Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon (2019)

A new Holmes for the holidays by James Lovegrove.

The new Sherlock Holmes novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Odin and Firefly - Big Damn Hero. 

It is 1890, and in the days before Christmas Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are visited at Baker Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe - eldest daughter of a grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty - is greatly distressed, as she believes she is being haunted by a demonic Christmas spirit. 

Her late mother told her terrifying tales of the sinister Black Thurrick, and Eve is sure that she has seen the creature from her bedroom window. What is more, she has begun to receive mysterious parcels of birch twigs, the Black Thurrick's calling card... 

Eve stands to inherit a fortune if she is sound in mind, but it seems that something - or someone - is threatening her sanity. Holmes and Watson travel to the Allerthorpe family seat at Fellscar Keep to investigate, but soon discover that there is more to the case than at first appeared. There is another spirit haunting the family, and when a member of the household is found dead, the companions realise that no one is beyond suspicion.

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Demon
Author: James Lovegrove
Year: 2019
Publisher: Titan Books
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk, Mechanical Men and Otherworldly Endeavours (2019)

The second volume of a collection of steampunk adventures of Sherlock Holmes complied and published by Derrick Belanger.

The WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE 

in the Retro Futuristic Realms of 

STEAMPUNK! 

Imagine a slight change to our historical timeline where the Industrial Revolution heated up much quicker than expected. Technological marvels such as airships, trains, battleships, and submarines came into being much earlier. They were followed by steam-powered wonders such as mechanical men, flying ships, and even crafts capable of reaching the deepest fathoms of the sea or traveling to distant celestial orbs. 

That is the world where Sherlock Holmes and his Boswell, Dr. Watson find themselves in Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk. 

Mechanical Men and Otherworldly Endeavours - Volume two of the anthology features stories with a focus on robotic creatures and otherworldly adventures. See Holmes team up with intelligent animals from an alternate Earth, switch bodies with Dr. Watson, and travel to another dimension: 

The Adventure of the Purloined Piston Valve by L.S. Reinholt & Minerva Cerridwen

The Deductive Man by Paul Hiscock

The Adventure of the Tiger’s Topaz by Derrick Belanger

Sherlock Holmes and the Moongate Sabotage by Derek Nason 

The Adventure of the Brompton Mausoleum by Paula Hammond

A Second Case of Identity by S. Subramanian

Doctor Bear, I Presume! by Harry DeMaio

The Adventure of the Violent Violets by Dr. Watson

Title: Sherlock Holmes: Adventures in the Realms of Steampunk, Mechanical Men and Otherworldly Endeavours
Editor: Derrick Belanger
Year: 2019
Publisher: Belanger Books
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

A Study In Terror (1966)

One of the more novel novelizations is this adaptation the 1966 film A Study in Terror written by none other than Ellery Queen. The film starred John Neville as Holmes and Donald Houston as Dr. Watson and was released on this day in 1965.

SOLVED!  

The savage killer roamed the dark streets and alleys of London. No woman was safe from his swift, gory attacks as murder followed murder. No man could stop the menace or even guess the identity of the brute called . . . 

JACK THE RIPPER 

No man . . .  except Sherlock Holmes. 

Now it can be told––in this gripping modern thriller. Sherlock Holmes did stalk Jack the Ripper in 1888, and through a quirk of fate that is a mystery in itself, Ellery Queen follows in his footsteps in 1966. The two greatest detectives of all time match wits with each other––and together arrive at a solution that will stun you. 

WHO WAS JACK THE RIPPER? read the answer in this brand new, full authentic Sherlock Holmes adventure, by today's greatest living mystery writer, 

ELLERY QUEEN

Title: A Study in Terror
Author: Ellery Queen
Year: 1966
Publisher: Lancer
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Holmes-Dracula File (1978)

For Halloween, here's a look back at Fred Saberhagen's The Holmes-Dracula File, the second book in his ten-book Dracula series. This is the first U.S. paperback edition.

From the writing of the late John H. Watson, M.D. 

It is with emotions doubly strange that I at last take up my pen to write the story involving the creature I have elsewhere referred to as the Giant Rat of Sumatra–a story, I may add that until quite recently I had thought likely would remain forever unrecorded . . . surely the most bizarre case in all the long and illustrious career of my friend Sherlock Holmes.

By Holmes' own instructions, it must go with some few private papers of his own, into the deepest vaults of the Oxford Street bank. There it is to remain for years or decades, for centuries if need be, until a mist singular password shall be presented for its removal . . . .

And so, at last:

THE HOLMES-DRACULA FILE 

Title: The Holmes-Dracula File

Author: Fred Saberhagen

Year: 1978

Publisher: ACE Science Fiction

Purchase: Amazon.com.

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1977)

This is the 1977 movie tie-in edition of Nicholas Meyer's bestselling Holmes pastiche, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. The movie starred Nicol Williamson as Sherlock Holmes, Robert Duvall as Dr. Watson and Alan Arkin as Sigmund Freud.

Little could Dr. Watson believe that the pathetic figure huddle before him was the great detective Sherlock Holmes. Alas it was his old friend Holmes, but a Holmes in bondage – not to any arch villain – but to a 7% solution of cocaine and sterile water. Driven by the drug to wild ravings, Holmes had to be duped into rehabilitation – before it was too late....

Title: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
Author: Nicholas Meyer
Year: 1977 (first published 1974)
Publisher: Ballantine
Purchase: Amazon.

The Earthquake Machine (1976)

I've not read this Holmes pastiche by Austin Mitchelson & Nicholas Utechin, but I do love the cover!

EXPERIMENT IN TERROR

In the autumn of 1906, a telegram was delivered to 221B Baker Street. It contained a message which was to plunge Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson into their most terrifying adventure, which would threaten the very existence of the British Empire and bring the world to the edge of destruction.

This message set the two detectives on a relentless search for a group of terrorists bent on world war. It read simply: "Come at once, your country at stake."

Title: The Earthquake Machine
Author: Austin Mitchelson & Nicholas Utechin
Year: 1976
Publisher: Belmont Tower Books
Purchase: Amazon.

Also see: Hellbirds (1976).

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Undead Client (2019)

A new final case of Sherlock Holmes by M. J. Downing. Sounds like Jack the Ripper is also in the mix.

Sherlock Holmes' devoted friend Dr John Watson takes the lead in a case so bizarre that it could only be revealed after Holmes’ death. 

Sherlock Holmes has only been deceased a month when Dr. John Watson, still grieving, recounts his final case with Holmes. A terrifying mystery, it sends Watson and Holmes into the dark reaches of London’s back alleys – and the human soul. 

It begins when Anne Prescott, a lovely Scottish nurse, begs Sherlock Holmes and Watson to help her find her fiancé and her sister, who have gone missing in the teeming streets of London. Immediately, Watson feels an attraction to her that shocks him. Newly married to Mary, and deeply in love with her, he struggles to put Anne out of his mind. 

As Watson and Holmes dig into the slums and sewers of London looking for Anne’s fiancé and sister, they uncover a deadly web of bloody murders, horrific medical experiments, and even voodoo ritual that threatens not only London, but the entire British empire, and beyond. 

Watson must call on his unique combination of expertise in the medical sciences, as well as his military training to stop this killer before London – and Anne -- are lost to the killer’s bloody plan. But time is short and the mystery ever more complex. How can he manage his feelings for Anne? What about his loyalty to Mary? He can’t have both.

Title: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Undead Client
Author: M. J. Downing
Year: 2019
Publisher: Burns and Lea Media
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The Science-Fictional Sherlock Holmes (1960)

Likely the first collection of Sherlock Holmes science fiction self published by four Sherlockians from Denver who called themselves The Council of Four. Includes two stories co-authored by August Derleth of Solar Pons fame.

"But", you say, "Conan Doyle never wrote any science fiction stories involving Holmes." Well, this is a debatable point, for the opposing viewpoint see Anthony Boucher's introduction. Regardless of whether or not he did, there are some science fiction authors who felt that Holmes should have had some more adventures, preferable in the future. Now not only did they feel this way but they actually sat down and did something about giving the world more Holmes stories. 

The Council of Four of Denver, scion society of the Baker Street Irregulars, has published this book for science fiction fans and Holmes enthusiasts wherever they may be. We trust you will enjoy the book.

The Martian Crown Jewels by Poul Anderson

The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound by Poul Anderson & Gordon R. Dickson

The Anomaly of the Empty Man by Anthony Boucher

The Greatest Tertian by Anthony Boucher

The Adventure of the Stitch in Time by Mack Reynolds & August Derleth

The Adventure of the Ball of Nostradamus by Mack Reynolds & August Derleth

The Return by H. Beam Piper & John McGuire

Title: The Science-Fictional Sherlock Holmes
Editor: Robert C. Peterson
Year: 1960
Publisher: The Council of Four
Purchase: Amazon.com

Island of the Mad (2018)

The 15th Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes adventure from Laurie R. King. The popular series kicked off in 1994 with The Beekeepers Apprentice.

The last thing Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, need is to help an old friend with her mad, missing aunt. Lady Vivian Beaconsfield has spent most of her adult life in one asylum after another, since the loss of her brother and father in the Great War. Although her mental state seemed to be improving, she’s now disappeared after an outing from Bethlem Royal Hospital . . . better known as Bedlam. 

Russell wants nothing to do with the case—but she can’t say no. To track down the vanished woman, she must use her deductive instincts and talent for subterfuge—and enlist her husband’s legendary prowess. Together, the two travel from the grim confines of Bedlam to the murky canals of Venice—only to find the shadow of Benito Mussolini darkening the fate of a city, an era, and a tormented English lady of privilege.

Title: Island of the Mad
Author: Laurie R. King
Year: 2018
Publisher: Bantam
Purchase: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XV: 2019 Annual (1898-1917)

The latest collection of Sherlock Holmes stories published by MX to help preserve the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Third of three new volumes for 2019.

Part XV: Mark Mower, Thomas Fortenberry, Robert Perret, Tracy J. Revels, Robert Stapleton, Peter Coe Verbica, Maurice Barkley, Edward A. Enstrom, William Todd, Roger Riccard, Kelvin Jones, Arthur Hall, Jack Grochot, David Marcum, Dick Gillman, Will Murray, Tim Symonds, Mike Hogan, Leslie Charteris and Denis Green, Nick Cardillo, and Darryl Webber with Two Poems by Christopher James and Forewords by Will Thomas, Roger Johnson, Melissa Grigsby, Steve Emecz, and David Marcum. 66 Stories New Holmes Adventures in 3 Simultaneously Published Volumes. 

All royalties from this collection are being donated by the writers for the benefit of the preservation of Undershaw, one of the former homes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Title: The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories - Part XV: 2019 Annual (1898-1917)
Editor: David Marcum
Year: 2019
Publisher: MX Publishing
Purchase: Amazon.com  | Amazon.co.uk