The Whole Art of Detection
Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes
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4.3 • 15 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
This collection of short mysteries by the international-bestselling author of Dust and Shadow “belongs on the top shelf with the very best of Doyle’s” (Nicholas Meyer, author of The Seven-Per-Cent Solution).
Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, Edgar Award–finalist Lyndsay Faye has masterfully woven these quintessential characters into her own works of fiction—from her acclaimed debut novel, Dust and Shadow, to a series of short stories for the Strand Magazine, whose predecessor published the first Sherlock Holmes story in 1892.
The best of Faye’s Sherlockian tales, including two new works, are brought together in a collection that spans the character’s career, from self-taught upstart to lauded detective, both before and after he faked his own death over a Swiss waterfall in 1894. In “The Lowther Park Mystery,” the unsociable Holmes is forced to attend a garden party at the request of his politician brother and improvises a bit of theater to foil a conspiracy against the government. “The Adventure of the Thames Tunnel” brings Holmes’s attention to the murder of a jewel thief in the middle of an underground railway passage.
With Holmes and Watson encountering all manner of ungrateful relatives, phony psychologists, wronged wives, outright villains, and even a peculiar species of deadly red leech, The Whole Art of Detection is a must-read for any fan of historical crime fiction.
“If Lyndsay Faye’s byline weren’t on the cover, readers might deduce that the Sherlock Holmes mysteries in The Whole Art of Detection actually came from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.” —David Martindale, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Edgar-finalist Faye, whose debut, Dust and Shadow (2009), was one of the better novel-length pastiches pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper, presents pitch-perfect Watsonian narration in 13 of the 15 tales in this outstanding collection; the other two are told from Holmes's perspective. The stories are divided into four chronological sections: the first predates the Holmes-Watson partnership; the second covers the period before Reichenbach; the third dates to after Holmes' resurrection; and the fourth treats the pair's later years sleuthing together. Most take Conan Doyle's tantalizing references to untold tales as their starting point, as in "Notes Regarding the Disappearance of Mr. James Phillimore," which deals with a man who vanished after returning home to retrieve his umbrella. All impressively add psychological depth to the friendship, plausibly exploring personal dynamics in the wake of traumas such as the loss of Watson's wife and Holmes's apparent return from the dead, in a way that will resonate especially with fans of the BBC's Sherlock.
Customer Reviews
Superb Holmes, Gifted
It’s as if Sir Arthur were still with us and spinning his tales. I won’t quibble over details in the stories because I really enjoyed the writing and the reading.