The Adventure Of The Seven Christmas Cards

Horowitz's Holmes #2.5

by Anthony Horowitz

Short story first published in the parts in the Daily Mail, December 21-23, available to read online at their website.

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Killer Christmas Cards: A stolen priceless clock, chilling messages through the post... launching a week of fabulous festive fiction, an exclusive, spine-tingling tale from acclaimed thriller writer ANTHONY HOROWITZ

Genres: Audiobook, Mystery, Short Stories, Christmas, Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction

30 pages, Unknown Binding

First published December 21, 2020

About the author

Anthony Horowitz, OBE is ranked alongside Enid Blyton and Mark A. Cooper as "The most original and best spy-kids authors of the century." (New York Times). Anthony has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he is also the writer and creator of award winning detective series Foyle’s War, and more recently event drama Collision, among his other television works he has written episodes for Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. Anthony became patron to East Anglia Children’s Hospices in 2009.

On 19 January 2011, the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled the House of Silk.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/anthon...

Reviews

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes ist seit meiner Kindheit mein Idol, und so bin ich sehr wachsam, wenn seine Abenteuer von jemand anderem als Conan Doyle geschrieben werden. Aber keine Sorge – diese kurze Geschichte ist wirklich mit Sachkenntnis und Respekt für die originalen Figuren und den Schauplatz geschrieben.


Bildnachweis: Elliott Brown, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

Wir treffen Holmes und Watson während der Weihnachtszeit, und wie immer löst Holmes ein Geheimnis, und wir werden unterhalten. Trotzdem gibt es hier keine große Überraschung und keine große Spannung.

Ich habe diese Geschichte als Hörbuch in deutscher Übersetzung gehört, und es war gut, um mein Deutschverständnis zu trainieren. Jetzt möchte ich auch etwas anderes von Anthony Horowitz lesen.

[Laur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A set of 7 different Christmas cards sent out to various people, each with the same distinctive and disturbing artwork. Each card is described in detail and as cards are received, the next one is more graphic and grotesque than the last. What do the messages mean, why are they sent, and who is sending them? Sherlock and Watson are afoot to find the answers.

Great short story!

[Fanny Reads ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia cortita para navidad por si no te gustan los libros de romances navideños.
En este libro encontramos que alguien está repartiendo unas tarjetas de navidad escalofriantes, con imágenes nada sugestivas y casualmente quien las recibe aparece muerto al día siguiente, un hombre adinerado contrata a Sherlock para descubra al culpable debido a que tiene la sospecha que será el siguiente.

[Tanja Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am constantly looking for more Horowitz to read, he is hands down my favorite author. The three star rating is mainly because it’s a short novella that just left me wanting more. The writing rings true and I could easily have thought this was a work of Arthur Conan Doyle himself.

[Siv30 · Rating 4 out of 5]

סיפור קצר שפורסם בדיילי מייל.
כתוב נהדר, אבל מאחר והוא סיפור קצר, התרת התעלומה נראית קצת חפוזה.

הקשבתי לקריינות של יובל בן עמי הנפלא בסטוריטל שתרגמו את הסיפור.

[Мария Бахарева · Rating 3 out of 5]

Вполне норм, чтобы скоротать часик за приготовлением ужина в Сочельник.

[Jey · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Game is very much afoot."
Christmas is around the corner. Watson arrives at 221b Baker Street, to see Sherlock in a cheery mood and awaiting a client. The client without much ado tells that his valuable gold clock was stolen and proceeds to share seven christmas cards with macabre images that he received as a warning leading up to the theft.

On observing the cards, Sherlock Holmes finds the designer's name and sets out with Watson to confront him to gain further insights into the case. Soon Lestrade arrives at Baker Street seeking Sherlock's help in solving a murder case where similar Christmas cards were found. The trio continue their investigation and eventually get to the bottom of the cases.

Though short, it was well written. The author has done justice to the characters and Arthur  Conan Doyle's writing. But, I felt it lacked the original author's creative touch and nuanced plot build up. This short story will make do for a quick read especially if you are looking for a Christmas mystery portraying two iconic characters.

[Gala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estuvo interesante. Me causa gracia pensar en que esto es básicamente un fanfiction de Sherlock Holmes. Ahora,yo nunca he leído mucho SH como para saber que tan bien retratado está el detective,tal vez está super out of character. Pero igual disfruté esta historia en audiolibro. Con esto cierro el año.

PD:Ahora tengo curiosidad por las tarjetas de navidad victorianas.

[Monobella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun little mystery. I have missed Sherlock and Watson so this was perfect.

[Reyhan Aygün · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storytel'den dinlediğim kısacık bir Sherlock Holmes öyküsüysü. Sevenleri okuyabilir onun dışında önermem.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This clocks in at a few minutes shy of the hour mark. Horowitz really does a fine job getting the characters of Holmes and Watson very close to what Conan Doyle would have written himself. Of course, this is a fast moving volume and just paced nicely to get to an unexpected conclusion. Definitely recommended.

[Stacy Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this Sherlock story in about an hour. The writing was good, and I liked the ending with the explanation of the cards. I didn't catch on to it when the scenes were first described. I thought that was well done.

[Eva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro breve e poco intenso, carino da ascoltare

[Irem 🍉 · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5

[Venla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joulunajan novelli Sherlock Holmesin seikkailuista Anthony Horowitzin kirjoittamana. Tarinan elementit eivät täysin vastaa alkuperäisiä Arthur Connan Doylen teoksia, mutta Horowitz on kuitenkin päässyt hyvin lähelle, jonka ansiosta eroa ei juuri kuunnellessa huomaa.

Äänikirjan kesto oli noin tunti ja kymmenen minuuttia, helppoa kuunneltavaa ja loistava novelli joulun välipäiville kaikille, jotka Holmesin seikkailuista pitävät.

[Chantelle Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 🌟 (Audible)
Short + mildly entertaining. More like a classic ACD original in style + character.

[Carous · Rating 5 out of 5]

É meu primeiro contato com esse autor, que assumiu as histórias de Sherlock Holmes anos após o falecimento de sir Arhur Conan Doyle embora tenha dois livros escritos por ele. Gostei, acho que ele capturou bem a essência do detetive, o companheirismo entre ele e Watson e ainda nos brindou com uma história interessante, ainda que não complicada.

Uma boa narração, que dava ênfase nos nomes ingleses (e complicados de falar sem sotaque) dos personagens. Porém isso ajudou a acompanhar direito a história e os vários personagens.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This read like an original Sherlock case, with an added Christmas twist. I loved that it centres Victorian Christmas cards in particular as they're such an interesting little snapshot of history. If you've never seen the weird and wonderful things the Victorian sent to each other, you need to give it a Google. Also loved that although super short we still get appearances from Inspector Lestrad and Mrs Hudson. It makes it all that authentic.

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always appreciated the strange oddity of Victorian Christmas cards. So, this is a fun little adventure with several clever twists!

[Akiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters, setting and plot are perfectly in line with the original. Most enjoyable short story with lots of flavour and leaning on Victorian London. Loved it!

[Boktyckaren Carita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ett juläventyr

Mr Holmes och Dr Watson löser mysteriet med de sju makabra julkorten. En ruskig liten novell i juletid.

🎄🎄🎄av 5 🎄

#mysterietmeddesjujulkorten #sherlockholmes #anthonyhorowitz @storyside_se @storytelsverige #ljudbok #caritasläsning2022 #100 #novell

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a really fun 'Christmas special' and I love the illustrations that use the likenesses from Jeremy Brett's ITV Holmes series. Unfortunately it's probably Horowitz's weakest Holmes story to date - he misses the mark slightly in imitating the original author, and the mystery seems to come together a bit too easily. But a healthy 3 stars.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una aventura en la que Sherlock Holmes nos sorprenderá con matices navideños tan perturbadores como acogedores, que nos adentrará en el espíritu de la navidad para creer que la magia llega hasta el corazón del detective más racional de Baker Street.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Замечательное исполнение! Миссис Хадсон похожа на Рину Зеленую. Дело интересное, хотя я вот не догадалась в чем подвох с открытками.

[Ligia Zetina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐⭐⭐
Buena opción navideña si no te gustan los libros románticos navideños, un poco de misterio para navidad con ésta historia cortita.

[Isabel Eriksson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kort och mysig

[Khurley424 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am maybe a touch late on reading this one- but, better late than never. I love Horowitz's Holmes stories, they are all exceptionally well done and seem to touch on everything that makes Sherlock brilliant. Albeit short, this was no exception

[Los libros de Baker Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia interesante y a la vez entrañable. Siempre es reconfortante reencontrarse con los habitantes del 221B de Baker Street

[Sara (Sbarbine_che_leggono) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breve e carino: l’ho ascoltato durante un viaggio in macchina di un’oretta su Storytel.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Хороший рассказ с рождественский атмосферой холмсовского Лондона. Озвучка очень понравилась. И сама идея с открытками 👌