The Case of the Disappearing Beaune

A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story

By: J. Lawrence Matthews

Narrated by: Thomas Judd

Beaune [bōn] noun: a red Burgundy wine from the Côte de Beaune region of France.

Christmas morning 1902, London, England. A bottle of fine French wine from the Côte de Beaune region of France, intended as a gift from Mr. Sherlock Holmes to his old friend Dr. Watson, is found to have been drained of its aromatic spirits during the night and filled with sand. But not just any sand….

Thus begins this sweet short holiday mystery from the author of One Must Tell the Bees: Abraham Lincoln and the Final Education of Sherlock Holmes (East Dean Press, 2021).

©2022 Jeffrey Matthews (P)2022 Jeffrey Matthews

Miles of smiles!

Great short story to listen to on the road! Well written, though a tiny quibble that Gevrey-Chambertin (the village area home to the grand cru wine in the story) is not in the Cote de Beaune. Enjoyed the story very much.

A delightful tale perfect for the holiday season

It’s Christmas morning in 1901 at the residence of Sherlock Holmes on Baker Street. Sherlock presents Dr. Watson with a bottle of French Beaune after declining to attend Christmas dinner. However, the wine has been replaced with sand and Sherlock is convinced something is afoot. In fact, he suspects it means a threat to the newly crowned King of England.

This was clever and entertaining. I don’t want to reveal too much, suffice is to say, I am not wholly convinced Sherlock wouldn’t have solved it quicker, but I throughly enjoyed his theories on a plot against the King and loved watching him and Dr. Watson investigate.

The story was well written, capturing both characters and their friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better mystery for the holidays and will certainly listen to more of Matthews’ stories.

Thomas Judd narrates and truly did a wonderful job of giving voice to both Watson and Sherlock. He enhanced the overall tale and listening was a pleasure.

A Fun Procedural but short

If you are a Sherlock Holms fan or enjoying shorter and humorous holiday procedural mysteries, I believe you will find “The Case of the Disappearing Beaune: A Sherlock Holmes Christmas Story” to your liking. The story is written by J. Lawrence Matthews, who currently has two audiobooks published at the time of this review. The audiobook’s narration is performed by Thomas Judd who has narrated nearly one hundred audiobooks to date. The story has mystery, intrigue, and some unexpected light humor occurring around the Christmas holiday season. The audiobook jumps right into the main plot revolving around a gift of wine whose contents have been replaced with a unique sand during the night. This story takes our investigators around the city while needing to call in many favors from others for additional clues. Overall, I found the story to be engaging but rather short for my liking. However, I can say that it was a fun listen as we approach the holiday season.

The mystery required the finding of many clues and communicating along the way with people who provided the team with some additional details helping to solve the mystery, even people who surprise our investigators such as Kitty Winters. All this searching finally leads our investigators to a new and exciting location. Once there, the mystery is solved, and the story comes to an end.

The audiobook’s narration, by Mr. Judd, was done very well. The audio volumes were consistent, I do not recall any audio issues such as background noise, swallowing, or other artifacts. His ability to clearly voice and distinguish the many characters in the story showed his skill and understanding of the work he was performing. Even for a short audiobook, one can see the professionalism ensuring the quality in his narration.

For parents and younger listeners, I would say that this audiobook could be enjoyed by nearly everyone. There was nothing that I noted as a concern during listening. Even though it was a bit short, the tale was fun and enjoyable to listen to.

In summary, I liked the story and thought the narration was top-notch. There were a few twists and turns as the tale progresses keeping me guessing, found with in a good procedural story. Even though it was rather short, it was well written and ends in a way that most will not expect, but a smile will come to your face when it does.

Disclaimer: This audiobook was provided to no charge by the author, narrator and/or publisher in exchange for posting a non-bias review