Steve Emecz's Blog: Musings of a Sherlockian Publisher

Crime Time: recent releases and the best new books

A Most Diabolical Plot by Tim Symonds is featured in this week's  Murder Mayhem & More

Six short stories featuring the world’s greatest consulting detective, with solid support from Doctor Watson. The mysteries are set in Holmes’ original Victorian era, and weave historical scenarios into the intrigue, together with the author’s admirable wry wit. As befits the genre, there’s an arch enemy, a chilling ghostly escapade, a spy story set during the Great War, an Ottoman adventure and plenty of hob-nobbing with the English nobility.

A Most Diabolical Plot - Six Compelling Sherlock Holmes Cases is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble USA, Amazon UK and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository. In ebook format it is in Kindle.

Out on Kindle

A Chronology of the Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Revised 2018 Edition

A Chronology of the Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was first published in 2009; this was fully revised, expanded in 2012 and 2014, an Addenda & Corrigenda was published in 2016.  This 2018 edition has been completely updated and revised and supersedes all previous editions, it includes all of the revisions and corrections that were made previously plus the information and maps included in the Addenda & Corrigenda.  Also included is information located during research since 2016.  New photographs have been added to those already published and The Times is now listed in the sources with the date of publication.  The index has been compiled professionally by Geraldine Beare.

The first section contains a family tree and a detailed chronology of the major and minor events in the life of Sir Arthur and his family from 1755 to 1930.  This is followed by sections on events from 1930 to 1998, An Arctic Voyage in 1880, maps of Conan Doyle’s travels, the residences of Conan Doyle and his family, where are they buried, locations of plaques and statues, Arthur Conan Doyle and cricket, Arthur Conan Doyle and Portsmouth Football Club, Innes Doyle and cricket, a list of biographies and semi-biographical works, a list of Facsimile manuscripts that have been published, a bibliography, a selective list of miscellaneous writings, works consulted and about the chronologist.  Finally, there are a number of well-reproduced photographs of ACD his family at various times of his life; some have not appeared in print before. This publication proves that there is more to Arthur Conan Doyle than just Sherlock Holmes.

“If you only want one book about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle this is the one. What Brian Pugh has done here is incredible. No other author has had a book like this written about his life and that is a fact! A must own book!” -  Doyle Society Copenhagen

289 Sherlock Holmes Books on  Pinterest Amazon USA Kindle Board

A Chronology of the Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Revised 2018 Edition 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.

Out on Audio

The Celtic Phoenix: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure

An enigmatic jewelry case, holding human remains, arrives at the cottage of Sherlock Holmes, enticing him from his retirement refuge in the Sussex Downs. Holmes sets out on the trail of the murderer taunting him, joining forces with one of his former Baker Street irregulars, Tessa Wiggins. The two find themselves battling forces arising from a time before England was a country - when the Celts were fighting for survival.

Though set in 1919, The Celtic Phoenix is steeped in the enigmatic culture of the ancient Celts who reigned over much of Europe 3,000 years ago. It was a time when the bond with Nature was strong…when people walked in the olde ways…and when women were the equals to men as warriors, priests, and poets. The Celtic Phoenix is the journey of three women who rise from the ashes of their past like fearsome phoenixes and shake the rational foundations upon Sherlock Holmes built his life and career.

162 books on the  Sherlock Holmes Audio Books Pinterest Board

The Celtic Phoenix: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure 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.

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews A Chronology of the Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Revised 2018 Edition

“Brian Pugh has been working on his chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle for many years. The 2009 edition was a trusty companion and, as it went through subsequent revisions, I was gratified to see my own works referred to in its pages. I value and admire Brian’s work so much that it is an honour to be mentioned alongside great names such as Stashower, Lycett, Dickson Carr and Nordon. This latest version is enormous at over 450 pages — roughly three times the size of the 2009 edition.

So what do you get in this edition? First and foremost it incorporates all corrections to previous editions, thus superseding them. It also includes all the maps (now in full colour) and material featured in the 2016 Addenda & Corrigenda. Then, of course, there are the fruits of Brian’s latest research: family trees, maps, photographs of residences, commemorative plaques, graves, a day-by-day list of pertinent activities, a bibliography of Conan Doyle and those who’ve written about him. There are also photos, of which some are appearing in print, it is believed, for the first time. Any student of Doyle (and Holmes) needs to be equipped with certain books — the core texts if you will. This is a vital element of that core library.”

A Chronology of the Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Revised 2018 Edition 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.

Out on Audio

A Type of Infamy: The Redacted Sherlock Holmes

It is March 1938. A print worker petitions Holmes about the disappearance of a fellow worker at the Daily Mail.

Holmes investigates, and after interviews with the newspaper’s proprietor, Viscount Rothermere, and with Joachim von Ribbentrop, the German ambassador, it becomes clear the missing print worker has died fulfilling a commission for the German ambassador, although it is not clear what the commission is.

Diplomatic immunity and the pusillanimity of the British government prevent any further action being taken in 1938, and the mystery is only finally solved in the ruins of Vienna in the bitter winter of 1945-46.

160 books on the  Sherlock Holmes Audio Books Pinterest Board

Review of The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Vol XI and XII

“Forget life, it’s the MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories that’s really like a box of chocolates. After all, life doesn’t give you an index to hint at the goodies in store. With an MX anthology you get, not only a list of titles and authors, but several introductions, as well. No need to wonder if your favourite Holmes pastiche authors are present — you know the ones I mean. These are the writers who make you salivate as soon as you see their names, because they always deliver a cracking story. They are here, you’ll be happy to know. Certainly, all my favourites are. Are yours? I also found many writers I had been wanting to read, but hadn’t got around to. This was my chance and, oh, I’m so glad I finally got around to it because I now have some new favourites. And, of course, this box–uh, book–offers a few surprise newcomers. Would these be the literary equivalent of chocolate truffle (yum!), or marzipan (bleauch!)

In a collection of this size — seventeen tales in each volume — there’s plenty of scope for surprises. For instance, there are radio plays, one of which is co-written by The Saint‘s Leslie Charteris; a story featuring Lestrade; as well as one told by Holmes alone. Then there’s… No, I shouldn’t spill too many chocolate beans…


To sum up, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Vol XI and XII is a winner. No matter what type of Holmes tale you like, whether it’s the cosy Baker Street deduction, or the exotic adventure; Holmes the cold analyst, or Holmes the sympathetic friend, you’ll find what you want here. These stories are written by masters and mistresses of the craft. I cannot recommend the collection highly enough.”

Read the whole review  here .

Reviewed by Geri Schear.

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Parts XI and XII are 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. Available on Kindle.

Publishers Weekly reviews The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes: Vol. 1

“Smith’s facility at crafting original plots remains undiminished in this collection of six Sherlock Holmes pastiches. Some hook the reader with a tantalizing opening, such as “The Jet Broach,” in which the Baker Street detective receives an anonymous package containing a brooch and a scrawled note for help. Even those with a less dramatic start take unexpected and intriguing turns, such as “The Five Keys,” which begins with a request for help so banal that Watson is surprised his friend accepts the case—a couple want the detective to attend the reading of a will, to keep his eyes and ears open for anything underhanded. Holmes gets drawn into a mystery worthy of his skills that ends with an eminently fair solution. “The Inn on the Marsh” features an odder entreaty from another man and wife, who are perplexed as to why the guest register at the inn they stayed at during their honeymoon no longer contains their names. Sherlockians will rejoice that Smith continues to create new mysteries faithful to Conan Doyle.”

The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes: Vol. 1 is available for pre order from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble USA, Amazon UK and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.

The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes - Volumes 1 and 2, hardcover edition is available from The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.

Review of The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street

“The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street by Rob Nunn. London: MX Publishing, 2017, 325pp. Nunn turns the Canon on its head in this clever and entertaining book and imagines a world in which Holmes has turned to crime. As a criminal consultant, Holmes vies with his rival Moriarty for the role of king of crime. Available from sherlockholmesbooks.com.”

Reviewed by The Baker Street Journal

The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street 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). Available on Audio.

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews Queen City Corpse

“Queen City Corpse by Dan Andriacco. MX Publishing, 2017. 240pp. (pbk) When QueenCon, a mystery convention named after the great Ellery Queen, comes to Cincinnati (Longfellow’s “Queen City of the West”) Sebastian McCabe BSI, Jeff Cody, and Jeff’s wife Lynda make the short journey from Erin, Ohio. Sebastian is a successful crime writer, magician and amateur sleuth, and Jeff still has hopes of publishing his own detective novels. Lynda wants to meet her favourite author, Rex Carter, before he succumbs to terminal cancer. On the first night Jeff overhears some ominous whispered words: “Where do we hide the body?” though no one’s there to say them. Inevitably (this is a McCabe and Cody story) murder ensues — but why would anyone kill a man who’ll soon be dead anyway? This is the seventh novel in a deliciously literate, witty series, with ingenious plots and engaging characters. Highly recommended!”

Queen City Corpse (McCabe and Cody Book 7) is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine, Amazon USA, Amazon UK and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository. In ebook format it is in Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Apple iBooks (iPad/iPhone).

The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews Memoirs from Mrs Hudson’s Kitchen

“Memoirs from Mrs Hudson’s Kitchen by Wendy Heyman-Marsaw. MX Publishing, 2017. 130pp ‘From Mrs Hudson’s Kitchen’ has been a popular feature in Canadian Holmes, the journal of the Bootmakers of Toronto, since 2011. The chapters in this attractive, nicely illustrated book are expanded and rearranged from those columns. Mrs H’s narrative, friendly and level-headed, gives a good picture of what life must have been like for an intelligent lower-middle class landlady catering for an eccentric genius in late Victorian London. She tells us what food and drink she served her lodgers, and what would have been available to them on railway journeys and at hotels or inns. And there are nearly sixty recipes, all authentic and practical. It’s a very nice new volume for the Holmesian cook’s bookshelf — though perhaps we should avoid the tobacco cookies.”

Memoirs from Mrs. Hudson’s Kitchen is available from all good bookstores including The Strand Magazine,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble USA, Amazon UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository . Available in Audio and Kindle formats.