The Return of Sherlock Holmes: Further Extraordinary Tales of the Famous Sleuth

The 15 pastiches in Jakubowski’s uneven second anthology of new Sherlock Holmes stories (after 2020’s The Book of Extraordinary New Sherlock Holmes Stories) range from traditional depictions to the odd and off-putting. One highlight is Paul A. Freeman’s imaginative “Sherlock Holmes and a Case of Humbug,” in which the detective doubts Ebenezer Scrooge’s change of heart resulted from ghostly visitations and uncovers a violent crime. Another is Eric Brown’s eerie “The Curse of Carmody Grange,” in which Holmes investigates a disappearance from a sealed room attributed to a centuries-old curse. Lesser entries include O’Neil De Noux’s “Booby’s Bay,” in which Holmes confides his fear to Watson that an investigation in a nudist colony will lead to his getting an erection, and Nick Sweet’s “The New Messi,” in which the Baker Street duo travel to Africa to thwart Moriarty’s scheme to melt the North Pole with “laser bombs” and end up almost boiled alive by cannibals, spared by a groan-worthy contrivance. Sherlockians won’t miss much if they pass this one up. (Aug.)