In her novel, Remarkable Power of Stimulus, Gretchen Altabef has remained faithful to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, retaining details of much of the original for her adaptation of the time following the tussle at Reichenbach, known as the Great Hiatus, and “The Adventure of the Empty House”.

It is no surprise that Conan Doyle’s most famous creation Sherlock Holmes should be the subject of yet another series of novels with the most popular fictional detective hero facing fresh challenges in new situations. I should state that I am not a fan of pastiche fiction as I invariably long to return to the original text that has been the source of so much pleasure.However,I needn’t have been concerned about this latest series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of what Holmes and Watson went throughboth separately and then together as Holmes returned once more to 221b…