The Wild Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Two - Will Murray

Will Murray is back with THE WILD ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, VOLUME TWO, and as entertaining as the stories in the first volume were, I think this new collection is even better. Here are the stories in this one. All of them were published originally in various Holmesian anthologies.

The Singular Problem of the Extinguished Wicks
The Mystery of the Spectral Shelter
The Problem of the Surrey Samson
The Uncanny Adventure of the Hammersmith Wonder
The Repulsive Matter of the Bloodless Banker
The Adventure of the Abominable Adder
The Adventure of the Sorrowing Mudlark
The Adventure of the Emerald Urchin
The Adventure of the Expelled Master
The Conundrum of the Questionable Coins

All these stories feature some seemingly supernatural or paranormal element. Will Holmes be able to figure out these mysteries and provide logical, scientifically grounded explanations for all the strange events and grisly murders? You may think you know the answer to that, but as Murray points out in his introduction, you may have some surprises in store, too.

As an added bonus, three of the stories (The Adventure of the Abominable Adder, The Adventure of the Sorrowing Mudlark, and The Adventure of the Emerald Urchin) are actually crossover tales that feature Algernon Blackwood’s occult detective Dr. John Silence. Now, I’ve never read any of the John Silence stories, or anything else by Algernon Blackwood, for that matter, but I really enjoyed these and think it’s likely that I’ll sample some of Blackwood’s work in the reasonably near future. In addition, Holmes narrates one of the stories himself, rather than relying on Dr. John Watson to tell the tale, and that’s a nice change. Overall, Murray does a great job of capturing Watson’s voice and Arthur Conan Doyle’s style.

I’m no expert on Holmes pastiches, but I know what I like, as the saying goes, and I really enjoyed this collection, which is available in both print and e-book editions. I give it a high recommendation and look forward to the future collections of Murray’s Sherlock Holmes stories that are in the works.