Season's Greetings

Pull up and chair and relax. Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson will return next year with more tales from The Battered Tin.

WISHING ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS 

AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXX: More Christmas Adventures (1897-1928)

The MX series of new Sherlock Holmes stories continues with some holiday adventures. This is the third of three companion volumes published for Christmas 2021.

In Fall 2016, the series presented its first "themed" collection - Part V: Christmas Adventures - containing 30 new adventures that proved to be extremely and enduringly popular. With that in mind, we now revisit that season, with 57 more Christmas Adventures, ranging from a consequential case that occurred when Holmes was still a teenager, to another in the late 1920's when Holmes - in retirement - was still at the top of his game. 

The fifty-seven stories in these three companion volumes are a thrilling mix of mysteries, whatever the season. Some are directly involved with Christmas, while others occur during and in around that season. These represent some of the finest new Holmesian storytelling to be found by the best pasticheurs, and once again they honor the man described by Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known." 

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXX: More Christmas Adventures (1897-1928)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2021
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXIX: More Christmas Adventures (1889-1896)

The MX series of new Sherlock Holmes stories continues with some holiday adventures. This is the second of three companion volumes published for Christmas 2021.

In Fall 2016, the series presented its first "themed" collection - Part V: Christmas Adventures - containing 30 new adventures that proved to be extremely and enduringly popular. With that in mind, we now revisit that season, with 57 more Christmas Adventures, ranging from a consequential case that occurred when Holmes was still a teenager, to another in the late 1920's when Holmes - in retirement - was still at the top of his game. 

The fifty-seven stories in these three companion volumes are a thrilling mix of mysteries, whatever the season. Some are directly involved with Christmas, while others occur during and in around that season. These represent some of the finest new Holmesian storytelling to be found by the best pasticheurs, and once again they honor the man described by Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known." 

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXIX: More Christmas Adventures (1889-1896)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2021
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXVIII: More Christmas Adventures (1869-1888)

The MX series of new Sherlock Holmes stories continues with some holiday adventures. This is the first of three companion volumes published for Christmas 2021.

In Fall 2016, the series presented its first "themed" collection - Part V: Christmas Adventures - containing 30 new adventures that proved to be extremely and enduringly popular. With that in mind, we now revisit that season, with 57 more Christmas Adventures, ranging from a consequential case that occurred when Holmes was still a teenager, to another in the late 1920's when Holmes - in retirement - was still at the top of his game. 

The fifty-seven stories in these three companion volumes are a thrilling mix of mysteries, whatever the season. Some are directly involved with Christmas, while others occur during and in around that season. These represent some of the finest new Holmesian storytelling to be found by the best pasticheurs, and once again they honor the man described by Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known." 

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXVIII: More Christmas Adventures (1869-1888)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2021
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk

The Pandora Plague (1984)

Most know that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini were friends in real-life. But Houdini has also has a regular partnership with Sherlock Holmes in the pages of fiction. The Pandora Plague by Lee A. Matthias was one of their early encounters.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson team up with the master magician Harry Houdini in another thrilling mystery in the life of the greatest detective of all time. 

Houdini is entrusted with a strange locked box from the Far East and is asked to open it. But even he has no way of getting into it until Holmes and Watson join him in solving the riddle of its lock. And when the box is opened, the three investigators unwittingly become entangled with THE PANDORA PLAGUE.

Title: The Pandora Plague
Author: Lee A. Matthias
Year: 1984 (first published 1981)
Publisher: Unicorn Star Press
Purchase: Amazon

Ten Years Beyond Baker Street (1988)

Sherlock Holmes faces off with the Professor Moriarty of the Far East, the diabolical Dr. Fu Manchu! First published in 1984. This is the 1988 U.S. paperback edition.

 

It was ten years beyond Baker Street. The great detective was living in restless retirement among his bees in the wilds of Sussex. But an old warhorse will ever thrill to the trumpet of battle, and when a distraught Dr. Petrie begged his help to rescue Nayland Smith from the clutches of the fiendish Dr. Fu Manchu, Holmes, though reluctant, could not resist. 

When the sinister Oriental's evil minions unleashed their vile devices against the great man himself, the issue became more clear-cut. Though the stakes may have includied not simply the survival of Nayland Smith but that of the Empire itself, the stark facts ws that the game was toi be played by two geniuses for good and ill in a battle for a very personal supremacy.

Title: Ten Years Beyond Baker Street
Author: Cay Van Ash
Year: 1988 (first published 1984)
Publisher: Peremnial Library
Purchase: Amazon.

The Return of the Pharaoh (2021)

An all-new Sherlock Holmes pastiche from the pen of the great Nicholas Meyer will be released on November 9, 2021. This time Holmes and Watson meet Howard Carter in Egypt. This will be Meyer's fifth Holmes novel following: The Sever-Per-Cent Solution, The West End Horror, The Canary Trainer, and The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols. 

In Nicholas Meyer's The Return of the Pharaoh, Sherlock Holmes returns in an adventure that takes him to Egypt in search of a missing nobleman, a previously undiscovered pharaoh's tomb, and a conspiracy that threatens his very life.  

With his international bestseller, The Seven Per Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer brought to light a previously unpublished case of Sherlock Holmes that reinvigorated the world's interest in the first consulting detective. Now, many years later, Meyer is given exclusive access to Dr. Watson's unpublished journal, wherein he details a previously unknown case. 

In 1910, Dr. John Watson travels to Egypt with his wife Juliet. Her tuberculosis has returned and her doctor recommends a stay at a sanitarium in a dry climate. But while his wife undergoes treatment, Dr. Watson bumps into an old friend--Sherlock Holmes, in disguise and on a case. An English Duke with a penchant for egyptology has disappeared, leading to enquiries from his wife and the Home Office. 

Holmes has discovered that the missing duke has indeed vanished from his lavish rooms in Cairo and that he was on the trail of a previous undiscovered and unopened tomb. And that he's only the latest Egyptologist to die or disappear under odd circumstances. With the help of Howard Carter, Holmes and Watson are on the trail of something much bigger, more important, and more sinister than an errant lord.

Title: The Return of the Pharaoh
Author: Nicholas Meyer
Year: 2021
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Holmes meets 007 (1967)

With the release today of a new James Bond film, No Time To Die, I thought I'd share this rare Holmes-Bond crossover pastiche by Donald Stanley. This is #134 of 222 from my own collection.

In this, Vintage No. 3 of Beaune Pressings, we vary our policy of reprinting Sherlockian Incunabula to present a recent parody the ephemeral nature of which greatly limited its availability. It is sent, with Compliments Of The Season to the friends of Dean & Shirley Dickensheet and of Vamberry's, Ltd.

Title: Holmes meets 007
Author: Donald Stanley
Year: 1967
Publisher: The Beaune Press
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes (1976)

A canonical continuation by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's son, Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr. First published in 1954. I love the cover of this 1976 paperback reprint.

Once again, "The game's afoot!"

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson embark on twelve new detective adventures that have been out of print for more than twenty years.

These strange and surprising cases––only hinted at in the famous earlier chronicles––are recorded at last in full. Here is the good Watson, rushing impetuously to the aid of lovely ladies in distress. And Holmes, taking soothing pleasure from his violin while frustrating Scotland Yard's Lestrade at every encounter.

These are, indeed, cases for the connoisseur. No one could have produced them with the  authentic Conan Doyle flavor but Sir Arthur's son Adrian. Writing with one of the world's greatest masters of mystery, John Dickson Carr, he has produced a rare casebook to delight and confound Sherlock Holmes fans the world over!

The Adventure of THE SEVEN CLOCKS

The Adventure of THE GOLD HUNTER

The Adventure of THE WAX GAMBLERS

The Adventure of THE HIGHGATE MIRACLE

The Adventure of THE BLACK BARONET

The Adventure of THE SEALED ROOM

The Adventure of FOULKES RATH

The Adventure of THE ABBY RUINS

The Adventure of THE TWO WOMEN

The Adventure of THE DARK ANGLES

The Adventure of THE DEPARTED HORROR

The Adventure of THE RED WIDOW 

Title: The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

Author: Adrian Conan Doyle & John Dickson Carr

Year: 1976 (first published 1954)

Publisher: Pocket Books

Purchase: Amazon.

Sherlock Holmes at Lincoln's Tomb (2021)

A young Sherlock Holmes teams joins Dr. Joseph Bell and Arthur Conan Doyle on an American adventure.

The recently unearthed diaries of the young Arthur Conan Doyle provide evidence, if not proof of the that Doyle knew Sherlock Holmes as early as 1878, when Holmes was working in the laboratory of Dr. Joseph Bell at the University of Edinburgh. Holmes, a brilliant scientist and an astute medical diagnostician had either dropped out or had been expelled from a London medical school. 

This, the first diary, records the adventures of Doyle and Holmes, when they accompany Dr. Bell to Chicago. Dr. Bell gives lectures and demonstrates his surgical technique with Doyle's assistance. Holmes deduces the cause of death in a victim who collapsed on the street and Doyle becomes involved with the local medical students. Together, Doyle and Holmes uncover a plot by ex-confederate officers to assassinate the president and take over the United States. 

The story demonstrates Holmes' amazing skills of observation, diagnosis, his ability to solve crimes and his dogged pursuit of criminals. During this adventure young Arthur Conan Doyle encounters his friend, Robert Louis Stevenson, is abducted by the James gang, falls in love with a red haired Scottish lass and survives a harrowing ride in a hot air balloon.

Title: Sherlock Holmes at Lincoln's Tomb
Author: John Raffensperger & Richard Krevolin
Year: 2021
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Revenge of Moriarty (1981)

First published in 1975, this is a 1981 U.S. Berkley paperback edition of John Gardner's The Revenge of Moriarty. As with Gardner's first Moriarty book, this cover art refresh tied in with the Berkley Conan Doyle paperbacks, making is appear pseudo-canonical. 

San Francisco, 1896. The foggy mists are lifting, and who should emerge from the sinister back alleys to reclaim his title as the most dangerous scientific criminal of his time but the nefarious Professor James Moriarty! Rising like a wicked phoenix from the ashes of his own destruction, Moriarty vows to launch a vendetta against the European underworld leaders who turned on him and left him in the clutches of Sherlock Holmes.

Title: The Revenge of Moriarty

Author: John Gardner

Year: 1981

Publisher: Berkley

Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of The Elusive Ear (2021)

Sherlock Holmes meets Vincent van Gogh in the pastiche by David MacGregor.

London. December 1888. The notorious and as-yet undiscovered genius, Vincent van Gogh, presents Sherlock Holmes with a most unusual case. Aided by his partner Dr. Watson and his paramour Irene Adler, the trio embark on a rousing adventure and find themselves confronting the evil daughter of Professor Moriarty. Aided by Oscar Wilde, the world's greatest detective attempts to solve one of the most audacious crimes of the Victorian era and uncover a Post-Impressionist conspiracy.

Title: Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of The Elusive Ear
Author: David MacGregor
Year: 2021
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Return of Moriarty (1981)

First published in 1974, this is a 1981 U.S. Berkley paperback edition of John Gardner's The Return of Moriarty. The series cover art ties it in with Berkley's Conan Doyle paperbacks, making is appear pseudo-canonical. Gardner would pen a sequel, The Revenge of Moriarty.

London is in a terror. The streets are filled with dippers, makers and bullies of every description, all collecting "contributions for the Professor." But Holmes saw Professor Moriarty swept over a waterfall in Switzerland! Could it be that Europe's Master Criminal somehow survived, and has returned to battle Holmes again in the greatest crime due of all time? It could indeed.

Title: The Return of Moriarty

Author: John Gardner

Year: 1981 (first published 1974)

Publisher: Berkley

Purchase: Amazon (U.S.) | Amazon (UK)

An East Wind Coming (1979)

This Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack The Ripper adventure by sci-fi author Arthur Byron Cover is set two million years in the future. The stunning cover art is by legendary fantasy artist Boris Vallejo.

IN THE GOLDEN CITY OF THE GODS, THE LEGENDS LIVE

It was two million years in the future and they were immortal––Holmes, Watson, all the Great Ones. With nothing to master but limitless Time. 

But that was before the killing began, before the world's greatest sleuth discovered that history's most heinous criminal was also "alive" and steeping the East End of the Eternal City in the blood of goddesses. 

Somehow they had to stop him from wielding his antimatter blade. But the puzzle's solution would be less than elementary––and much more bizarre than even Holmes could envision––for an Eternity to come.

Title: An East Wind Coming
Author: Arthur Byron Cover
Year: 1979
Publisher: Berkley Books
Purchase: Amazon.

The Only One in the World (2021)

A unique approach to Holmes pastiche edited by Narrelle M. Harris.

'Well, I have a trade of my own. I suppose I am the only one in the world. I'm a consulting detective, if you can understand what that is.' - Sherlock Holmes to Dr John Watson, A Study in Scarlet. 

Since his first appearance in 1887, Sherlock Holmes has been the quintessential English sleuth, alongside his loyal companion and biographer, Doctor John Watson. 

But what if they had come from some other place in the world, or another time? How would they differ from Conan Doyle's creations? How similar might they remain? 

Holmes and Watson are herein re-imagined in new cultural contexts, in different genders and sexualities, and in stories rich in foreign detail that still reflect their origins. 

Fourteen writers with cultural or historic expertise explore the possibilities in stories set in Germany, C17th England, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Russia, India, Poland, USA, Ancient Egypt, Viking Iceland, and even the entire world. 

You will discover how the Great Detective remains singular in every world!

Title: The Only One in the World: A Sherlock Holmes Anthology
Author: Narrelle M. Harris (editor)
Year: 2021
Publisher: Clan Destine Press
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Sherlock Holmes and the Sacred Sword (1980)

Frank Thomas' follow-up to his first Holmes pastiche Sherlock Holmes and the Golden Bird. The image of Holmes on the cover is Alfred Burke from a revival of the Gillette play in 1952. Watson, of course, is Nigel Bruce. The book was reissued with new cover art in 1985.

THE SWORD UNSHEATHED 

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 Watson on a strange odyssey, from Baker Street to the back canals of Venice, from Berlin to exotic Egypt and the Valley of the Kings––in search of the sacred sword and a false prophet who threatens to trigger a Holy War in the Middle East––unless Sherlock Holmes stops him in time.

In the great tradition of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, another rare tale of intrigue, deductive reasoning, and confounding mystery to delight and tantalize Sherlock Holmes fans around the world. 

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Sacred Sword
Author: Frank Thomas
Year: 1980
Publisher: Pinnacle
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Scarlet Thread of Murder (2015)

Two Sherlock Holmes novellas by Luke Kuhns collected into one volume. (Or possibly three novellas, I see conflicting information on Amazon.)

The Scarlet Thread of Murder: Three seemingly separate crimes, three detectives. A mysterious stalker is on the loose in London known only as the Goblin Man and his sights are set on a wealthy businessman, David Daniels. A horrific explosion rips through Whitechapel Underground Station and the prime suspect is a Jewish anarchist. And a Mrs Clara Edwards is searching for her missing lover, Philias Jackson. What connects these three? It's a dangerous and complex game that connects Sherlock Holmes, Investigator Martin Hewitt, and former Ripper investigator and head of H Division Edmund Reid. 

A Scandal in America: In 1888 Mr Sherlock Holmes was beat by Irene Adler aka the Woman. After her marriage to Godfrey Norton she left London. Two years later her husband is found dead in his New York office, apparently having committed suicide. Irene Adler believes it to be staged, unable to accept Norton capable of such an end. There is one person, if any, who she can turned to: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes and Watson are headed to America where they must dive into the mysterious life of Godfrey Norton to learn how and why he died. No one is ready for what they learn.

Title: Sherlock Holmes and The Scarlet Thread of Murder
Author: Luke Benjamen Kuhns
Year: 2015
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

As It Might Have Been (1998)

A collection of Sherlockian parodies "from unlikely sources" collected by Robert C.S. Adey.

Ellery Queen once described the difference between pastiche and parody: 'A pastiche is a serious and sincere imitation in the exact manner of the original author. But writers of parodies, which are humorous or satirical take-offs, have no such reverent scruples. They usually strive for the weirdest possible distortions, and many ingenious travesties have been conceived.' 

AS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN is all about those distortions and ingenious travesties: the collection brings together some thirty-eight examples, most of which have not seen the light of day since their first publication in obscure magazines. 

The reader will encounter Herlock Sholmes, Sheer Luck, Padlock Jones, Hemlock Coombs, and many others, including a delightful parody of a Conan Doyle ROUND THE RED LAMP story. But all of these pieces were written with one character in mind—the never to be forgotten Sherlock Holmes. As such, they may be regarded as a tribute to the creator and the created. 

Join us then, as Sherlock Holmes (or whichever character he appears to be at the time) investigates 'The Great Security Bank Mystery', 'The Reigate Road Murder', 'The Marischal Manor Mystery', 'The Omnibus Murder', and a host of other unusual cases. This splendid collection has been gathered for our pleasure by Robert Adey, whose leisure hours, as will be apparent, were spent collecting and trawling through long-forgotten magazines and periodicals. 

SHERLOCKIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS: This volume could seriously heighten apoplexy!

Title: As It Might Have Been
Author: Robert C.S. Adey
Year: 1998
Publisher: Calabash Press
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

My Dearest Holmes (1988)

A pastiche in which Watson reveals his true sexuality and (unrequited?) love for Sherlock Holmes. Made up of two stories; the first is an original tale and the second is a retelling of The Final Problem from this new perspective. Recently released in a 30th Anniversary Edition.

... The accounts of these cases are too bound up with events in my personal life which, although they may provide a plausible commentary to much of my dealings with Mr Sherlock Holmes, can never be made public while he or I remain alive... 

Although Dr Watson is known for recording some sixty of his adventures with the celebrated Sherlock Holmes, he also wrote other reminiscences of their long friendship which were never intended for publication during their lifetimes. Rescued from oblivion by Rohase Piercy, here are two previously unknown stories about the great detective and his companion, throwing a fresh light upon their famous partnership, and helping to explain much which has puzzled their devotees. Together Holmes and Watson face disturbing revelations as they investigate the case of the Queen Bee; and we finally learn what actually happened at the Reichenbach Falls and the real reasons which lay behind Holmes' faked death and his subsequent return.

Title: My Dearest Holmes
Author: Rohase Piercy
Year: 1988
Publisher: Gay Men's Press
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Ghost of Baker Street (2006)

One of the many Holmes pastiche novels by Val Andrews with an irresistible title.

Taking the advice of Orson Welles, Greg Hargreaves leaves America for London, so escaping the attentions of Senator Joseph McCarthy. A 'B' movie scriptwriter, he arrives with a briefcase, overnight bag and his typewriter. Soon he is looking for accommodation - and notices a familiar address in the classified adverts of a newspaper. Taking the rooms in Baker Street he becomes involved in murder and mystery as he discovers them to be haunted - by the ghost of Sherlock Holmes...?

Title: Sherlock Holmes: The Ghost of Baker Street
Author: Val Andrews
Year: 2006
Publisher: Irregular Special Press
Purchase: Amazon (U.S.) | Amazon (UK).

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXIV: Some More Untold Cases 1895-1903 (2020)

The MX series of new Sherlock Holmes stories continues...

Join us as we return to Baker Street and discover more authentic adventures of Sherlock Holmes, described by the estimable Dr. Watson as "the best and wisest . . . whom I have ever known." 

Each volume contains forwards by Otto Penzler, Roger Johnson, Stepping Stones School, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum, as well as stories by the following contributors: Marcia Wilson, Brenda Seabrooke, Stephen Herczeg, Tracy J. Revels, Kevin P. Thornton, Thomas A. Burns, Jr., Dick Gillman, Jayantika Ganguly, John Davis, DJ Tyrer, Harry DeMaio, Arthur Hall (2 stories), Susan Knight, David Marcum, Craig Stephen Copland (2 stories), Gayle Lange Puhl, John Lawrence, John Linwood Grant, and Paula Hammond, and a poem by Joseph W. Svec III.

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXIV: Some More Untold Cases 1895-1903
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2020
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXIII: Some More Untold Cases 1888-1894 (2020)

The MX series of new Sherlock Holmes stories continues...

In 2018, MX Publishing presented Parts XI and XII of this acclaimed and ongoing series, Some Untold Cases. Now that theme is revisited with 64 new Sherlock Holmes adventures that explore those many tantalizing references to some of Holmes's other cases, as mentioned in The Canon. 

Will Murray (2 stories), Tim Gambrell (2 stories), Craig Janacek, I.A. Watson, Jane Rubino, Paul Hiscock, Hugh Ashton, Mike Chinn, Shane Simmons, Dacre Stoker and Leverett Butts, David Marcum, Matthew J. Elliott, Paul D. Gilbert, Tracy J. Revels, Margaret Walsh, Arthur Hall, Barry Clay, Steven Philip Jones, Jan van Koningsveld, and Marcia Wilson, and a poem by John Linwood Grant

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXII: Some More Untold Cases 1877-1887
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2020
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXII: Some More Untold Cases 1877-1887 (2020)

The MX series of new Sherlock Holmes stories continues...

Throughout the original Holmes Canon, there were hints and teases of other intriguing cases - The Giant Rat of Sumatra . . . The Abernetty Tragedy . . . The Manor House Case. Watson mentions well over one-hundred of these, which have collectively come to be known as The Untold Cases. Now, once again MX Publishing brings us sixty-four of these adventures in three simultaneously published volumes, with all royalties going to support the Stepping Stones School at Undershaw, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former homes.

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part XXII: Some More Untold Cases 1877-1887
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2020
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk

Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage (2019)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's third pastiche featuring the Holmes brothers. 

It is 1873, and as the economies of Europe threaten to crumble, Mycroft Holmes finds himself in service to the Crown once again. A distant relative of Queen Victoria has been slain by the Fire Four Eleven killer, a serial murderer who leaves no mark upon his victims, only a mysterious calling card. Meanwhile, Sherlock has already taken it upon himself to solve the case, as his interest in the criminal mind grows into an obsession.

Mycroft begrudgingly allows Sherlock to investigate, as Ai Lin--the woman he is still in love with--needs his aid. Her fiancé has been kidnapped, and the only man who might know his fate is a ruthless arms dealer with a reputation for killing those who cross him. Mycroft persuades his friend Cyrus Douglas to help find the young man, but Douglas himself is put in harm's way.

As Sherlock travels the country on the hunt for the Fire Four Eleven murderer, both he and Mycroft will discover that the greed of others is at the root of the evil they are trying to unearth...

Title: Mycroft and Sherlock: The Empty Birdcage
Author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Anna Waterhouse
Year: 2019
Publisher: Titan Books
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of the Stapletons (2020)

The seventh pastiche from author James Lovegrove offers a continuation of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

New York Times bestselling author James Lovegrove's continues the story of Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles, as five years later, another monstrous creature stalks across Dartmoor... 

1894. The monstrous Hound of the Baskervilles has been dead for five years, along with its no less monstrous owner, the naturalist Jack Stapleton. Sir Henry Baskerville is living contentedly at Baskerville Hall with his new wife Audrey and their three-year-old son Harry. 

Until, that is, Audrey's lifeless body is found on the moors, drained of blood. It would appear some fiendish creature is once more at large on Dartmoor and has, like its predecessor, targeted the unfortunate Baskerville family. 

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are summoned to Sir Henry's aid, and our heroes must face a marauding beast that is the very stuff of nightmares. It seems that Stapleton may not have perished in the Great Grimpen Mire after all, as Holmes believed, and is hell-bent on revenge...

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Beast of the Stapletons
Author: James Lovegrove
Year: 2020
Publisher: Titan Books
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk