The Collected Papers of Sherlock Holmes: Volume 1

Marcum (Sherlock Holmes and the Eye of Heka) makes writing a traditional pastiche look easy in this superb collection of nine stories and a novel, Sherlock Holmes and a Quantity of Debt. Set in 1888, the novel finds Dr. Watson, who’s still processing his first wife’s death and wondering about his future, joining his friend in Bedfordshire, where construction work on the estate of Martin Briley, a man known for his good works, uncovers a mummified corpse. The decades-old body is missing a finger on its right hand, suggesting it belonged to a previously unknown Briley, as that trait was a family characteristic. In addition to a baffling puzzle, Marcum injects plausible introspection on Holmes’s part about how justice would be best served. The short tales likewise strike no false notes while subtly fleshing out the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Conan Doyle would have no trouble recognizing his characters in these masterful homages to the canon. Sherlockians should run, not walk, to pick this up. (Nov.)