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It is probably fair to say that not since the heyday of The Strand has Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed detective Sherlock Holmes been more present. A popular series of films, two well-received television shows, an active internet community devoted to Sherlockiana, and, as always, no shortage of pastiches and tributes being published, have once again put the tenant of 221b Baker Street at the forefront of popular culture. In their informal follow-up to their 2010 A STUDY IN SHERLOCK, editors Leslie Klinger (ed., THE NEW ANNOTATED SHERLOCK HOLMES) and Laurie King (the Mary Russell Holmes series) have compiled an anthology of tales that run the gambit from traditional pastiche to tales that feature characters and situations inspired by the original canon to stories that further an existing Holmes tale or motif in a genre- or medium-bending fashion.
IN THE COMPANY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES features fifteen stories from both A-list authors (Michael Connelly and Sara Paretsky) and lesser-known ones, and from authors whose bibliography makes for a logical fit with the material and others that do not (Cornelia Funke). The subtitle of "Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon" is particularly apt, as readers expecting a collection of pastiches will be sorely disappointed, since only a couple stories could be so categorized, and fewer than half feature what could liberally be described as a quasi-version of Holmes.
Most often, as in Jeffrey Deaver's "The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman" (among this collection's finest stories), the reader finds contemporary characters both influenced by the original canon and who employ Holmesian methods of deduction to solve their own mysteries (an evil character with a variation on the name Moriarty is a favorite device). This type of story tends to work better than those that try too hard to make a direct connection to the canon or to further an existing Conan Doyle tale inorganically.
In Denise Hamilton's "The Thinking Machine" and Leslie Klinger's "The Closer," the reader finds stories that provide welcome and unexpected sources of heart and humanity. In the former, a data analyst finds that there is a limit to the Holmesian approach when his new algorithm to predict pregnancies severely complicates his home life. In "The Closer," a sincere ex-husband plots to reunite with his wife for the sake of their daughter using Holmesian methods.
But the strongest entry is Michael Dirda's "By Any Other Name," which is a hybrid of a traditional pastiche and an alternative history of Conan Doyle's literary career itself that will be sure to delight Sherlockians and literary buffs alike. Suffice to say, the general view that the later Holmes tales were lesser works will be more persuasive after reading Dirda's hypothesis.
The stories that struggle the most are the ones that attempt to employ gimmicks that probably seemed like better ideas in concept than they are in execution. Among these, is "The Memoirs of Silver Blaze," which is the classic Holmes tale told from Silver Blaze's perspective as well as a re-telling of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" told through Facebook posts. Similarly, an attempt to tell a Holmes story via graphic novel in “The Problem of the Empty Slipper” is quite prosaic and has little novelty value as better wrought and drawn Sherlockian tales are already available in graphic novel form.
While those looking for traditional pastiches may be disappointed and not every story is an unqualified success, this volume is a worthwhile anthology for fans of the original canon and those who have come to embrace Holmes via other media. One may hope that the next volume might be a bit leaner and more focused, but for the present mystery fans and Holmes aficionados are unlikely to go astray by picking up this one.
§ Ben Neal is a librarian who likes to fancy himself an amateur writer, humorist, detective, and coffee connoisseur in his spare time. He can be reached at beneneal@indiana.edu.
Reviewed by Ben Neal, December 2014
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