The latest edition in Hugh Aston’s Sherlock Holmes series is once again full of marvelous tales of that favored sleuth. Even though all its predecessing volumes have been absolutely brilliant, this one is the best so far.
Once again the author takes the reader on four new cases, all describing adventures and mysteries needing to be solved by the brightest mind of the Empire.
In “The Abernetty Horror”, we are transported from the hustle and bustle of London to a quiet Welsh fishing town for vacationing purposes. Of course, peace and quiet doesn’t exactly stay that way and Holmes’ powers of deduction will be necessary to solve the crime at hand.
Dastardly matters that could get well out of hand and cost Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson their lives are the object at hand in “The Finsbury House”, where once again people are not as they seem and a house may not be simply a house.
“The Curious Affair of the Archdeacon” presents an altogether different kind of case for our dynamic duo and the outcome will undoubtedly leave a smile on the face of many a reader.
And in the last story of the book, “An Account of the Victor Lynch Forgery”, it is not Doctor Watson doing us the honors of the narrative but that faithful detective inspector of Scotland Yard we’ve all come to know in these past years: Lestrade. Making for an interesting read and new insight on how people perceive both the personality and working methods of Sherlock Holmes, as well as the collaboration with the consulting detective.
Once again, Hugh Ashton has presented us with stories that could have been by the hand of the original master. There are references throughout his works to both previous entries from the boxes as well as original stories, which only adds to the reading pleasure. The different kinds of cases he comes up with never seize to amaze nor entertain.
If you love Sherlock Holmes and detective stories, don’t even doubt and get this entire series. It’s worth every single cent trice over.
