The Further Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Myles combines fresh plots with convincing recreations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s style and characterizations in this sturdy debut collection of seven Holmes short stories. In “The Adventure of the Feuding Baronets,” Holmes and Watson attend a performance at the Royal Opera House, where an affluent shipping magnate passes out near the cloakroom after emptying his pockets, a seemingly mundane occurrence that becomes more suspicious when a dead pickpocket turns up a short time later. “The Adventure of the Sinister Correspondent” focuses on a young woman’s suspicions that all is not right with her father, who’s been preparing “piping hot” pots of coffee immediately after receiving certain cryptic letters in the mail. Myles is especially good at giving Watson his due—in “The Problem of Hazlewood Grange,” the doctor is tapped to investigate a murder in Surrey while Holmes is busy in London, and he acquits himself impressively. Myles nails all the necessary components of good Holmes pastiche, adeptly hiding meaningful clues in plain sight and working in small character details—such as Watson’s brief, humorous interaction with a child on a train in “The Adventure of the Naval Architect”—that lend the tales verisimilitude. Sherlockians will hope Myles returns to 221B Baker Street again soon. (Oct.)