A Sherlock Holmes Sextuplet: Six Sherlockian Pastiches

By: David Francis Curran

Narrated by: Fred Wolinsky

David Francis Curran, a former writer on the television series Wiseguy and 2018 MPL fiction award winner, was one of a handful of authors who published Sherlockian pastiches when such work had to be licensed by the Doyle estate. The first story in this collection, "The Adventure of Miss Stephanie Ray", was the lead story in the 1970's licensed publication The Non-Canonical Sherlock Holmes.

Five new stories are also included here: "The Adventure of the Monstrous Medium", "The Adventure of the Shanghaied Sailor", "The Adventure of the Chess Messages", "The Adventure of the Numerologist’s Cypher", and "The Adventure of Colonel Mustard’s Secret". They are all told as close to the original as possible. This is a must-have collection for Sherlock fans.

©1972 David Francis Curran (P)2018 David Francis Curran

Could be shuffled into the original stories

This was a good addition to the Sherlockian lore. I felt the author did a really good job of staying true to the original material. Sherlock Holmes is nearly always polite to women but admittedly views them as the weaker, gentler sex. I have found the original works to be lacking in captivating female characters and that holds true here as well. Even as I feel this is a negative, it is in line with Doyle’s works. Watson felt true to canon as well, being a little dense but also the most steadfast companion Holmes could ask for.

The Adventure of the Monstrous Medium was my favorite tale, perhaps because it has a female adversary that makes Holmes and Watson work for their fee. While we don’t get much time with the main adversary, Holmes very neatly lays out how her scam network pulls people in and robs them of information, goods, and money. Of course there is a very beautiful woman in great need. Sherlock can’t turn her away and Watson is always the gentleman. I really enjoyed how an opium den and a couple of men chained to beds played a part in the plot.

The Adventure of Colonel Mustard’s Secret was just plain fun. Yes, there’s a candlestick and eventually a board game. Ha! Espionage plays a role. And there’s yet one more lady for our heroes to rescue.

This collection starts with The Adventure of Miss Stephanie Ray which is set before Watson becomes acquainted with his Mary. This double, or triple cross, was fun to listen to with Sherlock providing his classic summation near the end. I did feel a bit for Watson as he was sorely used. Still, Watson is that kind of good chap that won’t hold a grudge.

The Adventure of the Numerologist’s Cypher was clever and pulled on spiritualistic stuff once again. The combination of Sherlock’s very logical mind and the supernatural is always a good mix for me. I love seeing his mind work on all the logical bits, tracing down even the minutest fact and almost always proving non-supernatural reasons for everything seen and experienced by the characters. This tale has the added bonus of a cipher.

Several tales in this collection include street orphans, which we all know tugged on Sherlock’s heart strings. He uses them to collect info and look for people, but I have a sneaking suspicion that his little errands are excuses to provide the orphans with a bit of income.

Lestrade makes few (just 2?) appearances in this tale. Oddly, I didn’t miss him and perhaps that’s because he is so often just an archetype, providing a little legality to bolster the actions of our heroes.

Over all, it’s a very good collection of Holmes stories that could easily be shuffled into the original canon. 5/5 stars.

The Narration: Fred Wolinsky does a great job as the sharp-edged Holmes. His voice for Watson was sometimes a little effeminate which took me a little time to get used to. Perhaps I have watched too many very masculine renditions of Watson lately. His female voices were believable. His greatest strength lies in the little kid voices which he does perfectly. Each character was distinct. 4.5/5 stars.

Enjoyable short stories

These remind me of the feel of the original stories. The author did a great job of keeping these authentic in their feel and the stories were enjoyable. They are not amazing, but very entertaining and worth a listen. Fred Wolinsky does an awesome job with the narrating! I had no problems distinguishing who was talking at any given time. Overall, entertaining and worth listening to.

Don't be Left Behind When the Games Afoot

These are six awesome short stories in the true Sherlock Holmes fashion. If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes than these are for you, and if you love audio books than you just can miss voice actor Fred Wolinsky performing this book, it is so good you will lose yourself and think you are in the room with Sherlock and Watson while they are bantering back and forth on one of their cases. This is truly a book/audio not to be missed, don't be left behind when the game is afoot.

Great!!!

I enjoy Sherlock Holmes stories as a rule. But this book is far above the regular post-Doyle stories. These stories are truly enjoyable. They sound like the best of the original stories.