The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

The UK novelization of the great 1970 Billy Wilder film, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely. (Click for U.S. edition.)

SHERLOCK HOLMES –
THE UNPUBLISHED FACTS.
Dramatic new revelations.
Dr. Watson's secret memoirs unearthed.

"In my lifetime I have recored more than sixty cases which demonstrated the singular gifts of my friend Sherlock Holmes, the best and wisest man that ever lived. But there were other adventures shared by us which, for reasons of discretion, I have decided to withhold from the public until a later date. They involve matters of a delicate and sometimes scandalous nature..."

Title: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Michael & Mollie Hardwick
Year: 1970
Publisher: Mayflower
Purchase: Amazon.co.uk.

A Study in Scarlet (2011)

This one is canonical, but much like the 1985 copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which I shared here, I love how this 2011 BBC Books edition of Doyle's first Holmes adventure, A Study In Scarlet, uses the reigning Holmes and Watson on the cover. In this case it's Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman from the hugely popular television series, Sherlock.

The hit BBC series Sherlock has introduced a new generation of fans to Sir Arthur Conon Doyle's legendary detective. The debate episode took as its inspiration Conan Doyle's first Holmes novel, and this new edition of A Study in Scarlet, with an introduction by Sherlock co-creator Steven Moffat, allows fans to discover how it all started.

A Study in Scarlet is a potent mix of murder, suspense, cryptic clues, red herrings and revenge. It introduces us to the world-famous characters of Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Inspector Lestrade as they join forces for the first time to track a mysterious killer that stalks London's streets. 

Title: A Study in Scarlet
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Year: 2011
Publisher: BBC Books
Purchase: Amazon.co.uk

Sherlock Holmes and the Sacred Sword (1985)

First published in 1980, this original Sherlock Holmes adventure by Frank Thomas seems to have anticipated Indiana Jones. This Pinnacle paperback was published in 1985.

BENEATH THE DEADLY BLADE 

A dying man arrives at 221B Baker Street. An eccentric burglar scandalizes Sussex. The legendary sword of the prophet Mohammed surfaces, then disappears...  

This bizarre sequence of events propels Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to the back canals of Venice, the shadowy world of Berlin, the lurid alleys of Cario, an the Valley of the Kings––in search of the sacred silver sword and the false prophet who may trigger a holy war in the Middle East, unless the dauntless Holmes can bring the scoundrel to ground and halt his fiendish scheme!

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Sacred Sword
Author: Frank Thomas
Year: 1985 (first published 1980)
Publisher: Pinnacle
Purchase: Amazon

Sherlock Holmes and the Treasure Train (1985)

One of several original Holmes novels by Frank Thomas. This one has Sherlock solving a great train robbery.

INTO THIN AIR... 

A half million pounds in gold has disappeared from an armored train outside London. The railroad and the banks are in an uproar, and finally they must turn to Sherlock Holmes for help. What begins as a deceptively simple case transforms into a puzzle unlike any Dr. Watson has ever seen, as Holmes works brilliantly to unravel an international tangle of high finance, low cunning, and cold-blooded murder. The clues are slim, the work is deadly dangerous, the game's afoot––and the great sleuth is giving chase!

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Treasure Train
Author: Frank Thomas
Year: 1985
Publisher: Pinnacle
Purchase: Amazon