Customer Reviews

More Holmes for the Holidays

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After enjoying "Holmes for the Holidays", I was glad that the editors were putting out a second volume of Christmas stories involving Holmes and Watson. Some of the writings in this book were better than those in the first version, and some weren't that great. One of my favorites was "The Adventure of the Second Violet"--I thought it was very clever!

This book has a lot of good fun in it. We not only are able to revisit Holmes and Watson, but many of the stories take us into the interesting world of 19th century intellectuals and literati.

For one example, Bill Crider's story "The Adventure of the Christmas Bear" brings Oscar Wilde to life. At first glance, one would imagine no pair more opposite than the dour Holmes and the madcap Oscar Wilde. And yet, they strike some very interesting sparks in the story.

Charles Darwin comes to life in "The Adventure of the Naturalist's Stock Pin." Jon Breen creates a story where Darwin himself comes calling at 221B Baker Street using the pseudonym "Mr. Beagle." His wiles are of no use, of course, for Holmes quickly confronts him with his real identity. The story is most entertaining, and again, is a treat for those of us who enjoy bringing of a past milieu to life.

Bob Cratchit of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" is the heart of yet another story -- as a supposedly "real" personage! Some of these literary pastiches have to be applauded for their audacity and inventiveness. And of course, can the writer bring the story home-- can the sometimes outre premise be woven into a Christmas tale?

I believe these stories succeed moreso than they fail. Considering that many of the stories are by authors I've never heard of, I was pleasantly surprised that the quality of the writing is really quite good. The editors deserve a pat on the back. A few of the writers are pretty well known -- I'm familiar with Anne Perry and Tanith Lee, for two.

Is this book, "More Holmes for the Holidays," of equal quality with its predecessor, entitled "Holmes for the Holidays?" I am presently reading my way through the latter. It appears there is no fall-off in quality. Good editors are good editors. They did a capable job with the first, and sustained their good judgment with the second.

These stories are great fun at Christmastime. It's surprising how differently the authors "imagine" that Holmes responded to Christmas. Often in a dour and sour manner -- "humbug" -- but in some of the stories, he has a bright Christmas spirit.

The only Arthur Conan Doyle story involving Holmes and Christmas is "The Blue Carbuncle." That was a fine tale! It's a shame that Doyle did not do more Christmas tales involving the Baker Street duo, and this book helps remedy that deficiency.

I was not that impressed with the first installation of this series, but More Holmes for the Holidays not only outshines its predecessor, it does something many short pastiches fail to do - accurately capture the essence of romanticized Victorian London and the original Canon. There is also a definite sense of holiday spirit pervading most of the tales, which are all well written and very readable, and that was something I appreciated much more than I expected to.

With the exception of maybe two stories, the mysteries themselves did not disappoint either, but what I especially enjoyed and what I believe made this collection stand out from most others was how almost all the authors so beautifully and authentically recreated the Holmes/Watson friendship.

On the whole, I enjoyed this book tremendously, though there were a handful of stories that were so utterly well done they should really be pointed out individually. 'The Christmas Gift' by Anne Perry for me, captured the heart of Doyle's writing style and characters. The premise was interesting, original, and played on one of my favorite aspects of Holmes' nature - his love for music. It even prompted me to seek out Perry's other works. 'The Four Wise Men' and 'The Adventure of the Greatest Gift' were good in and of themselves, but the endings warmed my heart. 'Eleemosynary, My Dear Watson' was more of a mystery/adventure and was an all around fun read. However, the last inclusion 'The Human Mystery', by the immensely talented Tanith Lee, was not only a page turner, it was also a thought provoking read for any Sherlockian.

There was only one story I didn't care for, and that was 'The Adventure of the Naturalist's Stock Pin', which started out good enough, but seemed sloppily written towards the end. Save for that, everything else went above any beyond most short fiction in this genre.

Having read quite a few of the newly written Sherlock Holmes stories, this volume is uniformly well-written and all of the adventures utilize the characters and format of the original. Don't be put off by the Christmas theme and the limited use of historical characters as the book is definitely one of the best collections available.

This is a fun book for Sherlock Holmes fans with Christmas-themed mysteries by some well-known authors. I enjoyed the stories, although sometimes I thought that they included a bit too much name-dropping, inserting historical people (Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, Rudyard Kipling, etc.) into the stories. My favorite ones were the ones with entirely original characters. Here is a list of all the stories in the collection:

The Christmas Gift by Anne Perry - A young musician comes to Holmes with a terrible probem: someone has stolen his Stradivarius violin and is ransoming it for all the money to be raised for an orphanage in a benefit concert he is supposed to give. The musician thinks that the theft was caused by his engagement to a wealthy young woman whose father disapproves of him. Can Holmes save the violin, the orphanage's money, and the musician's reputation and engagement all at the same time?

The Four Wise Men by Peter Lovesey - An old friend of Watson's invites him to participate in a special Nativity scene which features a star made of silver studded with rubies. The friend wants Watson to help guard the star against theft, and Holmes comes to help catch the man who will try to steal it.

Eleemosynary, My Dear Watson by Barbara Paul - What do theft, kidnapping, and a very unusual group of carolers have in common? You can depend on Holmes to find out!

The Adventure of the Greatest Gift by Loren D. Estleman - Following Moriarty's death, Holmes laments that there are no more villains to provide him with a worthy challenge until a strange present arrives hinting that something sinister is about to happen.

The Case of the Rajah's Emerald by Carolyn Wheat - Timothy Cratchit (Tiny Tim from "A Christmas Carol") is a solicitor trying to settle the estate of his late benefactor, Ebenezer Scrooge, but multiple parties have arrived, claiming to be the rightful heirs. Can Holmes and Watson help him to learn which of the heirs is the real one?

The Christmas Conspiracy by Edward D. Hoch - A woman has been approached with an offer to buy some land of hers that has generally been considered worthless. She asks Holmes to accompany her to a Christmas party given by the prospective buyer, but the party is ruined when the man who was going to play Santa is murdered.

The Music of Christmas by L. B. Greenwood - Holmes and Watson attend a church service featuring a special musical program with a solo by the young son of one of Watson's patients. As the service ends, they learn that someone has stolen the collection money.

The Adventure of the Christmas Bear by Bill Crider - Oscar Wilde comes to Holmes in fear of his life because he is being pursued by a man from his past who resembles a bear.

The Adventure of the Naturalist's Stock Pin by John L. Breen - Charles Darwin consults Holmes about a special stock pin (the story explains that a stock pin is a pin that holds in place a "[s]tiff wide band of leather or other material formerly worn round neck, now displaced in general use by collar & tie") that was stolen from him years before. Someone has sent him messages asking Darwin to meet with him so that he can return the stock pin, but Darwin fears that this mysterious person may have something more sinister in mind.

The Adventure of the Second Violet by Daniel Stashower - Violet Hunter, helped by Holmes during the original Doyle story, The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, has since married. However, her husband believes that she has since been meeting with Mr. Rucastle (the villain of the original story) and asks Holmes to find out why. This story riffs on a story by O. Henry.

The Human Mystery by Tanith Lee - A woman asks Holmes's opinion about a strange legend in her family which has proved true in the past. The legend says that any woman living in her old family home without a husband or male relative there also will die at Christmas. (This is the only really sad story in the collection.)