Baker Street Irregulars discussion
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What are you currently reading?
The film Chocolat was odd, I am yet to read it. I have read two of her works (I have 10 in total sitting on a shelf) but not 'Gentlemen & Players'.
J. wrote: "I just finished Joanne Harris' "Gentleman and Players" (she's probably best known for "Chocolat", which was made into a film.) I thought it was excellent, the sort of solid writing and slow, but ac..."I also liked Gentlemen and Players a lot. Even though it was not written in that I-wanna-be-a-Netflix-movie style that you see way too often today, I think it would make a great miniseries. Didn't like the sequel quite as much, but agree about the writing, and Jane Harper.
I'm reading Lestrade & the Mirror of Murder by M J Trow. If you are old enough to remember "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and found it funny then you might like this. Not really serious at all even although there are murders galore. It's the characters and their names - such as the 2 underlings of Lestrade (who in this novel is endowed with pithy humour) are called Bee & Queux - in the UK B&Q is a DIY store. There are also cameos by Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Walter Dew, amateur spiritualist Arthur Conan Doyle (though Holmes himself is absent), and John Buchan (author of The 39 Steps).
There was actually an outlier Ripper suspect named Edward Buchan. I doubt he's a relation
I am over indulging due to yesterday being my birthday - so I decided to give in fully to my addiction.Well, yesterday morning I finished Lestrade & the Mirror of Murder by M J Trow, it was a bit of fun fluff, worth reading.
Yesterday I read SH & the Giant Rat of Sumatra by P D Gilbert, not a bad story, but padded out with a back story that became ponderous in the extreme.
Today I am starting SH & the Queen of Diamonds by S Hayes & D Whitehead, I'll keep you posted on this soon.
Barbara wrote: "There was actually an outlier Ripper suspect named Edward Buchan. I doubt he's a relation"I take it that you have not read The 39 Steps ?
Barbara wrote: "There was actually an outlier Ripper suspect named Edward Buchan. I doubt he's a relation"Apparently, 29 yr old Buchan killed himself by cutting his own throat on the day of Mary Jane Kelly's (last of the "canonical" victims) funeral.
I don't see the connection between the author of the 39 steps & the suspect you mentioned regarding the Jack the Ripper investigation - please enlighten me.
I have ordered some pastiche titles, the 7% Solution arrived this morning at 6am, so it was read in chapters with breaks in between for drinks and meals etc. As rule I'm not a fan of pastiches of Sherlock Holmes, but this one is a wee bit different as it tries (quite successfully) to try to unpick the tapestry of the past life of Sherlock Holmes that make him the way he is. There are the serious elements of the tale such as the cocaine addiction (hence the title), the Holmes boys childhood, etc. There are the comedy elements of the tale such as the train chase, demolishing a railway carriage to feed the locomotive, etc. I have been able to watch the online trailer of the movie version, it looks like it was done as a farce by over acting and playing for laughs. I think I'll stick to the book.
Just completed The Italian Secretary - not as good as I expected from reading other reviews. Started off well, got a bit farcical on the train journey, what with all the red herrings floating around, then the trip to Holyroodhouse (which would take 5 minutes at the most, I was born in Edinburgh) seemed to last too long for all the dialogue to be completed - God knows how they managed to pass Arthur's seat en route I don't know. The trebuchet attack on Holyroodhouse was the last straw.
Right now reading "Oscar Wilde and The Return of Jack the Ripper," one of author Gyles Brandreth's "Oscar Wilde" series. It pairs Wilde with Conan Doyle in a hunt for a serial killer some years after the Ripper murders.Only about a third into it, not much suspense but the writing is good, as is the relationship between Wilde and Doyle.
I did read "The Seven Per Cent Solution" some time ago, and liked it, though I was not a fan of the film except for - oddly enough - the unusual casting of Robert Duvall as Watson. He would never have occurred to me as a Watson, but I actually thought he was quite good.
I have just finished The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lindsey Faye. Is it my imagination or is Lyndsay Faye channeling Sir A C Doyle from beyond the veil ? They simply feel so right, what else can I say. All 15 short stories are wonderful, especially the 2 from Mr Holmes diary.I have only a teensey-weensey nit picking criticism on UK terms. No cents in the UK (pennies) - also it's whisky (Canada too) not whiskey - that spelling is only used in the USA and Ireland.
Today's read was The West End Horror by N Meyer. I could get the feel of A C Doyle, but not throughout the novel, and, as with the 7% Solution, it's just a wee bit different. The vocabulary feels right, the era feels right, the atmosphere feels right too but it just lacks something that makes it feel authentic. Hard to put your finger on it, and such an avalanche of name dropping !
I couldn't make up my mind on 1 or 2 stars, but as I took 2 days to read such a short novel it had to be down to how much I had to struggle to finish it. I only picked it up at the library because it had Sherlock Holmes mentioned on the back cover - big mistake.I think the biggest error the author made was trying to bring the world of A C Doyle's characters into the tale at all. The author almost emasculated Holmes, by attempting to alter his character so badly, as well as that of his Boswell. Can any Sherlockian honestly be expected to have John, Sherlock & Mycroft fit into this fantasy ?
Perhaps it's my age (69) but I felt the fluffy feeling of her characters make it a teenage only affair, just at the age when the adult feelings are budding into adult territory. It's the 1st novel from this author I have read, an
The Annuls of SH by P D Gilbert was the compilation of 3 shorts stories I read today. I liked this trio of short tales from P D Gilbert a lot more than I liked the Giant Rat of Sumatra, mainly due to excess padding. The pace was good in each tale and was in the style of the canon, the first tale was a 3 star short, the second and third tales deserved 4 stars.I was happy to have Langdale Pike (tittle for tattle) in another SH adventure he's a bit of a slippery character, but SH puts up with his affectations and antics - so who am I to argue with who SH decides to consort with ? The last line in the last tale re John in the garden would, have been more poignant (IMHO) if Mary's voice had just whispered John.
I just finished "The Mystery of Central Park," by the 19th century journalist Nellie Bly. I believe it was first serialized, and then complied into a novel.
The investigative reporter known as Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) was a classic brains and beauty combination who is not given her due place of importance, just because she was a woman.It was a similar situation for the actress Hedy Lamar (Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler) who also faced such prejudice, and so her brilliant mind was ignored.
There are so many others who faced the same fate, but they are only two of the many female pioneers who made there mark even if they were (to a great extent) ignored due to the misogynistic times they lived in.
I would not recommend reading A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin, the whole thing was quite depressing. As a SH inspired novel is a rambling tale that could have been halved without hampering the narrative. Very different from the movie version, I wonder why they saved Roger ? It changed the whole story.It's really four tales woven together which are :
1) The remembrance of a failed case which ended in a suicide.
2) The implication (of the above) was the reason SH retired to his Sussex idle and apiary.
3) SH relationship to and with Roger and his mother.
4) The trip to Japan, which could quite easily been left out entirely.
J. wrote: "I just finished "The Mystery of Central Park," by the 19th century journalist Nellie Bly. I believe it was first serialized, and then complied into a novel."Nellie Bly shows up in one of my recent reads, "Chapel Noir" one of the Irene Adler mysteries, where Holmes is sort of a co-star.
Barbara wrote: "J. wrote: "I just finished "The Mystery of Central Park," by the 19th century journalist Nellie Bly. I believe it was first serialized, and then complied into a novel."Nellie Bly shows up in one..."
Read up on Nellie Bly, she was a heroin in her own life time. I certainly would never have had the courage she had to investigate the way asylums were run at that time, such bravery to be admitted as a patient, it just beggars belief.
I picked up A Scandal in Battersea (boring) and The Bartered Brides (slightly less boring) both by M Lackey at the library, needless to say I will not be picking up any further titles by this author.Rubbish stories and the phrase "inconsiderate bastard broke his own neck" - really, would Sherlock ever say that ? and in the presence of ladies - never !
I just finished "Silence" by Thomas Perry about an ex-cop who helps a woman disappear after she's the victim of a foiled murder attempt, then six years later, has to find her when her business partner is accused of her "murder."Way too long and not as good as Perry's Jane Whitefield series.
Another trip to the library provided me with a copy of SH vs Frankenstein by David Whitehead. This has the basic feel of a SH story, but please, this is pure fluff ! I can't believe it's been made into a movie, surely that's a joke ?
I have just purchased and completed The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer. This is a 5 star tale and is well worth reading. It is infinitely superior to The West End Horror or The 7% Solution. It's not only a good Holmes tale but it's interesting historically, as, not only do you get a ripping yarn, but you also get to ride the Orient Express with Holmes and Watson whilst being bedeviled by the Russian Secret Services.
Just finished For the Sake of the Game ed by King & Klinger, all in all fairly good with one outstanding contribution (The Case of the Missing Case) by Alan Gordon - here's my verdict on the 14 short stories:1 - 1 star, lyrics for a filk song.
1 - 3 stars, yeh to this one.
3 - 2 stars, for the Monty Python experience.
4 - 5 stars, for the fun feel.
5 - 2 stars, as not really SH
6 - 1/2 a star, total nonsense, thumbs down.
7 - 1 star, thumbs down for this one.
8 - 3 stars, and I don't go for comic strip, but, none the less, fun.
9 - 2 stars, as not really SH.
10 - 2 stars, as more Jack Reacher than SH.
11 - 1 star, as not really SH.
12 - 3 stars, above average even though in the wrong era.
13 - 1 star, as not SH.
14 - 3 stars, an updated Hound of the Baskervilles, very entertaining.
I have just finished reading an interesting book and was fascinated to find that the following works were in circulation when A C Doyle was a medical student in Edinburgh, so it's entirely possible that he was aware of this authors work, and, due to his work as a clerk for Dr Joseph Bell he may have found them of interest.The McGovan Casebook (Experiences of an Edinburgh Detective) by James McGovan (real name William Crawford Honeyman,1845-1919) whose short stories (ostensibly the accounts of a real detective, but fictional) which were serialised in The People's Friend magazine (a Dundee publication, still going) in the late 19th century. The stories were written with practical assistance from Detective Sergeant William Osbourne of the Edinburgh police force in 1882. Honeyman had earlier models as inspiration, such as William Russel's Inspector Waters (in Chambers Edinburgh Journal of 1849) and and James McLevy's memoirs of 1861.
The parallels are hard to avoid so I thought they might be of interest to others. Mr Honeyman was born in NZ in 1845 into a very musical Scottish immigrant family, who all returned to Scotland in 1849. The family settled in Edinburgh where Honeyman received his musical training, he later led the orchestra at the Leith Theatre, he also toured with a Scottish theatrical company. He wrote a column for the Peoples Friend magazine called violin queries where he answered correspondence and (for a small fee) valued violins. He published a great deal on the violin including compositions, some of which (according to the book) are still available. He named his house in Newport on Tay (situated on the south bank of the River Tay) Cremona ! Aside from crime writing, his name (honey and bees ?) along with the expertise regarding violins then surely it cannot be coincidental ? We know the opinion of Holmes on coincidences - so what would he have to say ?
Just finished "The Seven Secrets," by William Le Queux (pub 1903). Not a very good mystery, but the main characters - a pipe smoking, analytical amateur detective whose close friend, and the story's narrator, is an up and coming doctor - are obviously based on Holmes and Watson.
J. wrote: "Just finished "The Seven Secrets," by William Le Queux (pub 1903). Not a very good mystery, but the main characters - a pipe smoking, analytical amateur detective whose close friend, and the story'..."Not aware of this one , but, after reading goodreads reviews I don't think I'll bother.
Just finished "At Some Forgotten Door," by Doris Miles Disney (not to be confused with Dorothy Cameron Disney, or any other well known Disney.)I enjoyed it but understood why modern readers would find it too slow. Disney (and the other Disney) was among those mid-century writers, like Charlotte Armstrong, Margaret Millar, who were strong on character and psychology rather than jump scares. Unfortunately some of these books are only obtainable in used paperback editions, when you can find them at all - I do wish Amazon would Kindle-ize them.
I've just read a couple of Quentin Jardine's Bob Skinner mysteries over the weekend, good enough to make me look for more of the same.
In the Company of SH (King & Klinger) is a mixed bag of 15 short stories, collectively fair to middling, but an all round reasonable read.2 rate 5 stars (Lost Boy & Dunkirk), 1 rates 4 stars (The Crooked Man), 2 rate 3 1/2 stars (Silver Blaze & The Empty Slipper), 1 rates 3 stars (The Laughing Fisherman), 1 rates 2 1/2 stars (Dr Watson's Casebook), 3 rate 2 stars ( The Italian Art Dealer, My Ignoble Ancestress & The Closing) and 3 rate 1 star (By Any Other name, How I came to Meet SH & Thinking Machine), 1 rates 1/2 a star (Art in the Blood) and He Grew Up Reading SH rated zero stars.
I just finished Margaret Millar's "Beyond This Point Are Monsters." (Pub 1970) I found a few of her books too rambling, but did enjoy "Beast in View," and think that overall she is excellent at crafting, in a slow burn type of way - doesn't always appeal to modern readers, but she's got a knack for showing psychological insight to her characters, and she never fails to provide a solid, and often unsettling, finale.(Millar was married to crime writer Kenneth Millar, who wrote under the name Ross MacDonald.
Over the weekend I read 3 Hugh Ashton J H Watson Deed Box short stories Tales (3), More (3) & Secrets(4). So 10 short stories, all worth reading and I have sent for more.
Read "Studies in Scarlet," edited by David L. Hammer. This collection of essays and illustrations was targeted for, 1987, the "A Study in Scarlet" centenary - got pushed back by a year.With all anthologies, readers will find some entries more interesting than others - my favorite entries were Kiyoshi Tanaka's "I Met Mr. Holmes in Tokyo", Evelyn A Herzog's "A Surfeit of Sleuths" and David L. Hammer's "Who Was That Gentleman?" - but all of the entries were "very well thumbed," (to quote Holmes in HOUN, and the illustrations - some I'd never seen - were very interesting.
I can't review it on Goodreads, because the book, long out of print, is evidently not in their database.
J. wrote: "Read "Studies in Scarlet," edited by David L. Hammer. This collection of essays and illustrations was targeted for, 1987, the "A Study in Scarlet" centenary - got pushed back by a year.With all a..."
Can't you add the book or use the ISBN ?
I discovered the Dr Watson (thrillers) series at the library, purely accidentally as they do not come under the catalogue as Sherlock Holmes novels. I reserved all 5 titles but 4 are already on loan so I had to break my rule of reading numbered novels chronologically - you try resisting temptation ! Not only was no 5 (The Sign of Fear) a very acceptable Watson/Holmes tale but a pretty good WW1 novel that is peppered with real life incidents from the era. Pretty gruesome in places but a lot less of the usual sugar coating of those who tried to cover up atrocities. Shades of the fears of the Covid pandemic that became known as the Spanish Flu. Can't wait for the other 4 titles to turn up.
Here is Amazon's link to "Studies in Scarlet." The ISBN is 0938501070
https://www.amazon.com/Studies-Scarle...
As I am native of Edinburgh, so it was the cover illustration of the book that made me look at it then to choose this book. It's a nighttime shot of the view down the Playfair Steps in Edinburgh, which lead down from The Mound and Market Street past the two main Art Galleries onto Princes Street.A satisfying collection of 20 short detective tales, an all round good read. 2 were especially good rating 5 stars each "The Walrus and the Spy" and "The Adventure of the Marie Antoinette Necklace : a case for Sherlock Holmes." The remainder scored 4 at 4 stars, 2 at 3 stars, 4 at 2 stars and the remainder at 1 star each.
I have just waded through Justice Hall by L R King, what a waste of money, time and effort. Can anyone explain to me why SH has been reinvented from being a confirmed bachelor, of good character, defender of justice and my personal hero - now down graded to a 66 year old marrying a 21 year old ? It's character assassination and all due to the author living vicariously through her own character - wishful thinking - or is it dreaming ?
I kind of agree about the Mary Russell books. I must be missing something because I don't find them interesting, way too long and though I am not opposed to marrying Holmes off, this relationship had a sort of Maxim deWinter/2nd wife vibe and not really in a good way.As for my own reading, I went for a change of pace, an offbeat, self published crime novel , The Skin Game, set in Atlantic City. Better than a lot of books in the category by established publishing houses.
Barbara wrote: "I kind of agree about the Mary Russell books. I must be missing something because I don't find them interesting, way too long and though I am not opposed to marrying Holmes off, this relationship h..."To be honest I only read the aforementioned title as it was pointed out to me as a modern-ish take on SH, as it was set in his retirement. It was a well padded out dreary read mainly as the story was weak and predictable and quite frankly boring. My main complaint was the age issue, I was taken aback by the author marrying him off to girl of an age to be his granddaughter - it makes it a sort of creepy sugar daddy story. I will not be reading more.
As for the Skin Game, isn't that an old movie or TV show ? I must look it up.
I have just finished Dead Man's Land by Robert Ryan - another 5 star read. Not only a very acceptable Watson/Holmes tale but a pretty good WW1 novel that is peppered with real life characters and incidents from the era. I have only one teeny weeny quibble - I felt that Holmes was made to sound physically enfeebled, and, using the usual accepted "facts", he is 2 years younger than Watson.
Observations by Gaslight - it's not my imagination, Lyndsay Faye is channeling Sir A C Doyle from beyond the veil, her work simply feels so right, what else can I say ? These 6 short stories are perfectly done and I have to mention that this Irene Adler short story is the only pastiche I have read to date that isn't yet another boring attempt at a non existent love story for SH & IA. I don't care what anybody says, there just isn't a love story between SH & IA.
I agree.. got as an ebook from Library, and thoroughly enjoyed her work. And while IA tale was good, I guess it just fit in with the known ideas from a different angle. DrWeb
Just completed SH & the Disgraced Inspector by John Hall, short but satisfying tale, nicely complicated and characters as they should be re the canon.
I can't review Studies in Scarlet (ISBN 0-938501-07-0) as it's not listed, well it's not fiction but a set of essay's on Sherlock Holmes as a character. Not a bad read but only 3 were of much interest to me nos 3, 8 and 10 looked at SH as whole with a lot of emphasis on whether or not he was really a Victorian 007, and not a toff. My views are similar in that toffs tended to put his back up, especially if they looked down their noses at him or his abilities - also he didn't have the old school tie attitude. I think Mycroft was M and Sherlock was his Bond, think of the similarities in the two characters.
Just got the latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories by MX Publishing - there is no theme, just tales have to be set in the proper time period and be authentic to the character. About halfway through.
Barbara wrote: "Just got the latest anthology of Sherlock Holmes stories by MX Publishing - there is no theme, just tales have to be set in the proper time period and be authentic to the character. About halfway t..."What exactly are MX books ?, text or strip cartoon style ?
I didn't get it at first but someone else mentioned that the publisher's last name is Emez (sp?) and it's pronounced MX so I guess that's why they picked that name for the publishing house.Right now, MX seems to be up there with Titan books as the go-to publisher of Sherlock Holmes material, fiction and non fiction. They do novels and short story collections and I think they started up a young adult imprint. The books are in the usual formats - hardcover, paperback and kindle. The anthologies that I referred to have been published for some years the publisher working with editor and author David Marcum - the writers are all authors of Sherlock Holmes books, and who give back their portion of royalties to a charity that has to do with a school that was Conan Doyle's old home.
I have to say, they are great looking books, just a little pricey for me to buy the whole set in hardback (which is the format I prefer) - I think they have almost 40 volumes now.
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Several years after "Gentleman and Players" Harris did two more works at the same setting, so it's the first in a trilogy. I'm into the second book now.