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“THE MX BOOK OF NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES STORIES: PART IV–2016 ANNUAL (London: MX Publishing, 2016; 473 pp.) is the latest in the series edited by David Marcum, and it is an excellent companion to the first three volumes (Feb 16 #7), with almost two dozen traditional pastiches, a poetic toast, and a radio script; the authors, some old hands at the game, and some new to it, maintain the high quality of the series, and it’s nice news indeed that there are more volumes to come.”

The MX Books of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part IV 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).

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson have wandered far from the light of Victorian gas lamps. As Holmes and Watson they’ve tangled with Nazis, as Sherlock and John they roam the corridors of New Scotland Yard. In a world of so many fresh adventures, why not fresh beginnings to those adventures? From an 1879 Kabul train station to a King’s College lecture theatre in 2015, The Day They Met includes stories both classic and contemporary, offering fifty intriguing new ways that the world’s most legendary partnership might have begun.

“I find that the author has done a tremendous job in imagining each meeting, and I believe I would welcome a second volume of the same!” Raven’s Reviews

Sherlock Holmes and John Watson: The Day They Met is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble 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).

“These adventures of Sherlock Holmes are set in similar situations to Folk Tales such as ‘The Three Little Pigs’ or ‘Red Riding Hood.’ Placing Holmes in this world makes for some terrific stories.

This isn’t the world of Fairy Tales. The stories are not full of magical beings fairy godmothers, or The Wizard of Oz. The author states that the stories do not contain this element because ‘magic is illogical.’ And yet there is an undercurrent of people and events that could be interrupted as ‘magical.’

Folk Tales were invented to make children aware of dangers in the world. There was a true fear of wolves, witches, devils, demons and such. To let children remember the danger, stories were written, often with a moral, to teach caution.

These tales are meant to teach people about Sherlock Holmes!…

Logic and deduction take the place of magic and heroes. And it all is well written and great fun.

I give this volume of stories five stars…”

Reviewed by Raven’s Reviews

Sherlock Holmes and The Folk Tale Mysteries – Volume 1 is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine,  Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UKand for free shipping worldwide Book Depository. In ebook format it is in Kindle, Kobo, Nookand Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone).

“This is the second volume in a series that began with The Musical Murders. As I said in that review, the secret of how these stories were found is a solid one. They were written by Doctor Watson, submitted to the Strand and rejected. Because of their content, they were hidden away in Baker Street, discovered only when it was remodeled.

In these stories, Holmes and Watson are in their early seventies and have moved back to 221B. Mrs. Hudson’s niece Lily, (soon to be newly married to Jasper Lestrade, son of Holmes’ old sparring partner and also a policeman) is their housekeeper and landlord. Holmes has again fallen into the grip of cocaine and sometimes titters on the edge.

I give the book five stars!”

Reviewed by Raven’s Reviews

The Final Tales of Sherlock Holmes – Volume 2 – The Hampstead Ponies is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble,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).

“This novel satisfies on all levels; written in eloquent, refined, and precise prose, it calls forth the ethos of the time and the nature of Sherlock’s mind, even as it is also able to portray Poppy’s more emotional nature and to successfully carry the rising tension of the chase to find the killer before the wrong man is condemned. In unraveling the convoluted case, Croyle introduces the methods of crime detection of the era; the rough lives of workers and the poor; the sorry state of British medical practice; the history of hospitals whose work dates back to the twelfth century; the place of women in society; the Buddha’s teachings on suffering; attitudes toward euthanasia, and more. The story is further enhanced by the inclusion of famous persons of the time, including the flamboyant Oscar Wilde and the sensitive, exotic Rabindranath Tagore.

Croyle’s plot is well-developed, and her powerful imagery is authentic to the era. The mystery unfolds with effective and appropriate pacing, and her sensitive character development illuminates the difficulties that arise when two well-matched intellects try to reconcile the feelings they have for each other with their very different world views. The result is a rich and satisfying reading experience that never ceases to be entertaining.”

Reviewed by Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews

The Bird and The Buddha – A Before Watson Novel – Book Two 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.