Millett (The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes, 2012, etc.) offers a novel Holmes: out of his urban element and...
A trip to the Mayo Clinic plunges the famed sleuth into an adventure as perilous as the Reichenbach Falls.
When shortness of breath threatens even his sedentary retirement occupation of keeping bees in Sussex, Sherlock Holmes has no choice but to consult noted pulmonary expert Dr. Henry Plummer at the equally famed clinic in Minnesota. Plummer’s advice is uncompromising: no more three-pipe problems for Holmes. But hard as it is for the detective to give up tobacco, it’s even harder to give up the thrill of the chase. So, lured by a letter purporting to be from the Monster of Munich, a killer who littered the English Gardens of that city with corpses 28 years ago, Holmes leaves Rochester for the tiny hamlet of Eisendorf, founded in the early 20th century by Dionisius Eisen as a bastion of freethinking. The population of the town has dwindled to about 40—further reduced by the suspicious deaths of Hans Eisen and Bernhard Krupp—whose lives are dutifully chronicled by archivist Frederick Halbach. But what could simple townsfolk like Peter and Wolfgang Eisen, or Bernhardt’s widow Katherine, be hiding? Holmes’ quest takes him into uncharted territory as he spends night after night in a cottage behind Halbach’s house, determined not to leave Eisendorf until its every secret is revealed.
Millett (The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes, 2012, etc.) offers a novel Holmes: out of his urban element and uncharacteristically (and not always convincingly) caught up in the vagaries of the human heart. Even the flashbacks to Munich can’t redeem the American Gothic flavor of this pastiche.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5179-0086-1
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Univ. of Minnesota
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.
An Arizona accountant with a penchant for solving murders lands a fishy case.
Sophie "Phee" Kimball might lead a dull life if it weren’t for her mother, Harriet Plunkett, and Harriet’s neurotic Chiweenie, Streetman. As it is, Harriet lives near her daughter in Sun City West and has a wide circle of zany friends who’ve helped Phee solve several mysteries (Molded 4 Murder, 2019, etc.) while she’s been working for Williams Investigations along with her boyfriend, Marshall, a former police officer. While Phee’s visiting Harriet one day, Streetman dashes over to the neighbors’ barbecue grill and unearths a dead body under a tarp. As usual, the overwhelmed local police ask Williams Investigations to help—er, consult. Harriet’s main concern is getting costumes made for the reluctant Streetman, whom she’s entered in a series of contests starting with Halloween and progressing through Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah, and St. Patrick’s Day. One of her friends is an accomplished seamstress who goes all out making gorgeous costumes that will beat an obnoxious lady who looks down on mutts. The dead man is identified as Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor, who was poisoned by the locally ubiquitous sago pine. At the first dog contest, Elaine Meschow has to be rushed to the hospital after she gets a dose of the same thing. The owner of a gourmet dog food company, Elaine is lucky enough to recover. After Streetman takes second place, Harriet’s team redoubles its efforts for the next contest while Phee and Marshall, who are moving into a new place together, continue to hunt for clues. A restaurant holdup and a scheme to use empty houses for hookups for high school kids add to the confusion.
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2455-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
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