A Three-Pipe Problem (1976)

The exploits of wannabe or delusional Sherlocks were popular in the 1970s. There was the excellent 1971 film They Might Be Giants with George C. Scott, as well as a TV movie The Return of the World's Greatest Detective with Larry Hagman. This 1976 novel by Julian Symons picked up on the theme.

Small-time actor, Sheridan Haynes, had a rather unhealthy preoccupation with Sherlock Holmes. So when the chance came for him to play the famous detective in a TV series, it seemed his dreams had come true. And when London was plagued by a series of unsolved murders, well it seemed only natural for him to take his role into real life. Was this a case of a laughable and misguided actor, or was Sherdian actually on to something?

Title: A Three-Pipe Problem
Author: Julian Symons
Year: 1976
Publisher: Avon
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)

No, not Mycroft. It's Sigerson! This is the novelization of the 1975 film written, directed, and starring Gene Wilder.

Can the sexual insecurities of one young beauty determine the fate of England?
Of course. But how?

Elementary!

Huh? As you can see, this is no case for any ordinary detective.
This is a case for...

Sigerson Holmes? 

It's Sherlock's smarter brother (believe us, he's not ordinary) up to the family snuff in a riotous case of stolen documents and stolen love where one clue doesn't necessarily lead to another–but you're too busy laughing to care!

Title: The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
Author: Gilbert Pealman
Year: 1975
Publisher: Ballantine
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

A Taste For Honey (1964)

First published in 1941, A Taste For Honey was one of the very first Holmes pastiches. The plot features a mysterious retired beekeeper who goes by the name of "Mr. Mycroft." While the original intent seems to be that this is Sherlock himself, later publishers packaged the book as a "Mycroft Holmes Mystery." Two more Mr. Mycroft adventures followed: Reply Paid (1945) and The Notched Hairpin (1949).

MURDERED...BY BEES? 

Who is Mr. Mycroft? The true identity of this magnificent, inscrutable old gentleman is a deep secret–but there are echoes of Baker Street in his voice, and a familiar gleam in his eyes that miss no clue.

In A Taste for Honey, he meets one of the most sinister murderers of all time, and encounters one of the most fiendishly ingenious murder methods ever devised. 

Title: A Taste For Honey
Author: H.F. Heard
Year: 1964
Publisher: Lancer
Purchase: Amazon.

Death of a Scavenger (1980)

Another adventure of a Holmes pretender. Great cover art.

Elementary, My Dear Enclave! 

Dr. Hugo Enclave couldn't resist any case rated by the police as "unsolvable." That's why the Rockmore murder case appealed so strongly to his Sherlock Holmes instinct. With the aid of his resident "Dr. Watson," Enclave set out to unravel the tangled threads surrounding the death of one Harland Rockmore, who had met his end in the course of a scavenger hunt–threads that, once unwound, led Enclave through a torturous labyrinth of murder, mayhem and mystery to a conspiracy aimed at the White House itself!

Title: Death of a Scavenger
Author: Keith Spore
Year: 1980
Publisher: Belmont Tower
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Enter The Lion (1980)

Holmes's brother Mycroft gets his own adventure. But which brother is this supposed to be on the cover of this 1980 paperback from Playboy Press?

An incredible manuscript is unearthed, containing an astounding tale told by Mycroft Holmes, the mysterious elder brother of the world-famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

It is 1875, and Mycroft is embroiled in a fantastic scheme to overthrow the American government and restore the Confederacy under British rule. The conspiracy involves spies, counterspies, murder and kidnapping – and extends to William Gladstone, Benjamin Disraeli, a young Sergeant Lestrade, and the villainous Moriarty family.

As the Holmes brothers dash through Victorian London, following clues and culprits alike, their dramatic discoveries end in a thrilling chase through the sky.

Title: Enter The Lion

Author: Michael P. Hodel and Sean M. Wright

Year: 1980 (first published 1979)

Publisher: Playboy Press

Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Mycroft Holmes and the Adventure of the Desert Wind (2017)

The first in what promises to be a series of adventures by Janina Woods featuring Sherlock's brother Mycroft.

SHERLOCK HOLMES IS MISSING... 

Dr. Watson receives a cursed note, summoning him to the city of Milan. In his plight, he turns to the one person who can help him: Mycroft Holmes, secret agent and eternally concerned elder brother. Mycroft has to team up with Dr. Watson and fellow agent Victoria Trevor to follow Sherlock’s trail and stand against the dark forces that threaten his life.

Title: Mycroft Holmes and the Adventure of the Desert Wind
Author: Janina Woods
Year: 2017
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon (U.S.) | Amazon (UK).

Sherlock Holmes in Montague Street (2014)

A unique approach to creating Holmes pastiche by David Marcum. Published in three volumes. A collected edition was released in 2016.

In 1893, Dr. Watson and Conan Doyle published what they believed was the last Sherlock Holmes story, 'The Final Problem'. The world was stunned, and The Strand Magazine rushed to fill the vacuum. Readers were soon introduced to a new detective, Martin Hewitt, as presented by Arthur Morrison. Although initially different than Holmes, Hewitt also showed a number of interesting similarities as well . . . . 

For many years, Martin Hewitt has been mostly forgotten, except in some Sherlockian circles, where it has long been theorized that he was a young Mycroft Holmes. However, recent evidence has come to light that Hewitt's adventures were in fact cases undertaken by a young Sherlock Holmes when he lived in Montague Street, several years before he would take up his legendary rooms in Baker Street with Watson. 

These volumes are the Complete Martin Hewitt Stories, taking Arthur Morrison's original publications and presenting them as Sherlock Holmes adventures. If you are a fan of Holmes, enjoy! And by all means, seek out the original Hewitt stories and enjoy them as well. The Game is afoot!

Title: Sherlock Holmes in Montague Street
Author: Arthur Morrison, edited by David Marcum
Year: 2014
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon (U.S.) | Amazon (UK).

The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes (2017)

The game is still afoot as the daughter of Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler (who else) carries on the family tradition. The first of a new series by Leonard Goldberg. Book 2, A Study in Treason, will be released in 2018.

1914. Joanna Blalock’s keen mind and incredible insight lead her to become a highly-skilled nurse, one of the few professions that allow her to use her finely-tuned brain. But when she and her ten-year-old son witness a man fall to his death, apparently by suicide, they are visited by the elderly Dr. John Watson and his charming, handsome son, Dr. John Watson Jr. Impressed by her forensic skills, they invite her to become the third member of their investigative team. 

Caught up in a Holmesian mystery that spans from hidden treasure to the Second Afghan War of 1878-1880, Joanna and her companions must devise an ingenious plan to catch a murderer in the act while dodging familiar culprits, Scotland Yard, and members of the British aristocracy. Unbeknownst to her, Joanna harbors a mystery of her own. The product of a one-time assignation between the now dead Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler, the only woman to ever outwit the famous detective, Joanna has unwittingly inherited her parents’ deductive genius.

Title: The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes
Author: Leonard Goldberg
Year: 2017
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Purchase: Amazon (U.S.) | Amazon (UK).

A Study in Ashes (2013)

Concluding book in "The Baskerville Affair" featuring Evelina Cooper, niece of Sherlock Holmes.

As part of her devil’s bargain with the industrial steam barons, Evelina Cooper is finally enrolled in the Ladies’ College of London. However, she’s attending as the Gold King’s pet magician, handcuffed and forbidden contact with even her closest relation, the detective Sherlock Holmes.

But Evelina’s problems are only part of a larger war. The Baskerville affair is finally coming to light, and the rebels are making their move to wrest power from the barons and restore it to Queen Victoria. Missing heirs and nightmare hounds are the order of the day—or at least that’s what Dr. Watson is telling the press.

But their plans are doomed unless Evelina escapes to unite her magic with the rebels’ machines—and even then her powers aren’t what they used to be. A sorcerer has awakened a dark hunger in Evelina’s soul, and only he can keep her from endangering them all. The only problem is . . . he’s dead.

Title: A Study in Ashes
Author: Emma Jane Holloway
Year: 2013
Publisher: Del Rey
Purchase: Amazon.

A Study in Darkness (2013)

Second book in "The Baskerville Affair" featuring Evelina Cooper, niece of Sherlock Holmes.

When a bomb goes off at 221B Baker Street, Evelina Cooper is thrown into her uncle Sherlock’s world of mystery and murder. But just when she thought it was safe to return to the ballroom, old, new, and even dead enemies are clamoring for a place on her dance card.

Before Evelina’s even unpacked her gowns for a country house party, an indiscretion puts her in the power of the ruthless Gold King, who recruits her as his spy. He knows her disreputable past and exiles her to the rank alleyways of Whitechapel with orders to unmask his foe.

As danger mounts, Evelina struggles between hiding her illegal magic and succumbing to the darker aspects of her power. One path keeps her secure; the other keeps her alive. For rebellion is brewing, a sorcerer wants her soul, and no one can protect her in the hunting grounds of Jack the Ripper.

Title: A Study in Darkness
Author: Emma Jane Holloway
Year: 2013
Publisher: Del Rey
Purchase: Amazon.

A Study in Silks (2013)

The niece of Sherlock Holmes continues the family business. This is book 1 in "The Baskerville Affair" series.

Evelina Cooper, the niece of the great Sherlock Holmes, is poised to enjoy her first Season in London Society. But there’s a murderer to deal with—not to mention missing automatons, a sorcerer, and a talking mouse. 

In a Victorian era ruled by a council of ruthless steam barons, mechanical power is the real monarch and sorcery the demon enemy of the Empire. Nevertheless, the most coveted weapon is magic that can run machines—something Evelina has secretly mastered. But rather than making her fortune, her special talents could mean death or an eternity as a guest of Her Majesty’s secret laboratories. What’s a polite young lady to do but mind her manners and pray she’s never found out? 

But then there’s that murder. As Sherlock Holmes’s niece, Evelina should be able to find the answers, but she has a lot to learn. And the first decision she has to make is whether to trust the handsome, clever rake who makes her breath come faster, or the dashing trick rider who would dare anything for her if she would only just ask.

Title: A Study in Silks
Author: Emma Jane Holloway
Year: 2013
Publisher: Del Rey
Purchase: Amazon.

The Adventures of Creighton Holmes (1979)

A collection of short stories featuring the exploits of Sherlock Holmes's grandson. I love how the cover promises "An even greater kick than The Seven-Per-Cent Solution."

NOW AT LAST IN CAN BE REVEALED! 

Recently discovered papers have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the great detective Shrlock Holmes has a son. And later, a grandson.

The grandson's names was Creighton. From boyhood on, it was Creighton Holmes's ambition to follow in the hallowed footsteps of his illustrious forebear. 

How brilliantly he succeeded, and what baffling mysteries and stunning solutions filled his casebook, now at last are reveled in adventures that take us back to Baker Street and the eternal war against masters of crime and monsters of evil. 

The Mysterious Death at Wetherby Manor

The Case of the Scientific Recluse

The Strange Death of Matthew Tidmore

The Kohinoor Gem Shop Burglary

The Incriminating Glove

The Murder of the Enigmatic Husband

The Case of the Bewildering Alibi

Title: The Adventures of Creighton Holmes
Author: Ned Hubbell
Year: 1979
Publisher: Popular Library
Purchase: Amazon.

The Murder of Mary Russell (2016)

The most recent Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes adventure from Laurie R. King.

Mary Russell is used to dark secrets—her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond. 

And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson? Russell’s faith and affection are suddenly shattered when a man arrives on the doorstep claiming to be Mrs. Hudson’s son. 

What Samuel Hudson tells Russell cannot possibly be true, yet she believes him—as surely as she believes the threat of the gun in his hand. In a devastating instant, everything changes. And when the scene is discovered—a pool of blood on the floor, the smell of gunpowder in the air—the most shocking revelation of all is that the grim clues point directly to Clara Hudson. 

Or rather to Clarissa, the woman she was before Baker Street. 

The key to Russell’s sacrifice lies in Mrs. Hudson’s past. To uncover the truth, a frantic Sherlock Holmes must put aside his anguish and push deep into his housekeeper’s secrets—to a time before her disguise was assumed, before her crimes were buried away.
There is death here, and murder, and trust betrayed. 

And nothing will ever be the same.

Title: The Murder of Mary Russell
Author: Laurie R. King
Year: 2016
Publisher: Bantam
Purchase: Amazon.

The Exploits of Solar Pons (1993)

Four unpublished Solar Pons stories by Basil Copper in a special edition illustrated by Stefanie Kate Hawks.

Four new adventures of "the Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street" 

Solar Pons was created nearly seventy years ago by August Derleth who patterened his sleuth closely after Doyle's greta detective. Sixty-eight tales, including one novel, were written by Derleth over a period of some forty years.

But Mr. Pons' already impressive career did not ene with the death of his creator. The series passed to the capable hands of the British author Basil Copper. While several collections of Mr. Copper's Pons stories have already appeared in paperback editions, this is the first publication of the stories contained herein.

The Adventure of the Verger's Thumb
The Adventure of the Phantom Face
Death at the Metropole
The Adventure of the Callous Colonel

Title: The Exploits of Solar Pons
Author: Basil Copper
Year: 1993
Publisher:Fedogan & Bremer
Purchase: Amazon.

The Complete Adventures of Solar Pons, Vol. II (2017)

The second volume of a limited two-volume set collecting the Basil Copper Solar Pons adventures. Release date is February 2017 from PS Publishing.

From the Introduction: 

Basil never had the pleasure of seeing all his Pons stories collected in a definitive omnibus edition. However, before his death in April 2013 at the age of 89, he and I started working on these two volumes. I also wanted to collect all his macabre fiction together and, with the help of PS Publishing, we did just that in 2010. Two years later we collaborated again to publish Basil’s Gothic novel The Curse of the Fleers in a version that the author originally intended. 

Although it saddens me that he never lived to see this handsome presentation of his entire Solar Pons Canon from the same imprint, I’m also heartened to know he was aware that we were working on it. 

It has taken forty years but here, finally, are The Complete Adventures of Solar Pons by Basil Copper. Once again prepare to be plunged into an idyllic English countryside or the chill and foggy streets of London, as that great city’s second most famous consulting detective—ably supported by the reliable Dr. Lyndon Parker—uses his “ratiocinative” powers of logical deduction to solve murders both mysterious and macabre . . . 

—Stephen Jones 

CONTENTS Volume II 

THE EXPLOITS OF SOLAR PONS; The Adventure of the Verger’s Thumb, The Adventure of the Phantom Face, Death at the Metropole, The Adventure of the Callous Colonel.

THE RECOLLECTIONS OF SOLAR PONS; The Adventure of the Cursed Curator, The Adventure of the Hound of Hell, The Adventure of the Mad Millionaire, The Adventure of the Devil’s Claw.

THE SOLAR PONS COMPANION; Foreword, In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes, Plots of the Stories, Characters in the Stories, The Sayings of Solar Pons, Solar Pons Plot and Dialogue Notes (Stephen Jones), The Adventure of the Northleach Stocks (Stephen Jones), Painting Pons: Artist Ben Stahl (Stephen Jones).

THE FINAL CASES; The Adventure of the Defeated Doctor, The Adventure of the Agonised Actor, The Adventure of the Persecuted Painter.

Title: The Complete Adventures of Solar Pons, Vol. II
Author: Basil Copper, Stephen Jones (editor)
Year: 2017
Publisher: PS Publishing
Purchase: PS Publishing

The Complete Adventures of Solar Pons, Vol. I (2017)

The first volume of a limited two-volume set collecting the Basil Copper Solar Pons adventures. Release date is February 2017 from PS Publishing.

From the Introduction: 

Basil never had the pleasure of seeing all his Pons stories collected in a definitive omnibus edition. However, before his death in April 2013 at the age of 89, he and I started working on these two volumes. I also wanted to collect all his macabre fiction together and, with the help of PS Publishing, we did just that in 2010. Two years later we collaborated again to publish Basil’s Gothic novel The Curse of the Fleers in a version that the author originally intended. 

Although it saddens me that he never lived to see this handsome presentation of his entire Solar Pons Canon from the same imprint, I’m also heartened to know he was aware that we were working on it. 

It has taken forty years but here, finally, are The Complete Adventures of Solar Pons by Basil Copper. Once again prepare to be plunged into an idyllic English countryside or the chill and foggy streets of London, as that great city’s second most famous consulting detective—ably supported by the reliable Dr. Lyndon Parker—uses his “ratiocinative” powers of logical deduction to solve murders both mysterious and macabre . . . 

—Stephen Jones 

CONTENTS Volume I 

THE DOSSIER OF SOLAR PONS; Explanation by Dr. Lyndon Parker, The Adventure of the Perplexed Photographer, The Sealed Spiral Mystery, The Adventure of the Six Gold Doubloons, The Adventure of the Ipi Idol, The Adventure of Buffington Old Grange, The Adventure of the Hammer of Hate. 

THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SOLAR PONS; The Adventure of the Shaft of Death, The Adventure of the Baffled Baron, The Adventure of the Surrey Sadist, The Adventure of the Missing Student.

THE SECRET FILES OF SOLAR PONS; The Adventure of the Crawling Horror, The Adventure of the Anguished Actor, The Adventure of the Ignored Idols, The Adventure of the Horrified Heiress.

SOME UNCOLLECTED CASES OF SOLAR PONS; The Adventure of the Haunted Rectory, The Adventure of the Singular Sandwich, Murder at the Zoo, The Adventure of the Frightened Governess.

Title: The Complete Adventures of Solar Pons, Vol. I
Author: Basil Copper, Stephen Jones (editor)
Year: 2017
Publisher: PS Publishing
Purchase: PS Publishing

A Study in Brimstone (2016)

A comedic, supernatural reimagining of Holmes by G.S. Denning. This first book spawned a sequel, The Hell-Hound of the Baskervilles.

Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius. 

Warlock Holmes is an idiot. 

A font of arcane power, certainly. But he’s brilliantly dim. Frankly, he couldn’t deduce his way out of a paper bag. The only thing he has really got going for him are the might of a thousand demons and his stalwart companion. Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to aid him through the treacherous shoals of Victorian propriety… and save him from a gruesome death every now and again.

Title: Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimston
Author: G.S. Denning
Year: 2016
Publisher: Titan Books
Purchase: Amazon.

The Secret Files of Solar Pons (1979)

Another collection of Solar Pons stories by August Derleth's successor Basil Copper. The tenth and final book in Pinnacle's Pons series.

TALLYHO!

Come, once again, to number 7B Praed Street, where Solar Pons, the master of deduction, awaits your arrival. Slouched in the cozy cavern of his armchair, his keen eyes fixed on the door, Solar Pons puffs thoughtfully on his pipe, pondering strange and soul-chilling cases.

Here is the brilliant Solar Pons at his very best... clutching at elusive clues as he briskly sets apace into the ominous alleyways of old London in chase of crime. If you've not yet joined us in the eternal hunt, you are about to discover a new joy in a tradition that, alas, may have been lost forever, were it not for the reappearance of the remarkably ingenious and incomparable Solar Pons, whose entrancing effect on dyed-in-the-wool aficionados of detection is, indeed, elementary.

The Adventure of the Crawling Horror
The Adventure of the Anguished Actor
The Adventure of the Ignored Idols
The Adventure of the Horrified Heiress

Title: The Secret Files of Solar Pons

Author: Basil Cooper

Year: 1979

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

Purchase: Amazon.com.

The Chronicles of Solar Pons (1975)

"The Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street" returns for more adventures. Interesting cover art on this 1975 UK hardcover.

Sherlock Holmes's brilliant successor in a further series of bizarre mysteries.

The Adventure of the Red Leech 

The Adventure of the Orient Express 

The Adventure of the Golden Bracelet 

The Adventure of the Shaplow Millions 

The Adventure of the Benin Bronze 

The Adventure of the Missing Tenants 

The Adventure of the Aluminum Crutch 

The Adventure of the Seven Sisters 

The Adventure of the Bishop's Companion 

The Adventure of the Unique Dickensians

Title: The Chronicles of Solar Pons
Author: August Derleth
Year: 1975 (first published 1973)
Publisher: Robson Books Ltd
Purchase: Amazon.co.uk.

Locked Rooms (2006)

The adventures of Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes (!) continue in Laurie R. King's Locked Rooms. First published in hardcover in 2005. This Batman paperback is from 2006.

Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are back in Laurie R. King’s highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling mystery series. And this time the first couple of detection pair up to unlock the buried memory of a shocking crime with the power to kill again–lost somewhere in Russell’s own past. 

After departing Bombay by ship, Mary Russell and her husband Sherlock Holmes are en route to the bustling modern city of San Francisco. There, Mary will settle some legal affairs surrounding the inheritance of her family’s old estate. But the closer they get to port, the more Mary finds herself prey to troubling dreams and irrational behavior–a point not lost on Holmes, much to Russell’s annoyance. 

In 1906, when Mary was six, San Francisco was devastated by an earthquake and a raging fire that reduced the city to rubble. For years, Mary has denied any memory of the catastrophe that for days turned the fabled streets into hell on earth. But Holmes suspects that some hidden trauma connected with the “unforgettable” catastrophe may be the real culprit responsible for Mary’s memory lapse. And no sooner do they begin to familiarize themselves with the particulars of the Russell estate than it becomes apparent that whatever unpleasantness Mary has forgotten, it hasn’t forgotten her. Why does her father’s will forbid access to the house except in the presence of immediate family? Why did someone break in, then take nothing of any value? And why is Russell herself targeted for assassination? 

The more questions they ask of Mary’s past, the more people from that past turn out to have died violent, unexplained deaths. Now, with the aid of a hard-boiled young detective and crime writer named Hammett, Russell and Holmes find themselves embroiled in a mystery that leads them through the winding streets of Chinatown to the unspoken secrets of a parent’s marriage and the tragic car “accident” that a fourteen-year-old Mary alone survived–an accident that may not have been an accident at all. What Russell is about to discover is that even a forgotten past never dies…and it can kill again. 

Title: Locked Rooms
Author: Laurie R. King
Year: 2006
Publisher: Bantam Books
Purchase: Amazon