Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Raleigh Legacy [Paperback]

L. B. Greenwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1987

Sherlock Holmes

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This mystery, the Canadian author's first, won approval from the Conan Doyle estate. But the sure-fire plotclearly based on Greenwood's knowledge of English historysinks under the tale's flimsy construction and fancy-Dan writing. As told by Dr. Watson, the story concerns a cryptic Elizabethan note belonging to the doctor's friend Aleck Raleigh. The centuries-old relic hints at a "grate Tresur" cached at Nightsead, onetime home of the quintessential swashbuckler Sir Walter, Aleck's ancestor. Watson excites the interest of the great Sherlock Holmes in the legacy, and Holmes tackles the puzzle and also investigates young Raleigh's stepfather and the lad's wife. The detective suspects either or both might kill for the secret he digs out (at last) from Nightsead's huge stone ruins. The find is fantastic, meriting the hyperbole wasted elsewhere on innumerable mundane moments in the tale, yet Greenwood treats the shocker rather casually.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Mass Market Paper (October 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312908431
• ISBN-13: 978-0312908430
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,686,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Boring!, August 29, 2010

By 

C. Cox "chardean" (Bronaugh, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Raleigh Legacy (Paperback)

I'm not going to waste much time writing a review of this book because it has already taken up too much of my time.I do this out of a sense of duty to fellow Baker Street enthusiasts.
Needless to say, after decades of reading both the genuine article (Conan Doyle) and somewhere in the region of about 28 different pastiche novels or collections, this was without a doubt the most dull and plodding.It's not so much that the author doesn't know how to write a story it's just that there is no intrigue/suspense/danger/deductive reasoning/charm/atmosphere.
The events are stretched out over many years and goodness knows it sometimes felt like it was taking that long to read it.Avoid!

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Deciphering a Cryptic Letter, August 12, 2007

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Raleigh Legacy (Paperback)

L. B. Greenwood is a teacher who lives in British Columbia, Canada. Her book uses the famous fictional characters of Arthur Conan Doyle (the copyright expired in the 1970s), but the style is different from the original stories. This story features Dr. John Watson as the main character. AC Doyle was a doctor in real life, the British films of the late 1930s used an actor who resembled ACD. There is no chapter numbers or headings.

Student John Watson tells of his experiences with Alexander Raleigh, a poor student who loves literature but must learn to earn a living. Raleigh has a "legacy", a letter written in Elizabethan times that is obscure and a mystery. Years later Watson decides to renew his friendship with Aleck and his wife Winnifred. Aleck is writing a new edition of Sir Walter Raleigh's poem and hopes to use the "legacy" to help sell the book. The story continues, with facts being noted that seem to have no connection. [The author uses the work `kerosene' (p.94), the British say `paraffin'.] The pace picks up when Mrs. Raleigh is attacked in a narrow alley. The return of Holmes and Watson from Devon finds news of a murder at Nightsead. [When Holmes and Watson journey to probable danger at Nightsead to solve a murder neither carry a pistol. Would Doyle have used the phrase "however mistakenly" (p.157)?] They find an amazing buried object, and a solution to the crimes and the legacy letter.

This book is longer than most of the Sherlock Holmes stories. The need for a long explanation to tie up the loose ends implies an overly complicated plot. Some of the words seem anachronistic "near emaciation" (p.180).