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MY SHERLOCK HOLMES: UNTOLD STORIES OF THE GREAT DETECTIVE
by Michael Kurland, editor
St Martin's Minotaur, January 2004
370 pages
$14.95
ISBN: 0312325959


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

I hope the purists forgive me for wanting to review this anthology, although I'm not sure that Sherlock Holmes purists even read pastiches or stories that aren't written by Arthur Conan Doyle. I find that while I am not a big fan of Doyle's work, that I do, in fact like some of the stories told about Holmes, or using Holmes as a character but not necessarily the main character.

A few years back, there was an anthology written using this approach; it was MCCONE AND FRIENDS by Marcia Muller. The difference of course is that Muller wrote all her stories; here, the tales are told by modern authors about Sherlock Holmes, a character who still has a major influence on mystery, and who, in some ways, defined the modern detective.

This anthology was entertaining: it offered insight into the character of Holmes, while it took some liberties. I enjoyed reading about little details (what was Mrs. Hudson's first name? And what is her story? Who was Mr Hudson?) and the interpretation of this rather cold rational Holmes through the eyes of some of his closest associates and friends ((if indeed they could be considered close). There are stories here told by Mrs Hudson, by the first and second wives of Dr Watson, by Mycroft, Holmes's smart brother (and who named these two guys? I can't imagine these were popular boys' names, no matter what era. But I digress.)

There are a lot of good writers too, and not those necessarily associated with Holmes pastiches: there's the wonderful Richard Lupoff, Gary Lovisi , my old friend Mel Gilden (who used to travel in the same science fiction circles as many of the authors with stories in this collection), Sister Fidelma's creator Peter Tremayne, and terrific story-teller George Alec Effinger (probably one of the last things George wrote before his untimely death in 2002).

I've never been all that fond of 1895; I'm too modern and perhaps too limited in my imagination to relate to the time. Possibly I am simply too fond of modern life and conveniences ranging from central heating to plastic lenses and modern advances in medicine. So I'm a tad reluctant to say I enjoy visiting those times. But the authors here bring them alive. Lupoff entertains us with a delightfully wrought story from C August Dupin (created by Edgar Allen Poe) and, please forgive my chortle here, the tale of a mysterious black bird statue. Barbara Hambly's story featuring the first Mrs Watson is as well-researched as her Benjamin January novels, showing a dark side of London and how the law treated men and their wives. As a fan of Irene Adler (it's not that I ever cheer for the bad guys, but I've always liked that woman for besting the arrogant know-it-all Holmes) I thought Cara Black's Cabaret Aux Assassins worked to show us, as other writers have done, more of this intriguing character.

This anthology works because, as editor Michael Kurland offers in his somewhat wandering introduction, Doyle wrote wonderful memorable secondary characters. Secondary characters can make the difference between a good story and a great book; three-dimensional villains and sidekicks and rivals and friends give you more than the puzzle of the mystery. If that appeals to you, then however you feel about Holmes and however steeped in the canon you are (and I'm not, but I live with a Sherlockian so it tends to seep in) you'll get something worthwhile out of MY SHERLOCK HOLMES. And don't miss the author notes -- not only are they most informative, but several of them are rather droll.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, January 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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