Strange Cases of Sherlock: January 2021

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Crime Reads: the Mystery Is Holmes

Ever wonder how people can read Holmes mysteries over and over, even though they know "whodunit"?

Here's my piece in Crimereads:

Holmes is the black box of literature. Doyle’s genius is not in what he reveals, but what he conceals. The rue depth is not in the notes, but the silences.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

The Shark Bites Podcast

AND a podcast interview about The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle with PJ Rahall of Shark Bites.

P. J.'s got his copy!

The Alluring Puzzle of Fact and Fiction

From my interview with Writer's Digest

Sunday, January 17, 2021

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE DUTCH PAINTER News

And BY THE WAY, Seventh Street will also be publishing my second strange case of Sherlock Holmes, THE STRANGE CASE OF THE DUTCH PAINTER. Look for news of it here.

An Excerpt from Doolittle

Here's a quibble with Amazon for Kindle. If you want a little taste of the writing. you can download 20 or 30 pages, the beginning of the book, which is cool. Except that's not the way I pick out a book. I open a book to a random page and read a little snippet. Then I open it to another random page, further along in the book, and dip down again. And so on. That way I can be sure all the good parts aren't stuffed into the first chapter.
  So I'm going to give you the chance to check out my book in that same way.  i'm going to give you some random snippets. I hope they'll whet your curiosity.

  "And there were certain cases, no more than a handful, of such bizarre aspect and puckered logic that he simply could not resist the temptation to wade back into the black cesspools of London’s vast criminal underworld."

"Holmes and Pickering were alone in the dining room when I arrived, but no revelations were forthcoming. “Still expecting conjuror’s tricks after all these years, Watson?” Holmes scolded. “I’m not a calculating chicken."

   “I’m a detective is what I am,” said Wiggins proudly. “But the kind of detectin’ I do, Mrs. Brown is as valuable to me as Mr. Holmes’ magnifying glass were to him.” He opened up his bag and produced a small leather case, which held a Brownie camera. "

“Ah! You’re unaware of the case of Susan Wallace?” asked Newcomen, glad to have news to share. “We’ve just laid our hands on her. Murdered four men in a pub down by the docks, she did. Middle of the afternoon.”

“Of course he’s mad. Most aristocrats are mad. In the German states it’s practically a prerequisite. I was Freddy’s second."

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton of Bookpleasures.com

Here's a link to a review of the novel by Dr. Wesley Britton at Bookpleasures"

"You don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes aficionado to enjoy The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle although Doyle fans will get to see many references to events and characters from the Holmes canon updated into a sort of sequel to the original stories. So, on many levels, the novel is a lot of fun. I enjoyed this book more than many a title I've read of late. A perfect diversion from the weird world" of 2020.