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Anomalous: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring Jack Johnson and Alphonse Capone
America's first African American heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson, has a chance encounter with a mysterious Irishman, named Altamont, when they meet at the boxer's restaurant, Café de Champion, in August 1912. Johnson's new relationship with the unusual man, with beady eyes and hawk-like nose, places him in an unusual circumstance to help Altamont get out of a tough situation. In 1913, Johnson is nailed with a felony conviction in the American court system and flees to Canada, and later travels to England, to meet with fight promoters. But a stolen South African 'blood diamond' and a grudge harbored against the controversial boxer from the past, puts Johnson's life in peril while on British soil, reuniting him with the mysterious Altamont. Will Johnson uncover the true identity of this Irishman, and entrust his life to Altamont's care? And as the action unfurls, Johnson forms an alliance with a black British rogue and grifter, Steve Dixie, but can this man be trusted? With all the uncertainty Johnson faces in a foreign land, and for his own protection, he calls in a favor from his American Mafia cronies, finding himself in league with American teenage mobsters, Alphonse Capone and Frankie Yale. Johnson, Altamont and their entourage of companions' race against the clock, not just to save Johnson's life, but to preserve the national security and future of Britain as well.
225 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
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155 people want to read
About the author
Samuel Williams Jr.
2 books7 followers Samuel Williams, Jr. is a 54-year-old African American journalist and grant writer based in San Bernardino, Ca.
“When I was a high school student at Christchurch School, a private Episcopalian boarding school located on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Middlesex County, Virginia, I fell in love Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes adventures,” Williams said. “In my readings, however, I noticed there were only two black characters ever mentioned in any of the adventures. I was also concerned the only black male character to appear, Steve Dixie, was depicted as a rogue and grifter. I decided I would write a Holmes adventure that would give Dixie’s character some positive, redeeming value and I believe I was successful in doing so in the book, Anomalous: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring Jack Johnson and Alphonse Capone.”
Williams is the first African American writer to ever author a major Sherlock Holmes novel.
Williams admits that three Christchurch School alumnus (all deceased): novelist William Styron (The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice); long time New York Times chief film critic Vincent Canby (Living Quarters and Unnatural Scenery); and North Carolina based sportswriter William Brill (A Season is a Lifetime: The Inside Story of the Duke Blue Devils and Their Championship Seasons); inspired his dream to write.
“I never met either writer, but while attending Christchurch School, I heard of their literary achievements, so they provided a benchmark for me as a writer. I’m not sure if I can ever produce the type of work they did, but I am proud to join their ranks as a published author with my own literary style.”
Williams is deeply involved in serving his community, serving as the City of San Bernardino 5th Ward Fine Arts Commissioner; secretary/program director of the San Bernardino Clergy Association and as a member of the San Bernardino County Reentry Collaborative.
Williams is employed as a social entrepreneur for capacity building with a non-profit organization located in San Bernardino, Ca. He studied print journalism at Norfolk State University and is working on earning his ministerial ordination.
“When I was a high school student at Christchurch School, a private Episcopalian boarding school located on the banks of the Rappahannock River in Middlesex County, Virginia, I fell in love Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes adventures,” Williams said. “In my readings, however, I noticed there were only two black characters ever mentioned in any of the adventures. I was also concerned the only black male character to appear, Steve Dixie, was depicted as a rogue and grifter. I decided I would write a Holmes adventure that would give Dixie’s character some positive, redeeming value and I believe I was successful in doing so in the book, Anomalous: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring Jack Johnson and Alphonse Capone.”
Williams is the first African American writer to ever author a major Sherlock Holmes novel.
Williams admits that three Christchurch School alumnus (all deceased): novelist William Styron (The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice); long time New York Times chief film critic Vincent Canby (Living Quarters and Unnatural Scenery); and North Carolina based sportswriter William Brill (A Season is a Lifetime: The Inside Story of the Duke Blue Devils and Their Championship Seasons); inspired his dream to write.
“I never met either writer, but while attending Christchurch School, I heard of their literary achievements, so they provided a benchmark for me as a writer. I’m not sure if I can ever produce the type of work they did, but I am proud to join their ranks as a published author with my own literary style.”
Williams is deeply involved in serving his community, serving as the City of San Bernardino 5th Ward Fine Arts Commissioner; secretary/program director of the San Bernardino Clergy Association and as a member of the San Bernardino County Reentry Collaborative.
Williams is employed as a social entrepreneur for capacity building with a non-profit organization located in San Bernardino, Ca. He studied print journalism at Norfolk State University and is working on earning his ministerial ordination.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 7, 2013
A very enjoyable book with clever inclusions from both the original Sherlock Holmes stories and history itself. Really well researched, full of action and informative.
January 22, 2026
Interesting tale of Sherlock Holmes as "Altamont" ; runs into Jack Johnson and various friends and enemies. He is able to reveal a variety of prejudgments and similar work ethics of different people. The end game is to find hidden weapons and a few tricks to amaze. Loved It!!!
March 13, 2020
Great read! Interesting twist!
November 18, 2014
This book is, to the best of my knowledge, the first fiction published by this author. It is touted on the cover as being “the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes featuring Jack Johnson and Alfonse Capone.” My expectations were that I would find a book that preached the cause of integration and told of the terrible injustices suffered by the black community in America. What I found was a well-thought-out mystery about fascinating people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. The ‘preaching’ was confined to one scene in which Jack Johnson and Steve Dixie reasonably discuss the rationale of Victorian Society’s attitude to people of color with Dr. Watson. All additional preaching on the matter is confined to allowing events to take their course and characters to act out their natures.
The story is believable and is made to fit the time constraints imposed by “His Last Bow.” According to that source, Holmes visited several locations in America in 1912 as ‘Altamont.’ Chicago was prominent among these places and that is where he and Jack Johnson meet, in Johnson’s restaurant, the “Café de Champion.” This meeting, combined with ‘Altamont’s’ involvement with Irish hoodlums brings him into contact with the leading Chicago mob boss of the time, “Big Jim” Colosimo and his enforcer, “Johnny” Torio, who are friends of Jack Johnson, the first non-white Heavyweight boxing champion. The Irish hoodlums are trying to gain an ‘in’ with the Italian mob and the acquaintance of ‘Altamont’ and Johnson helps this process along.
A short time later, ‘Altamont’ was assigned to Ireland on “Provo “(Provisional IRA) business. Shortly after that, Jack Johnson was railroaded on trumped-up “Mann Act” charges and sentenced to a year in a Federal Penitentiary. He jumped bail and fled, with his wife, to Canada. Later, he went to London.
With Jack Johnson’s arrival in London, things become interesting. It appears that at least two groups are after Johnson, one trying to kill him and another trying to kidnap him. Further, it seems that at least one of these groups is involved with some hanky-panky that Holmes is looking into as a side-line on his ‘Altamont’ project and action follows hot and heavy. At times, one suspects that events are happening a bit out of sequence, but most of the actions described are not traceable, so the author’s sequencing remains acceptable. Steve Dixie, the colored boxer from “The Three Gables,” makes an interesting appearance as does a grown-up half-caste Lucy Hebron from “The Yellow Face.” Mob enforcers Frankie Yale and Alfonse Capone show up in reply to a request to “Big Jim” for help by Jack Johnson.
The writing is crisp and carefully done, especially at the beginning where readers’ attention needs to be grasped firmly. The book has also been extensively edited, although most of the work was done with software rather than an editor’s eye. There is a constant, minor irritation of properly spelled but improperly applied usage and tense agreement which never really becomes heavy but wears on the reader. The action toward the end of the book becomes confusing, but not confused. Most of the confusion is simply due to the fact that a lot happens in a short time because several contending groups are executing plans independent of one another. The author performs a very good job of showing the human side of criminals. He also carefully reminds readers that these are truly persons with a different outlook than most of us are accustomed to.
Taken all-in-all, this is a very entertaining and plausible book. It is informative and intriguing with a close-up view of some very unpleasant aspects of early Twentieth Century racial relations as well as a vivid picture of some extremely interesting characters. The author has taken a great deal of care to keep within the bounds of The Canon. His characters are very well drawn and have a lot of attractive features, even his villains.
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, October 2012
The story is believable and is made to fit the time constraints imposed by “His Last Bow.” According to that source, Holmes visited several locations in America in 1912 as ‘Altamont.’ Chicago was prominent among these places and that is where he and Jack Johnson meet, in Johnson’s restaurant, the “Café de Champion.” This meeting, combined with ‘Altamont’s’ involvement with Irish hoodlums brings him into contact with the leading Chicago mob boss of the time, “Big Jim” Colosimo and his enforcer, “Johnny” Torio, who are friends of Jack Johnson, the first non-white Heavyweight boxing champion. The Irish hoodlums are trying to gain an ‘in’ with the Italian mob and the acquaintance of ‘Altamont’ and Johnson helps this process along.
A short time later, ‘Altamont’ was assigned to Ireland on “Provo “(Provisional IRA) business. Shortly after that, Jack Johnson was railroaded on trumped-up “Mann Act” charges and sentenced to a year in a Federal Penitentiary. He jumped bail and fled, with his wife, to Canada. Later, he went to London.
With Jack Johnson’s arrival in London, things become interesting. It appears that at least two groups are after Johnson, one trying to kill him and another trying to kidnap him. Further, it seems that at least one of these groups is involved with some hanky-panky that Holmes is looking into as a side-line on his ‘Altamont’ project and action follows hot and heavy. At times, one suspects that events are happening a bit out of sequence, but most of the actions described are not traceable, so the author’s sequencing remains acceptable. Steve Dixie, the colored boxer from “The Three Gables,” makes an interesting appearance as does a grown-up half-caste Lucy Hebron from “The Yellow Face.” Mob enforcers Frankie Yale and Alfonse Capone show up in reply to a request to “Big Jim” for help by Jack Johnson.
The writing is crisp and carefully done, especially at the beginning where readers’ attention needs to be grasped firmly. The book has also been extensively edited, although most of the work was done with software rather than an editor’s eye. There is a constant, minor irritation of properly spelled but improperly applied usage and tense agreement which never really becomes heavy but wears on the reader. The action toward the end of the book becomes confusing, but not confused. Most of the confusion is simply due to the fact that a lot happens in a short time because several contending groups are executing plans independent of one another. The author performs a very good job of showing the human side of criminals. He also carefully reminds readers that these are truly persons with a different outlook than most of us are accustomed to.
Taken all-in-all, this is a very entertaining and plausible book. It is informative and intriguing with a close-up view of some very unpleasant aspects of early Twentieth Century racial relations as well as a vivid picture of some extremely interesting characters. The author has taken a great deal of care to keep within the bounds of The Canon. His characters are very well drawn and have a lot of attractive features, even his villains.
Reviewed by: Philip K. Jones, October 2012
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August 21, 2012America's first African American heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson, has a chance encounter with a mysterious Irishman, named Altamont, when they meet at the boxer's restaurant, Café de Champion, in August 1912. Johnson's new relationship with the unusual man, with beady eyes and hawk-like nose, places him in an unusual circumstance to help Altamont get out of a tough situation. In 1913, Johnson is nailed with a felony conviction in the American court system and flees to Canada, and later travels to England, to meet with fight promoters. But a stolen South African blood diamond and a grudge harbored against the controversial boxer from the past, puts Johnson's life in peril while on British soil, reuniting him with the mysterious Altamont.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews