Murder by the Book - Regina Public Library’s mystery discussion group
Sherlock & Friends
Sherlock Holmes was the first genuine icon to emerge from the newly
minted murder mystery genre in the early twentieth century. A hundred
years later, he still holds a special place in the hearts of mystery fans. In
terms of single-minded purpose, devotion to detail and brilliant execution,
the art of detection has rarely been practiced with more style and elegance
than that found in Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories --- but that hasn’t deterred
the authors on the following list from trying to replicate the magic
themselves.
It’s no surprise that many of them are mystery authors, but as the
names on the list demonstrate, the lure of Holmes extends much further.
From Pulitzer Prize winners to best-selling romance and science fiction
authors, it seems that none of them could resist the temptation to try their
hand at creating their own Sherlock Holmes story. Some have tried to
remain faithful to the basic precepts of Conan Doyle’s works, others use
those only as a starting point for their own devices and designs; some of the
resulting yarns are quite good, others are so fascinatingly bad they are
almost worth reading just for that. Read one or two and let us know what
you think.
Bugge, Carole (Sherlock Holmes and Watson return to the site of the Hound
of the Baskervilles to investigate a manor house apparently haunted
by a 14th century monk)
The Haunting of Torre Abbey (2000)
Carr, Caleb (Mycroft Holmes calls in his brother Sherlock to help investigate
the murder of two of Queen Victoria’s aides)
The Italian Secretary (2005)
Chabon, Michael (Sherlock Holmes, retired and keeping bees in Sussex, is
called in for one last case to find a murderer and a missing parrot)
The Final Solution (2004)
Confidential casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Marvin Kaye, editor (1998) (short
stories by several authors – supposedly they are previously unreleased
cases originally suppressed to avoid causing scandal and
embarrassment)
Cullin, Mitch (93-year-old Sherlock Holmes revisits his famous case of the
Glass Armonica and the disappearance of a Japanese man 50 years
earlier)
A Slight Trick of the Mind (2005)
Davies, Martin (turns out Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper, was
the real brains behind the operation!)
Mrs. Hudson and the Spirit’s Curse (2004)
Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose (2005)
Douglas, Carole Nelson (the investigations of the mysterious Irene Adler,
the only woman Sherlock Holmes admired)
Good Night, Mr Holmes (1990)
(RPL is missing second book Good Morning, Irene)
Irene at Large (1992)
Irene's Last Waltz) (1994)
Chapel Noir (2001)
Castle Rouge (2002)
Femme Fatale (2003)
Spider Dance (2004)
Estleman, Loren (Sherlock Holmes must track down Dracula after he kidnaps
Mrs. Watson)
Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula (1978)
Fawcett, Quinn (this series focuses on Sherlock’s enigmatic brother,
Mycroft, and the books usually involve international intrigue)
Against the Brotherhood (1997)
Embassy Row (1998)
The Flying Scotsman (1999)
The Scottish Ploy (2000)
Hardwick, Michael (a sequel to Conan Doyle's legendary The Hound of the
Baskervilles.)
Revenge of the Hound (1987)
Jamyang, Norbu (after appearing to die at Riechenbach Falls, Sherlock
Holmes travels to Tibet and hangs out with the Dalai Lama)
Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years (2001)
Kendrick, Stephen (Sherlock Holmes and Father Brown work together to
solve the murder of an Anglican priest)
Night Watch (2001)
King, Laurie R. (15-year-old Mary Russell meets Sherlock Holmes, keeping
bees in Sussex, and starts to work with him; in later books, they are
married)
The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (1994)
A Monstrous Regiment of Women (1995)
A Letter of Mary (1996)
The Moor (1998)
O Jerusalem (1999)
Justice Hall (2002)
The Game (2004)
Locked Rooms (2005)
Kurland, Michael (Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty work together to
foil a nefarious plot to assassinate Queen Victoria and Emperor Franz
Josef)
The Great Game: A Professor Moriarty Novel (2001)
Meyer, Nicholas
The Seven Per Cent Solution, being a reprint from the reminiscences
of John H. Watson, M.D. as edited by Nicholas Meyer (1974)
(Dr. Watson dictates his memoirs in 1939 from a nursing home
and recounts stories about Sherlock Holmes before Holmes was
introduced to Freud.)
The Canary Trainer, being a reprint from the reminiscences of John
H. Watson, M.D. as edited by Nicholas Meyer (1993) (Sherlock
Holmes investigates the problems of a singer being trained by
the Phantom living below the Paris Opera House.)
Millett, Larry (the adventures of Sherlock Holmes in Minnesota with
saloonkeeper Shadwell Rafferty) (RPL is missing the last title of
series)
Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon (1996)
Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders (1998)
Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery (1999)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance (2001)
Murder, My Dear Watson: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (2002) (collection
of new Sherlock Holmes stories by mystery authors like Anne Perry,
Bill Crider and Sharyn McCrumb)
My Sherlock Holmes: Untold Stories of the World’s Greatest Detective,
edited by Michael Kurland (2003) (collection of original Sherlock
Holmes stories, each told from the point of view of a minor character
from the Conan Doyle stories)
Pirie, David (third in a series, the only one RPL has; this features Arthur
Conan Doyle and Dr. Joseph Bell, the man said to have inspired Doyle
to create Sherlock Holmes)
The Dark Water: The Strange Beginnings of Sherlock Holmes (2006)
Roberts, Lora (Sherlock Holmes investigates vampire sightings and missing
jewels with an attractive young widow)
The Affair of the Incognito Tenant (2004)
Siciliano, Sam (The Paris Opera hires Sherlock Holmes to thwart the
Phantom of the Opera's blackmail plan)
The Angel of the Opera (1994)
Shadows Over Baker Street (edited by Michael Reaves and John Pelan)
(2003) (new Sherlock Holmes stories by writers who usually produce
horror and science fiction works)
Thomas, Donald (Sherlock Holmes solves true-life Victorian and Edwardian
crimes; each book covers six different cases)
The Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes (1998)
Sherlock Holmes and the Running Noose (2001)
Vanneman, Alan
Sherlock Holmes and the giant rat of Sumatra (2002) (A seemingly
impossible murder in a London rooming house sends Sherlock
Holmes and Dr. Watson on a search for a killer that leads them
from England to Egypt, India, and Singapore)
Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg tiara (2004) (Watson and Holmes
search through London for clues in a perplexing crime scene
that seems to have disappeared before their eyes)
Novelist and the Stop You’re Killing Me databases were used for series information. A
couple titles were found in the Harris County Public Library book list
Sherlock Holmes Returns at http://www.hcpl.net/booklists/sherlock.htm