Dr. Watson is called away from Sherlock Holmes to attend a beaten man who had his painting stolen. Upon Watson’s return, Holmes is intrigued by the case and soon the game is afoot in the short story “The Curious Affair of the Italian Art Dealer” by Sara Paretsky. This story is from In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger. In this collection of fifteen stories Holmes appears in various roles sometimes as himself and others as Holmes like detectives.

The first story in the collection is by Michael Connelly. It features Harry Bosch in “The Crooked Man” where a media mogul is murdered and the Deputy Coroner Art Doyle makes incredible deductions that help Bosch solve the case. In Jeffery Deaver’s “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman” an admirer of Sherlock Holmes investigates the case with a surprising twist. The collection also includes John Lescroart, Harlan Ellison, Nancy Holder, and Leslie S. Klinger.

Christina Callison

Christina Callison has been blogging about books for the library’s website since 2006. She has read hundreds of books that include mysteries, fantasies, horror, thrillers, non-fiction, general fiction, and some science fiction. She continues with her goal of finding new books and authors to recommend.