The Secret Documents of Sherlock Holmes

Review: The Secret Documents of Sherlock Holmes is the fourth volume of new adventures by June Thomson (not counting her superb biography, Holmes and Watson). Miss Thomson is one of the very few writers who can consistently catch the flavour of the best of the original tales, in both style and substance.

Apart from the footnotes (which are certainly interesting but may be getting a little intrusive) you could easily think that you were reading original Conan Doyle. It's that good. And besides the seven stories, all derived from Canonical hints, there's an essay indentifying the King of Bohemia with - no, I won't spoil it for you.

June Thomson ranks among the major Holmesian scholars, and I'm delighted to recommend this new book.

Reviewed by: Roger Johnson, [District Messenger 170, 1997]