David Marcum Paula Hammond is one of my favorite Holmes Pasticheurs. It turns out that she’s written a lot of other stuff, but of late much of her attention has been turned toward Mr. Holmes – to the great satisfaction of those who appreciate a good Holmes adventure. She has contributed a number of Holmes tales to “The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories”, as well as other recent Holmes anthologies, and this latest volume collects six amazing narratives. My personal favorite is “The Ghazi Genie” – not quite a typical story, as Holmes and Watson, delayed on a train trapped by snow, discuss an odd and deadly occurrence from Watson’s military past, in the days before he was wounded at the Battle of Maiwand. The descriptions are exceptionally vivid, and I felt that I was beside Watson in the remote and mysterious spot on the other side of the world as he witnessed something that seemed beyond explanation -and I also felt that I was with Holmes and Watson in the train compartment where Watson related the story while an escalating blizzard was just outside the window. The other stories in this collection are wonderful as well, and I’m very much looking forward to what comes next. The Infinitely Stranger Cases of Sherlock Holmes is available from this site with all books bought from MX Publishing direct buying a meal through ShareTheMeal. The book is also available from all good bookstores including: Amazon USA   Barnes and Noble    Kindle    Audio “My dear fellow,” said Sherlock Holmes, as we sat at either side of the fire in his lodgings at Baker Street, “life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. There is,” the great detective commented, “nothing so unnatural as the commonplace.” From Cornish devils, to Welsh witches, from Ghazi genies, to Covent Garden mediums, from pagan sacrifices, to mummies’ curses, The Infinitely Stranger Cases of Sherlock Holmes collects six canonical tales which test Holmes’s ability to unravel the conspiracies, the misdirections, the strange, and the curious. The game is afoot. The Devil’s Snare“Well then, Kit, tell us about your devil…”.  So begins a tale that takes Holmes and Watson to a picture-book fishing village, where it’s said that a creature of ancient myth haunts the byways, protecting Cornish maidens from unsuitable beaus. But is Christopher Angove really seeing devils, or is the young groom-to-be the victim of a more sinister conspiracy? The Ghazi GenieTrapped aboard a derailed train, Watson challenges Holmes to put his brilliant mind to work on a mystery that’s puzzled him since his army days. When the discovery of a cache of bones precipitates a night-time jaunt into the Afghan hills, Watson makes a puzzling and gruesome discovery. Can Holmes unravel fact from fiction and finally lay Watson’s ghosts to rest? The Bryniau Witch Tower Enfys Tegwen was a lively, popular girl, who sang in the chapel choir, and sent money home to her elderly father every week. When she’s found dead in her little attic room, Inspector Jones, ex-of Scotland Yard, suspects the local playboy. Is the young man really as bad as Jones says? And why did the young couple visit the local witch before Enfys’ death? The Covent Garden MediumWhen Watson’s publisher at The Strand magazine asks him to write an exposé on a local medium, he finds himself on an emotional journey that challenges both logic and belief. As the lamps are dimmed, and the spirits begin to speak, just what will the Doctor and the detective discover? An UnChristian ActA plea for help from Watson’s old school friend, Tadpole Phelps, takes the duo to Dorset, where the tracks of someone seemingly running, barefoot, towards the cliffs leads to the discovery of a body on a pagan altar. Can Holmes uncover how the murderer was able to run over walls, and even rooftops, in the dead of night carrying a body? And what does Old Harry have to do with it? The Violated GraveDr. Winter — a body snatcher from the time of the old king — is a legend in the medical fraternity. When a mummy unwrapping he’s conducting ends with a bewildering death, Holmes and Watson are called in to investigate. Could the infamous Unlucky Mummy really be cursed? And why is Mycroft so interested in the case? Format: Paperback (also available as Hardcover)

David Marcum Joanne Reinbold’s first Sherlock Holmes novel joins the great tradition of having the Great Detective delve into the Victorian fascination with Egypt, along with mysterious artifacts and mummies and curses. What begins with the disappearance of a nobleman quickly spirals into a much more sinister plot as Holmes and Watson uncover secrets that have spanned generations. As a staunch defender of traditional and Canonical Holmes, there were a few instances where I was tossed out of the story – such as references to messages sent to and received by space aliens, and a government agency devised to handle that – but nearly all the rest of the book colored within the lines, providing a solid investigation that could have been the basis of a Basil Rathbone film. This book sits well with the many other Holmes pastiches that have connections to the mysteries of Ancient Egypt and their intrusions into Holmes and Watson’s world.   Sherlock Holmes and The Adventure of the Black Pharaoh is available from this site where your purchase buys a meal for someone in need and also: Amazon.com    Barnes and Noble    Amazon UK     Kindle    Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are searching for the fifth Earl of Convarran who disappeared after returning to England following a disastrous excavation at the Black Pyramid in Dashoor, Egypt. During his investigation, Holmes discovers his clients are concealing a deadly secret, a secret that entangles him and Watson in a conspiracy that threatens all their lives. At the heart of the mystery are two ancient artifacts. Relentlessly pursued by cultists, collectors, and the British government, the artefacts are the key to finding the Earl. As Holmes unravels clue after clue, he is convinced that they all point to a single man. A powerful, dangerous man whom Holmes must confront and defeat if he is to find the Earl and save his clients.