Category Archives: Book Reviews

“This is a collection of six novellas which mostly follow up on the author’s first collection,The Untold Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  There are several villains spread across the six stories and, frankly, the collection of ‘bad guys’ makes the late Professor Moriarty look like a progressive and imaginative businessman.

The first story, “A Study in Hysteria,” presents a peculiar suicide attempt by a patient under treatment by Dr. Sigmund Freud, an old acquaintance of Holmes.  It quickly becomes apparent that much more than a patient’s delusions are occurring and Holmes, Watson and Freud are soon chasing a terrifying murderer.  In “A Study in Yellow” well-to-do young women are disappearing and the return of “Saucy Jack” is feared.  After three of the women are found murdered and dismembered, “Ripper Mania” returns in full force.  In the third case, “A Study in Stone,” reminders of earlier cases and villains are highlighted through a series of murders in Wales.  In addition, events in this case point to some single source for all the evil in the first three cases.

The fourth tale, “A Study in Clockwork,” resolves the source of villainy that permeates this series of cases as well as referring back to events in the earlier collection.  Madness certainly plays a part, but this madness seems to arise from the series of choices made by the villain, not from genetic or societal pressures.  It is hard to imagine a self-made villain, but this one is about as close to such as I would ever like to encounter.  Frankly, madness is more forgivable and easier to understand.

The final two tales seem to share no connection with the others in this collection. “Sherlock Holmes and the Belgravia Mourner” presents a rationalist who is half-convinced that his wife is being haunted by a demon.  Holmes is his last resort for a rational explanation for events that reek of the supernatural.  The final tale, “Sherlock Holmes and the Horror of Frankenstein,” connects recent grave robberies in London to the voyage of the Polestar and an old folk tale from Central Europe.  Holmes and Watson face a horror from the past resurrected by a madman from the present.

The stories are entertaining and well-written, but they are dark.  There are few happy endings and most situations are grim.  No frolicking children appear and no joyful reunions are recounted.  This world is not a happy place, although, through the efforts of Holmes and Watson, a lot of evil manages to be disposed of.”

Sherlock Holmes Studies in Legacy  is available from all good bookstores including in the USA Amazon, in the UK Amazon, Waterstones,  and for everywhere else Book Depository who offer free worldwide delivery. In ebook format there is Kindle,  iPad and Kobo.

“This is a hard book to classify.  It has been my custom to review only books of Sherlockian fiction, since that is my own area of concentration in matters Sherlockian.  This book is neither quite fact nor quite fiction.  “Sutra” is a familiar word to Indians, but to most Western readers, it is only associated with “The Kama Sutra,” a book familiar to them as a ‘sex manual.’  Juxtaposition of this term with Holmes is difficult to reconcile for most Sherlockians outside of Asia.

Several definitions of the term are offered in the book, but none really spoke to me, so, after reading it and thinking about it, I came to the following understanding.  Suppose that you are speaking with a knowledgeable and thoughtful disciple of a deceased Master of some subject area.  You ask this disciple “What would the Master have done/said in Situation “XYZ?”  The disciple’s reply is what would be called a Sutra.  It may be a quote from the master or it may be the disciple’s judgement of the Master’s response to the posited situation.  In celebration of the Master’s one hundred and sixtieth birthday, the author has collected one hundred and sixty sutras from a variety of sources.

Once you have contemplated the Sutras, you get to take the “Holmes Mania Test.”  The results of this test will tell you how serious your addiction to Holmes has become.  Five degrees of addiction have been described:  Condition “Holmesfree” means that you probably recognize things related to The Master, if he is specifically identified as “Sherlock Holmes.”  Condition “Sherlocked” signifies the onset of a case of addiction, interest in The Canon and other Sherlockian writings.  Condition “Holmesaddicted” signifies that you are in denial, but are firmly infected.

Condition “Holmesick” defines those who are the majority of addicts, hopeful that they can quit any time and sure they are merely hobbyists.  The final condition, the “StockHolmes Syndrome applies to the unfortunate few, who, like myself, are so far gone into their addictions that they actively ‘push’ Holmes upon others and feel no shame at the manifestations of their addiction.  For me, the fact that I have the largest collection of Sherlockian fiction in the world is a matter of pride not a mark of my depravity.

Once you have taken the test and determined the degree of your addiction, there are a number of additional items that will allow you to cater to your condition with books and organizations to help you shed or indulge your own addiction, whichever you wish (Hah!).  Please realize, however, that the author is a lawyer, so beware of bestowing your trust in her advice unless she is on retainer.”

The Holmes Sutra is available from all good bookstores including   Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository . In ebook format it is in Amazon Kindle and Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone).

“All Sherlockians are intrigued by the titles of Watson’s unrecorded cases. They are also disappointed by Watson’s failure to flesh them out. In the “Disappearance of Mr. James Phillimore” author Dan Andriacco gives the reader a modernist version of that story. Mr. Arthur James Phillimore, a multi-millionaire goes missing. The team of McCabe & Cody go searching for him. Along the way to solving this modern mystery, they encounter a Phillimore pastiche, a story-within-the -story, which fills in Watson’s lacuna.

In this smoothly written tale Andriacco does not imitate Doyle’s style at all. It takes place in our times. But his book is laced with numerous Sherlockian allusions and puns which will delight the reader. Andriacco’s style is decidedly non-Watsonian and this makes this tale all the more charming. This book is well worth a read”

Reviewed by Al Gregory

The Disappearance of Mr James Phillimore is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository . In ebook format it is in Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Apple iBooks(iPad/iPhone).