Sons of Moriarty and More Stories of Sherlock Holmes

This solid anthology collects five previously published shorter Sherlock Holmes pastiches, plus a new novella from Estleman (The Perils of Sherlock Holmes). John Lutz’s suspenseful “The Infernal Machine,” in which Holmes tries to solve the murder of arms manufacturer Sir Clive Oldsbolt, nicely conveys the era when horseless carriage backfires sounded like shots from a Gatling gun. Lenore Carroll’s clever “Before the Adventures” depicts a meeting between Dr. Watson, recovering from his war injuries while living alone in London, and an observant stranger who foreshadows Sherlock Holmes. In Estleman’s eponymous novella, Magdalena Venucci, daughter of an assassin from Doyle’s “Six Napoleons,” wants to take her father’s remains back to Italy, despite Inspector Lestrade’s heated objections. Readers learn about the origins of the Mafia, its code of omerta (or silence), and its cruel extortion methods in this lively adventure set in London and New York. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary. (Nov.)