News — Book Reviews

"I first encountered Matthew Elliott as a fellow-contributor to Sherlock magazine, whose last issue appeared in 2006, the year in which Mark Gatiss told the Society of the mad idea he and Steven Moffat had for an updated Sherlock Holmes. Matthew has since established himself as a scriptwriter and occasional actor, and as the deviser and presenter of our annual Film Evening. There’s no one better qualified to provide a survey of Sherlock – which he does in The Immortals: An Unauthorised Guide to Sherlock and Elementary. Cumberbatch or Miller? They’re both fine actors, equally superb in Danny Boyle’s production of Frankenstein, and Matthew Elliott’s guide is throughout...

  “Twenty years ago Jim French — writer, actor and producer — decided to redress the decline of good popular drama on American radio: he set up Imagination Theatre to create quality series and single plays. Sherlock Holmes was only a part of it, but a very important part, and it began with The Further Adventures, a series gratifyingly reminiscent of the days when listeners tuned in every week to hear Rathbone and Bruce as Holmes and Watson. The main difference is that IT’s Watson, played by Lawrence Albert, is not only brave and loyal, but intelligent. Jim French assembled...

Strand Magazine "Reading this book will make most readers crave a drink, because the narrative includes so many descriptions of quality beer and other alcoholic beverages.  When a beer barrel delivered to 221B has an unexpected surprise inside, Holmes and Watson start investigating the case, along with the unwanted help of Miss Gertie Cresswell, a detective herself who admires Holmes.  There are some brief glimpses at Cresswell’s backstory, but a lot more needs to be provided to explain her character and decisions.  As it is, it’s unclear why she made some of the life choices she has.  The central mystery,...

“ … a delightful entertainment with more than a dash of comedy … deftly juggles historical fact with fictional whodunnit … Mrs. Hudson Takes the Stage holds up in the … world of Sherlock Holmes … and deserves a wider audience.”-Wilmington StarNews The game is afoot, but with a twist By Ben Steelman For The StarNews “Since retiring to Carolina Beach after a career as a psychologist and counselor, Barry S. Brown has devoted his life to setting things straight about Sherlock Holmes. Brown’s thesis, as you might recall, is that Mrs. Hudson, the indefatigable housekeeper at 221-B Baker St., London, was...

“...The story winds through the poetry, to Baskerville Hall, to a confrontation on the moors with a beast like none they had seen, to the inquest on Will Abernathy, (which enrages Holmes,) back to 221B, and thus to the Sussex Downs where Holmes trains as a apiarist and solves a crime, and back to Baker Street for the shock ending I didn’t see coming! The story is really good and the Herculean effort it must have been to write it all in verse—well, my hat is off to you, Mr. Allan Mitchell! I wouldn’t dream of seeing such work get...