Steve Emecz's Blog: Musings of a Sherlockian Publisher, page 9
May 15, 2014
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper
"Due on 22 May from MX Publishing is a handsome hardback novel by Diane Gilbert Madsen. The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper (MX Publishing; www.mxpublishing.co.uk) is the third DD McGil Literati Mystery, the first two being published by Midnight Ink.
Some of the characters bear canonical names, but this is set in present-day America. A apparently routine fraud case for insurance investigator DD McGil interweaves with a more curious matter, a murderous assault on a friend of hers and the theft of an old diary that hints at a momentous discovery – Arthur Conan Doyle’s own notes on the Whitechapel murders and the identity of Jack the Ripper. And DD herself is being stalked… Holmesians have long speculated on the fact that the Ripper murders aren’t mentioned in the canon, though the obvious reason is undoubtedly the correct one: even if Conan Doyle had suspected the killer’s identity he’d never have considered mentioning it in the context of a fictional entertainment. Ms Madsen’s novel equates his silence with that of the dog in the night-time, assuming that Conan Doyle did know who the Ripper was but chose not to say – which, of course, implies that good old stand-by, the government cover-up. It seems unlikely to me that the Ripper was anyone famous or distinguished, but fiction is not fact, and The Conan Doyle Notes is a gripping tale, with an intelligent, courageous and very likable protagonist in DD McGil.”
The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper hardback edition is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.
Some of the characters bear canonical names, but this is set in present-day America. A apparently routine fraud case for insurance investigator DD McGil interweaves with a more curious matter, a murderous assault on a friend of hers and the theft of an old diary that hints at a momentous discovery – Arthur Conan Doyle’s own notes on the Whitechapel murders and the identity of Jack the Ripper. And DD herself is being stalked… Holmesians have long speculated on the fact that the Ripper murders aren’t mentioned in the canon, though the obvious reason is undoubtedly the correct one: even if Conan Doyle had suspected the killer’s identity he’d never have considered mentioning it in the context of a fictional entertainment. Ms Madsen’s novel equates his silence with that of the dog in the night-time, assuming that Conan Doyle did know who the Ripper was but chose not to say – which, of course, implies that good old stand-by, the government cover-up. It seems unlikely to me that the Ripper was anyone famous or distinguished, but fiction is not fact, and The Conan Doyle Notes is a gripping tale, with an intelligent, courageous and very likable protagonist in DD McGil.”
The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper hardback edition is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.
May 14, 2014
Out today – The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes
"The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes by Phil Growick (MX; 14 May;), sequel to The Secret Journal of Dr Watson, is like a rich plum-pudding, full of diplomacy, intrigue and deception. The earlier book told how Holmes, Watson and Sidney Reilly rescued Tsar Nicholas II and his family from the Bolsheviks. Now we learn what became of them all."
The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
"The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes by Phil Growick (MX; 14 May;), sequel to The Secret Journal of Dr Watson, is like a rich plum-pudding, full of diplomacy, intrigue and deception. The earlier book told how Holmes, Watson and Sidney Reilly rescued Tsar Nicholas II and his family from the Bolsheviks. Now we learn what became of them all."
The Revenge of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
May 10, 2014
The Baker Street Society reviews The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes
"There are bad pastiche writers, there are good pastiche writers and there are brilliant pastiche writers such as David Stuart Davies, June Thomson, Hugh Ashton, Mike Hogan etc. Now, we must add to the list of brilliant pastiche writers the name of John Heywood for this collection of stories is straight out of ‘1895, hansoms and gas-lit streets’. There is no filler here, each story is a gem and the author’s control of his characters and their dialogue is well nigh indistinguishable from the work of ACD. Yes, I know that kind of thing pops up in many reviews, but trust us, this is probably the finest Holmes short story collection to appear in many years, perhaps seventy-six years. Yes they are that good."
The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
May 8, 2014
Philip K. Jones reviews A Professor Reflects on Sherlock Holmes
"This book is a collection of articles on Sherlockian matters by a true Sherlockian scholar. It includes a variety of subjects and formats and is liberally spiced with the unobtrusive dry humor that is typical of Professor Alvarez. The only consistent theme in this book is that of scholarship. Professor Alvarez documents everything. Because of that attention to detail, readers may take him a bit seriously and think they are reading class presentations or detailed redactions of dusty volumes from the back of the Library stacks. Don’t make that mistake. These are intensely personal observations by a Sherlockian with a true love for the Canonical tales, the Great Detective, the Good Doctor and the man behind it all, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The “Essays” segment includes short studies in Sherlockiana. “Simplifying Complexity in Sherlock Holmes Stories” gives guidelines for new readers of the Canon, things to look for and keys to the “Sherlockian” viewpoint. “Sherlock Holmes and Educating” provides clues to Holmes’s world. It gives “facts” from the Canon about Holmes, his skills and interests and it asks readers to educate themselves using the Canonical tales as a guide to the world of Sherlock Holmes. “Dr. Watson vs. Sherlock Holmes’s Writing Style” looks at the several different modes in which the tales were written and applies standard literary analysis techniques to them, with modest results.“Sherlock Holmes Encounters Three Professors” examines the three professors who appear actively in the Canon. “Sherlock Holmes as College Professor” examines what the Canon tells us about Holmes and concludes that he had many of the characteristics needed by an effective educator.
In “A Call to Academia” Holmes is offered a Professorship at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, after his retirement from detective work. This article points out his qualifications and his general suitability for this position. “Sherlock Holmes as Detective and Scientist” examines how Holmes applies the Scientific Method in his investigations and the advances that have been made since his time. It is followed by several appendices that are cited in the various articles. “The Valley of Fear: Three Missing Words” examines, and explains the differences between the English and American Publications of VALL and does quite a good job of it too. “The Stock-Broker’s Clerk: Parallels and Parodies” examines and explains similar themes that occur in STOC and in other Canonical tales, specifically REDH, 3GARand NORW. “Thumb-less in Eyford” examines some logic problems that appear in “The Engineer’s Thumb.” Professor Alvarez offers explanations and gives earlier views expressed in these matters by other Sherlockians.
“Sherlock Holmes Revealed in Art” examines the “artistic” side of Holmes. It concentrates on a painting by Eric Conklin done in the “trompe L’oeil” style. With no Art experience, I couldn’t understand what was said and the picture in the book is too dark to see details. “Sherlock Holmes, American Football and Schenectady” relates an incident during a lecture tour made by Holmes and Watson to various American locations. As American Baseball arose from the English game of Cricket, so American Football grew out of British Rugby. Watson’s confusion about football provides a counterpoint of light relief to Holmes’s earnest explanations.
The “in the Footsteps” segment tells of trips the Professor Alvarez took and passes along his thoughts on the places visited. These included The Reichenbach and the nearby Trummelbach Falls as well as Trinity College and its Library. His conclusions involving Doyle’s mind and the two falls are compelling. His reflections on Trinity and its Library reveal the true nature of a bibliophile
The final segment, “Magic Squares and a Quinquain,” includes a basic Magic Squares coding/decoding sheet and a puzzle to be solved as well as the elements of unique poem form.”
A Professor Reflects On Sherlock Holmes is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble USA, Waterstones UK. For elsewhere Book Depository offer free delivery worldwide. In ebook format there is Kindle, iPad and Kobo.
The “Essays” segment includes short studies in Sherlockiana. “Simplifying Complexity in Sherlock Holmes Stories” gives guidelines for new readers of the Canon, things to look for and keys to the “Sherlockian” viewpoint. “Sherlock Holmes and Educating” provides clues to Holmes’s world. It gives “facts” from the Canon about Holmes, his skills and interests and it asks readers to educate themselves using the Canonical tales as a guide to the world of Sherlock Holmes. “Dr. Watson vs. Sherlock Holmes’s Writing Style” looks at the several different modes in which the tales were written and applies standard literary analysis techniques to them, with modest results.“Sherlock Holmes Encounters Three Professors” examines the three professors who appear actively in the Canon. “Sherlock Holmes as College Professor” examines what the Canon tells us about Holmes and concludes that he had many of the characteristics needed by an effective educator.
In “A Call to Academia” Holmes is offered a Professorship at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, after his retirement from detective work. This article points out his qualifications and his general suitability for this position. “Sherlock Holmes as Detective and Scientist” examines how Holmes applies the Scientific Method in his investigations and the advances that have been made since his time. It is followed by several appendices that are cited in the various articles. “The Valley of Fear: Three Missing Words” examines, and explains the differences between the English and American Publications of VALL and does quite a good job of it too. “The Stock-Broker’s Clerk: Parallels and Parodies” examines and explains similar themes that occur in STOC and in other Canonical tales, specifically REDH, 3GARand NORW. “Thumb-less in Eyford” examines some logic problems that appear in “The Engineer’s Thumb.” Professor Alvarez offers explanations and gives earlier views expressed in these matters by other Sherlockians.
“Sherlock Holmes Revealed in Art” examines the “artistic” side of Holmes. It concentrates on a painting by Eric Conklin done in the “trompe L’oeil” style. With no Art experience, I couldn’t understand what was said and the picture in the book is too dark to see details. “Sherlock Holmes, American Football and Schenectady” relates an incident during a lecture tour made by Holmes and Watson to various American locations. As American Baseball arose from the English game of Cricket, so American Football grew out of British Rugby. Watson’s confusion about football provides a counterpoint of light relief to Holmes’s earnest explanations.
The “in the Footsteps” segment tells of trips the Professor Alvarez took and passes along his thoughts on the places visited. These included The Reichenbach and the nearby Trummelbach Falls as well as Trinity College and its Library. His conclusions involving Doyle’s mind and the two falls are compelling. His reflections on Trinity and its Library reveal the true nature of a bibliophile
The final segment, “Magic Squares and a Quinquain,” includes a basic Magic Squares coding/decoding sheet and a puzzle to be solved as well as the elements of unique poem form.”
A Professor Reflects On Sherlock Holmes is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble USA, Waterstones UK. For elsewhere Book Depository offer free delivery worldwide. In ebook format there is Kindle, iPad and Kobo.
April 29, 2014
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Poisoned Penman
"Last year I greatly enjoyed
The Amateur Executioner
, the first collaboration between Dan Andriacco and Kieran McMullen. It’s a pleasure now to welcome Enoch Hale’s second case,
The Poisoned Penman
(MX; 15 May), which begins in 1922 with the unexpected death of Langdale Pike, poisoned while taking tea with Hale. Pike’s specialism, you’ll remember from ‘The Three Gables’, was society gossip, but he seemed to have something more important on his mind. Hale’s investigation, helped by a clever advertising copywriter named Dorothy L Sayers, brings him into contact again with TS Eliot and Winston Churchill, and introduces him to GK Chesterton, Horatio Bottomley and Rudolph Valentino. Not unsurprisingly, both Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes have an important part to play.”
The Poisoned Penman is available for pre order 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).
The Poisoned Penman is available for pre order 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).
April 26, 2014
New review of The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes
“And another pastiche appears! A collection of short stories by John Heywood. Is there anything that marks this one out from the crowd. Yes! Namely, it’s brilliant.
Some pastiche writers excel at dialogue, some with narrative, some with plotting. I find it quite rare to come across a writer who combines all those elements and gets each of those elements spot on.
John Heywood does precisely that. I can be picky with my own work and extremely picky with other’s work, alighting on mis-spellings, confusion of tenses, anachronisms etc. I could find no examples of any of these in The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes, this collection is as perfect as it gets. Open it up where you will and you will find no false notes at all. This is a loving re-creation of Holmes and Watson’s world by a writer who obviously knows his subjects well, nay, loves them. With this collection, John Heywood jumps into the front rank of Holmesian interpreters. I wish two things: 1. That there are more to come. 2. That I had written them! It may well be the finest collection of short stories to appear for many years. No, damn it, it is the finest collection to appear in many, many years!”
Reviewed by David Ruffle
The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
Some pastiche writers excel at dialogue, some with narrative, some with plotting. I find it quite rare to come across a writer who combines all those elements and gets each of those elements spot on.
John Heywood does precisely that. I can be picky with my own work and extremely picky with other’s work, alighting on mis-spellings, confusion of tenses, anachronisms etc. I could find no examples of any of these in The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes, this collection is as perfect as it gets. Open it up where you will and you will find no false notes at all. This is a loving re-creation of Holmes and Watson’s world by a writer who obviously knows his subjects well, nay, loves them. With this collection, John Heywood jumps into the front rank of Holmesian interpreters. I wish two things: 1. That there are more to come. 2. That I had written them! It may well be the finest collection of short stories to appear for many years. No, damn it, it is the finest collection to appear in many, many years!”
Reviewed by David Ruffle
The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
April 25, 2014
Review of The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper
"Here’s a new pastiche that keeps the genre of Jack the Ripper vibrant, but it’s a gentle cozy (of the slaughtered Ripper victims) with an intriguing plot in which the Chicago of Barack Obama and the contribution of local Sherlockians is promoted. It’s a Chicago of the Art Institute, Arthur Rubloff’s singular collection of paperweights, and the historical lumber barons who laid the plywood route for the Chicago Fire.
It bears telling that though Conan Doyle was a keen investigator of true crimes and wrongful convictions, this one apparently escaped his instinct and his pen. Nor did Sherlock Holmes attempt to solve the Ripper’s identity.
Momentous it is it that Conan Doyle’s marginalia notes about the Whitechapel murders are apparently contained within an 1894 White Company manuscript. They are located, it is surmised by a Sherlockian, within a mansion in Obama’s Kenwood neighborhood of Hyde Park, Chicago. The author wisely avoids mentioning another distinguished Hyde Park resident/federal appeals court judge Richard Posner, who wrote evisceratingly of Sherlock Holmes devotees.
It is in this green and pleasant University of Chicago community that Sherlockian scholar, antiquarian book collector and BSI Tom Joyce alerts private investigator, Daphne December McGil, to the whereabouts of ACD’s secret papers in the Grange mansion. His expertise is so reliable and sacrosanct that D.D. rests assured hers is not an exercise in futility over forgeries. The Ripper events occurred during Conan Doyle’s early writing career and little, if anything, exists indicative of his interest in the East End perversities.
D.D. takes over the hunt when Tom is brutally assaulted and lapses into a coma. At this point, I note that the book appends a worthy bibliography. Amongst the Sherlockian literati appears the late Richard Lancelyn Green. This itself lends a kernel of wry invention on the part of our author. One of the characters competing in the heated enterprise to find the notes is the chillingly sly provocateur/collector Philip Green. The plot is both fact and fiction and this latter puzzle alone should pique a dutiful Sherlockian’s interest. The desire to amass rare Sherlockiana is inexhaustible and possession can be a fighter’s quest but D.D. and Tom prove worthy competitors who live to tell the tale.”
Reviewed by Brenda Rossini, OCWW President
The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper paperback edition is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper hardback edition is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.
It bears telling that though Conan Doyle was a keen investigator of true crimes and wrongful convictions, this one apparently escaped his instinct and his pen. Nor did Sherlock Holmes attempt to solve the Ripper’s identity.
Momentous it is it that Conan Doyle’s marginalia notes about the Whitechapel murders are apparently contained within an 1894 White Company manuscript. They are located, it is surmised by a Sherlockian, within a mansion in Obama’s Kenwood neighborhood of Hyde Park, Chicago. The author wisely avoids mentioning another distinguished Hyde Park resident/federal appeals court judge Richard Posner, who wrote evisceratingly of Sherlock Holmes devotees.
It is in this green and pleasant University of Chicago community that Sherlockian scholar, antiquarian book collector and BSI Tom Joyce alerts private investigator, Daphne December McGil, to the whereabouts of ACD’s secret papers in the Grange mansion. His expertise is so reliable and sacrosanct that D.D. rests assured hers is not an exercise in futility over forgeries. The Ripper events occurred during Conan Doyle’s early writing career and little, if anything, exists indicative of his interest in the East End perversities.
D.D. takes over the hunt when Tom is brutally assaulted and lapses into a coma. At this point, I note that the book appends a worthy bibliography. Amongst the Sherlockian literati appears the late Richard Lancelyn Green. This itself lends a kernel of wry invention on the part of our author. One of the characters competing in the heated enterprise to find the notes is the chillingly sly provocateur/collector Philip Green. The plot is both fact and fiction and this latter puzzle alone should pique a dutiful Sherlockian’s interest. The desire to amass rare Sherlockiana is inexhaustible and possession can be a fighter’s quest but D.D. and Tom prove worthy competitors who live to tell the tale.”
Reviewed by Brenda Rossini, OCWW President
The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper paperback edition is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
The Conan Doyle Notes: The Secret of Jack the Ripper hardback edition is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.
April 24, 2014
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Detective the Woman and the Silent Hive
"Amy Thomas isn’t the first to make Irene Adler the focus of a series, but the way she develops
the
woman’s relationship with Sherlock Holmes is particularly appealing. As
The Detective, the Woman and the Silent
Hive
opens, Irene brings Holmes a problem: her bees have died, and she wants to know how and why. The mystery, rooted in the detective’s past and involving far more than the silence of the bees, is presented alternately from her angle and from his.”
The Detective The Woman and The Silent Hive 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).
The Detective The Woman and The Silent Hive 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).
April 22, 2014
The Sherlock Holmes Society of London reviews The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes by John Heywood
"John Heywood is a new name to me, and a welcome one. The seven stories in
The Investigations of Sherlock
Holmes
(MX; 28 April;) are among the best I’v come across. Character, place and plotting ring true, and Mr Heywood is one of the few who can capture the authentic Watson style – a deceptively difficult feat.”
The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
The Investigations of Sherlock Holmes is available for pre order from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository .
April 17, 2014
The Sydney Passengers reviews The Lighter Side of Sherlock Holmes, The Sherlockian Artwork of Norman Schatell
“Although I was aware of the name, I don’t know that I had seen more than a couple of Norman Schatell’s Sherlockian cartoons so I approached this collection with a great deal of anticipation. A good number of the drawings raised a smile and I laughed out loud at some of the cartoons. Mr Schatell’s drawings are affectionate, knowledgeable and never sarcastic or mean-spirited.
I was at times puzzled, though, until I realised that the collection seems to contain every extant example of Mr Schatell’s artwork about Holmes and Watson including working sketches, envelopes addressed to noted Sherlockians which he decorated with drawings, uncaptioned drawings (or those for which a caption had not yet been finalised ) and multiple variations on the same cartoon concept.
Once this aspect of the book was appreciated, it became an intriguing look into the mind and creative process of a highly esteemed Sherlockian artist of the 1970s.”
Reviewed by Phil Cornell
The Lighter Side of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.In ebook format it is in Amazon Kindle, Nook and Kobo.
I was at times puzzled, though, until I realised that the collection seems to contain every extant example of Mr Schatell’s artwork about Holmes and Watson including working sketches, envelopes addressed to noted Sherlockians which he decorated with drawings, uncaptioned drawings (or those for which a caption had not yet been finalised ) and multiple variations on the same cartoon concept.
Once this aspect of the book was appreciated, it became an intriguing look into the mind and creative process of a highly esteemed Sherlockian artist of the 1970s.”
Reviewed by Phil Cornell
The Lighter Side of Sherlock Holmes is available from all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble USA, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, and for free shipping worldwide Book Depository.In ebook format it is in Amazon Kindle, Nook and Kobo.
Musings of a Sherlockian Publisher
Sherlock Holmes publishing is my passion, and I am very lucky to work with over 50 of the world's best Holmes writers. We also organise The Great Sherlock Holmes Debates and are ardent supporters of S
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