Sherlock Holmes Essentials, Vol. II

Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart companion, Dr. John Watson, are brought to life in six entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable radio dramatizations. Over the course of these classic stories beautifully adapted for radio, Holmes is confronted with mysteries involving the Ku Klux Klan; foreign spies; his arch nemesis, professor James Moriarty; and a murder so hideous that it may be of supernatural design. The listener is pulled into Holmes’s Victorian London through the effective but judicious use of sound effects, e.g., a fire burning in the hearth at 221B Baker Street or the clopping of hooves on cobblestones. The entire cast is first-rate, but it’s Clive Merrison and Michael Williams as Holmes and Watson who make these audio adventures so enjoyable. Their portrayals of the two iconic figures are ably realized, with Merrison bringing a bit more humanity to his interpretation of the Great Detective than is usual, while Williams infuses his Watson with a strength and courage that is often overlooked. (Sept.)