Susan Knight's Blog, page 3
July 4, 2022
Mrs Hudson and the Wild West – review
When I first got the idea to write my Mrs Hudson Investigates set of stories, I thought I was being terrifically original… How wrong I was! It turns out that quite a few others had the same idea long before, notably Barry S. Brown, whose recently published ‘Mrs Hudson and the Wild West’ is the seventh novel in his series of adventures featuring Sherlock Holmes’ landlady.
Luckily, his Mrs Hudson is quite different from mine (I won’t reveal which is the real one…), being a sharp little Cockney woman who is in fact the true brains behind the Sherlock Holmes detective agency. I couldn’t help wondering how she has time to solve crimes since she is forever baking the raisin scones which win over all who taste them (recipe a deeply-kept secret).
The intriguing title of the present, gripping tale, refers to the historical fact that Buffalo Bill Cody brought his Wild West show back to England in 1903, it having proved such a hit in the past, notably with Queen Victoria. Colonel Cody visits Sherlock Holmes after his beautiful palomino is stolen, but it doesn’t take Mrs Hudson long to identify the culprits, even though in a society in which women, like children, should be seen and not heard too much, it is Holmes who must take the credit.
This Wild West aspect of the novel is something of a subplot to the main story, however, even though a thrilling climax takes place in the Big Top. Before that occurs, the search for the horse leads the detectives to the farm where Roger Stockton, its most unpleasant owner, has been shot dead while out walking, whether by accident or design. It is up to Mrs Hudson, with the help of Stockton’s two charmingly unruly children, to get to the bottom of the mystery, and this is achieved in lively, page-turning fashion.
I sincerely hope the suggestion at the end of the book that Sherlock might retire to keep bees and Mrs Hudson to put her feet up, doesn’t mark the end of this most enjoyable series.
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Mrs Hudson and the Wild West by Barry S Brown, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Hudson-Wild-Baker-Street-ebook/dp/B09SJ43G8V/
https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson-Wild-West-Barry-Brown/9781787059764
May 27, 2022
Sherlock gets a surprise
I entered our living room to find Holmes standing at the window, puffing on his pipe, a bemused expression on his face.
‘Extraordinary, Watson,’ he said. ‘Most extraordinary.’
‘What is it?’ I asked, assuming he was referring to something happening in the street below.
‘I am afraid our poor Mrs Hudson has gone completely insane,’ he continued. ‘She came rushing in here just now, in high excitement, informing me that Mrs Hudson goes to Ireland is now an audio book. Whatever is she talking about? Speaking of oneself in the third person is, as you know, a first sign of madness. And as far as I am aware, she has been to Ireland already, greatly inconveniencing me, I must say, and in no way now does she resembles a talking book.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘I am afraid our dear landlady has quite lost her marbles, as the expression goes.’
I burst out laughing.
‘Not at all, Holmes,’ I said. ‘Surely you haven’t forgotten that Mrs Hudson goes to Ireland is the title of our landlady’s last novel. That it has now been published as an audio book simply means that people can buy a version to listen to, rather than to read.
Holmes stared at me.
‘Whatever are you talking about, Watson. Have you gone mad too? Are you really suggesting that one pays somebody to come to one’s house to read the book aloud to one?’
‘Not exactly… Well, I suppose it’s a little like that. You see, the reader is pre-recorded on to a device which can then be listened to whenever you like. Even when you are doing other things.’
‘Good heavens!’ he ejaculated. ‘Whatever next!’
Plugging more tobacco into that disgusting pipe, he looked thoughtful.
‘I suppose,’ he went on carelessly, gazing again out of the window, ‘none of your efforts have taken the form of….what are they called again…?’
‘Audio books. Yes, indeed. You can listen to all of them that way.’
He spun around.
‘Why have you never told me this before, Watson?’ he exclaimed. ‘It is really most remiss of you. Most remiss.’
To tell the truth, it had never occurred to me. It was hard enough to get Holmes to cast his overly critical eye over the accounts published in the Strand magazine, never mind sit down and listen to them.
‘I am seriously disappointed in you, Watson,’ he went on, turning from me in a sulk that lasted the rest of the morning.
That afternoon, however, I found him lying back in his favourite chair, legs stretched out, eyes closed. Was he asleep? As I crept to my own chair with the latest copy of The Lancet, he removed an ear-phone from one ear, remarking languidly, ‘I must admit, this Stephen Fry person, whoever he is, does a pretty good job of making your tales almost enjoyable, Watson. Almost enjoyable.’
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Mrs Hudson goes to Ireland audio book, beautifully narrated by Angela Iannone, is available from Amazon.com
And from Amazon.co.uk
May 13, 2022
Sherlock and the Sultan
I recently had the great pleasure of visiting the lively and beautiful city of Istanbul for a few days. On my return I started wondering what Turkish people make of Sherlock Holmes, if anything. It surprised and pleased me therefore to learn that not only was the last Ottoman Sultan a great fan, but had even conferred on Conan Doyle the Order of the Medjidie (2nd class, an honour only bestowed on 150 people).
This Sultan, Abdülhamid II (right), came to the throne in 1876 as a reformer, but soon established a conservative and absolutist reign as the ancient empire disintegrated about him. In his personal life, however, he was a cultured man, loving opera in particular. He was also an accomplished carpenter of high-quality furniture, examples of which still grace various palaces. Moreover, as an enthusiastic practitioner of the Turkish sport of grease wrestling – yes indeed – he was considered its unofficial patron saint. And he loved detective stories.
He is quoted in the memoirs of his daughter as saying, ‘I have problems sleeping, so I ask someone to read a book, which sounds like a lullaby to me… I avoid deep thought-provoking books with the fear that they might keep me from sleeping later on.’ Detective stories fitted the bill admirably.
Abdülhamid first met Sherlock Holmes in 1903 when his translator noticed the story ‘The Empty House’ in the Strand magazine and, knowing his master was keen on the genre, translated it for him. The Sultan was so taken with the tale that he asked the Ottoman Ambassador in London to send all works by Conan Doyle to him. Thus, he was able to read the stories some years before the published translations of Faik Sabri Duran in 1908.
When Conan Doyle subsequently visited Turkey, he received the medal bestowed on him by one of his greatest fans. According to Doyle, his wife was presented with the Order of Chevekat at the same time. ‘As this is the Order of Compassion and as my wife, ever since she set foot in Constantinople, had been endeavouring to feed the hoard of starving dogs who roamed the streets, no gift could have been more appropriate.’
In fact, the award to Jean Lecky was the Shefkat Nishan, given to women for charity work.
Among the many ‘untold stories’ in the canon, I was intrigued to find the following mentioned in the late tale The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier of 1926, as narrated, unusually, by Holmes himself:
‘It happened that at that moment I was clearing up the case which my friend Watson has described as that of the Abbey school… I had also a commission from the Sultan of Turkey, which called for immediate action, as political consequences of the gravest kind might arise from its neglect.’
Having already written up a couple of untold tales myself, published in the MX books of new Sherlock Holmes stories, I have to say I am greatly tempted by this. Watch this space.
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‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ can be ordered from Amazon uk in paperback or kindle at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight/dp/1787059197/
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight-ebook/dp/B09SHYN29C
Book depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson-Goes-To-Paris/9781787059191
30 plus volumes of the MX Books of New Sherlock Holmes Short Stories, edited by the indefatiguable and ever enthusiastic David Marcum, are available to order with three new volumes on the way.
April 18, 2022
Mrs Hudson Goes Bananas
[The following is inspired by a card sent me on my recent birthday, drawn by my son, Leo Crowley. I felt the subject had to be immortalised in prose]
It being four in the afternoon, and tea time, I entered the parlour to find Holmes already at table, playing gloomily with his tea spoon, taking up grains of sugar from the bowl and letting them drop back in.
‘What’s the matter?’ I asked.
‘I just don’t know what’s come over Mrs Hudson,’ Holmes replied, shaking his noble head.
‘In what way,’ I asked.
‘Well, when I complained just now that her rock buns might as well be real rocks they were so hard, she quite turned on me. “So waddayer goin to do about it, Buster?” she yelled.’
‘Buster?’
‘I believe it’s a term of address on the other side of the Atlantic.’
‘Astonishing.’
‘And then when I remonstrated with her further, she simply walked out on me, muttering something about a second-rate gumshoe…’
‘A what?’
‘Exactly… She’s become impossible, Watson, ever since she went solving crimes on her own. It’s quite gone to her head. In my humble opinion, she should stick to what she’s good at, like looking after us properly, instead of mucking about in things beyond her ken. ’
‘Oh now, that’s a bit rich. She’s had quite a bit of success in the detecting business, you know.’
I couldn’t help wondering if Holmes was just a little bit jealous.
‘Defending her now, are you?’ he asked. ‘You should have heard what she called you.’
‘Me?’
‘A half-witted dolt of a sidekick, I think it was.’
‘Oh!’
I had no opportunity to react further for at that very moment the lady herself burst in upon us, waving what appeared to be a blunderbuss. Her eyes were rolling in her head and manic grin spread across her usually demure face. She was clearly demented.
‘Yippee-ki-yay, motherflickers!’ she bellowed, directing the blunderbuss in our direction, with the clear intention of blasting us off the face of the planet. But luckily, before she had a chance to put her plan into action, she fell forward, flat on her face, out cold.
‘I see what you mean, Holmes,’ I said, as he picked up the weapon, while I attended to the poor mad woman.
At that moment, Clara, the maid, ran in, a bottle in her hand.
‘Oh, sirs, is Missus all right?’
‘She’s all right,’ Holmes replied. ‘It’s us you should be worrying about. She nearly blew our heads off.’
The girl nodded. ‘Poor Mrs Hudson,’ she said. ‘She’s not been herself ever since the Absence.’
‘What absence? Of her wits, do you mean?’
‘No, this, sir.’ She held out the bottle. ‘One of her French artist friends sent it over. Missus reckoned it was a cure for her rheumatism and took a great swig out of it.’
Holmes took the bottle. Instant enlightenment dawned on his brow. He even laughed, then, and handed the bottle to me.
‘Absinthe!’ I said reading the label.
‘The green fairy… Watson. Or should I say the green devil. A much loved tipple over the channel, I believe. Causes all sorts of bizarre hallucinations. Mrs Hudson should be back to her old self when the effects wear off. Probably won’t remember a thing. And meanwhile…’ he took the bottle back from me, ‘I shall retain this for safe keeping.’
He locked the stuff away with an enigmatic smile… And, strange to say, I never saw nor heard of it again.
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‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ can be ordered from Amazon uk in paperback or kindle at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight/dp/1787059197/
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight-ebook/dp/B09SHYN29C
Book depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson-Goes-To-Paris/9781787059191
March 14, 2022
‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ reviewed
It always gives you a boost when people tell you they like your book, and even better when they go public on it. I was delighted recently to receive an enthusiastic online review on Reedsy by the American poet Rachel Patterson. Here it is:
Loved it!
A cozy, witty companion novel to the famous Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
As a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and the many great novels of Agatha Christie, I was so excited to read Mrs. Hudson Goes To Paris by Susan Knight. The opening line of the novel was enough to pull my attention:
“To read Dr. Watson’s accounts of Mr. H’s adventures, you might think that I am forever at the beck and call of my lodgers, without a life of my own. Something, I have to say, that is very far from being the case.”
Mrs. Hudson is known as the landlady of the famous Sherlock Holmes. But, now is the time to delve into a character sitting on the sidelines. Mrs. Hudson is here to share her own adventures with the world. I love the idea of expanding the “Holmes” universe with a familiar character. Susan Knight breathes life into Mrs. Hudson in this journal-style account.
For me, my favorite part of Mrs. Hudson Goes To Paris is the reluctance of the main character to enjoy any frivolous activity. Mrs. Hudson does not share the excitement of many about going to Paris. She is a well-behaved British woman with high morals, unlike the characters she encounters. After arriving at the Moulin Rouge she describes her distaste for its reputation:
“Meanwhile I was wondering why exactly Ralph had brought us here. Either he was too innocent and naïve to realise how inappropriate it was, or else it was another part of the plan to shock us away. Time would perhaps tell.”
I loved the character of Mrs. Hudson. She is brave and witty, while also being kind and polite. Knight did an excellent job building the mystery from the beginning and leading the reader to the story’s conclusion. It’s as if the author channeled Mrs. Pettigrew and Miss Marple into Mrs. Hudson while staying true to the style of Sherlock Holmes. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, then definitely read Mrs. Hudson Goes To Paris by Susan Knight.
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‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ can be ordered from Amazon uk in paperback or kindle at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight/dp/1787059197/
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight-ebook/dp/B09SHYN29C
Book depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson-Goes-To-Paris/9781787059191
February 28, 2022
‘Mrs Hudson in Paris’ book launch
On a wet and blustery Wednesday night in February, in the glorious Georgian surroundings of the Teachers’ Club, a group of about forty brave souls assembled under the glittering chandeliers and exquisite plaster mouldings to launch ‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ on to an unsuspecting world.
Actor and chanteuse extraordinary, Susie Kennedy, compered the proceedings with style and wit, giving a rather more raunchy description of the novel than it warranted – Mrs Hudson may have explored the unsavoury underbelly of Paris in her search for a vicious murderer, but I can assure you that she remained decorously ladylike throughout… well, more or less.
After that I read aloud a small snippet from the book, where Mrs Hudson, having overheard a dastardly anarchist plot to assassinate the Prefect of Police, is determined to warn that gentleman, and is trying to dodge her pursuers in the halls of the elegant Vivienne shopping gallery.
I should like to add that, writing the novel during the lockdown and thus unable to travel to the city where I had spent a month in 2017, it was a great pleasure for me to visit or revisit vicariously with Mrs Hudson, some of the wonderful places there.
Some rather less wonderful ones as well, such as the Morgue, which was a tourist attraction in the nineteenth century, families queuing up to see the bodies laid out on slabs for all to ogle. (Thomas Hardy went there with his wife Emma during their honeymoon!) You could even buy snacks from kiosks outside to take in with you. I am glad to say that Mrs Hudson was rightly shocked.
Next, Susie got everyone to join in a rousing chorus of the saucy Sophie Tucker song, ‘Fifty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong’:
They say the French are naughty/They say the French are bad/They all declare that over there/The French are going mad./They have the reputation of being very gay/I just got back from Paris and I just want to say/ When they go parley-vee and parley-vou/This for me and zat for you/Fifty million Frenchmen can’t be wrong/When they go Ohh lalalalalalala/On the bully boulevard/Fifty Million Frenchmen can’t be wrong…
Hardly Shakespeare, but great fun.
After which, a few glasses of wine or pints of Guinness were raised to the continuing health of Mrs Hudson, who has already embarked on a new adventure, this time much closer to home among the hop plantations of Kent, the garden of England.
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‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ can be ordered from Amazon uk in paperback or kindle at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight/dp/1787059197/
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight-ebook/dp/B09SHYN29C
Book depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson-Goes-To-Paris/9781787059191
February 21, 2022
Another Breakfast at Baker Street
I entered the breakfast room to find Holmes already seated at table. He was staring gloomily down at the plate in front of him.
‘What’s the matter?’ I asked.
He shook his head.
‘I don’t know what’s come over Mrs Hudson,’ he replied. ‘This egg has most certainly been boiled for at least six minutes, when she knows full well that I have stipulated not a second more than four minutes fifteen seconds.’
‘Hardly a hanging offence,’ I commented, sitting down at my place.
‘You may say that, Watson. But it is only one of many grievances. Look at this.’
He held up a piece of toast, admittedly rather more black around the edges than brown.
‘And the tea is cold and over-brewed. It really is most unacceptable.’
‘She is no doubt distracted by the prospect of her upcoming book launch.’
‘What!’ Holmes put down the butter knife with a clatter. ‘What book launch?’
‘Good heavens, Holmes. I have told you often enough. Mrs Hudson has written a book about her exploits in Paris and it is to be launched this very Wednesday.’
‘Launched? Into infinite space, I trust.’
‘Not at all. She will be reading an extract and signing copies.’
‘You mean people will actually attend such an event?’
‘Yes, indeed. At least she hopes so.’
‘Ha! Then I imagine she hopes in vain.’ He shook his head again. ‘Who would be interested in anything she might write?’
‘I understand her previous books, Mrs Hudson Investigates and Mrs Hudson goes to Ireland were well-received.’ I paused. ‘I rather enjoyed them myself.’
‘Et tu, Watson!’ Holmes looked at me sadly. ‘All I can say is I don’t know what the world is coming when housekeepers start writing books, and doctors start reading them.’
‘Landlady, Holmes. She is our landlady.’
‘Whatever…’ He sipped his tea and made a face, setting the cup back in its saucer. ‘And am I right in thinking these scribblings of hers once again concern some murder or other she got herself involved in?’
‘I believe so. Among the bohemian set in Paris, this time.’
Holmes leapt from his seat and paced about the room, wringing his hands.
‘You see. This is what comes of giving an inch to these females. They take a yard. Nay, more. Much more. Paris, indeed. A woman of her advanced years! Next thing, she’ll be setting herself up as a private detective, in competition with… with…’
‘I very much doubt that, Holmes. She has the highest respect for your abilities, and has told me that far from searching out these mysteries, they seem to dog her wherever she goes.’
‘Then she shouldn’t go anywhere,’ he replied petulantly, sitting down again. ‘She should stay at home and make sure in future that my egg isn’t hard boiled.’
‘I take it then you won’t be going to the launch.’
‘Of course not, Watson. I have far more important things to be doing…’ He busied himself most conscientiously with the marmalade jar. ‘Er… Where is it on, by the way? And when?’
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‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris’ will be launched on Wednesday February 23 in the Teachers’ Club, 36, Parnell Square, Dublin from 7 pm.
It can be ordered from Amazon uk in paperback or kindle at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight/dp/1787059197/
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Goes-Paris-Susan-Knight-ebook/dp/B09SHYN29C
Book depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson-Goes-To-Paris/9781787059191
January 17, 2022
Luncheon at Baker Street
‘Watson!’ Holmes cried as I entered the room.’ Whatever has got into Mrs Hudson? Ever since she came back from Paris she has been behaving in a most peculiar way. I even caught her humming the Marseillaise this morning.’
He was sitting at the dining table, staring down despondently at the fare in front of him.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
‘I asked her for a quick snack,’ he said, ‘to stave off the hunger pangs, you know, and she brought me up this, whatever it’s supposed to be.’
‘It looks like a sandwich,’ I said.
‘Yes, it looks like one. But is it?’
There was bread, there was cheese, there was ham…
‘You’re the detective. You tell me,’ I replied.
‘It’s French,’ Holmes said. ‘The bread has been dipped in egg and fried up. Utterly disgusting.’
‘Have you even tasted it?’
‘I have no intention of doing so. I have sent her down to bring me up some soup.’
‘This enthusiasm for all things French must surely be connected with her recent trip. I understand she has even written a new book about it.’
Holmes frowned up at me.
‘Another book!’ he exclaimed. ‘So why am I the last to hear this?’ adding darkly, ‘No wonder she has no time to prepare proper food. A new book, indeed!’
‘Yes, apparently she had quite a time in Paris. There was a murder, you know.’
He looked up at me sardonically. ‘I’m sure there was. More than one, indeed.’
‘No, but one involving Mrs Hudson personally.’
‘I’ll murder her myself if she keeps producing this foreign muck.’
‘Come now, Holmes Be adventurous. It looks rather tasty.’
‘You be adventurous, then.’ He pushed the plate towards me. I sat down a took a bite.
At that moment Mrs Hudson entered with a steaming bowl of soup and set it in front of my friend. She smiled across at me.
‘Enjoying your croque monsieur, Doctor?’
‘Yes, indeed, Mrs Hudson. Most delicious.’
Meanwhile Holmes was staring in disbelief at his soup. A round of crusty bread and cheese was floating on a dark brown liquid.
‘Whatever do you call this, for goodness sake!’
‘Soupe à l’oignon,’ our landlady replied. ‘French onion soup, to you. As eaten in Paris.’
And grinning broadly, she swept out of the room.
‘Mrs Hudson goes to Paris‘ will be available from February 14 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.
December 9, 2021
Arthur in Ireland
In 1883, the young Conan Doyle [right] wrote an article for the British Journal of Photography, To the Waterford Coast and Along it. Together with three friends, and armed with a camera and five dozen photographic plates, he took a series of boat trips, first from Glasgow to Waterford town, via Dublin (‘from the seaside neither picturesque nor impressive’). Then by yacht along Waterford coast.
Tellingly, at no point in the lively and lengthy article does he mention his own Irish antecedents – his Irish grandfather, his Irish mother whose family in Lismore he had visited both as a child and in adulthood – but rather expresses a typically British condescending view of the ‘aboriginals’. He is surprised at the order in the streets of Dublin and the civility of the general population, having been warned by the clerk at the Cook’s tourist office in Scotland that these were ‘dangerous times in Ireland, and there was little inducement for the Saxon tourist unless he hankered for the absorbing but brief excitement of having his head battered in by the downtrodden Clann-na-Gael’.
Reaching Waterford without any such unpleasant incident, young Arthur claims that, as well as a few ‘seditious’ notices – the Land League at the time actively urging the abolition of landlordism so that poor Irish tenants could once again own the land they farmed – he has seen for the first time a sight he had ‘always imagined to be a myth invented for music hall purposes’, namely the Irish peasant in knee-breeches, blue stockings and a high soft hat with a pipe stuck in the side of it. Of course, in reality he would have seen many such characters before on his trips to Lismore. But who wants to ruin a good story?
More patronising remarks follow. ‘We were shown the spot where some English Conqueror had landed, though whether it was Cromwell or Strongbow was a mystery to our guide’ who, he says, seemed to think they were one and the same person. The spot where the first potato was planted on Irish soil by Sir Walter Raleigh was also indicated to the sceptical visitors.
During the trip, Arthur, taking pictures all the time – though sadly I cannot find that any have survived – is bemused at the sight of the Round Tower at Ardmore, described by him as prehistoric and ‘perhaps a temple erected to the sun god’. ‘Altogether,’ he writes, ‘the building and its uses were “the sort of thing no fellah would understand”, so we contented ourselves with photographing it.’ In fact, as he might easily have ascertained, the round towers were built by monks probably as a defence again Viking and other raiders to protect themselves and their treasures.
Everywhere, from the Crown hotel in Waterford, which Arthur heartily recommends to visitors, to the impoverished fishing folk of Ardmore, the young men meet with courtesy and kindness. It is a pity, then, that only three years later, he reveals a virulent anti-Irish prejudice regarding the question of Home Rule, then being proposed by Gladstone’s Liberal government: ‘Ireland is a huge suppuration which will go on suppurating until it bursts.’ This opinion was tempered slightly in later life, though he remained convinced that the best place for the land of his ancestors was within the British Empire.
‘Mrs Hudson goes to Ireland’ can be ordered from book depository (free mailing worldwide)
https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson…/9781787056275
And from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Ireland-Susan-Knight/dp/1787056279/
October 30, 2021
The Improbable Casebook of Sherlock Holmes – Review
The seven stories in this collection by young American author, Nick Cardillo, were all originally published in various issues of the MX Books of new Sherlock Holmes stories, edited by David Marcum. They feature delightfully preposterous plots that include occasional nods to other sources, such as the legend of the Golem (‘Death in the House of the Black Madonna’) and H G Wells’s ‘The Island of Doctor Moreau’ (‘In the Footsteps of Madness’).
Occasionally, David Marcum encourages his writers to pick up on cases mentioned in passing by Dr Watson and develop them into full narratives. A favourite is always the Giant Rat of Sumatra from Conan Doyle’s ‘The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire’. Nick Cardillo has written this up in a most inventive way.
In general, he is good at conveying the atmosphere of late nineteenth century London, the fogs, the damp, the dark alleyways. If I found Dr Watson here a bit more fond of the ‘wee drop’ than is evident in the canon, reaching almost too readily for the brandy bottle at every opportunity, perhaps that’s because Mr Cardillo knows something more about the Doctor’s habits than I do.
Claiming to be a devotee of Sherlock Holmes since the age of six, he is also a lifelong fan of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction and Hammer Horror films. In 2019 he was awarded a ShD, a Doctorate of Sherlockiana, from the Beacon Society following the publication of his earlier collection, ‘The Feats of Sherlock Holmes’.
All in all, ‘The Improbable Casebook’ is an entertaining set of stories to while away dark winter evenings. It is published by MX and available from Amazon and the Book Depository.
‘Mrs Hudson goes to Ireland’ can be ordered from book depository (free mailing worldwide)
https://www.bookdepository.com/Mrs-Hudson…/9781787056275
And from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hudson-Goes-Ireland-Susan-Knight/dp/1787056279/
