The Sherlock Effect - A Review

The Sherlock Effect

by

Raymond Kay Lyon

A Review

Christopher Sherlock Webster received his unexpected middle name because his father was obsessed with his well-known namesake, Sherlock Holmes. The new London based private investigation firm, The Baskerville Agency, got its start when Christopher was approached by his college pal, Morris Rennie. Morris proposed the agency, and because both Sherlock and Mo were at a point where they were ready to find a transition in their lives. Mo would finance the agency, Sherlock would provide the brains, and they would share the profits 50/50.

Besides reviewing the early history of The Baskerville Agency, the book is a collection of first-person reports of five early cases thrust upon the new agency. The cases are interesting to read, but are not as satisfying as those by Arthur Conan Doyle. I found the first one fairly simple to solve long before reaching the end of the story. The last was a bit uncomfortable (I did not finish it) as it dealt with the production of pornography. The other three were somewhere in between - though none measured up to the original canonical Sherlock Holmes collection of works. Having said all these things, the stories are worth reading and provided several evenings of entertainment.

This edition is the third printing from a new publisher of a book originally written in 1997. Though it has been 20 years since the original was published, I expect there is little chance that additional works in this series might be forthcoming - but one can hope.

______________

This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions are mine alone.