Steve Emecz is the MD of MX Publishing, which is the world's leading Sherlock Holmes publishers. He has written himself with several non-fiction books and two crime thrillers under his belt.
“This second volume in Phil Growick’s project to commission new paintings as illustrations for new Sherlock Holmes stories is big and handsome, like the first. Seven of the thirteen stories have been published before, and you’ll recognise some of the authors who have contributed: Mark Mower, Denis O Smith, Tracy Revels, Mike Hogan, Tim Symonds, the ubiquitous David Marcum. The painters’ names and their work may be less familiar. There’s a remarkable variety of style and medium: each painting is unique, and as Mr Growick says, art is in the eye of the beholder. A share of the proceeds from the book goes to Stepping Stones School at Undershaw, the Happy Life Children’s Home in Nairobi, the American Cancer Society and the World Food Programme.”
“A previously untold adventure of the “Great Hiatus”. Holmes, travelling in the guise of Professor Keevan Sigerson, is being pursued across Europe by Moriarty’s henchmen. Narrowly escaping death for the umpteenth time, he resolves to return to London, but is forced instead to take passage to New York. Seriously injured, he finds his way to Poughkeepsie and takes refuge in the Vassar Women’s College, where he is soon embroiled in a mystery. The pace of this novel is well-judged. From the outset it is a gripping and colourful adventure with lots of action. Clear respect for the Canon is demonstrated in the many neat references and affectionate nods to the characters, stories and intrigues of the original texts, and some real-life characters, such as Harry Houdini and Samuel Morse, add further colour to the plot. The author demonstrates a comprehensive knowledge of Poughkeepsie history and the significance of Vassar College. It provides a splendid backdrop to a fast-paced story told with great care and affection.”
“I believe this is Susan Knight’s first collection of stories about the investigative abilities of Sherlock Holmes’s esteemed housekeeper, Mrs Martha Hudson. And a triumph it is too. The book contains seven tales, all told with great clarity and affection. Not all are full-blown investigations, but each has its place in helping us to understand the character — and hitherto unrecognised talents — of dear Mrs Hudson. Throughout the volume we have occasional glimpses of “the doctor” and “Mr H”, but it is Mrs Hudson who rightly remains centre stage. This is an extremely humorous book that shines a light on the domestic arrangements at 221B which we rarely get the opportunity to read about. Let’s hope the author has further stories planned.”
“These eight stories are presented by our Watson’s nephew, Christopher Henry Watson MD, writing in 1948, and are to be accepted as “overlooked gems” from the older Watson’s collection. Mark Mower works hard to capture the elusive atmosphere of “1895 and all that”, and largely succeeds. The plots are varied and ingenious, and there are plenty of allusions and references to our beloved Canon. The final one of these stories is a particularly nice sequel to the affairs of a certain builder from Norwood. In conclusion, this book is a pleasing and entertaining read, and a worthy contribution to the seemingly endless flow of Holmesian pastiche.”
“The small town of Erin, Ohio seems to attract characterful residents and visitors, including Professor Sebastian McCabe, BSI (magician, crime-writer) and his brother-in-law, would-be crime-writer Jeff Cody, who serves, sometimes reluctantly, as Watson to his Holmes. Erin should be used to crime by now, and when complaints about “inappropriate behaviour” at St Benignus University are followed by two murders on campus, there are plenty of clues. Too many clues, in fact, and the killer seems to be invisible… Can McCabe’s expertise in magic help him to solve the case? I hailed the first of the McCabe & Cody mysteries as “a clever, exciting and witty romp”. Too Many Clues is the tenth, and that opinion holds.”
“As in Parts VII and VIII, subtitled Eliminate the Impossible, contributors were instructed to honour Holmes’s statement: “The world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply” — and to present him with a challenge that appears to be supernatural. The results are forty-nine atmospheric tales of darkness and dread; we may sometimes wonder whether even Sherlock Holmes can dispel the darkness and expose the truth, but of course he can and does. The authors include Mark Mower, Kelvin I Jones, Jayantika Ganguly, Paul D Gilbert, S.F. Bennett and David Marcum. There are radio scripts by Bert Coules, M.J. Elliott, Gareth Tilley and Hugh Ashton. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar contributes a foreword. And none of them will make money from it, as all royalties go towards the preservation of Undershaw.”
“Twenty years ago Jim French — writer, actor and producer — decided to redress the decline of good popular drama on American radio: he set up Imagination Theatre to create quality series and single plays. Sherlock Holmes was only a part of it, but a very important part, and it began with The Further Adventures, a series gratifyingly reminiscent of the days when listeners tuned in every week to hear Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson. The main difference is that IT’s Watson, played by Lawrence Albert, is not only brave and loyal, but intelligent. Jim French assembled a team of writers that includes M.J. Elliott, John Hall, Matthew Booth, Gareth Tilley — and David Marcum, who has prepared this very handsome three-volume edition of French’s own splendid scripts. Jim French died in 2017, but The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes continues, with 135 programmes recorded to date. All royalties from these books will go towards the preservation of Undershaw, Conan Doyle’s former Surrey home, which now houses Stepping Stones School.”
“Dr Goldfarb surveys each of the sixty stories, lighting upon all sorts of points that others may not have considered. The style is friendly and informal, but always intelligent and thoughtful. Of “The Empty House”, for instance: “Watson’s bereavement, presumably the death of Mrs Watson, is almost a cheery note. The gesture towards grown-up living, marriage, domesticity — that can all be forgotten now. Watson and Holmes can be adventuring boys again, and will be.” Of “Lady Frances Carfax”: “Poor Watson. He’s feeling old and rheumatic, and look how Holmes treats him: Go to Lausanne, track down Lady Frances, keep me informed — But then I’ll show up unexpectedly and tell you you’ve done everything wrong (but has he? most commentators say no). And for good measure you’ll get beaten up by the savage stalker, who I’ll then tell you is the good guy…” The “musings” were first published in The Petrel Flyer. This wider publication in more permanent form is well merited.”
“Dr Vaughan says that she’s always written with young and “casual” readers in mind. Her new book should appeal to them; it certainly appeals to me. As a dedicated veteran reader, with a special interest in dramatic and comedic presentations of Holmes and Watson, I find Cut to: Baker Street a helpful reference source, alongside Alan Barnes’s Sherlock Holmes on Screen and others (including the invaluable IMDB). The text doesn’t include full credits, but it covers the essentials, and it’s complemented by Georgia Grace Weston’s witty drawings. Exceptionally useful is the inclusion of internet-only and computer game productions, though their episode lists are classed with “Television”, which is a bit confusing. Such a book will never be complete, so in a few years’ time an updated edition would be welcome.”
We made the most of our final day at Happy Life by setting the alarm early and getting up ahead of the kids. Breakfast for Steve was some freshly baked sweetbread from the on-site bakery with a some PB&J. Sharon opted for the more healthy cereal.
The older kids start their day with their chores and its great to see them all pitching in to help the Mamas. We headed over to the Shamma house where Leah lives. Mama Mary looks after the 28 girls in the house, the oldest of whom is 15. It’s incredibly calm as they all have toast and tea and Mary explains that’s because they are girls. They delight in seeing the videos we’ve taken showing Leah skating. She’s the only one that knows how having learnt over in Kasarani before transferring across. They decide they want to record a short hello to everyone.
We take some time with Leah to visit the field behind the school where they have planted a few trees and we hope to support them with a ‘plant a tree’ campaign in 2020.
On our way out of the house we find one of the staff making school uniforms. We ask him how many he has to do – he smiles and tells us ‘only fifteen more to go’. He’s making school shirts from sheets of white material and plaid skirts too on a foot pump sewing machine.
The school supports over 400 children now. 91 from Happy Life itself, and more than three hundred from the local community. The secondary school will be housed in the new building for two terms whilst they build the new secondary school 5km down the road. The new school will start off mixed but as it grows will split into two schools, boys and girls which we are told is the trend now in Kenya. Leash wanted to show us her classroom and her desk.
We grab a few minutes to record a quick video tour which is very enlightening watching it back as so much has changed since our last visit a year ago.
One of the kids needs to visit the hospital so we have a couple of extra passengers on the way to the airport and stop off at Kasarani to drop them off.
A quiet evening meal at the airport hotel to see the new year in as we have to check in for our flight around 8am in the morning for Rwanda and the Nairobi roads are not for navigating at that time of day.
It’s been a wonderful visit – already looking forward to the next visit.
Sharon and Steve
Co-founders MX Publishing and proud ambassadors for Happy Life
Mxpublishing's Blog 