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Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Primal Man
London 1901. The city is in the grip of 'Monkey Man Mania'. Intrepid explorer Drake Patterson has caused a media storm following his astonishing discovery of a frozen ancient man in the remote Himalayan mountains. This 'Primal Man' has been triumphantly transported back to England as proof of the missing link in evolutionary theory. The upcoming auction of the specimen causes a stir amongst academics and the board of the British Museum. Whilst many are excited about bidding for this 'yeti', suspicions remain. The story of the find just doesn't add up – neither does the fact that no one is prepared to insure the beast. Enter the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his loyal friend Dr Watson. The fraud investigation takes a dark turn when it becomes one of murder, and Sherlock's powers of deduction and skill are once again put to the test in this exciting adventure. Praise for Derrick Belanger ‘Noted Sherlock Holmes author, Derrick Belanger, has outdone himself again…a creative tour de force full of mystery.’ GC Rosenquist, author of Sherlock Holmes and the Pearl of Death and Other Early Stories ‘One thing is certain – nothing is as it seems, and Sherlock Holmes is the man to solve the case.’ David Marcum, author of The Papers of Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes and A Quantity of Debt Derrick Belanger is an author and educator, most noted for his books and lectures on Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He resides in Broomfield, Colorado with his wife and children.
- GenresMystery
87 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2016
53 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Derrick Belanger
114 books50 followersAuthor Derrick Belanger's publications include an eclectic mix: book reviews, articles for education journals, short stories, poems, comic books, and the graphic novel, Twenty-Three Skidoo! A former instructor at Washington State University, and a current middle school Language Arts teacher, Derrick lives in Broomfield, Colorado with his wife Abigail Gosselin and their two daughters, Rhea and Phoebe. Currently, Derrick is working on several Sherlockian projects: the Young Adult novel Sherlock Holmes and the Transformers of Time, the teaching guide Sherlock Holmes for Teachers, the pastiche novel The Funeral of Sherlock Holmes, and the film studies book The Hound of the Baskervilles: From Page to Screen. He also co-authors the web site Mystery Aircraft.com with author Chuck Davis.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 23, 2016
Every time I read one of Derrick Belanger's Sherlock Holmes stories I think, "I wish I'd thought of that." I don't know where he gets his ideas, but I love (envy) them.
I also love the way he withholds information from the reader, waiting until the very end to reveal what Holmes knows that we don't. Of course this is classic mystery writing and classic Doyle and I should expect it, but I'm always fooled anyway because he does it so well.
Belanger's stories also evoke a strong sense of place, time, and culture, and I really enjoy that too. This one also has some cool technology in it, which adds extra spice.
All in all, I really wish he'd quit his day job and give us more of these great adventures more quickly. A reader can wish, can't she?
I also love the way he withholds information from the reader, waiting until the very end to reveal what Holmes knows that we don't. Of course this is classic mystery writing and classic Doyle and I should expect it, but I'm always fooled anyway because he does it so well.
Belanger's stories also evoke a strong sense of place, time, and culture, and I really enjoy that too. This one also has some cool technology in it, which adds extra spice.
All in all, I really wish he'd quit his day job and give us more of these great adventures more quickly. A reader can wish, can't she?
April 3, 2017
Probably the worst Sherlock Homes fan fiction I have read. The plot is disjointed, the dialogue stilted. In one place the last name of a character is changed, then returned to the original a few pages later.
Wasted money on this one.
Wasted money on this one.
November 28, 2016
Sherlock and Watson are investigating an obvious hoax with a fake primal man when all of a sudden it is stolen and a Police Officer is killed.
We get to meet Sherlocks cousin Professor Dynamo.
A lot of fun all around
We get to meet Sherlocks cousin Professor Dynamo.
A lot of fun all around
September 12, 2017
Not really Sherlocian
A most interesting tale. Ingenuous use of possibility of inventions. Although the characters were from Doyle and the locale was typical of the original stories it was a little too much of a stretch for this Holmes fan to earn more stars.
A most interesting tale. Ingenuous use of possibility of inventions. Although the characters were from Doyle and the locale was typical of the original stories it was a little too much of a stretch for this Holmes fan to earn more stars.
December 27, 2018
Someone has found a "primal man." The British Museum wants Sherlock to come and talk about it being a fraud. He gets his cousin, Professor Ellington Dynamo, to help him prove it. Then murder happens and Sherlock & Watson have to find the murderer.
Okay. Not Wow!
Okay. Not Wow!
April 5, 2016
preposterous
October 8, 2017
Diverting pleasant read
Both Holmes and Watson seem more human in this treatment of the characters. The denouement was somewhat hurried to my taste, and surprising.
Both Holmes and Watson seem more human in this treatment of the characters. The denouement was somewhat hurried to my taste, and surprising.
August 29, 2017
Great Sherlock Holmes adventure!
I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with Sherlock, Dr. Watson and a intriguing new character, Professor Ellington Dynamo. Victorian England is enthralled with the newly discovered "Primal Man" but an official at the British Museum wants Sherlock to investigate the find to see if it is authentic or not. Great story! I'm looking forward to more stories of the Great Detective.
I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure with Sherlock, Dr. Watson and a intriguing new character, Professor Ellington Dynamo. Victorian England is enthralled with the newly discovered "Primal Man" but an official at the British Museum wants Sherlock to investigate the find to see if it is authentic or not. Great story! I'm looking forward to more stories of the Great Detective.
January 8, 2019
I know this is nit-picking, but I do wish the author had thought a bit more about the vocabulary. According to the OED, 'carnie' was first recorded in the 1930s and Watson is equally unlikely to use the term 'trash can'. I have read several post-Doyle Sherlock stories that I preferred and I will not look out for this author, but then I am not a major Holmes fan anyway.
October 27, 2017
Drake Patterson has just returned to England with an example of 'Primal Man', or the yeti. With the British Museum wishing to put in a bid for it, it is up to Sherlock Holmes to deetrmine if it is authentic or not.
A short, enjoyable, easily read tale.
A short, enjoyable, easily read tale.
July 23, 2018
Good read
I felt that this was short, but still a very good read. It has all the elements I like to have in a story- a well laid story line, a little actipn tied with suspense and mystery. Characters who are well known and loved are a plus.
I felt that this was short, but still a very good read. It has all the elements I like to have in a story- a well laid story line, a little actipn tied with suspense and mystery. Characters who are well known and loved are a plus.
March 27, 2020
Sherlock vs the primal man!
Sherlock and Watson gets involved with a scientific discovery. This is well written & it continues the story line with no noticeable change of authors. I would recommend this book to all Sherlock followers.
Sherlock and Watson gets involved with a scientific discovery. This is well written & it continues the story line with no noticeable change of authors. I would recommend this book to all Sherlock followers.
August 13, 2017
Not bad. Better than the usual pastiche. A little too tongue in cheek for my taste however.
March 30, 2016
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Primal Man by Derrick Belanger
My thanks to Georgina Cutler and the good folks at Endeavour Press for my Kindle™ copy of this book.
Summer, 1901. An explorer named Drake Patterson has returned from an attempt to climb Mt. Everest with the supposed frozen remains of a primitive man. The body has been kept in a frozen state and there is to be an auction, the body going to the Museum or research center that wins the auction.
Mr. Edward Huxley, PhD of the British Museum desires an inspection by Sherlock Holmes before the British Museum makes a fool out of themselves by purchasing what Huxley believes to be a fake. Joining Holmes and Watson at the pre-auction showing will be Holmes’ cousin, Professor Ellington Dynamo. I am certain that most readers will recognize Professor Dynamo in this slight disguise!
Holmes, Watson, and Professor Dynamo are agreed that the body is a very poorly made fake. But William Merrick, a somewhat recent arrival at the museum believes it to be genuine, and he has a ring of supporters that could sway the vote in favor of the museum acquiring the “Primal Man.”
Then the body vanishes, leaving behind a dead policeman, a man who worked for Inspector Lestrade…
This story has many attributes in its favor. It has the true ring of the original stories. It has Professor Dynamo, a big plus for any volume! There are elements of Holmes’ travels in Tibet. There is mention of the things the people of the Himalayas usually show foreigners as relics of the Yeti. And there is a good villain and a fantastic showdown at the end!
Really, who could ask for more? I give this wonderful little tale five stars
PS: Readers of this book might like to read about the case of the Minnesota Iceman, a fake here in the States that is still argued over…
Quoth the Raven…
My thanks to Georgina Cutler and the good folks at Endeavour Press for my Kindle™ copy of this book.
Summer, 1901. An explorer named Drake Patterson has returned from an attempt to climb Mt. Everest with the supposed frozen remains of a primitive man. The body has been kept in a frozen state and there is to be an auction, the body going to the Museum or research center that wins the auction.
Mr. Edward Huxley, PhD of the British Museum desires an inspection by Sherlock Holmes before the British Museum makes a fool out of themselves by purchasing what Huxley believes to be a fake. Joining Holmes and Watson at the pre-auction showing will be Holmes’ cousin, Professor Ellington Dynamo. I am certain that most readers will recognize Professor Dynamo in this slight disguise!
Holmes, Watson, and Professor Dynamo are agreed that the body is a very poorly made fake. But William Merrick, a somewhat recent arrival at the museum believes it to be genuine, and he has a ring of supporters that could sway the vote in favor of the museum acquiring the “Primal Man.”
Then the body vanishes, leaving behind a dead policeman, a man who worked for Inspector Lestrade…
This story has many attributes in its favor. It has the true ring of the original stories. It has Professor Dynamo, a big plus for any volume! There are elements of Holmes’ travels in Tibet. There is mention of the things the people of the Himalayas usually show foreigners as relics of the Yeti. And there is a good villain and a fantastic showdown at the end!
Really, who could ask for more? I give this wonderful little tale five stars
PS: Readers of this book might like to read about the case of the Minnesota Iceman, a fake here in the States that is still argued over…
Quoth the Raven…
June 12, 2016
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of The Primal Man was the second Sherlock Homes story of Derrick Belanger’s that I have read. The first being the Adventure of the Peculiar Provenance.
A “Missing Link” is brought back from the Himalayas and put on display for all to see. Holmes is brought in to prove it is a fake. But before the story is over there is murder and a true mystery to solve.
One of my favorite parts of this story were getting to see development on Inspector Lestrade. You see Lestrade and Holmes coming to an understanding of where each other stands in regards to the law.
Also you got some insight on what went on in Sherlock’s life after Reichenbach. A little glimpse into his past.
And finally tucked into the back of the book is one extra short story. The Tale of the First Adventure. It is a story told by Holmes to Watson about a case he solved while still a child. It is a nice little self contained story in which Holmes learns for the first time that sometimes the whole truth is best left unrevealed. Very well written on Derrick’s part.
A “Missing Link” is brought back from the Himalayas and put on display for all to see. Holmes is brought in to prove it is a fake. But before the story is over there is murder and a true mystery to solve.
One of my favorite parts of this story were getting to see development on Inspector Lestrade. You see Lestrade and Holmes coming to an understanding of where each other stands in regards to the law.
Also you got some insight on what went on in Sherlock’s life after Reichenbach. A little glimpse into his past.
And finally tucked into the back of the book is one extra short story. The Tale of the First Adventure. It is a story told by Holmes to Watson about a case he solved while still a child. It is a nice little self contained story in which Holmes learns for the first time that sometimes the whole truth is best left unrevealed. Very well written on Derrick’s part.
July 6, 2016
This isn't a bad Sherlock Holmes story. The story is certainly fitting with the types of cases to be found in the original Conan Doyle stories. The introduction of Professor Dynamo and his inventions is also entertaining. My only complaints are that the story is so short and somewhat abrupt. There is very little mystery and it seems like Holmes barely breaks a sweat. I also wasn't sure if we were meant to have heard of Professor Dynamo before this story. An enjoyable and diverting read all the same.
March 17, 2016
Enjoyable
An enjoyable romp that replicates the spirit of an essential Holmes tale, if not the voice. Some of the steampunkesque inventions feel a little out of character for the rest of this enjoyable tale.
An enjoyable romp that replicates the spirit of an essential Holmes tale, if not the voice. Some of the steampunkesque inventions feel a little out of character for the rest of this enjoyable tale.
September 8, 2016
Magnificent tale
I am a lover of the great fictional detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. These stories of adventures after the Strand publication are well written in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle style. Any Holmes advocate should enjoy these stories.
I am a lover of the great fictional detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. These stories of adventures after the Strand publication are well written in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle style. Any Holmes advocate should enjoy these stories.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews