alcuni generi narrativi. È invece un'ironia che va intesa quale grande elogio alla varietà e alla poliedricità della letteratura poliziesca tutta. La parodia, investendo indistintamente ogni cosa, dissacrando e punzecchiando, ha lo scopo di esaltare, al contrario, la bellezza della diversità, la libertà nel gusto letterario da parte dei diversi lettori, mettendone in luce le caratteristiche che li contraddistinguono.

Infine, per quanto concerne la trama gialla in sé, essa si presenta come una sorta di gioco enigmistico, essendo fondata su tracce prevalentemente letterarie, messaggi da decifrare e giochi di parole. Questa impostazione è funzionale al carattere ludico dell'intera opera. Il finale è buono, con una soluzione semplice ma elegante, che giunge dopo una successione impressionante e conturbante di false ipotesi, sullo stile della Brand.

Dunque "Gli Irregolari di Baker Street" è un divertissement giallo simpatico e irriverente, in cui Boucher coniuga alla perfezione la sua passione per il mystery, in tutte le sue sfaccettature, il suo grande spirito critico e uno stile raffinato, erudito ma al contempo burlesco e esilarante.

[Ronn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anthony Boucher has a reputation as one of the greatest mystery writers of the 20th century, to the point that an mystery convention named for him has been held annually for almost 50 years. Somehow, even as much of a mystery fan as I have been for most of my life, I had never read anything by him before now. All I can say is that this reputation can not possibly be based on this book. Really, that's all I can say.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good Holmes-style mystery but set in 1933. I doubt that most current-day readers would know the personalities involved or feel comfortable in that timeframe. The print date on this book is 1942.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great puzzle, with believable scenarios for each suspect (and more) as the murderer. But there was a long segment in the middle that was extremely tedious.

[David Dunlap · Rating 4 out of 5]

F.X. Weinberg, the head of Metropolis Pictures, has a serious problem. Stephen Worth is an irascible screenwriter (and woman-chaser) who has been contracted to write the screenplay for an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Speckled Band' -- but he is known to be a Sherlock Holmes-hater. Unfortunately, F.X. finds out, if he fires Worth from the project, no one else can ever make the movie. Maureen O'Breen, the head of publicity for Metropolis, is charged by Weinberg to oversee the invitation extended to the Baker Street Irregulars, a group of devoted (read: fanatic) Sherlock Holmes readers, to come to Hollywood to act as consultants for the picture (with the hope that they might somehow ameliorate Worth's expected hatchet job). In the group are: Harrison Ridgly III, the sarcastic and cynical editor of 'Sirrah,' the controversial "magazine of male modernity"; Jonadab Evans (known as John O'Dab), the author of a series of popular mysteries featuring his detective Derring Dew; Dr. Rufus Bottomley; English professor Drew Furness (who has already had a physical altercation with Worth); and the newest addition to the Irregulars, the Austrian Otto Federhut, who has fled the Nazi Anschluss of his homeland, and is eager to be put in touch with leading anti-Nazi figures in the Los Angeles area. Maureen hires a housekeeper to look after five gentlemen; the major requirement for the position is that she be named Mrs. Watson. Stephen Worth crashes the welcome party for the Irregulars and gets thoroughly drunk; he is taken to a spare bedroom upstairs. L.A. police detective Lt. A. Jackson, coincidentally a Conan Doyle fan himself, arrives to take charge of the situation. Shortly thereafter, Maureen witnesses Doyle's being shot. (She cannot see the assailant, due to her relative position to the doorway of the bedroom.) And the game is afoot. Can/will the Irregulars solve the crime before the police, represented by Lt. Finch and Sgt. Watson (yes, that is his name!), are able to do so? -- I liked the light, humorous touch to this whodunnit. The characters are well-drawn and (for the most part) thoroughly likeable. I found the series of adventures the various Irregulars have (and relate to the others, a chapter apiece) a bit farfetched and, at first, intrusive -- but all of them have a connection to an existing Sherlock Holmes story (or one that Dr. Watson mentions but was never written/published), which adds an air of plausibility to them as the story advances. The solution is neat...and satisfying. Recommended!

[Steve Wilkerson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars is an important artifact in the history of the detective novel. It’s a parody on the style of detective novels written at the time and pokes fun at a number of the trends, especially the deductive skills of the literary detectives modeled on Arthur Conan Doyles’ Sherlock Holmes stories. The premise is amusing: a movie company is preparing to film Doyle’s The Adventure of The Speckled Band. The screenwriter they’ve chosen despises Sherlock Holmes but his contract can’t be voided. The head of the company, F.X. Weinberg, decides to bring five members of the Baker Street Irregulars together to assure that the script accurately characterizes Holmes.

During the orientation meeting at 221B Romualdo Rive (Weinberg was unable to get the street name changed, just the house number), of course, the writer is killed. Our experts in deduction must now help the police determine whodunnit. Two of the suspects are a Detective Lieutenant of the LAPD who happened to be present and the press secretary/public relations person of Metropolis Picture, who was coordinating everything. Each Irregular has an adventure based on a Holmes story. They gather at the end to exercise their deductive skills.

It's mildly entertaining and at times amusing. Boucher sets a very fast pace throughout. Dialogue is witty; the repartee rapid. It’s a complex storyline, and there’s a lot to keep track of. Although there are many characters, they’re well drawn.

Knowledge of the body of Holmes story is helpful because of all the references. I used this site https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/in... and looked up brief descriptions on-line. I also used the computer to look up a number of topical allusions.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been released as the most recent "American Mystery Classic" by Otto Penzler's imprint. (With a different cover than above). It was originally published in 1940.

It starts with a clever premise. A Hollywood studio is producing a Sherlock Holmes movie written by a writer who hates Sherlock Holmes. The Baker Street Irregulars was, and still is, an actual club for Sherlock Holmes fans, scholars and fanatics. They organize a protest. The studio decides to bring a group of them to Hollywood to advise on the movie. It is a clever publicity gimmick. The screen writer is a nasty piece of work. He ends up getting shoot and all of the Irregulars are suspects.

This has a little bit of everything. It has Sherlock Holmes stuff. The clues link to Holmes stories. The irregulars all try to solve the crime as Sherlock would.

It has screwball adventure. We get kidnappings, Nazi spies, a grizzly old ship captain, a disappearing body and ciphers and codes.

We get a classic convoluted plot. All of the suspects are kept on the hook until the end. The plot is completely impractical but it holds together logically. Nothing is what it seems.

We get snappy 1940s dialogue, a love story and some pretty interesting back stories. The Hollywood setting is well done.

This is a solid fun mystery story.

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four and a half stars: Boucher obviously had a grand time writing this outlandish whodunit, and you will have an equally fun time reading it if you let yourself be taken along for the ride.

Boucher wrote a few golden age mysteries and science fiction tales, but was more prolific as a reviewer and critic of other people's work. His reviews from his years with the San Francisco Chronicle have been compiled in two volumes by Francis M. Nevins and published by Ramble House in 2002. These are great volumes to peruse while looking for other golden age mysteries to read (and avoid.)

Having read thousands of other mysteries, Boucher was qualified to write some of his own. "Irregulars" has some of the elements of the typical golden age mystery: a house where murder occurs and all the suspects are gathered under one roof for the duration, an impossible crime, and a plucky heroine. It also has elements that I can't resist: charts showing suspects and alibis, a diagram of the house, graphic representations of the clues and solution. The only thing missing from the Carrol & Graf paperback edition I have is a crime map on the back cover.

If you are prepared to have your leg pulled for 250-odd pages, dig in.

[Chazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Metropolis Pictures in Hollywood, is making a Sherlock Holmes movie based on Conan Doyle’s “The Speckled Band.” F.X. Weinberg is the producer and has been inundated with correspondence from a group called The Baker Street Irregulars. They are concerned that Steven Worth is the writer assigned to handle the adaptation. Seems Worth has contempt for Holmes and is a writer of hard-boiled detectives, which is the style he plans to write in. The Baker Street Irregulars are an international group of Holmes supporters and are sticklers for accuracy.

In an effort to smooth relations, Weinberg invites five members to come out to California and be consultants to help assure accuracy — all expenses paid by the studio. Seems like a fairly safe solution.

Instead, a murder occurs and the body goes missing. Each Baker Street Irregular finds themselves involved in an event that is similar to one of the Holmes tales. There are cryptograms to solve, events to reason out, frustrated police — did I mention there is a Watson involved?

It isn’t a simple read, as Anthony Boucher can put red herrings, twists, unusual happenings and stray clues that do fit in at some point. Boucher is a top writer from the late 1930-1940 era. This is a mystery with many moving parts!

[Theda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book since I'll be attending my first Bouchercon next year. My first Boucher book, which I chose due to the Sherlockian theme.

Interesting plot devices:
- the decision to invite members of the Irregulars to consult on a script for The Speckled Band being written by a man who is obnoxious and hates Holmes. The use of letters to both invite and then introduce each one.
- the threats to the writer are those from various Holmes stories
- the adventure that occurs for each Irregular after the murder, and how it is related to a Holmes story (with enough info on how and to which one to well-inform those of us who have read all the stories but are not masters of the Canon).
- the locked-room nature of the crime, set at 221B Romualdo St. in LA

But, there's no suspense to the story. Each Irregular recounts his adventure in such a lengthy manner that it's laborious to read each one. I just want to 'get on with it'. I've put this book aside at least five times until finishing it today.

As an example of the craft of constructing a plot, I think it's a good one. But, not as an example of how to create suspense, since the pacing is too slow, and there's no excitement about getting to the conclusion. And, frankly, I never care about finding the murderer.

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this book until the last quarter or so.

The set up was interesting - five folks from a Sherlock Holmes society are called to a movie studio in 1940 to make sure that the movie meets the standards of Holmes fans. Unfortunately for them, the writer on the movie is out to prove how ridiculous these stories are, and is very vocal about his plans. This leads to his murder (maybe, since the body vanished) and each of the five experts has an adventure based on a Holmes story as well as pointing the finger at another member of the society.

This gets a bit silly, with Nazis, Russians, insane asylums, etc. Another shooting adds a layer of desperation to solving the clues before the killer strikes again.

The mysteries aren't all that difficult, except for the ones that are impossible. The adventures are laughable, and it is relatively easy to figure out what's going on. Mr. Boucher does provide a clever and unexpected twist, but it was too late to save this story.

[Riq Hoelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this 1940 book as a teenager after happening to find it on the library shelves. While very interesting, much of it thoroughly confused me, especially in the middle sections. I mean, this was a level of confusion beyond the normal attempts to confuse a mystery reader as to the culprit. These were structural discontinuities, as if one were watching a movie and then it jumped to something entirely unrelated and never really explained the connection. And I read it at least twice, trying to make sense of it. Decades later I'm reading through all the reviews of this book and relieved to discover that I wasn't alone, that it wasn't just adult stuff that I couldn't grasp as a kid. It's just very weird.

[Sharon Healy-Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anthony Boucher’s The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars is a delight. Written in and set in 1939, the tone has the wisecracking cleverness of many a fine “B” mystery of the era. The nasty scriptwriter of a filmed version of “The Speckled Band” is murdered in a house full of Shelockians who belong the the club The Baker Street Irregulars. Under the suspicious eye of hard-bitten police detectives and with the aid of a smart talking young woman studio liaison, the game’s afoot to solve the crime. There’s a little romance and a plot full of twists that you never see coming, with feints and misdirection galore. You’ll chuckle and scratch your head, but get such a kick out of who solves the crime. Such a wonderful read. I can understand why Boucher has an award named after him.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp through Holmesian thinking, false leads, convoluted adventures, mystery & detective tropes and 1940s style writing about the ultimate fan club, The Baker Street Irregulars in Hollywood as both suspects and detectives in a murder with a missing body! At first the writing style and format threw me, with memos, manifestos and letters setting the stage but once past that and accustomed to the author's, the plot, characters, setting and even style are suitably eccentric and compelling. 1930s-40s attitudes towards women are also glancingly present, though the women hold their own, one even socking an insulting, lewd character!

[Timothy VanderWall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first Fergus O'Breen novel by Anthony Boucher, I looked forward to reading this one. Except for a bit of tediousness toward the middle of the book, this turned out to be a heck of a fun mystery. Representatives from the Baker Street Irregulars club who have gathered to advise on a Sherlock Holmes movie script find themselves trying to solve the mystery of the murder of the movie's little-liked (OK, hated) screenwriter. There are so many red herrings! I thought that I had solved the mystery for sure several times, only to be thwarted by a new incident or clue. It was well worth the time to read.
[Spoiler: Fergus O'Breen isn't actually in it; his sister is.]

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will not be to everyone’s taste, although it is highly regarded by historians of the mystery genre. It’s mainly a series of farcical highjinks leading to the unraveling of a puzzle. There’s some amusing satire of 1930s Hollywood and, of course, loads of Sherlock Holmes references to delight his fans, but the characters are one-dimensional and after a while the fantastic goings-on tired me out. But it’s well-written and topical.

[Shawn Bramanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

A twisted plotline drags you into a variety of scenarios that all might point at who did it. Interesting mainly in the sense that it ties in to the Sherlock Holmes stories. I finished it just to finish it. It did not compel me to finish it in the sense that it was so good I needed to know what was going to happen next.

[Joe McMahon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid mystery, lots of misdirection, and well written. A bit dated, as one might expect, but still thoroughly enjoyable. I did draw one conclusion much earlier than the characters did, but it didn’t stop the rest of the book from being enjoyable. The Holmes references are wonderful, and not all called out specifically, so it’s very entertaining to spot them.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am both a fan of Sherlock and the ‘Golden Age’ detective novels like Boucher, and John Dickson Carr, Anthony Berkeley, and so forth but this one began to get tedious in the middle and I found it hard to follow mainly because I lost interest. I finished it but it was one I couldn’t say I enjoyed as much as some of the others.