The Wild Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Four - Will Murray

The fourth volume in Will Murray’s continuing series THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES returns, for the most part, to more traditional yarns featuring the esteemed detective and his friend and colleague Dr. Watson. The previous volume presented stories with a supernatural and/or science fictional angle, but there are only two such in this collection.

Murray, of course, has nailed the style of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original tales, or at least it seems so to me although I’m no real expert on the subject. I really enjoyed every story in this volume, but here are a few favorites:

In “The Improbable Misadventure of the Blackish Bottle”, Holmes discovers an unexpected murder weapon hidden in his own quarters at 221B Baker Street. This ties in with Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Holmes story “The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual.”

“The Conundrum of the Absent Cranium” has Holmes seeking to solve the mystery of a murder victim found without, you guessed it, his head.

“The Second Adventure of the Five Orange Pips” is a sequel to “The Adventure of the Five Orange Pips”, of course, and is a worthy successor to that classic tale.

Also in the original Five Orange Pips story, Doyle makes mention of an unrecorded Holmes case involving something called the Paradol Chamber. In “The Difficult Ordeal of the Paradol Chamber”, Will Murray records that adventure, and a truly creepy and harrowing one it is. Holmes himself narrates most of it since the action took place without Dr. Watson’s presence. This is a great story, my favorite in this volume, and the basis for the fine cover art by Gary Carbon.

The supernatural does figure in the final two stories, “The Impossiblity of the Premature Postmortem Message” and “The Disquieting Adventure of the Murmuring Dell”. Algernon Blackwood’s occult detective character Dr. John Silence is mentioned in the first of these and appears in the second one. “The Impossibility of the Premature Postmortem Message” involves spiritualism, a subject of much interest to Doyle that formed the basis for his third Professor Challenger novel THE LAND OF MIST. I remember reading that book many years ago, and after the hard-headed scientific adventures of Challenger in the first two books, the mysticism of THE LAND OF MIST really took me by surprise. I recall enjoying it a great deal, though, as I did all of Professor Challenger’s appearances. Murray having Sherlock Holmes tackle the subject is intriguing and very effective. “The Disquieting Adventure of the Murmuring Dell” is another very creepy tale. Disquieting, indeed.

If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, this is a fine addition to a very good series. I give this fourth volume of THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES a strong recommendation. It's available in trade paperback and e-book editions on Amazon.

The Wild Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Three - Will Murray

I really enjoyed the first two collections of Will Murray’s Sherlock Holmes stories. He pulls out all the stops in THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, VOLUME THREE, which reprints (with one exception) stories that were published originally in various Holmes anthologies.

That exception is the centerpiece of the book, a never-before-published novella that finds Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and Dr. Watson battling H.G. Wells’ Martian invaders in a second war of the worlds. This is a great yarn that also features a cameo appearance, of sorts, of a Jules Verne character.

But that’s not all you get in the way of crossovers. Holmes also encounters Frank L. Packard’s Jimmie Dale, the Gray Seal, one of the first masked crimefighters with a secret identity who was an influence on Batman, The Shadow, The Spider, The Green Hornet, and numerous other characters. There’s a fateful meeting between Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft’s Herbert West, Reanimator. Colonel Richard Savage, the inspiration for Doc Savage, makes a return appearance in the series as well.

In addition to those stories, Murray creates his own recurring villain for Holmes to cross swords with, metaphorically speaking. While Giles Greengold may not equal Professor Moriarty as Holmes’ mortal enemy, he’s pretty darned villainous and proves to be a worthy opponent in several stories.

THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, VOLUME THREE is the best of these collections so far, and that’s saying quite a bit. If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, I give it a very high recommendation. It's available in e-book and paperback editions. I had a great time reading it.

The Wild Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Two - Will Murray

Will Murray is back with THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, VOLUME TWO, and as entertaining as the stories in the first volume were, I think this new collection is even better. Here are the stories in this one. All of them were published originally in various Holmesian anthologies.

The Singular Problem of the Extinguished Wicks
The Mystery of the Spectral Shelter
The Problem of the Surrey Samson
The Uncanny Adventure of the Hammersmith Wonder
The Repulsive Matter of the Bloodless Banker
The Adventure of the Abominable Adder
The Adventure of the Sorrowing Mudlark
The Adventure of the Emerald Urchin
The Adventure of the Expelled Master
The Conundrum of the Questionable Coins

All these stories feature some seemingly supernatural or paranormal element. Will Holmes be able to figure out these mysteries and provide logical, scientifically grounded explanations for all the strange events and grisly murders? You may think you know the answer to that, but as Murray points out in his introduction, you may have some surprises in store, too.

As an added bonus, three of the stories (The Adventure of the Abominable Adder, The Adventure of the Sorrowing Mudlark, and The Adventure of the Emerald Urchin) are actually crossover tales that feature Algernon Blackwood’s occult detective Dr. John Silence. Now, I’ve never read any of the John Silence stories, or anything else by Algernon Blackwood, for that matter, but I really enjoyed these and think it’s likely that I’ll sample some of Blackwood’s work in the reasonably near future. In addition, Holmes narrates one of the stories himself, rather than relying on Dr. John Watson to tell the tale, and that’s a nice change. Overall, Murray does a great job of capturing Watson’s voice and Arthur Conan Doyle’s style.

I’m no expert on Holmes pastiches, but I know what I like, as the saying goes, and I really enjoyed this collection, which is available in both print and e-book editions. I give it a high recommendation and look forward to the future collections of Murray’s Sherlock Holmes stories that are in the works.

The Wild Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume One - Will Murray

I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes fan for close to 60 years now. I don’t recall which of the stories I read first, but I know I was in elementary school when I discovered the series. Then, when I was in fifth grade, I read THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (in the Scholastic Book Club edition, I think; I’ve written about that on the blog before) and was blown away, to the point that I read it again just a few months later during the summer. It remains one of my all-time favorite mystery novels, all these decades later.

By the time I was out of high school, I’d read all the stories and all four novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. When I say I’m a fan, I don’t mean to imply that I’m any sort of Holmes scholar. Most of the stories, I’ve read only once and I never actually studied them. I couldn’t win a Holmes trivia contest to save my life. But I enjoy the characters and as time went on, I read some of the pastiche novels, too, such as the ones by Nicholas Meyer and THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA by Richard L. Boyer when Warner Books published it in 1976. I’ve never written a Holmes pastiche, but I published one a while back at Rough Edges Press, Stephen Mertz’s excellent SHERLOCK HOLMES: ZOMBIES OVER LONDON (now available from Wolfpack Publishing and highly recommended).

So it’s safe to say that I was inclined to like THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Will Murray, a new collection of ten Holmes tales written by Murray for various anthologies. This volume certainly didn’t disappoint me. In fact, I had an absolutely great time reading it. For a long-time Holmes fan, it was pure pleasure.

Some authors have taken Holmes out of his element, placing their stories in different settings and using elements from other genres. For the most part, Murray’s Holmes is the pure quill, though, classic style stories with the original setting and supporting characters. Here are the tales in this collection:

Is a blue-skinned dinosaur tearing up the Essex countryside? "The Wild Adventure of the Indigo Impossibility" provides the astonishing answer.

Holmes and Watson plunge into the darkest dens of Limehouse in search of "The Mystery of the Elusive Li Shen." Is he man, myth, or monster?

What is the secret of the uncatchable Thames footpad chronicled in "The Adventure of Old Black Duffel?"

A famous American soldier of fortune asks Sherlock Holmes to locate a Russian adventuress long believed dead in "The Adventure of the Nebulous Nihilist."

Did fairies lure a young Manchester boy to his doom? "The Misadventure of the Bonny boy" tells the chilling tale.

A wealthy art collector challenges Sherlock Holmes with an unsolvable riddle. Or is it a riddle? What is "The Enigma of Neptune's Quandary?"

Is a dead man haunting his office––or might an even stranger explanation exist for why his frightened face is imprinted on a windowpane? "The Adventure of the Glassy Ghost" reveals all.

A fiendish murderer strikes down victim after victim in "The Problem of the Bruised Tongues." The only clue: the discolored tips of their tongues.

"The Adventure of the Throne of Gilt." What could it be, and why should Dr. John Watson fear it so?

A revengeful enemy plots a gruesome end for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in "The Unsettling Matter of the Graveyard Ghoul."

If you can resist those, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am! I'm glad to know that Murray has more of them waiting in the wings. I hope we get collections of them, too. In the meantime, this first volume of THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES gets a very high recommendation from me.

Now Available: Sherlock Holmes: Zombies Over London - Stephen Mertz

Sherlock Holmes faces perhaps the greatest challenge yet in his long-running war with his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty—the living dead walk, hungry for flesh and doing the bidding of the evil professor! 

From a dirigible carrying a deadly cargo high in the sky over London to a sinister castle lurking in the beautiful English countryside, the Great Detective and his friend Dr. Watson battle to thwart Moriarty's latest scheme to wreak havoc and loot one of the world's great cities. Thousands of lives hang in the balance, and it will take all of Holmes' incredible deductive skills to figure out just what a young writer named H.G. Wells and the German teenager Albert Einstein have to do with Moriarty's plans! 

Legendary thriller writer Stephen Mertz takes on some of the world's most iconic characters in this fast-paced tale that is part mystery novel, part horror yarn, and part steampunk inventiveness. It's a breathless adventure that's sure to entertain from first page to last!

Coming Soon: Sherlock Holmes: Zombies Over London - Stephen Mertz

Sherlock Holmes faces perhaps the greatest challenge yet in his long-running war with his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty—the living dead walk, hungry for flesh and doing the bidding of the evil professor!

From a dirigible carrying a deadly cargo high in the sky over London to a sinister castle lurking in the beautiful English countryside, the Great Detective and his friend Dr. Watson battle to thwart Moriarty's latest scheme to wreak havoc and loot one of the world's great cities. Thousands of lives hang in the balance, and it will take all of Holmes' incredible deductive skills to figure out just what a young writer named H.G. Wells and the German teenager Albert Einstein have to do with Moriarty's plans!

Legendary thriller writer Stephen Mertz takes on some of the world's most iconic characters in this fast-paced tale that is part mystery novel, part horror yarn, and part steampunk inventiveness. It's a breathless adventure that's sure to entertain from first page to last!

(I'm going to be sending out a limited number of e-book review copies of this novel later this week. If you'd be interested in getting one, let me know in the comments or email me. It's a dandy.)

The Trial of Sherlock Holmes - Leah Moore and John Reppion

While I’ve read and enjoyed all of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels and most of the short stories featuring Holmes, I have to admit I’m not a huge, avid fan. I’m not a Sherlockian or an expert on the canon, or anything like that. I love THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, but possibly because I remember so well sitting on my parents’ front porch reading it when I was in fifth grade. You had to be there.


That said, I’m fond of the characters – I think Dr. Watson is a great sidekick – and from time to time I’ll pick up a Holmes pastiche and read it. So I didn’t hesitate when I came across the collected edition of a Sherlock Holmes mini-series from Dynamite Comics, THE TRIAL OF SHERLOCK HOLMES. The script is by Leah Moore (the daughter of Alan Moore) and her husband John Reppion, and the art is by Aaron Campbell. The story finds Holmes in a very unusual position indeed: arrested and thrown in jail for the murder of a former Scotland Yard commissioner, the very murder that Holmes was trying to prevent. This leaves Watson and Inspector Lestrade to try to solve the case on their own, although it won’t come as any surprise to the reader that Holmes soon manages to escape from jail and take a hand in the investigation himself.


Since Holmes doesn’t actually appear much in the story, Watson and Lestrade have to carry the load, and the way Moore and Reppion portray them as tough, capable, and determined investigators is the best thing about this yarn. No, they’re not in Holmes’ class as detectives, but they’re far from bumbling comedy relief and Holmes wouldn’t be able to solve the case without their help. The mystery is pretty solidly constructed, and Moore and Reppion save a final twist for the very last page that I didn’t see coming. I was a little less fond of Campbell’s art – some of the pages were a little hard for me to follow – but he does a fine job of capturing the Victorian atmosphere.


This collection also includes the entire script for the first issue of the mini-series and a reprint of Conan Doyle’s story “The Adventures of the Devil’s Foot”. It’s very entertaining, and the whole thing has put me in the mood to read more Holmes stories. Maybe it’s time for me to consider a reread of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES after all these years.  I wonder if I can find a copy of the same Scholastic Books edition I read back then . . .