A very good Holmes book. A collection of ten new adventures and thoughts about Holmes. Here are my thoughts on each.

1. The Adventure of the Arabian Knight - Very good adventure, featuring Sir Richard Burton and the tomb of King Tut. I thought that this was very Doyle-like.

2. The Adventure of the Three Ghosts - Excellent! A great Christmas story that starts similar to Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

3. The Riddle of the Golden Monkeys - Great ending featuring Fu Man Chu. Holmes (per usual) uses both his deductive prowess and broad knowledge.

4. Mr and Mrs Watson at Home - This is a one act comedy. Very clever, but too short. The end was a bit much. Reference many of Holmes stories in passing.

5. The Adventure of the Coughing Denist - Very good, featuring Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in the American West.

6. The Adventure of the Greatest Gift - Good ending, but I thought it was an unlikely story.

7. The Devil and Sherlock Holmes - A bit bizarre!

8. The Serpent's Egg - Just the start of a Holmes story, but was very intriguing. I hope it is completed some day!

9. On the Significance of the Boswells - Bully to Watson!

10. Was Sherlock Holmes the Shadow? - Short, odd and not convincing. The Shadow relied on his ability to influence the mind of others, while Holmes relied on his intellect.

Great section of suggested reading. ( )

A mostly good but somewhat uneven collection of Holmes pastiche stories, most of them previously published. The majority of the pieces included here involve mashups with non-canonical figures, literary and historical: Tiny Tim, the creator of Fu Manchu, Sir Richard Francis Burton and even Wyatt Earp make appearances. The one story that hadn't been published before is the first chapter of what was intended to be a "round robin" effort among several authors; it's a good start, so it's something of a shame that Estleman didn't complete it. A short dramatic treatment of "Dr. Watson at Home" was probably the weakest element here.

The volume also includes some of Estleman's musings on Holmes, Watson, and the canon, which are certainly interesting and well worth a read. ( )

Finally a book the captures the true spirit of Sherlock Holmes. I love the way the stories are written and the design of the begin page of each chapter. Although I do wish the stories were illustrated like the original Holmes stories were. This is a very good read and one you are sure to enjoy; especially good for a rainy day or night. ( )