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The Outstanding Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Gerard Kelly

My thanks to Steve and Timi at MX Books for my review copy of this book. You guys are the best!

This book is a collection of thirteen short stories, both written and illustrated by Gerard Kelly. They are enjoyable. They are nicely written. There is however just a little something off about them, but only minor things that many Sherlockians would probably either miss or chose to ignore. I still believe that this book is worth four stars…

The tales follow:

“A Slaying in Suburbia” is about the murder of Cedric Tomkins. He has been shot through the head with a .22 caliber bullet. Trajectory on the bullet leads to flats on Royal Avenue. It came from either flat number 12 or flat number 14. Two men, both who own .22 rifles are suspected. One of the guns is an air-rifle…

“The Mystery of the Golden Cockerel” tells of a murder in the restaurant “Le Coq D’or.” The owner, Monsieur Fontaine has discovered the body of one Jeremiah Brentwood. Brentwood had arranged for a midnight meal with an unnamed party and paid to have the restaurant empty of everyone except himself and his guest…

“The Mysterious Death of the Kennington Verger” concerns Watson’s niece Anne. Her fiancé, Simon Jurgens, is accused of murdering Arnold Soames. The Verger was found on the sidewalk, just outside of St. Albans Church. Footprint evidence has made Scotland Yard highly suspicious of Simon as the murderer, who struck with a long blade or poker…

“The Riddle of the Carstairs Legacy” brings Andrew Newton to 221B. Newton is currently chandler’s clerk, but recently was contacted by the law firm of Faversham and Brinkley. To his surprise he has inherited a manor house and two hundred acres of land from someone he doesn’t know. There is a catch. He must solve a series of riddles…

“The Mystery of the Locked Study” begins with Mycroft bringing a murder case to Holmes’ attention. Captain A Cavendish, an acquaintance of Mycroft, has died of gas poisoning in his study with the door locked, bolted, and the key on the man’s desk! A neat locked room mystery!

“The Adventure of the Black Arrow” deals with the abduction of the daughter of Sir Charles Crichton. Sophie has been kidnapped and a ransom note demands ₤1,000 for her safe return…

“The Paddington Pyromaniac” is the story of a series of arson fires in London. Lestrade is at his wits end, and all the usual suspects are either dead or in prison. Except one…

“The Mysterious Disappearance of the Good Ship Alicia” is mentioned in passing by Watson in THOR. The ship sailed into a small patch of fog and simply disappeared! It was also determined that the ship did not sink as it was not found on the ocean’s floor—very Bermuda Triangle like!

“Catacausis Ebriosus” or spontaneous human combustion, is a phenomena still not fully understood. Alice Murphy, 27, has burned to death in a bizarre manner. Lestrade feels out of his depth and contacts Baker Street, and Holmes smells a rat. This case takes place during Watson’s third year as Holmes’ friend and companion.

“The Prodigal Quest” brings Holmes the case of Justin Clearwater who is seeking for his lost family. His father and uncle had a very Cain and Able relationship, and Clearwater is not the boy’s real last name… There is a neat chipper in this story!

“The Mayfair Strangler” pits Holmes against a serial killer. Three women have been raped and strangled. Quid justum pretium?

“The Chamber of Sorrow Mystery” pits Holmes against a group of Spiritualists. The leader of the group is a woman known as Madame Le Conte. Having attended a séance given by Madam Le Conte, Holmes and Watson are invited to a séance at Burslam Priory, considered the most haunted house in England! (This is possibly based on Borley Rectory, once considered the most haunted house in England before it was ruined by fire and torn down.)

“The Peddler of Death” winds up this romp into the world of Sherlock Holmes. Watson’s old Commanding Officer, Major General Wright Pullman is dead. There is a strange riddle left by someone who calls himself “The Peddler.” After a second man, Sir Walter Fredrick Havelock also dies with a riddle left behind, Holmes is desperate to find the Peddler! A third victim is found and then Holmes himself is threatened…

All stories a great and the illustrations make a nice touch!

Quoth the Raven…

I find myself basically in agreement with all the reviews here, the good ones as well as the sole unfavorable one! The stories are generally good; in fact, the majority are very, very good; but there is that problem (mentioned by the one less-than-favorable reviewer) with the over-use of "old fellow," and "the game's afoot," and so on, which became quite distracting after a while. Nevertheless, I feel that these stories are for the most part fun and engrossing and yes, as mentioned by another reviewer, this would be a great book to take on a long plane or train trip!

It is almost a year since I first read this book and reviewed it. I recently re-read the book and now that I've done so, I have decided to upgrade the star rating to 4.5 -- rounded up to 5 stars (10/31/13). This book is actually head and shoulders better than most of the self-published pastiches that have come out in the past year and I think it deserves to have its rating raised to acknowledge this. This author has written several other books, but I really wish that he would write another book of pastiches.

In "A Slaying in Suburbia," Holmes sets out to prove the innocence of a man condemned to death for the murder of his neighbor. This was an intriguing mystery with an ending that even Holmes didn't see coming.

In "The Mystery at the Golden Cockerel," the owner of an exclusive restaurant comes to Holmes when a customer is poisoned after eating a meal there. Should the owner be arrested for murder, the restaurant is finished. The solution turns, as Holmes stories sometimes do, on slightly esoteric knowledge of poisonous plants and of drug interactions.

A man has been stabbed and the only footsteps leading away from the body -must- belong to the killer, right? In "The Mysterious Death of the Kennington Verger," Holmes uses his incomparable abilities to help Watson's niece's fiancé get out of a charge of murder.

"The Riddle of the Carstairs Legacy" is a race against the clock to solve some intriguing riddles in order to help a client inherit a large estate. Not really a mystery, but the riddles are quite a lot of fun!

"The Mystery of the Locked Study"...well, the title speaks for itself.

"The Adventure of the Black Arrow" is about a kidnapping with a happy ending.

In "The Paddington Pyromaniac," Holmes and Watson are on the trail of a fire-setter who has no motive other than sheer destruction. I thought the solution was perhaps a bit far-fetched, but I enjoyed the chase.

I openly admit I had a terrible time reading "The Mysterious Disappearance of the Good Ship Alicia" so I would have to say that it was a big disappointment, as almost the entire story is given in the form of a report to the Admiralty written by Holmes.

But then, I especially enjoyed "Catacausis Ebriosus" and thought it accurately portrayed the lengths to which Holmes might go to get the data he needs to solve a mystery.

"The Prodigal Quest" was a nice, light story with no great mystery but plenty of chances for Holmes to work his deductive magic.

To track down "The Mayfair Strangler," Holmes has to figure out the meaning of the phrase, "Ballet S.O.C.K.S.," uttered by the murderer -- and in order to bring the killer to justice, he has to fight an illegal duel. This was a stellar story, by the way.

"The Chamber of Sorrow Mystery" has Holmes saving Mrs. Hudson from losing everything to a fake spiritualist, while Watson sees a real ghost. This was a very touching story, every bit as much about Watson's kind soul and brave heart as it is about Holmes solving a mystery.

In "The Peddler of Death," a fellow retired officer comes to tell Watson that their old commanding officer is dead, and confides to Holmes that he thinks it might have been murder because of a mysterious riddle received by the Major General before his death. Further investigation puts Holmes on the track of a serial killer.

I've been a fan of Sherlock stories all my life. These stories are a bit uneven, but Conan Doyle was a bit uneven also. Having read the Conan Doyle canon many times, I'm happy to read these stories -- similar style, well written, good plot in most of them -- I've enjoyed my time reading them.

Don't get me wrong. If these weren't good, I would say so. There have been other Conan Doyle pastichesI didn't like. He set a high standard.

These stories are pretty good. Worth reading.

This is a nice collection of stories done in ACD style. Once again, an author has allowed Holmes & Watson to go about pretending to be something else than what they really are successfully, which I find hard to believe, given the fame the pair have. The illustrations don't add much to the stories & are not in Paget's style. The final two stories in the collection, however, are wonderful - full of emotion & feeling. I might quibble and wonder why Holmes doesn't know his Latin, after time spent at at least one university, but that just gives Watson some touching moments.

This is a mixed bag of short stories. Some are very good. A couple are just average. Overall, the whole set is definitely above average and I will be looking for more Holmesian fiction from Mr. Kelly. The language is not always that of John Hamish Watson. But, it is close enough often enough that it more than passes muster. There are enough stories that have a winkle or a twist so that you don't have a telegraphed or trite solution. Add him to your list.