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Lost Sherlock #2
Sherlock Holmes and the Voice from the Crypt: And Other Tales
The famous tin box in the attic of the house on Baker Street is again unlocked in this new collection of tales contrived by the ingenious Donald Thomas. As in Thomas’s successful previous collection, The Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson presents six cases of real-life crime that he has uncovered in the unpublished papers of the world’s most celebrated detective. Crossing historical fact with inventive fiction, Thomas introduces Holmes in these stories to such controversial clients as Oscar Wilde and Dr. Crippen. Holmes also meets and is himself arrested by his future ally, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard. In these tales, a grim discovery lies behind the scandal of naked bicyclists in rural Essex; the deceptions of a military swindler lead to the execution shed; a young woman goes missing with a minor criminal, whom only Holmes believes to be the most dangerous psychopath of modern times; and a “Talking Corpse” unveils horror in the Lambeth slums. In all, the Great Detective appears at his most determinedly deductive and downright devious. “It is all Holmes, sweet Holmes for the premier sleuth’s many fans.”—Booklist
340 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
8 people are currently reading
214 people want to read
About the author
Donald Serrell Thomas
66 books33 followersaka Francis Selwyn
Donald Serrell Thomas is an English author of (primarily) Victorian-era historical, crime and detective fiction, as well as books on factual crime and criminals, in particular several academic books on the history of crime in London. He has written a number of biographies, two volumes of poetry, and has also edited volumes of poetry by John Dryden and the Pre-Raphaelites.
Donald Serrell Thomas is an English author of (primarily) Victorian-era historical, crime and detective fiction, as well as books on factual crime and criminals, in particular several academic books on the history of crime in London. He has written a number of biographies, two volumes of poetry, and has also edited volumes of poetry by John Dryden and the Pre-Raphaelites.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 9, 2018
I am surprised that the first story is not really Holmes it has Dr Crippen in it & talks about him as lit people now have lot about Crippen since DNA testing has Proved that the body of his wasn't & the Oscar Wilde story is bit dull.
The 2nd story is without Watson set in an earlier period with Serg. Lestrade not yet Inspector as his side kick. Here we have corruption in the police force & Mycroft pulling the strings of them both.
The Naked Cyclists is erotic romantic tale out of bad Gothic tale of Dennis Wheatley than Sherlock Holmes its only when Holmes & Watson stop laughing do find a more sinister case of missing person that don't die of laughing on train back to London but instead seek out dark hidden mystery.
Who expects to find naked horny man a stand hard in Holmes story surround by Valkyrie naked females on bikes not normal Holmes.
Then we move on to rather. boring story about shooting that goes on to waffle on to much it made me think of the Judas pair by Jonathan Gash a Lovejoy book were you got six pages of talking about guns. What little know or care about guns made this Holmes story utterly boring
The next story is difficult to review with out spoiling it.But it set few months before WWI yet Holmes is still at Baker St which I found odd as lot other stories have him bee keeping by this time.
The main theme is man who prays on females for money & has an epileptic theme but as an epileptic I don't what hell he is on about when talks about a person screaming before a fit It is utter tosh no scream ,some just drop out cold or roll but no scream he should done more research .
The finial story is more Novella than short story as it's nearly 90ps that starts with Watson witnessing a horrible death of street walker poised with strychnine which goes on to dozens of poison pen letters blackmailing important people & lots more females been poisoned.
An interesting collection let down by two stories the first & the Husband one.I enjoyed the book but wasn't brilliant because of silly mistakes.
The 2nd story is without Watson set in an earlier period with Serg. Lestrade not yet Inspector as his side kick. Here we have corruption in the police force & Mycroft pulling the strings of them both.
The Naked Cyclists is erotic romantic tale out of bad Gothic tale of Dennis Wheatley than Sherlock Holmes its only when Holmes & Watson stop laughing do find a more sinister case of missing person that don't die of laughing on train back to London but instead seek out dark hidden mystery.
Who expects to find naked horny man a stand hard in Holmes story surround by Valkyrie naked females on bikes not normal Holmes.
Then we move on to rather. boring story about shooting that goes on to waffle on to much it made me think of the Judas pair by Jonathan Gash a Lovejoy book were you got six pages of talking about guns. What little know or care about guns made this Holmes story utterly boring
The next story is difficult to review with out spoiling it.But it set few months before WWI yet Holmes is still at Baker St which I found odd as lot other stories have him bee keeping by this time.
The main theme is man who prays on females for money & has an epileptic theme but as an epileptic I don't what hell he is on about when talks about a person screaming before a fit It is utter tosh no scream ,some just drop out cold or roll but no scream he should done more research .
The finial story is more Novella than short story as it's nearly 90ps that starts with Watson witnessing a horrible death of street walker poised with strychnine which goes on to dozens of poison pen letters blackmailing important people & lots more females been poisoned.
An interesting collection let down by two stories the first & the Husband one.I enjoyed the book but wasn't brilliant because of silly mistakes.
April 16, 2011
This is a decent book, one that I would happily give a "3.5" to if the ranking scale permitted, but cannot justify giving it a "4". But you may feel more positive about it than I.
Like the first Holmes pastiche I read by Mr. Thomas, I wanted to like this book more than I feel I did. As in "Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly" (I am reading them out-of-order of publication date) there were several "disturbances" in an otherwise flowing narrative. The truth is that because most of the writing is quite good, I probably assign more importance to these oddities in the mannerisms and speech of Holmes and Watson than they deserve. But I'm glad I read it. It was certainly far better than some of the war era "new" stories filmed by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (and if you are addicted to SH you'll watch those, anyway).
On to the book. This is an interesting blend of real and fictional crime and detection. Personally, I read the book as if it was just another set of SH detective stories, but it was interesting to see how the author wove real crimes in and around his tales. Mr. Thomas is an author who has a long track record in both biography and crime and detection non-fiction. Thus it is only natural that he would use real crimes as the basis for his Holmes stories. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the historical crimes, nor how they were investigated or prosecuted, but for the most part he did a good job of merging the two together. In addition to his additions to the Holmes canon, he has written a couple of fictionalized novels on Jack the Ripper (which I will be reading shortly) and several other crime fiction books.
Certainly I have read far worse stories using (or abusing) the Holmes character. These are definitely in the "better" class of pastiche. I get the feeling that what I think is excess the author (and his editors) feel is "mainstream" Doyle-like prose. Ultimately, it may just be that I am judging the man too harshly. What I can say is that while Watson is still not the stellar intellect of Holmes he is treated in a more even-handed and satisfying manner than many others. Of course, there are still instances where Holmes despairs of Watson's inability to see the correct deduction, but there are other places where Holmes genuinely compliments Watson on getting the facts right before any others (excepting SH). When cast as such a buffoon (think Nigel Bruce), one always wonders why Holmes would tolerate Watson more than 3 days in a row before committing premeditated murder.
I do recommend it both as pure, well-written crime fiction and as a continuation of the careers of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.
One brief note about the first two high-profile "cases" in this collection. We all know, far too well, that Oscar Wilde's ill-advised defamation case against Lord Queensberry (yes, the same "Marquess of Queensberry" responsible for the boxing rules) resulted in his eventual prosecution for "perversion" in the English courts. While I felt it was gratuitous to bring Mr. Wilde in as a "client" of Holmes, it did give the author an excuse to provide a concise, but reasonably full biographical sketch of the man.
The other high-profile crime was that of Dr. Hawley Crippen. He allegedly poisoned and then dismembered his wife and months after the crime fled with his assistant and mistress when he was questioned by Scotland Yard. It became, for a while, "The Crime of the Century" because the Captain of the vessel they were sailing on had recognized the pair and using his wireless sent back information about them. The detective in charge, got on another, faster steamer heading to the same destination in Canada eventually catching up with them while still in international waters. All this time, the Captain kept sending accounts to a newspaper of the Dr. and mistress, whipping up public interest. In the book, Holmes attempts to have Crippen acknowledge that he did administer the poison, but only as a sedative, not to induce death. Crippen, although an American, keeps a stiff upper lip protecting his mistress and goes to the hangman 4 weeks after conviction. There is an interesting "Secrets of the Dead" episode about this case which brings modern genetic and forensic methods to bear on the case. It is very, very interesting.
Like the first Holmes pastiche I read by Mr. Thomas, I wanted to like this book more than I feel I did. As in "Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly" (I am reading them out-of-order of publication date) there were several "disturbances" in an otherwise flowing narrative. The truth is that because most of the writing is quite good, I probably assign more importance to these oddities in the mannerisms and speech of Holmes and Watson than they deserve. But I'm glad I read it. It was certainly far better than some of the war era "new" stories filmed by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce (and if you are addicted to SH you'll watch those, anyway).
On to the book. This is an interesting blend of real and fictional crime and detection. Personally, I read the book as if it was just another set of SH detective stories, but it was interesting to see how the author wove real crimes in and around his tales. Mr. Thomas is an author who has a long track record in both biography and crime and detection non-fiction. Thus it is only natural that he would use real crimes as the basis for his Holmes stories. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the historical crimes, nor how they were investigated or prosecuted, but for the most part he did a good job of merging the two together. In addition to his additions to the Holmes canon, he has written a couple of fictionalized novels on Jack the Ripper (which I will be reading shortly) and several other crime fiction books.
Certainly I have read far worse stories using (or abusing) the Holmes character. These are definitely in the "better" class of pastiche. I get the feeling that what I think is excess the author (and his editors) feel is "mainstream" Doyle-like prose. Ultimately, it may just be that I am judging the man too harshly. What I can say is that while Watson is still not the stellar intellect of Holmes he is treated in a more even-handed and satisfying manner than many others. Of course, there are still instances where Holmes despairs of Watson's inability to see the correct deduction, but there are other places where Holmes genuinely compliments Watson on getting the facts right before any others (excepting SH). When cast as such a buffoon (think Nigel Bruce), one always wonders why Holmes would tolerate Watson more than 3 days in a row before committing premeditated murder.
I do recommend it both as pure, well-written crime fiction and as a continuation of the careers of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.
One brief note about the first two high-profile "cases" in this collection. We all know, far too well, that Oscar Wilde's ill-advised defamation case against Lord Queensberry (yes, the same "Marquess of Queensberry" responsible for the boxing rules) resulted in his eventual prosecution for "perversion" in the English courts. While I felt it was gratuitous to bring Mr. Wilde in as a "client" of Holmes, it did give the author an excuse to provide a concise, but reasonably full biographical sketch of the man.
The other high-profile crime was that of Dr. Hawley Crippen. He allegedly poisoned and then dismembered his wife and months after the crime fled with his assistant and mistress when he was questioned by Scotland Yard. It became, for a while, "The Crime of the Century" because the Captain of the vessel they were sailing on had recognized the pair and using his wireless sent back information about them. The detective in charge, got on another, faster steamer heading to the same destination in Canada eventually catching up with them while still in international waters. All this time, the Captain kept sending accounts to a newspaper of the Dr. and mistress, whipping up public interest. In the book, Holmes attempts to have Crippen acknowledge that he did administer the poison, but only as a sedative, not to induce death. Crippen, although an American, keeps a stiff upper lip protecting his mistress and goes to the hangman 4 weeks after conviction. There is an interesting "Secrets of the Dead" episode about this case which brings modern genetic and forensic methods to bear on the case. It is very, very interesting.
August 9, 2017
Holmes solves real life crimes. Unlike "Law and Order" these occurred a century ago and so the names don't have to be changed to protect the innocent. Fun for Sherlock fans and an interesting account of major turn of the 20th century British crimes.
March 30, 2021
It's always fun to read new Sherlock stories, though this collection wasn't my favorite. The stories seem very well researched, but the characters don't quite sound true to me. The mysteries are interesting, though, so it's worth a read for dedicated fans!
April 14, 2018
Enjoyed again the weaving of actual events with the imagined lives of Holmes and Watson. Much better than the usual work of this kind.
October 3, 2019
Странный фанфик
March 15, 2024
Brilliant ! A must read. Seven tales of Sherlock Holmes, deftly woven seamlessly around real crimes that make great reading. This is one of the best SH pastiche authors to date, worthy of Doyle's mantel, and is a great loss to the noble art of the wordsmith.
December 16, 2016
Another fine Holmesian book. A 3.5 would be a truer rating.
November 8, 2013
Most of this book would merit two stars, a rating that I would apply to the one other collection of Thomas's Holmes stories I have read, as well; for the most part they seem adequate but entirely forgettable exercises, lacking any great depth.
Yet the last and longest item in this collection, the titular "Voice from the Crypt," surprised me. Here, finally, Thomas seemed to capture the subtle qualities that separate a compelling story from merely another pseudo-Watson going through the motions. Perhaps the sense of urgency in this particular historical case helped lend more life to Holmes's maneuvering around its edges, compared to the other crimes given the same treatment herein; whatever the reason, "Voice from the Crypt" stands out as a relatively memorable little Sherlock novella.
By itself, I might award "Voice from the Crypt" as many as four stars. For this collection as a whole, an average of three seems appropriate.
Yet the last and longest item in this collection, the titular "Voice from the Crypt," surprised me. Here, finally, Thomas seemed to capture the subtle qualities that separate a compelling story from merely another pseudo-Watson going through the motions. Perhaps the sense of urgency in this particular historical case helped lend more life to Holmes's maneuvering around its edges, compared to the other crimes given the same treatment herein; whatever the reason, "Voice from the Crypt" stands out as a relatively memorable little Sherlock novella.
By itself, I might award "Voice from the Crypt" as many as four stars. For this collection as a whole, an average of three seems appropriate.
August 7, 2015
Loved these stories, especially the last one, which gave the name to the collection. In fact, the last story
Conclusion: A very entertaining set of pastiches, written by someone who obviously knows and loves the characters. Holmes is subtle, witty and irreverent, Watson is kind, prosaic and reliable, Lestrade is mostly wrong but very tenacious. The author's style is engaging and the mysteries are well crafted.
4.6/5.
Conclusion: A very entertaining set of pastiches, written by someone who obviously knows and loves the characters. Holmes is subtle, witty and irreverent, Watson is kind, prosaic and reliable, Lestrade is mostly wrong but very tenacious. The author's style is engaging and the mysteries are well crafted.
4.6/5.
July 14, 2008
This book features Sherlock Holmes on some real life cases, including Crippen and Neil Cream the poisoner. It was a pretty good read, but as always for me, a little Holmes goes a long way. I just can't buy the way he takes a single look at a person and can 'deduce' his profession, how he travelled, and in this book, what music the man's wife had been practicing on the piano earlier in the day. Please.
January 13, 2013
Historical fiction that gives Holmes the credit in solving several real-life crimes of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Solid writing and solid research. I would have been happier, however, if he had not multiple times violated the timeline of Doyle's established canon with the crimes he chose.
August 18, 2010
A pleasant surprise. The stories were based upon true crimes in Britain with Sherlock Holmes woven fairly seamlessly into the investigations.
January 21, 2011
collection of sherlock holmes pastiches in short story forms. not bad. plots are a little outre.
September 18, 2014
Not as good as "Death on a Pale Horse", but still a good read.
June 3, 2016
A bit dry at times, but some interesting backstory that seems plausible
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews