“Another tale about the True Holmes!

I believe that this is Mr. Messick’s first Holmes adventure, and it starts in the right direction by telling us more about the true Holmes, and just keeps going. Set in the 1890’s, Holmes is faced by two mysteries, a locked room puzzle related to the mysterious murder of a solicitor, and a series of connected murders linked by their ferocity, along with Tarot cards found on the victim’s bodies.

This convoluted tale moves back and forth between the two cases, and Holmes finds himself threatened by the Tarot killer, who promises that, if Holmes does not cease his investigations, retribution will be swift – not on the detective, but rather those that he cares about.

One of the things that I enjoyed most was the investigation of the locked room puzzle, and how it relates to the Hole in the Devil’s Tail, as mentioned in the book’s title. It isn’t what you would expect. And I always enjoy when something is thrown in that teaches me something at no extra charge – in this case, how cracks were repaired in marble statues in ancient times. The way that this bit of information is relevant is a treat, as is the way that Holmes reveals it.

I’ll be looking forward to Mr. Messick’s next offering from Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box.”

Reviewed by David Marcum

Sherlock Holmes and A Hole In The Devil’s Tail is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository. In ebook format it is in Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone). Also available on Audible.