The Ghosts in Baker Street : New Tales of Sherlock Holmes [Paperback]

Martin H. Greenberg (Editor), Jon L. Lellenberg (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2006 | Series: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes once declared: “This world is big enough for us. No ghosts need apply.” And when Dr. Mortimer asked if the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles was not of interest, Holmes said only: “To a collector of fairy-tales.” And yet Conan Doyle, fascinated by psychic phenomena his entire life, and author of many horror and supernatural stories, did give Holmes a few problems of the otherworldly sort, even if they ended in rational explanations.

Featuring an all-star cast of Doyle devotees that includes Caleb Carr and Daniel Stashower, hosts of Baker Street is the third collection of original mystery stories featuring the literary world’s greatest detective (Murder in Baker Street; Murder, My Dear Watson)—and these stories bring Holmes and Watson up against the supernatural. This latest installment in the New Tales of Sherlock Holmes series—edited by Martin H. Greenberg, one of crime fiction's most awarded editors and anthologists—brings the reader more adventures where the ultimate disbelieving detective tackles mysteries with a distinctly strange flavor, featuring crimes and situations that may possibly be not of this world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pitting the deductive skills of the great rationalist Sherlock Holmes against mysteries that may have an otherworldly source intrigued the detective's creator, as most notably shown by The Hound of the Baskervilles, and has inspired a legion of pastiche writers. This all-original anthology from the distinguished trio of Greenberg, Lellenberg and Stashower is an improvement over a similar volume, Michael Reaves and John Pelan's Shadows over Baker Street (2003), which attempted to combine the sleuth with the eldritch horrors of H.P. Lovecraft. Few of the 10 stories in this follow-up, however, raise even a momentary chill. The highlight, Gillian Linscott's "The Adventure of the Late Orang Outang," captures Conan Doyle's style, even if the mystery is less than baffling. Sherlockians may find the three essays at the end of interest (one is by Caleb Carr), but many readers might have preferred that the editors had instead included stories from such Watson emulators as Barrie Roberts and Denis Smith, both of whom have written superb Holmes tales with supernatural overtones. (Feb.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf; First Edition edition (February 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671400X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714001
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,300,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All right but hardly edge of your seat stuff., March 16, 2006

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Starfire (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Ghosts in Baker Street : New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

Any book that contains Sherlock Holmes and the supernatural has some conflicting issues to begin with. As Holmes clearly did not believe in 'ghosts' its hard to think of ways around this dilemna if you're the writer. This book assembles a veteran cast of Holmes writers, from Loren Estleman to Daniel Stashower plus some newcomers, namely H. Paul Jeffers, whom I've read before as a biographer, not a mystery writer. He does a good job in a classic mummy story. But most of this collection of stories are strangely inert; not much exciting ever happens. There is not a bad story among them, although Stashower's choice of a short story from Seldon's (of Hound of the Baskervilles) POV is curious at best but most of the stories are not very memorable. After you're done, that's that. It doesn't help that the best writer here, Caleb Carr, only does an essay but it is as scholarly and witty as all his other works. (If you like his style, be sure and check out The Italian Secretary, which is a Holmes ghost story that works!) The best stories here are Gillian Linscott's Adventure of the Late Orange Outang (a nice bit of the surreal here), Death in the East End by Colin Bruce, a truly spooky story, Scandal in Drury Lane by Carolyn Wheat and Bill Crider's Adventure of the St. Marylebone Ghoul, a rousing story of bodysnatchers - or is it? If your taste runs to a bit stronger helpings of suspense, just plain weirdness and craziness like space aliens in your Holmes stories doesn't bother you, you might want to check out the older Shadows Over Baker Street, a potent mix of Holmes in the Lovecraft universe. For traditionalists, this is the better collection.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "This agency stands ftat-footed......", July 31, 2006

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RIJU GANGULY "perceptive reader" (India) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ghosts in Baker Street : New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

First the objections:-

1. Sherlock Holmes has become the epitome of rational and logical thinking principally because he adhered to the statement ("No ghosts need apply") firmly and unflinchingly. Several stories show him deviating from this principle grossly.

2. The atmosphere of most of the stories were so stifling that I felt drowsy (extremely unlikely for Holmesian stories).

Now the praises:-

1. The authors try to open a few new portals to other dimensions in the Holmesian world.

2. "The Adventure of the Late Ourang Otang" was fabulous.

3. Most of the pastiches were well researched and good.

My conclusion: enjoy it.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sherlock Holmes vs. the Supernatural - - Misfire., March 2, 2006

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Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ghosts in Baker Street : New Tales of Sherlock Holmes (Paperback)

GHOSTS IN BAKER STREET is the third installment in Martin Greenberg's "New Tales of Sherlock Holmes" series. Methinks Greenberg went to the well once too often.

The theme of this third volume centers on history's supreme rationalist tackling cases of a supernatural bent. I was skeptical of the idea but, like most Sherlock Holmes fans who are forever hoping some modern day author will recapture Doyle's lighting in a bottle, I plunked down my $16.95.

Unfortunately the stories in GHOSTS IN BAKER STREET fall pretty flat. Despite some attempts to create a properly spooky atmosphere, the stories are unaffecting. The only story that made an impact was "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes," the reason being that author Loren Estleman has "his" Holmes pay Watson a compliment in words that could have flowed from Conan Doyle's pen.

Like the previous two volumes, both of which I enjoyed to a great degree, this volume has several non-fiction essays on Holmes at the end of the book. Though some of these essays have been interesting, I would have much preferred that Greenberg included more stories.

All in all, an optional purchase.