The Resurrected Holmes: New Cases from the Notes of John H. Watson, M.D.

Kaye (The Game Is Afoot; Fantastique) builds this collection on the premise that prominent authors, e.g., Theodore Dreiser, P.G. Wodehouse, Dashiell Hammett and Edgar Rice Burroughs, were hired by a reclusive collector to make sense of the case notes left by Watson in his tin dispatch box. Kaye has asked contemporary authors to write in the style of genre forbears. Thus, Paula Volsky writes the dramatic ""The Giant Rat of Sumatra"" in the style of Lovecraft; Mike Resnick the hilarious ""Mrs. Vamberry Takes a Trip"" as Thorne Smith. In most cases, the adopted style is well-crafted, with the authors adroitly capturing the feel of their models. A few, such as Kaye's own Rex Stout parody, might have better remained in the tin box. As a whole, however, the book is a stout effort, and editor Kaye deserves congratulations. (Mar.)