Eight traditional Sherlock Holmes cases from the pen of Paul Metcalfe.
The Case of the Australian Atlases - As Inspector Lestrade asks: why, gentlemen, would someone break into a house, murder the owner and then steal only one volume of an Australian atlas, when all three volumes were there for the taking? More atlases are stolen before Holmes solves the mystery.
The Derringley Towers Mystery - Inspector Gregson calls Holmes for assistance in the gruesome murder of Lord Derringley’s footman. His Lordship’s son is the prime suspect, but he is only fourteen. Holmes unravels a complicated tale to discover the shocking truth.
The Curious Death of Amos Amberdale - A man is stabbed in the back inside a room with the window locked, and the door locked and bolted from the inside. Lestrade is baffled as usual, but the unusual murder weapon leads Holmes to find out how it was done, as well by whom.
The Case of the Nervous Neighbour - Mrs Marwood’s neighbour has stopped being polite and charming and is becoming increasingly agitated. His wife and maid have disappeared – are they really in Leicester? And who is making all the noise next door?
Eight traditional Sherlock Holmes cases from the pen of Paul Metcalfe.
The Case of the Australian Atlases - As Inspector Lestrade asks: why, gentlemen, would someone break into a house, murder the owner and then steal only one volume of an Australian atlas, when all three volumes were there for the taking? More atlases are stolen before Holmes solves the mystery.
The Derringley Towers Mystery - Inspector Gregson calls Holmes for assistance in the gruesome murder of Lord Derringley’s footman. His Lordship’s son is the prime suspect, but he is only fourteen. Holmes unravels a complicated tale to discover the shocking truth.
The Curious Death of Amos Amberdale - A man is stabbed in the back inside a room with the window locked, and the door locked and bolted from the inside. Lestrade is baffled as usual, but the unusual murder weapon leads Holmes to find out how it was done, as well by whom.
The Case of the Nervous Neighbour - Mrs Marwood’s neighbour has stopped being polite and charming and is becoming increasingly agitated. His wife and maid have disappeared – are they really in Leicester? And who is making all the noise next door?
First and foremost, I must thank Sir Arthur for providing the world with the characters of the world's first consulting detective and his trusty companion and biographer. Writing words for the mouths of such literary figures as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson is truly an honour.
Apart from the inspiration and background furnished by the original stories, I must also acknowledge the following research materials: The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, edited by Leslie S. Klinger; Sally Mitchell's Daily Life in Victorian England; and Crime and Punishment in Victorian London by Ross Gilfillan. For geographical information I found the Ordnance Survey Illustrated Atlas of Victorian & Edwardian Britain very useful; and of course I don't know how any writer does without Peter Mark Roget's most excellent thesaurus. I am also much obliged to Tony Hughes-D'Aeth for his book about the Picturesque Atlas, Paper Nation, and to Bonnie MacBird and Laurie R. King for setting the standard (and replying to my emails!).
My gratitude must go those who read the first draft of my first story and provided much feedback and encouragement: my daughters Pia and Persey, and Robyn, Christina, Jodie, Tam, Rebecca and Mel.
Thanks also to Steve at MX Publishing, David Marcum and my editor Rich Ryan. And finally, the biggest thank you and much love to my own partner in crime, Lisa, for continually saying 'you should do it.'
The biggest surprise in Paul Metcalfe's smoothly written volume, aside from the "who-dunnit" is the accurately self-dubbed "traditional" narrative voice. MX Publishing has released more than 600 Sherlock Holmes books. I have reviewed nearly two dozen. This is the first where the banter sounds closest to what I surmise Dr. John Watson might actually have written in his serial chronicles of Holmes' adventures. In an autopsy scene in "A Cry for Justice":
Holmes examined it with his powerful lens for a minute, then showed it to Lestrade and myself. It was a necklace, the like of which I had not seen before. It consisted of a thin leather thong, attached to a triangular piece of what looked like bone, via a metal clasp with a ring to take the leather. The bone had a small mass of black lines on one side. Lestrade shook his head, so I asked Holmes if he knew what it was.
As one reads, the minutely descriptive prose covers the scene almost inch by inch. The writer uses words like the turn screw on a microscope to draw a reader's mind's eye to specific details. As the 19th century, fictional, medical man might have observed, the early 21st century reader sees, and is pulled back through time. "A thin leather thong, attached to a triangular piece of what looked like bone," crystallizes the image.
Readers are pulled out of their curious present into Holmes' inspection through Watson's eyes and clinical thoughts. Beneath the words is a little "fan-boy" tremor. Despite efforts to maintain objectivity in most of the short stories, Dr. Watson's tone and word use echo the admiration and awe he holds for the world's first consulting detective.
Metcalfe's Holmes seems more like the movie portrayals - less complicated a character than in some stories and novels. The plots in each of the eight tales in The Case of the Australian Atlases, appeared less dense than in some other collections. Readers will immediately relate to the detective who is eager to begin the chase. He is reliant on Mrs. Hudson, Watson, several officers and Scotland Yard Inspectors Lestrade and Gregson throughout the stories. Metcalfe keeps the plots straightforward with just enough conflict, twists and odd characters that the ends are not easily predicted.