Sherlock Holmes Books = Great Christmas Presents! Part 2

I am continuing my blog series highlighting Holmes books which will make excellent Christmas presents. For those who like their Holmes with a touch of history or romance or both, I have some great recommendations for you.

For those of you who like your Sherlock Holmes grounded in history, I highly recommend the work of Daniel D. Victor. His first book, The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Seventh Bullet has Holmes and Watson investigating the real life murder of journalist David Graham Phillips who was shot six times near Gramercy Park. The crazed assassin then takes his own life with the same gun. The problem, the gun was a six shooter. Teddy Roosevelt and William Randolph Hearst also make appearances. Mr. Victor's second book, The Final Page of Baker Street: The exploits of Mr. Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John H. Watson, and Master Raymond Chandler has a young Raymond Chandler working as Billy the Page in Baker Street, and his third book Sherlock Holmes and the Baron of Brede Place has Holmes investigating the disappearance of author Stephen Crane. Mr. Victor's writing in all three books is exceptional and his use of description and vocabulary is truly eloquent. These books are highly recommended.

Tim Symonds is another Holmes author who enjoys blending fact and fiction. His novel Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Einstein's Daughter takes place in 1905 and deals with Holmes and Watson investigating the background of a young Albert Einstein. What would appear to be a simple background check pulls the great detective to Serbia where he and Watson explore a great mystery around the unsolved question of who was Lieserl? Another great book by Mr. Symonds is his latest, Sherlock Holmes and The Sword of Osman. This one finds Holmes and Watson a year later trying to stop a plot to steal the ceremonial sword of the Ottoman empire. Both of these books are well researched both for historical and Holmesian knowledge. Any Holmes lover interested in early 20th century history will enjoy finding these books under the tree on Christmas morning.

Wonder if Holmes ever traveled to America? According to David Ruffle, they did in 1897, just after the events of "The Devil's Foot." The detective and his Boswell find themselves investigating the famous case of Lizzie Borden who murdered both her parents with an axe in their home. Or did she? Find out the opinion of the great detective in this well researched read.

To me romance and Holmes are like oil and water. It is near impossible to pull off Sherlock Holmes with even the slightest touch of romance. Sometimes it can be achieved with a touch of humor such as the delightful secret romance in plain sight between Holmes and Mrs. Hudson in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: War of the Worlds. But to play it straight and pull it off I thought to be impossible...then I read one of my favorite Holmes pastiches by the incredibly talented author Geri Schear.

If you want to read a Holmes romance novel that does the impossible, read A Biased Judgement: The Sherlock Holmes Diaries 1897. Here is my original review, written shortly after the book was published:

If there was an award for best new Sherlock Holmes character, I would give it to Lady Beatrice, the heroine of Geri Schear's delightful new pastiche A Biased Judgement. This is a fun, exciting Sherlock Holmes novel grounded in the historical events of 1897 - 1898. The story begins with a bang: Sherlock Holmes is attacked on the streets, a global conspiracy against the leaders and monarchs of the world is brewing, and a mysterious boy only known as Jack has disappeared. Who is this mysterious boy? What does he have to do with the events of the time period? What about the murdered body of a painter/ art forger?

These questions and many more are answered over the course of a multi-year story. There are multiple murders as well as multiple mysteries and they all interconnect, which makes reviewing this book a bit difficult in that I am trying to make sure I give nothing away. I will say that the fan base of this book should be beyond that of Sherlock Holmes. Those who enjoy a good Agatha Christie cozy style mystery, a spy thriller in the vein of Lacare, or even Victorian era historical fiction will love this book.

Then there is the lovely Lady Beatrice who is an instantly likable and respectable character who is on a par with Irene Adler for great Holmes women. Beatrice causes Holmes one of his most difficult problems, and he really has to eliminate the impossible to finally solve it.

This is an excellent debut novel, epic in scope yet focusing on the humanity behind the history. Ms. Schear lets you know that behind each body discovered is a sense of true loss felt by loved ones. The connections to the actual Holmes stories from the canon that occur during the covered time frame is clever and believable.

I'll end by being blunt: Buy this book. You won't regret it.

For those who prefer their Holmes with a touch of the traditional romance novel and are fans of the Laurie R. King series, you may want to check out Amy Thomas romance series which has a romance between the great detective and the woman. This is a tough one for us Holmes purists, but Ms. Thomas writes well, and her story involves Holmes and Adler teaming up and working incognito to unravel a sinister plot. Lots of twists and turns, and Irene Adler and Holmes are treated as equals. This is a great book for romance readers who like a good mystery and are interested in learning more about Holmes.

That's it for this installment. stay tuned for more blogs to come.

Derrick Belanger is the author of the #1 bestselling book Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance which was in the top 200 bestselling books on Amazon. He also is the author of the MacDougall Twins with Sherlock Holmes books, the latest of which is Curse of the Deadly Dinosaurand edited the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle horror anthology A Study in Terror: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Revolutionary Stories of Fear and the Supernatural. Mr. Belanger also is a frequent contributor to the blog I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere. Mr. Belanger resides in Colorado and continues compiling unpublished works by Dr. John H. Watson.