Holmes for the Holidays by Martin H. Greenberg

Holmes for the Holidays Reviews

• 
  Trin

  Allow me to use an analogy here. Imagine that in 20 years or so people start publishing collections of Buffy the Vampire Slayer pastiches. (In this version of the future
  Joss Whedon is either incredibly generous or has very bad lawyers.) In each story, Buffy does some research with the Scoobies (all of whom are currently getting along great!), patrols a cemetery, and stakes a vampire...and that’s it. No character development, not even any character insight! In every. Single. Story.
  
  That’s this collection, pretty much. If some of the tales had been particularly humorous or blessed with
  Arthur Conan Doyle’s gift with atmosphere, that might have redeemed things somewhat. Instead, we get not one, but TWO stories that offer a rational, Sherlockian explanation for the events of
  A Christmas Carol. I know it’s a holiday collection, but did it really have to be produced via cookie cutter?
  
  I also have to say, this is one of the worst-edited books I’ve read in a long time—purely from a copyediting standpoint, I mean. Words are used incorrectly, there are bizarre misspellings, and the book is littered with sloppiness: strangers being referred to by name, then introduced three paragraphs later—that kind of stuff. And there are THREE editors credited. Yikes.
  
  Needless to say, this did not fill me with holiday cheer.
• 
  Bev

   A fairly good collection of holiday-themed stories from the pen of authors both well-known to me (Perry, Paul, Estleman, Breen, DeAndrea, Crider, Douglas, Hill, & Hoch) as well as some who are new. Most do a pretty good job getting the voices of and relationship between Homes and Watson right--though I was disappointed with the Douglas story. The tone here (at least from my point of view) is more bickering and peevish than the comfortable back and forth between two old friends. My favorites of the collection are "A Scandal in Winter," "The Yuletide Affair," and "The Adventure of the Christmas Tree." It was definitely nice to see Watson get a chance to show that doctors have some good deductive skills as well. ★★★ and 1/2 for the collection. (rounded up here)
  
  "The Watch Night Bell" by Anne Perry: Holmes prevents the Christmas Eve murder of a wealthy, decorated Colonel. The obvious suspect is his elder daughter whose husband is deep in debt. But is the obvious always the answer?
  
  "The Sleuth of Christmas Past" by Barbara Paul: Miss Amy Stoddard comes to Holmes for help in determining whether her fiance is as trustworthy as he seems.
  
  "A Scandal in Winter" by Gillian Linscott: A tale of another encounter with "the woman"--late in Holmes' career. This time he works to clear her of a murder charge--not in a court of law, but in the court of public opinion. (one fell from height)
  "The Adventure in Border Country" by Gwen Moffat: Holmes investigates the disappearance of Miles Aubrey--who left behind champagne glasses and a bit of game pie in a hunting cabin.
  
  "The Adventure of the Three Ghosts" by Loren D. Estleman: Sherlock Holmes fears the worst when three ghosts reminiscent of those in A Christmas Carol begin haunting Lord Chislehurst.
  
  "The Adventure of the Canine Ventriloquist" by Jon L. Breen: Mr. Maplethorpe is a very long-winded author of stories, reviews, and poems who has a very long tale to tell to Sherlock Holmes. He is being driven mad by a dog that apparently can speak. Is the man really mad or the victim of a dastardly plot?
  
  "The Adventure of the Man Who Never Laughed" by J. N. Williamson: In order to find Miss Eleanor Chesterfield's missing brother, Holmes goes to church and joins a band of carolers.
  
  "The Yuletide Affair" by John Stoessel: Watson shows that he can deduce with the best of them when he is called to tend to Inspector Lestrade--who has apparently been stabbed by a well-known crook. The man pleads innocent and Watson spots the clues that will either prove the truth of the crook's statement or send him back to prison.
  
  "The Adventure of the Christmas Tree" by William L. DeAndrea: Why would anyone steal the Christmas tree intended for a duke and then make it reappear again right on schedule for the Christmas Eve festivities? The duke's forester is troubled by it...and so is Holmes when he hears the story.
  
  "The Adventure of the Christmas Ghosts" by Bill Crider: Franklin Scrooge, nephew and heir to Ebenezer Scrooge, finds himself suffering nighttime visitations just as his uncle before him. But instead of immediately changing his ways, he seeks Holmes' help in discovering the source of the visions.
  
  "The Thief of Twelfth Night" by Carole Nelson Douglas: Holmes tells a tale of a lost emerald, a Twelfth Night cake, and the return of the precious stone...which took place right in front of a much younger Dr. Watson.
  
  "The Italian Sherlock Holmes" by Reginald Hill: While convalescing in Italy, Holmes is on hand to see the results of case detected by "the Italian Sherlock Holmes"--a man who claims to follow Holmes's methods. But how skillfully does he employ them?
  
  "The Christmas Client" by Edward D. Hoch: Holmes comes to the aid of Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) who is being blackmailed by a certain professor mathematics. But is blackmail all that Moriarty is after?
  
  "The Adventure of the Angel's Trumpet" by Carolyn Wheat, ASH: A man who derided Holmes's detective skills in a previous court case comes to Baker Street for assistance in clearing his client of a murder charge.
  
  First posted on my blog
  My Reader's Block.
• 
  Jessica Fleming

  This was such a fun read for the Holidays.
• 
  Paul M.

  I'm not quite through with this book but I thought I'd take a moment to chronicle my thoughts. For the most part, I enjoyed these Holmes and Watson short stories. Most felt as if they might have been Christmastime cases the two might have embarked upon. However, despite the fact that these stories obviously are not of the canon, and while it is likely impossible to have non-canon stories never contradict each other, it does seem to me that contradictory stories should at the very least not be present in the same volume. Two of these stories deal with the characters of Dickens' A Christmas Carol (and/or their descendents) and they directly contradict one another, especially in their handling of Timothy Cratchit (Tiny Tim). In one story, Tiny Tim grows up to eventually take over and run Scrooge's business. In another, Scrooge's nephew runs the business and Timothy is a clerk as his father was. The effect is to jar the reader out of their suspension of disbelief... the idea is to entertain these stories as possible Christmas adventures of Holmes and Watson. One cannot do that if two of the stories directly and blatantly contradict one another. This is the only issue I had. But I thought I should surface it. On the whole, I enjoyed the stories and thought each author handled their duty to the reader well... to present Holmes and Watson once again for the reader's enjoyment. Even the two Dickensian stories are well done on their own. My only issue with them is that they are contradictory to one another and included in the same volume. It's really an editorial problem I'm taking issue with. Considering there is a second volume (More Holmes for the Holidays), it seems that perhaps one of the stories should have been held over for that volume. Hopefully, there won't be a third contradictory tale in that book when I get to it.
• 
  Andrew

  A half decent collection of short tales...in honesty I wasn't sure whether to read this just yet as it is a festive collection but in truth it's mainly Sherlock tales that just have the season tagged onto them.
  Some of the stories were in truth a tad nondescript but there where enough here to maintain interest..chronologically I think you have to take this collection as it is..for instance two tales nod to ' a Christmas Carol' and yet depict two different futures for Tim Crachet and Irene Adler appears a couple of times either in actuality or by comment.
  There is however enough of the feel of the 'Watson' penned Holmes tales to make this an enjoyable enough set.
• 
  LuAnn

  It's not that the stories themselves are great that I give this 4 stars, but that they are good stories featuring Holmes and Watson set during the Christmas season with interesting seasonal tie-ins, such as a Christmas tree, Twelfth Night cake, and Dicken's A Christmas Carol. The weakest of the bunch are The Adventure of the Man Who Never Laughed, The Italian Sherlock and The Adventure of the Canine Ventriloquist which is also the weirdest. A book I pull out every year around Christmas for some light Holmesian holiday reading.
• 
  Jameson

  Sadly, ACD didn’t write any Christmas Holmes except Blue Carbuncle; luckily, there’s a ton of pastiches to more than make up for that oversight. These aren’t the best of them.
  
  Skipped around a bit. As yet none of them will be making my Someday Re-read List. It’s kind of disappointing.
  
  Three Ghosts
  Canine Ventriloquist
  Man Who Never Laughed
  Yuletide Affair
  Christmas Tree
  Christmas Ghosts
  Italian Sherlock
  Christmas Client*
  
  *To be fair to Hoch, I read his a year ago. Maybe it’s better than I remember.
• 
  Tom

  Just as advertised: a collection of fun Holmes pastiche short stories in a holiday motif. Not really anything to write home about in any of the stories, but nothing lamentable either. Altogether, a relaxed and enjoyable holiday helping of Holmes. Just the thing for that rare quiet evening seated by the fire, Christmas tree aglow, and a glass of eggnog close to hand. Gratefully enjoyed and heartily recommended.
• 
  Elle Hartford

  I like the idea of the anthology, and some of the stories are interesting, but I agree with another reviewer that the holiday aspect is just a bit of background color really.
  
  Also -- just a content note -- several of the stories involved children in danger/pedophilia, which jarred me at first especially since it *is* a holiday anthology.
• 
  Gus Scholtz

  Decided to have some Christmas Holmes. Two of the stories are pretty bad. But most are good and some are great.
  My favorites are the ones where the author will apply other well know Christmas stories. Especially the ones spinning Dickens A Christmas Carol “.
  Worth a holiday break.
• 
  Calvin Daniels

  Solid 3.5 actually. Like many short stories collections by various authors a bit up and down, but a solid seasonal read.
• 
  Sarah Perchikoff

  3.5
• 
  Rachel Best

  Exactly as advertised.
• 
  Sarah Fortier

  Great short stories. Definitely a fan & would recommend to anyone who enjoys Sherlock Holmes and/or looking for Christmas mysteries.
• 
  Ryan Thompson

  A mixed bag, but some of the stories were really enjoyable.
• 
  Serena

  3.8 stars
  
  the Watch Night Bell by
  Anne Perry ***
  the Sleuth of Christmas Past by
  Barbara Paul ****
  A Scandal in Winter by
  Gillian Linscott ****
  the Adventure in Border Country by
  Gwen Moffat ***
  the Adventure of the Three Ghosts by
  Loren D. Estleman *****
  the Adventure of the Canine Ventriloquist by
  Jon L. Breen ****
  the Adventure of the Man Who Never Laughed by
  J.N. Williamson ****
  the Yuletide Affair by
  John Stoessel ****
  the Adventure of the Christmas Tree by
  William L. DeAndrea ****
  the Adventure of the Christmas Ghosts by
  Bill Crider ***
  the Thief of Twelfth Night by
  Carole Nelson Douglas ****
  the Italian Sherlock Holmes by
  Reginald Hill ****
  the Christmas Client by
  Edward D. Hoch ***
  the Adventure of the Angel's Trumpet by
  Carolyn Wheat ****
  
  My Rating System:
  * couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
• 
  Holly

  Short story compilation of more recent Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson mysteries, written by several mystery writers. I've read parts of this book before, but this December I read the whole compilation. A very enjoyable read. My favorite was the story by John Stoessel, "The Yuletide Affair," in which Dr. Watson told Holmes of an adventure he had on his own once when Holmes was busy elsewhere, in which Watson was called in to St. Bartholomew's Hospital to help save the life of Inspector Lestrade, who had been gravely wounded. Watson both saves his friend and also solves the mystery of what happened, thus also saving the accused.
  
  Also enjoyed "The Adventure of the Christmas Tree" by William L. DeAndrea, especially the beginning, where the author writes that Holmes was reading "Lancet." (Once a library serials person, always a serials person).
  
  A very enjoyable book to curl up with when I had the chance this Christmas season!
• 
  Read1000books

  This uneven mix of Sherlock Holmes short story mysteries, all set during the Christmas season, gets a 2 1/2 stars. Of course the usual suspects appear (Irene Adler, Professor Moriarty) along with tales which fall flat at the end ("The Adventure of the Angel's Trumpet", for instance) and at least one with somewhat disturbing (at least to me) content. There were several standouts among the group however, one of them being "The Yuletide Affair", a solo Watson adventure in which the good doctor saves the life of a well known police inspector and solves a mystery at the same time. And as a bonus, Sherlockians who are in "The Game" will have to decide between two differing explanations of what REALLY happened to Ebenezer Scrooge on the night of his visitations i.e. which account is canonical and which is apocryphal? Happy Holidays!
• 
  Margaret

  Very enjoyable - my favorite story in this group was The Adventure of the Christmas Tree by William L. DeAndrea because I felt the characters of Holmes & Dr. Watson were most true to form and the actual mystery was believable. I also liked The Thief of Twelfth Night by Carole Nelson Douglas because of the Irene Adler connection and The Christmas Client by Edward D. Hoch because of the Moriarity connection. I thought they all had their good points and it was interesting to see how each author put together Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and the Christmas season into a story. Perfect holiday reading :)
• 
  Robert Schneider

  This was an okay collection with some really bad editing. Some of the authors were better at capturing the feel of Holmes and Watson than others. Even so this collection began to feel a bit same-y after a bit, having 2 stories about Dickens' A Christmas Carol didn't help either. I found a couple of the stories to stand out because they were handled a bit differently than the rest, Watsons' solo tale "The Yuletide Affair by John Stoessel and "The Thief of Twelfth Night" by Carole Nelson Douglas.
• 
  Rena Sherwood

  Someday someone will put together the ultimate non-canonical Holmes short story anthology. This isn't it, but it will do for now. The big problem (besides all the stories having a Christmas theme) -- not one but TWO short stories involving Dickens' A Christmas Carol. A little short on imagination here, folks?
  
  
• 
  Sandra Strange

  What Sherlock fan could resist a book with such a delightful title? I've appropriately been reading this collection of short stories during the Christmas season. The stories are inconsistent (all have different authors). I was a bit disappointed with the first two, which were not as captivating as later stories. All are true to the original characters and milieu. In general, a fun read
• 
  astrangerhere

  A delightful bit of Christmas reading! As is usually the case, the story featuring a cameo by the stunning Irene Adler was my favorite of the lot. Can't wait to start the next volume of the anthology.
  
  "Do you follow my conclusions?" "Only with peril, Watson."
  
• 
  Kel

  An anthology of Sherlock stories set around Christmas. They were all good and seemed in keeping with the genre--some more than others. I especially enjoyed the ones that were based off of a "Christmas Carol."
• 
  Sharon

  I so enjoyed these stories. Only a few could have been better written, but still they were all very entertaining. It was a wonderful fantasy trip for me as an longtime fan of Sherlock Holmes. I highly recommend it.