Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing by Nicholas Meyer, 264 pages

 London, 189–: In the dead of winter, the great city is brought to a standstill by a series of blizzards and Sherlock Holmes is bored to distraction. It would take a miracle to bring a case to the detective’s door. . .

What arrives is not a landlady who complains to Holmes that her artist tenant is behind on his rent. Not exactly the miracle for which Holmes was hoping. But, next thing you know, there are several corpses and Sherlock Holmes and his amanuensis, Dr. Watson, find themselves drawn into one of the most bizarre cases of the great detective’s career. And into the cutthroat big business of Art, where chicanery, mendacity (and cut throats), proliferate.

What makes a work of art valuable? Worth killing for? Dying for? Is it the painter, his mistress, his dealer, or his blackmailer?

The cast of characters is large. But are they perpetrators, accomplices, or victims? And just who is Juliet Packwood, with whom Watson has become infatuated?

Oh, and there’s one other Is this a genuine Holmes case or a clever forgery? Is this the real thing?

If you can’t tell the difference, what is the difference?

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of Sabina Hall by L. B. Greenwood, 190 pages

 Written with the full approval of The Conan Doyle Estate, this new mystery uses the same elegant style as that of the original Holmes stories. Holmes and Watson arrive at Sabina Hall to find their former acquaintance dead. Suspecting foulplay, they begin to investigate. When one of their suspects is killed, the mystery gets even tougher.

Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove, 372 pages

 It is 1890, and in the days before Christmas Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are visited at Baker Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe - eldest daughter of a grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty - is greatly distressed, as she believes she is being haunted by a demonic Christmas spirit.

Her late mother told her terrifying tales of the sinister Black Thurrick, and Eve is sure that she has seen the creature from her bedroom window. What is more, she has begun to receive mysterious parcels of birch twigs, the Black Thurrick's calling card...

Eve stands to inherit a fortune if she is sound in mind, but it seems that something - or someone - is threatening her sanity. Holmes and Watson travel to the Allerthorpe family seat at Fellscar Keep to investigate, but soon discover that there is more to the case than at first appeared. There is another spirit haunting the family, and when a member of the household is found dead, the companions realise that no one is beyond suspicion.

In League With Sherlock Holmes edited by Laurie R. King & Leslie Klinger, 463 pages

 The latest entry in Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger’s popular Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery series, featuring fifteen talented authors and a multitude of new cases for Arthur Conan Doyle’s most acclaimed detective.

Sherlock Holmes has not only captivated readers for more than a century and a quarter, he has fascinated writers as well. Almost immediately, the detective’s genius, mastery, and heroism became the standard by which other creators measured their creations, and the friendship between Holmes and Dr. Watson served as a brilliant model for those who followed Doyle. Not only did the Holmes tales influence the mystery genre but also tales of science-fiction, adventure, and the supernatural. It is little wonder, then, that when the renowned Sherlockians Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger invited their writer-friends and colleagues to be inspired by the Holmes canon, a cornucopia of stories sprang forth, with more than sixty of the greatest modern writers participating in four acclaimed anthologies.

Now, King and Klinger have invited another fifteen masters to become In League with Sherlock Holmes. The contributors to the pair’s next volume, due out in December 2020, include award-winning authors of horror, thrillers, mysteries, westerns, and science-fiction, all bound together in admiration and affection for the original stories. Past tales have spanned the Victorian era, World War I, World War II, the post-war era, and contemporary America and England. They have featured familiar figures from literature and history, children, master sleuths, official police, unassuming amateurs, unlikely protagonists, even ghosts and robots. Some were new tales about Holmes and Watson; others were about people from Holmes’s world or admirers of Holmes and his methods. The resulting stories are funny, haunting, thrilling, and surprising. All are unforgettable. The new collection promises more of the same!

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer, 238 pages

With the international bestseller The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Nicholas Meyer brought to light a previously unpublished case of Sherlock Holmes, as recorded by Dr. John H. Watson. Now Meyer returns with a shocking discovery—an unknown case drawn from a recently unearthed Watson journal.

January 1905: Holmes and Watson are summoned by Holmes' brother Mycroft to undertake a clandestine investigation. An agent of the British Secret Service has been found floating in the Thames, carrying a manuscript smuggled into England at the cost of her life. The pages purport to be the minutes of a meeting of a secret group intent on nothing less than taking over the world.

Based on real events, the adventure takes the famed duo—in the company of a bewitching woman—aboard the Orient Express from Paris into the heart of Tsarist Russia, where Holmes and Watson attempt to trace the origins of this explosive document. On their heels are desperate men of unknown allegiance, determined to prevent them from achieving their task. And what they uncover is a conspiracy so vast as to challenge Sherlock Holmes as never before.

The Mammoth Book of the New Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Denis O. Smith, 531 pages

This collection of new Sherlock Holmes stories stayed very true to the feeling of the original stories. I really enjoyed them.

The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King, 585 pages

Another fabulous Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell mystery by Laurie King. This one delves into Mrs. Hudson's past. While I wouldn't recommend starting with this book, the whole series is a must read for any Sherlock fan.

Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse, 325 pages

I was kind of shocked by how much I enjoyed this. There aren't a lot of books showcasing Holmes' brother, and their early life. Much better done than I expected.

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King, 331 pages

I always enjoy these mysteries featuring Sherlock Holmes and his wife, Mary Russell. It was interesting to get a tiny look at Japan.

Sherlock Holmes, the Missing Years: Japan by Vasudev Murthy, 288 pages

I'm a fan of Sherlock Holmes and am always excited to find a new entry in the field. This one covers part of the time frame of Sherlock's missing years while he was supposedly dead. It has Watson and Sherlock making their way to Japan to shut down Moriarty's entry into the opium trade. While I will read just about anything with Holmes in it, this just didn't read true. I felt that Watson's letters to his publisher were a little hokey, and the segments of the stories told from the notes of the other characters weren't true to Doyle's writing style. I would say that I would be hesitant to pick up another Sherlock Holmes book by this author.

The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Denis O. Smith, 503 pages

I will read anything Sherlock based, but these were really superb additions the Sherlock field of short stories.

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King, 353 pages

I'd forgotten how much I really enjoyed this series.

The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science & Forensics by James O'Brien, 175 pages

We have the author of this book coming to the library for a summer reading presentation so I had to read his book of course. I love anything Sherlock related and this was a great nonfiction behind the scenes look at the Holmes canon. I can't wait for the presentation.

The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, 356 pages

I LOVED this book. The lost diary of Arthur Conan Doyle has been located, covering the time period of his decision to bring Sherlock Holmes back from the dead. What lead to this decision after his many vocal outbursts stating that Holmes was dead forever? And where has the diary been?
The book alternates chapters between Arthur Conan Doyle in the early 1900s and Harold White, a member of the Baker Street Irregulars in present day. This book was a gushing fanletter for all the Sherlockians out there. I am buying a copy of this book for my own collection. I liked it that much.

The Seven-Percent Solution by Nicholas Meyer, 224 pages

I was moving some books around on my bookcases and came across this old favorite that I had to re-read. Sherlock Holmes' cocaine addiction has gotten to the point where it will kill him before much longer, and Watson is desperate to help him. The only man in Europe who may be able to help him is Sigmund Freud, but the issue is getting Holmes there. This is an outstanding book and a must read for any Sherlock fans.

The West End Horror by Nicholas Meyer, 192 pages

I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and this is a "lost" manuscript showcasing a never before published case. A killer is stalking the theater world in 1895 and this case comes closer to being the end of Sherlock and Watson than any other. This one also featured Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker and other literary icons. I've read this a few times and always enjoy it.

Encounters of Sherlock Holmes edited by George Mann, 352 pages

This was a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories with a steampunk twist. The one featuring Mrs. Hudson as the true brains behind solving the crime was my favorite.

Seance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen, 285 pages

Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, really how could a book get any better?

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz, 294 pages

Anthony Horowitz was hired by the Arthur Conan Doyle estate to write a new entry in the Sherlock Holmes stories, and I must say, he did a wonderful job. This takes place just a year or so after Watson's marriage, and melds perfectly into the timeline. While investigating one mystery, Holmes and Watson stumble across a bigger, much more dangerous intrigue, that threatens not only their life but the very fabric of English society. Everything in this book felt like an original Doyle story. For fans of Sherlock Holmes, this is a definite must read. I am even considering buying this book myself to add to my collection.

Victorian Undead-Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies by Ian Edginton and Davide Fabbri, 144 pages

Sherlock Holmes vs Zombies, how does it get any better than this?! Well, it does with Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula but that's another book. This is a collection of comic books that has been released as a graphic novel. A comet from outer space has fallen in London, and 50 years later a zombie plague is hitting London. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Watson must find the mastermind that is controlling the flesh-eating zombies and figure out a way to stop the evil destroying London before it sweeps the island nation. This is a wonderful comic that is filled with an interesting take on Sherlock Holmes with wonderfully graphic artwork. If you enjoy zombies, Sherlock Holmes or just a weird and eccentric storyline, pick up this book and read a story you can really sink your teeth into.