Murder in Baker Street: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes by Martin H. Greenberg

Murder in Baker Street: New Tales of Sherlock Holmes Reviews

• 
  Gram

  A mixed bag of Sherlock Holmes' pastiches, featuring some big name crime writers. Some are sharp and fresh, but others are far too long winded, as if the author is trying to recreate the writing style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle rather than tell a story.
• 
  Ｆｒａｎｋｈ

  "The moment seemed to sum up my extraordinary friendship with Sherlock Holmes. Together, we had stood in many a drawing-room, many a library, and in our own rooms in Baker Street, examining evidence, discussing the significance of trifles, sifting through the debris of shattered lives, searching for truth and justice."

  
  Continuing with my second anthology to read, relish and review for Sherlock Holmes' Birthday Month is Murder in Baker Street edited by Martin H. Greenberg., Jon L. Lettenberg and Daniel Stashower. This collection is composed of eleven compact tales of hard-boiled cases that are conventionally delivered in the typical Doyle-esque Victorian classic narrative which works to a certain extent in the seven stories that I favored the most. I was fresh from the heels of the first anthology I read (
  Twenty-Two Hundred Baker Streets) so I think comparing and contrasting these volumes has been unavoidable. It's truly an apples-and-oranges scenario, however.
  
  While Twenty-Two Hundred was a volume that focuses more on alternate-universe scenarios and speculative fiction, the stories in Murder in Baker Street are all set in the established canon timelines with a few tweaks where Holmes and Watson were able to meet certain real-life figures (such as Bram Stoker) or become privy to witness the effects of inventions that they were never able to be acquainted with in Doyle's original stories.
  
  In the editors' introduction, they specifically stated that they wanted their collection to stay true to the essence of Arthur Conan Doyle's characterization and formulaic writing and if you're like me who will always prefer the canon over anything else (including visual adaptations; however, Elementary to me is the closest one that captured the partnership of Holmes and Watson and the sheer attention to detail and procedural investigation that Doyle have employed whenever Holmes unravels a case) then this volume will please you if it's strictly based in a purist's perspective.
  
  The authors who contributed their stories have certainly made a stellar effort to incorporate the exceptional elements that made Doyle's Sherlock Holmes timeless and critically-acclaimed in the first place, including the atmospheric grime and smog of London with all its horrors and wonders.
  
  Each tale is self-contained as most of Doyle's short stories tend to be where a seemingly mundane or inexplicable problem at hand is brought by a client (who may be a victim, perpetrator or both) to 221b Baker Street where the world's only consulting detective and loyal bibliographer and friend reside. There the investigation starts which breathlessly or sometimes patiently unfolds until we get to the part where a twist or a solution is revealed that could either be very shocking or rather simple yet elegantly detailed and satisfying nonetheless.
  
  Out of the eleven stories, I enjoyed seven the most. These are (1) The Man from Capetown by Stuart M. Kaminsky, the first story that establishes the setting and tone of the entire anthology; (2) The Siren of Sennen Cove by Peter Tremayne where a religious man visited Holmes after the detective's retirement to solve the mystery behind a series of shrunken ships in the coast; a very whimsical Moriarty story called (3)The Case of the Bloodless Sock by Anne Perry; (4) A Hansom for Mr. Holmes by Gillan Linscot that is narrated by another character, a modest cabbie who wanted nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes until he gets caught up in an assassination attempt; the very straightforward yet amusing puzzle-story (5) The Adventure of the Chesire Cheese by Jon L. Breen; (6) Darkest Gold by L.B Greenwood which had Watson trying to fool Holmes with a disguise as he follows his friend to a rather dangerous scheme involving a married couple and an ethnic tribe; and, finally, (7) The Remarkable Worm by Carolyn Wheat where Holmes and Watson get commissioned for their very own wax figures to be displayed in the London Museum yet they somehow ended up stumbling upon a terrible family affair. These were charming stories that hit me with nostalgia the strongest.
  
  This anthology will be better appreciated if you've enjoyed the Doyle canon itself since the style and linguistics of the stories here are more conventional and in line with how the original author has written Holmes and Watson as well as the cases they solve. An enjoyable read, overall.
  
  RECOMMENDED: 8/10
  
  
  
• 
  Jane Cairns

  Great anthology of short stories about Sherlock Holmes - written by modern-day mystery writers such as Anne Perry, Loren Estleman and Edward D. Hoch. Loved this one.
• 
  Erth

  now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
  
  The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
  
  i would highly recommend this author and this book.
• 
  Tinneal

  A decent collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, written by various authors. The quality of the stories ranges from from good, to not-so-good. I have given each one an individual review and rating, and the collection's final rating is based on the average.
  
  The Man from Capetown by Stuart M Kaminsky: This story starts out promising. The opening scene and banter between Holmes and Watson is very enjoyable. The first 'client' introduced, and is immediately unlikeable and impossible to feel sorry for. She is a bad person because she has done bad things, and now she wants Holmes to help her deal with the repercussions (unlike most other clients who are in trouble or in need of help for nothing of their own fault). Watson's sympathy for her seems strangely out-of-character. There is no mystery to what she, or the second client (who has to do with her) asks of Holmes. What kept me reading (and Holmes consulting), was the curiosity of why these two clients should seek out Holmes' help. Luckily the solution to the case turns out to be worth the read. [3 out of 5 stars]
  
  The Case of the Borderland Dandelions by Howard Engel: I really enjoyed this story. I have a soft-spot for Holmes going after cases of the wrongly-accused, as it seems like the more people who are against Holmes, the most determined he is to prove the victim innocent. I don't have much specifically to comment on, other than the fact that I liked Holmes' adamancy of a wrong accusal, and the way the story played out in general. I found it to be quite clever. [4 out of 5 stars]
  
  The Siren of Sennen Cove by Peter Tremayne: An interesting concept, but a bit far-fetched for what it was. Not the worst Sherlockian pastiche I've read, but nothing memorable. [2 out of 5 stars]
  
  The Case of the Bloodless Sock by Anne Perry: This story features Holmes, Watson, and an old nemesis from the canon. It begins with Watson on his own, enjoying a visit with an old friend, when encounters a case. It isn't until the case becomes more than he can handle, that he calls for Holmes’ help. Together they solve the case, the seems a bit absurd and a disappointment at the end...
  
  I should note that I have reviewed this story before, as it was featured in the Holmes story collection 'The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars at the time, but upon a second reading, I'm giving it 2 out of 5. [2 out of 5]
  
  The Adventure of the Anonymous Author by Edward D Hoch: This story is very short - only 10 pages - which left very little time for building up of the mystery, and development of the client and other minor characters. Not that interesting of a story. [1 out of 5]
  
  The Case of the Vampire’s Mark by Bill Crider: This story portrays a much more cold-hearted version of Holmes, who seems to lack much sympathy for the clients and their belief of such things as vampires. It’s certainly not my favourite version of Holmes, but despite this, the story is still an enjoyable read. The case still proves to be interesting, and I don’t think I would be spoiling it for anyone to say that there is an explanation other than vampires. [3 out of 5]
  
  A Hansom for Mr Holmes by Gillian Linscott: A very interesting story, told from the point of view of a dubious hansom cab driver, who has the ‘misfortune’ of picking up Sherlock Holmes as his fare. After delivering Holmes and Watson to their destination, Holmes asks the driver to help out with the case, and although he has his own matters to attend to, he reluctantly says yes. [4 out of 5]
  
  The Adventure of the Arabian Knight by Loren D Estleman: Famous 19th century adventurer Sir Richard Burton comes to Holmes, asking for help in the recovery of ancient documents pertaining to the location of King Tut's tomb, that he was in the process of translating before they were stolen. I found this story very lacking in the chemistry and pace that a well-written Holmes story has, and the ending was lacking in the cleverness Holmes usually shows. [1 out of 5]
  
  The Adventure of the Cheshire Cheese by Jon L Breen: A clever puzzle involving a sonnet written by a dying man, whose last wish is that his friend read it out loud to the members of a very prestigious club he was a member of. His friend fulfills his wish, only to be laughed and heckled out of the club upon reading the sonnet. He consults Holmes’ to find out why. [3 of out 5]
  
  Darkest Gold by L B Greenwoood: This story wasn’t a puzzle at all. There was no mystery to it, and the whole thing seemed very anti-climatic and slow. [1 out of 5 stars]
  
  The Remarkable Worm by Carolyn Wheat: I enjoyed the banter between Holmes and Watson in this story. The whole sub-plot of Holmes being offered immortalization in the wax museum, and his reaction to it all is quite funny, as is Watson’s not-too-well hidden jealousy about not being included. The mystery that followed was alright, and except for a few actions, seemed very much in character, if a bit boring. [3 out of 5 stars]
• 
  Kayt O'Bibliophile

  I'll start by summarizing everything I'm about to say: only read this book if you are absolutely desperate for some apocryphal Sherlock Holmes. These stories are to Holmes what a twig is to a cane. They may share some qualities, but there's not much use for the former.
  
  Now, granted, it's a collection and so some are better than others. Several stories were actually pleasant. The Case of the Borderline Dandelions, The Siren of Sennen Cove, and The Remarkable Worm were all okay, without too much of the "this isn't Holmes or Watson" feel you'll get from many other stories in this book.
  
  The one standout story was A Hansom for Mr. Holmes by Gillian Linscott. It was the only story, out of eleven, that was not told from Dr. Watson's point of view. (It focused on a cab-driver, and between the fresh perspective and good writing, this one stood out from the other stories.
  
  While the rest of the stories, then were terribly, horribly mediocre, there was also a standout at the other end of the spectrum. L. B. Greenwood's Darkest Gold was absolutely the worst story of the lot. Watson and Holmes barely felt like their true counterparts, the story was choppy, and in the end Holmes wasn't needed.
  
  The story completely focused on and was solved by non-Holmesian characters. I got the impression that Greenwood wrote a short story (that wasn't good anyway) and then threw Watson and Holmes in there, making it even worse.
  
  To add insult to injury, at the end of the book some writing with excerpts from actual Holmes stories, studying the character. Reading that, it's painfully obvious to see how the stories in this book often didn't grasp the detective and were just plain bad.
• 
  Erik Deckers

  Great mix of stories, including a couple by some favorite short story authors. All were worthy of inclusion and didn't stray too far from Doyle's detective in language, style, or believability.
• 
  Chuck

  This is a collection of passable Sherlock Holmes stories. The Anne Perry and Gillian Linscott stories are probably the best. The weakest is the L. B. Greenwood story--a strange tale about traveling through the jungle looking for Pygmies while a couple work out their marital problems. Holmes and Watson are along for the ride, and Watson narrates, but they don't really have anything to do with story.
• 
  Esther

  Short stories by well known authors recreating Sherlock Holmes. Most of the stories stay close to the original character with new plots. Enjoyable reading. In particular I enjoyed "The man from capetown", "The case of the bloodless sock", "The adventure of the Cheshire Cheese", and "Darkest Gold".
• 
  April

  Not great but the short stories grew on me as I went and made me want to read Sherlock Holmes again. It's been a loong time.
• 
  Armanda Moncton

  Many excellent stories in the style of Conan Doyle, with three essays also, two of which are by the master himself.
• 
  Leslie

  I wanted to enjoy this more but some of the stories were just so... cheesy.
• 
  Rachel

  This is certainly not the worst pastiche collection I've read, but it still leaves much to be desired. Even the stories I liked had problems and none can hold a candle to the Canon.
  
  In a lot of the stories, I found that the resolutions weren't clear or didn't explain everything. In one story Holmes actually asks the bad guy to simply leave and there's no indication of any charges being brought up on him. In another, the crime was solved but the story ended before catching the bad guy. And the first story feels like it started and ended in the middle of a longer story.
  
  While the editors claim that they are devoted to issuing a high level of story-telling, there are quite a few grammatical errors throughout the book and several of the stories contradict each other. For example, in one story Holmes gets onto a client for not believing in the supernatural and in another story, Holmes scoffs at a man who believes in the supernatural.
  
  A couple of the stories bothered me with their more adult themes (such as the naked siren, Watson's scantily clad admirer and one client being the author of the Kama Sutra). There are no stories in the Canon that I would not want my children to read, but these storylines are ones I would certainly avoid.
  
  Overall like I said, these are not bad pastiches. If you're not as strict with your pastiches sticking to the Canon as I am, then you will most certainly enjoy this collection. There are quite a few interesting cases that I expected to and should have loved (such a Hansom for Mr Holmes, the Case of the Vampire's Mark, the Remarkable Worm, the Case of the Bloodless Sock and the Case of the Borderland Dandelions) but poor plots, poor writing and/or poor execution left me wanting.
• 
  Tracy

  The rating is higher more for the two essays at the end, which were the anthology's strongest pieces. The first few stories were poorly written and worse, poorly edited! I should preface this review by stating that I never read any of the original Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories, and that I've mainly come to this book out of interest for the BBC Sherlock tv show, which I love and enjoy. So that said, I'm not sure if some of these stories were imitiating the original stories, which prehaps lacked in more thorough punctuation, or if the editing of this anthology was just that bad. Misuse (or absense) of commas irritates me, and thus, the first story was very irritating for that reason, mostly. After reading the first two stories, I seriously considered putting the book down for good, since they were fairly unremarkable (besides the comma misuse) and bored me. They also made me wonder if, in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes is presented as a smart-ass who doesn't do much detective work and just shows up at the end to make a "stunning deduction" and out the criminal.
  
  The third story, however, was decent and kept me reading the rest of the book. It's called "The Siren of Sennen Cove" by Peter Tremayne. There's a "ghost" involved, and an actual mystery which is investigated, so when it came time to make the "stunning deduction" and out the criminal, there was actual thought and intellect put into the evidence. I was impressed. The other stories I enjoyed:
  
  "The Case of the Bloodless Sock" by Anne Perry, a Moriarty story (though he's not ever seen), has some good suspense;
  
  "A Hansom For Holmes" by Gillian Linscott, the only story in the collection not narrator by Watson, but by a hansom cabbie: this one was fun to read, and very humorous as well;
  
  "The Adventure of the Arabian Knight" by Loren D. Estleman, well-written with a well-told mystery, with good descriptions and believable characters, and with an ironic epilogue;
  
  "The Adventure of the Cheshire Cheese" by Jon L. Breen, a story with a twist that proves just how good Sherlock Holmes really is;
  
  "Darkest Gold" by L.B. Greenwood, which seemed to be tiresome at first but actually had a well-deserved, well-earned ending, and got better after disguises were shed;
  
  "The Remarkable Worm" by Carolyn Wheat, one of the best well-written stories of the collection, which has an "A" story and a "B" story which dovetail nicely to make for a good conclusion to the mystery.
  
  As mentioned, the last two are essays (actually, there's a third essay which I didn't read the whole of because my eyes were glazing over; it's called "And Now, A Word From Arthur Conan Doyle" by Jon L. Lellenberg. It's basically a summary of all the new words Doyle coined, or that were coined because of Sherlock Holmes, or what words took on new meanings because of Doyle, or Sherlock, and what was included in either the Oxford English Dictionary, or one of its many Supplements. But after its intro, I wasn't interested in reading the essay.) are reason alone to get and this book.
  
  The first essay is by Arthur Conan Doyle himself, called "Sidelights on Sherlock Holmes". Conan Doyle spends time talking about his "most notorious character" mostly in terms of stage plays, what he wrote to be adapted for the stage, and what his relationship was with some of the actors who portrayed Sherlock on stage. He mentions his friendship with J.M. Barrie, who presented him with a short Sherlock parody following the disaster (and complete failure) of a play they'd co-written. Doyle also discusses the look of his Sherlock versus the look given by an illustrator, Sidney Paget, who had based the Holmes model on his brother Walter, who was more handsome that Doyle originally intended Sherlock to be. He also talks about the films (of the 40s, I'm guessing), of which his "only criticism is that they introduce telephones, motor cars and othe luxuries of which the Victorian Holmes never dreamed." What an interesting insight, which is just one among many in this great essay.
  
  The second essay, "100 Years of Sherlock Holmes" by Lloyd Rose, I at first thought was another short story, but is instead a lengthy rumination on all of the actors who played Sherlock in the different movie versions (of the 40s). I found it very informative, and fascinating, so much so that I took the author's notions to heart when I went to the library and borrowed some of these old films. In summary, Jeremy Brett plays Sherlock as a strung-out coke addict, laughing too loudly at all the wrong moments. Basil Rathbone, his appearance based strong on Sidney Paget's illustrations, is one of the most lasting impressions of what Sherlock looks like and behaves like. Though, the author states, Rathbone's films were set during WWII and feature Holmes "fighting Nazis" and have little to do with the stories Conan Doyle wrote. Rathbone's films are also melodramas which feature Holmes constantly in some kind of physical danger or peril, and also portray Watson as, according the author, "obtuse", and in my own description, a stupid old man who's only purpose is comic relief, perhaps. (I borrowed all of the Basil Rathbones I could find; the creators of the BBC Sherlock always mention that the version Basil Rathbone portrayed stuck with them the most as they re-created Sherlock for a modern age.)
  
  A few other actors are mentioned by the author who calls each performance one that "fell flat"—from "a fool", "a smug bully", "a bisexual" and "a soft-hearted liberal"—all attempts that "were beside the point", since these are outside of the realm of which Doyle created for Sherlock. The author says: "The actors invovled don't seem to *get* it. As a character, Holmes is very precisely defined; an actor approaching the role plays it successfully only if he plays by Conan Doyles' rules."
  
  So, overall, I was impressed by the aforementioned works, and I highly encourage fans of the original Sherlock Holmes—or any more modern counterpart—to check out this collection.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Roger

  Sometimes nothing else will do. I have to once more travel fog-shrouded streets, to enjoy the company of the world's first (and foremost) consulting detective, Mr Sherlock Holmes, and his ardent biographer, Dr John Watson. Murder in Baker Street features the work of various talented writers, such as Loren Estleman, Anne Perry, Edward D Hoch, Stuart Kaminsky, and the late and lamented Bill Crider. The Crider story is a good one as it features an auspicious meeting of Holmes and Bram Stoker, and Estleman's tale of Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton's encounter with Holmes is also a joy. (For a variety of reasons Burton remains a source of fascination to me to this day.) The stand out story, however, was The Adventure of the Cheshire Cheese by Jon Breen, which packs a lot of fun and wit into ten pages. One of the characters in this story uses a literary device I myself have used (though admittedly with much less success.) This was an lively anthology.
• 
  Robin

  An enjoyable anthology of Holmesian stories by various different authors. As with any collection like this some tales are more interesting or engaging than others. Some drew on emergent technologies of the day, like the Siren of Sennan Cove (a difficult thing to do, given that the reader is easily able to deduce the crime by having the advantage over the sleuth). The Case of the Vampire's Mark followed the pattern of much Holmesian pastiche by linking in other great figures of the day, in this instance Bram Stoker, with a rather enjoyable variation on the Sussex Vampire.
  My favourite was A Hansom for Mr Holmes largely because the author (Gillian Linscott) captured the voice of the cab driver and his jaded view of the Great Detective who was clearly more burden than benefit.
  Definitely worth a read for any Holmes fans. Maybe a bit too self-referential for any people unused to Doyle's work (read the original before trying the tributes).
• 
  DaShannon

  I'm a Sherlock fan in the I've watched the movies and BBC series fan. I have read some short stories and listened to some audios. This was slow and enjoyable but not a favorite. As with most short story collections there are some good ones and some not so good ones. I do love the concept of taking a beloved character and letting other authors/artists continue his stories.
• 
  Saklani

  Good collection of Sherlock pastiches, which I always enjoy reading. There are also a few vignettes about the character and his creator. The last piece, about the words coined by Doyle or emerging from there Sherlockian canon is particularly fun and illuminating.
  
  Definitely something enjoyable for the Sherlock fan.
• 
  Chris

  The quality of the stories varied a bit by author, but I thought in general they were pretty well done. I'm not sure how involved the editor was, but I was surprised to find that they generally shared similar "voice" and word choices. Overall it was a fun collection to read through.
• 
  Cris

  Like most anthologies the collection is uneven, but overall more stories hit the mark than missed.
• 
  Luisa

  very breezy book, obviously not as good as the real thing.
• 
  Shauna

  This collection of stories is hit and miss. Some were great (my favorite was the one by Anne Perry), but others weren't so good.