Sherlock Holmes, Bridge Detective

by Frank Thomas

This may well be the year's most unusual bridge book. Carefully conceived and written by one of the nation's outstanding bridge teachers, Sherlock Holmes, Bridge Detective is designed to bring entertainment as well as interest and information to those bridge players anxious to improve their skills at the world's most popular game. Designed as a bridge escape into the wonderful world of Baker Street, the reader follows the most famous detective of them all through his introduction to bridge and then as a participant in the Challenge Match, the world's first, big, head-to-head, bridge competition. Holmes invariably relying on his ability at inference, deduction and observation; rapidly becomes the darling of the kibitzers surpassing the abilities of his partner and bridge teacher, the long suffering Watson. Through forty-four action packed hands we follow the line of play or defense of Holmes-Watson as the Baker Street sleuth uses a common-sense approach to frustrate his opponents. Interwoven with the Challenge Match hands are two Holmsian cases which the detective solves with the assistance of bridge-reasoning. Most of all this novel card adventure is a fun book designed to instruct the reader in an interesting fashion as to spotting clues at the table and drawing reasonable clues from them. Why not go back th Baker Street and become a detective... a bridge detective, that is.

122 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Frank "Frankie" Thomas, Jr. was the only child of two actors who encouraged their son into the same business at an early age. He appeared on the Broadway stage and in a number of movies before WWII. During the war he served with both the Navy and the Coast Guard. Later he returned to New York and found steady work on radio. In 1950 he gained national popularity when he was cast in the title role of the TV series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. He was still making personal appearances as a result of that role until his death.

Frankie gave up acting at the height of his fame and wrote for radio and TV.

"I have no regrets. I got all the breaks I had coming. I consider myself to have been very lucky during my career, especially in knowing when to leave it. I smile when I think of those years but I've never missed any part of acting."

Thomas was a bridge master who taught recreational bridge while playing on the circuit with all the other master players as well as the author of Sherlock Holmes mystery novels.

In the late 1980s, he met and married wife Virginia who died in 1997. Frankie passed away of respiratory failure in Sherman Oaks, California.