Sons of Moriarty and More Stories of Sherlock Holmes Paperback – November 1, 2014

There is only one new entry in Estleman's newest collection, "Sons of Moriarty and More Stories of Sherlock Holmes," and it was definitely the highlight of the book. However, even the other stories, which have all been published before, are not so commonly reprinted that you would necessarily have seen them. And "Sons of Moriarty" takes up almost fifty percent of the book, so even if you had read all seven of the other stories, you still would only have read half the book! The title story is absolutely excellent AND there's a substantial introduction entitled "Sherlock Holmes: An Enduring Legacy." The book pays for itself between the foreword and the eponymous story.The first story in the book, John Lutz's "The Infernal Machine," is a traditional pastiche and starts out the book in the classic style. Holmes and Watson take on a case everyone considers to be open and shut: it appears that someone has used a prototype Gatling gun to commit murder. As there is only one Gatling gun in all of England and it is in the possession of the accused, there seems little doubt as to the guilt of their client. Next, Robert L. Fish's "The Adventure of the Double-Bogey Man" is a tale beloved to those who follow Schlock Homes and his 'remarkably inattentive' sidekick Dr. Watney. The plot involves a few rounds of golf, and the title is a pun; just one of many in the story. "The Case of the Bloodless Sock," by Anne Perry, follows the adventures of Jane Watson and her best friend, Sherlock Holmes, of Seattle, Washington, in modern times. You may have read this one before in the traditional format in another collection. Ms. Perry should have left it that way, as it was a much better story in the original format. The fourth entry, "Sherlocks," takes place in an indeterminate future. It is not at all about Holmes, but about the newly invented evidence-gathering machines, and the tension the "sherlocks" create between those who welcome automation and those who still believe in the power of the human brain.Next come stories by two different Conan Doyles. "The Field Bazaar," by Sir Arthur, is one of several little stories akin to spoofs that he wrote about his famous creation. (They are not usually reprinted nowadays but as it happens, this particular one appeared in "The Game Is Afoot," edited by Marvin Kaye, published in 1995.) Adrian Conan Doyle's "The Deptford Horror" was originally printed in "The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes" (co-written with John Dickson Carr), now long out of print but still available at amazon marketplace. In my opinion Adrian sounds almost eerily like his father. The next-to-last story in the book, "Before The Adventures" by Lenore Carroll, offers an alternative and totally off-canon view of Holmes and Watson. Although the brief introduction to the story hints that "Holmes purists may take umbrage at the central revelation," I don't see why. It's just funny and clever, more than a little bit offbeat, and great fun.The Sons of Moriarty, the eponymous story of the collection, is novella length. In this traditional pastiche, set in the year 1903, Holmes and Watson are engaged by a young woman to locate the body of her father so that she can return it to Sicily, to be buried where he was born. In this very simple task they are blocked every step of the way. The Home Secretary has banned all excavations in the pauper's field where the body is buried. The cemetery records have been destroyed in a flood. The young woman will have to prove her relationship to the deceased, and so on. Holmes receives a veiled warning from Lestrade as to what might happen should he press on. Naturally, all these impediments in his path simply make Holmes suspicious and even more determined to persevere. And so Holmes and Watson end up going against the Mafia! The story features Holmes and Watson traveling to New York City to meet Guisseppe Petrosino, a real-life New York City detective who was a pioneer in the fight against organized crime. Highlights of this story detail many wonderful incidents of the friendship between Holmes and Watson, now in its twenty-second year.

Another solid collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, with a pretty diverse cast of writers, including Anne Perry. There is an unfortunate parody story (never liked goofing on topics that are self evidently ridiculous), but the final Estleman novella "Sons of Moriarty" makes up for that flaw.The stories run a wide range of different topics, all of them better quality than most post-Doyle Holmes tales, even if they vary somewhat in greatness. The level of excellence in this book is generally lower than the previous two collections, but the final story mentioned above is a fine addition to the canon and is worth the purchase price alone.

This book contains the novelette Sons of Moriarty and seven short stories by various authors. Some of them have been published in many anthologies, but some I had never read before.“The Infernal Machine” by John Lutz I have read before. The infernal machine in question is a Gatling Gun. The Edgewick brothers are seeking to sell the weapon to Sir Clive Oldsbolt to manufacture the guns for the British Army. Then Sir Clive is murdered, shot seven times, and the Gatling gun was heard by the witnesses, but not seen. To make matters worse, Landen Edgewick was engaged to Sir Clive’s daughter. Her sister is engaged to a man named Robby Smythe, who is involved with one of the first combustion engine automobiles. He hopes this will be a great investment in the future. Then there is the mysterious Major Ardmont, who is visiting Sir Clive…“The Adventure of the Double-Bogey Man” by Robert L Fish was a new experience for me. Told with light-hearted fun, it is a Schlok Holmes mystery. Any more would spoil the story…“The Case of the Bloodless Sock” by Anne Perry is another I have read before. A little girl goes missing, and is later found in an alley. A note arrives from the kidnapper who says he can take the child at any time he chooses, and advises the father to sell his stock in a particular company. The girl vanishes again, and is agin returned. Holmes is on the case…“Sherlocks” by Al Sarrantonio is a new treasure for me. Taking place in an unspecified near future, machines called “Sherlocks” are taking on much of the work of CSI. PI Matheson, having had his caseload fall by 60% due to these little tentacled machines, is called into the case by notes and bank drafts. You see Matheson still believes in old time detective work…“The Field Bazaar” is a short piece by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 1896.“The Deptford Horror” by Adrian Conan Doyle, son of the great author, pits Holmes against something unseen. Two people have died in their rooms. They had weak hearts, but were otherwise healthy. Then there are the traces of soot scattered around the room—up the wall, across the ceiling, and down again in strange whorls…“Before the Adventures” by Lenore Carroll is—well, in this case I will just say read it! It is too good a twist to say more.“Sons of Moriarty” by Loren D Estleman takes place in 1903. An Italian beauty, Magdalena Venucci brings the case to our duo. The odd thing is that she goes to Watson’s home and surgery instead of 221B, as she has been told by someone that Holmes is there.She proves to be the daughter of Venucci the assassin killed by the mysterious Beppo in “The Six Napoleons.” She wants to take her father’s body home to Italy, but everyone from Scotland Yard to the Home Office is stonewalling her. Il Casa Negro, the Black Hand is involved and the danger cannot be more deadly—until a descendant of an old foe tries to even the score for their parent…I give the book four stars…Quoth the Raven…