cover image Sherlock Holmes and the Thistle of Scotland

Sherlock Holmes and the Thistle of Scotland

L. B. Greenwood. Simon & Schuster, $17.45 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-65916-5

Greenwood's third imitation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic mysteries is set in the home of the Earl and Countess of Mowbray, Lambeth, after the wedding of their daughter Lady Caroline to fortune-hunter Adolphus Stanley. The bride is wearing a priceless hair clip (an inheritance from Mary Queen of Scotts), when the great amethyst centerpiece vanishes. Since the nuptials took place in full view of everyone present, the disappearance is inexplicable, so the Mowbrays call on Sherlock Holmes to investigate. As Dr. Watson tells the story, the detective studies the people involved, then focuses on how the unlikely perpetrator played a temporarily successful trick. It is, unfortunately, too far-fetched a version of the locked-door mystery to inspire credibility. Greenwood's vivid, authentic evocations of Victorian places, manners and mores are exciting but the denouement is a letdown. Detective Book Club selection. (Oct.)