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Sherlock
Holmes only appeared in four novels, and of these only one
is regarded as among the author’s finest work. Mostly
we know of him through the medium of the short story, and
here are a round dozen to enjoy by one of his best current
writers.
I
confess to not being a great fan of the short story myself,
but some writers have the ability to make it their own. It
is not a common talent, and most people’s efforts tend
to read as though they are part of something longer but fortunately
Conan Doyle was not among their number and neither is James
Lovegrove. Some of these have appeared in other collections,
but most are new work and all have something to recommend
them. The theme running through this collection is the supernatural
and strange, and among the varied entries we have both tales
involving seemingly odd occurrences being debunked and those
set in parallel versions of our world or dealing with the
paranormal. We hear the thoughts of a dog; visit a dimension
where most people have superhero type talents (apart from
Holmes) and delve into another mystery from the Cthulhu Casebooks
series. There is a supposed magic stone, a sinister séance,
a potion a la Jekyll and Hyde and some vanishing museum exhibits.
Watson gets to shine in one, and in another, Holmes’
rival detective has a case to solve. I won’t say too
much about any of them as it would spoil the stories but there
is something for all tastes in here, whether woo-woo is your
bag or not.
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