Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Mystery and Horror

Of the six supernatural Sherlock Holmes stories in this disappointing collection from Clark (Blood Crazy), two hint at what might have been, their effective openings ultimately undermined by their unsatisfactory resolutions. In the initially amusing “The Adventure of the Gold Dash,” in which Baker Street is overwhelmed by letters from the public seeking Holmes’s help with pedestrian problems, the detective finds intrigue in a seemingly similar trivial request. Arthur Beech wonders whether his fiancée should continue to care for her uncle and aunt. Beech goes on to disclose that, while watching the couple’s residence, he was struck in the head by a gold coin from the Elizabethan era. In “The Terror of Tuesday Manor,” Mrs. Watson’s cousin is afflicted by a curse—ghostly music means drowning for anyone in the cousin’s household who stops hearing it. Other entries aren’t as successful in suspending disbelief, the low point being “Holmes and Watson Go to War,” which involves a battle to the death stemming from a discovery Holmes believes will lead to human extinction. Sherlockians will hope for less radical takes on the canon next time from the capable Clark. (Nov.)