The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes - Volume 2
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the cold-blooded murder of a man well known in London's Bohemian society, to a sinister tradition in an old Tudor manor-house, these six cases, from the early years of Holmes's career in the 1880s, present a singular collection of mysteries for the world's first consulting detective to resolve. Who is it that bangs on the front door of Mr Lidington's isolated cottage in the dead of night? Why does Henry Barton's job interview proceed in such a surprising and unpredictable way? What is the secret of the man from Chile and his strange, silent wife? Sherlock Holmes must find the answers to these and many other puzzling questions if he is to bring these cases to a successful conclusion. In this new collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories, well-known author, Denis O. Smith, accurately recreates once more both the atmosphere and the excitement of Conan Doyle's well-loved original Holmes tales.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Smith's companion collection maintains the high standard of its predecessor, The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes. Each of the six stories will resonate with readers who like their pastiches to feel canonical. "The Watcher in the Woods," centered on the eerie experiences of a scholar of alchemy harassed by a shadowy figure only he can see, compels even without a murder at the center of the plot. "The Yellow Glove," in which an engineer may have inadvertently revealed company secrets, is notable for its display of Wodehousian wit in an exchange between the client and a bewildered butler. In "The Zodiac Sign," Smith successfully emulates Conan Doyle's philosophical discussions between Holmes and Watson by having the detective express an idiosyncratic view of the benefits of poison to humanity. Other selections contain such typically Doylean touches as a criminal evading justice and Holmes's being mistaken about a culprit's identity. Smith's refusal to play it safe is a testament to both his ingenuity at plotting and his deep familiarity with the original adventures.
