Requiem For Sherlock Holmes...

.....is a recent Holmes collection written by Paul Stuart Hayes and published by Hidden Tiger. This is the author's first Sherlock Holmes book but you would not guess that from the quality of the stories. They are uniformly excellent, detailed, well-plotted and with a Watsonian  voice straight from the canon. The centre-piece is the novella which kick starts the collection, The Ancestral Horror. We meet Holmes's father who is languishing in jail accused of murder. We get Holmes's customary

brilliance in solving the crime, but we also get a fascinating insight into the relationship between father and son. Now, the relationship is strained to the point of non-existence and the reasons lie deep in the past. Holmes is not portrayed as a saint and even Watson has to question whether he really knows Holmes. The author plays fair all along and we along with Watson have to determine for ourselves where to apportion blame. It is a wonderful bonus to go hand in hand with Holmesian writing of the highest order. The dialogue throughout is exemplary, the experience authentic. This is one of those collections which require further reading to capture all the nuances in its pages. Now, as you may have surmised the novella is a towering achievement, but don't think for a moment that the other stories are mere filler. They are not. They are every bit as good. Here is an author who loves his characters, loves putting words in their mouths and we the readers are the ones who benefit. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes collections you will be hard pushed to find a better one around at the moment. If I had written it I would be glowing with pride. Well done, Paul.

Readily available on Amazon. I suggest you purchase it!