The Rediscovered Annals of Sherlock Holmes: Previously Uncollected Accounts of the Heroes of Baker Street

Golledge (1920–1996), whose mother worked as a governess for Arthur Conan Doyle, instantly joins the ranks of Doyle’s most gifted emulators with this stellar collection of 10 previously unpublished stories that presents new cases for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to tackle. “The Pihdarus Papers,” a prime example of an intriguing puzzle that doesn’t rely on a murder, explores the unexpected fallout from a secondhand furniture dealer’s purchase of a Georgian writing desk. The canon’s cryptic reference to Holmes discovering the truth from how a woman applied her makeup is cleverly expanded into “The Case of the Woman at Margate,” one of several inspired by Watson’s tantalizing mentions of untold tales. Golledge is unafraid to depict the Baker Street duo sometimes at odds, and ensures that Watson comes across as a capable, intelligent colleague rather than a bumbling sidekick. The volume’s most powerful entry, “The Merton Fiends,” depicts an all-too-fallible Holmes, whose misjudgment of a situation costs a client his life, a failing that befell the canonical sleuth on occasion. Denis Smith and David Marcum admirers will welcome this posthumous tribute. (Oct.)