The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, Part VI Read online

  The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories

  Part VI - 2017 Annual

  First edition published in 2017

  2017 digital version converted and published by

  Andrews UK Limited

  www.andrewsuk.com

  © Copyright 2017

  The right of the individuals listed in the Copyright Information section to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1998.

  All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy, or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious or used fictitiously. Except for certain historical personages, any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of MX Publishing.

  Published in the UK by

  MX Publishing

  335 Princess Park Manor, Royal Drive,

  London, N11 3GX

  www.mxpublishing.co.uk

  Cover design by Brian Belanger

  www.belangerbooks.com and www.redbubble.com/people/zhahadun

  These additional Sherlock Holmes adventures can be found in the previous volumes of

  The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories

  PART I: 1881-1889

  Foreword - Leslie S. Klinger

  Foreword - Roger Johnson

  Sherlock Holmes of London - A Verse in Four Fits - Michael Kurland

  The Adventure of the Slipshod Charlady - John Hall

  The Case of the Lichfield Murder - Hugh Ashton

  The Kingdom of the Blind - Adrian Middleton

  The Adventure of the Pawnbroker’s Daughter - David Marcum

  The Adventure of the Defenestrated Princess - Jayantika Ganguly

  The Adventure of the Inn on the Marsh - Denis O. Smith

  The Adventure of the Traveling Orchestra - Amy Thomas

  The Haunting of Sherlock Holmes - Kevin David Barratt

  Sherlock Holmes and the Allegro Mystery - Luke Benjamen Kuhns

  The Deadly Soldier - Summer Perkins

  The Case of the Vanishing Stars - Deanna Baran

  The Song of the Mudlark - Shane Simmons

  The Tale of the Forty Thieves - C.H. Dye

  The Strange Missive of Germaine Wilkes - Mark Mower

  The Case of the Vanished Killer - Derrick Belanger

  The Adventure of the Aspen Papers - Daniel D. Victor

  The Ululation of Wolves - Steve Mountain

  The Case of the Vanishing Inn - Stephen Wade

  The King of Diamonds - John Heywood

  The Adventure of Urquhart Manse - Will Thomas

  The Adventure of the Seventh Stain - Daniel McGachey

  The Two Umbrellas - Martin Rosenstock

  The Adventure of the Fateful Malady - Craig Janacek

  PART II: 1890-1895

  Foreword - Catherine Cooke

  The Bachelor of Baker Street Muses on Irene Adler - Carole Nelson Douglas

  The Affair of Miss Finney - Ann Margaret Lewis

  The Adventure of the Bookshop Owner - Vincent W. Wright

  The Case of the Unrepentant Husband - William Patrick Maynard

  The Verse of Death - Matthew Booth

  Lord Garnett’s Skulls - J.R. Campbell

  Larceny in the Sky with Diamonds - Robert V. Stapleton

  The Glennon Falls - Sam Wiebe

  The Adventure of The Sleeping Cardinal – Jeremy Branton Holstein

  The Case of the Anarchist’s Bomb - Bill Crider

  The Riddle of the Rideau Rifles - Peter Calamai

  The Adventure of the Willow Basket - Lyndsay Faye

  The Onion Vendor’s Secret - Marcia Wilson

  The Adventure of the Murderous Numismatist - Jack Grochot

  The Saviour of Cripplegate Square - Bert Coules

  A Study in Abstruse Detail - Wendy C. Fries

  The Adventure of the St. Nicholas the Elephant - Christopher Redmond

  The Lady on the Bridge - Mike Hogan

  The Adventure of the Poison Tea Epidemic - Carl L. Heifetz

  The Man on Westminster Bridge - Dick Gilman

  PART III: 1896-1929

  Foreword - David Stuart Davies

  Two Sonnets - Bonnie MacBird

  Harbinger of Death - Geri Schear

  The Adventure of the Regular Passenger - Paul D. Gilbert

  The Perfect Spy - Stuart Douglas

  A Mistress - Missing - Lyn McConchie

  Two Plus Two - Phil Growick

  The Adventure of the Coptic Patriarch - Séamus Duffy

  The Royal Arsenal Affair - Leslie F.E. Coombs

  The Adventure of the Sunken Parsley - Mark Alberstat

  The Strange Case of the Violin Savant - GC Rosenquist

  The Hopkins Brothers Affair - Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett

  The Disembodied Assassin - Andrew Lane

  The Adventure of the Dark Tower - Peter K. Andersson

  The Adventure of the Reluctant Corpse - Matthew J. Elliott

  The Inspector of Graves - Jim French

  The Adventure of the Parson’s Son - Bob Byrne

  The Adventure of the Botanist’s Glove - James Lovegrove

  A Most Diabolical Plot - Tim Symonds

  The Opera Thief - Larry Millett

  Blood Brothers - Kim Krisco

  The Adventure of The White Bird – C. Edward Davis

  The Adventure of the Avaricious Bookkeeper - Joel and Carolyn Senter

  PART IV - 2016 Annual

  Foreword - Steven Rothman

  Foreword - Richard Doyle

  Foreword - Roger Johnson

  A Word From the Head Teacher at Undershaw - Melissa Farnham

  Toast to Mrs. Hudson - Arlene Mantin Levy

  The Tale of the First Adventure - Derrick Belanger

  The Adventure of the Turkish Cipher - Deanna Baran

  The Adventure of the Missing Necklace - Daniel D. Victor

  The Case of the Rondel Dagger - Mark Mower

  The Adventure of the Double-Edged Hoard - Craig Janacek

  The Adventure of the Impossible Murders - Jayantika Ganguly

  The Watcher in the Woods - Denis O. Smith

  The Wargrave Resurrection - Matthew Booth

  Relating To One of My Old Cases - J.R. Campbell

  The Adventure at the Beau Soleil - Bonnie MacBird

  The Adventure of the Phantom Coachman - Arthur Hall

  The Adventure of the Arsenic Dumplings - Bob Byrne

  The Disappearing Anarchist Trick - Andrew Lane

  The Adventure of the Grace Chalice - Roger Johnson

  The Adventure of John Vincent Harden - Hugh Ashton

  Murder at Tragere House - David Stuart Davies

  The Adventure of The Green Lady - Vincent W. Wright

  The
Adventure of the Fellow Traveller - Daniel McGachey

  The Adventure of the Highgate Financier - Nicholas Utechin

  A Game of Illusion - Jeremy Holstein

  The London Wheel - David Marcum

  The Adventure of the Half-Melted Wolf - Marcia Wilson

  PART V - Christmas Adventures

  Foreword - Jonathan Kellerman

  Foreword - Roger Johnson

  “This bids to be the merriest of Christmases.” - Foreword by Roger Johnson

  Undershaw: An Ongoing Legacy - Foreword by Steve Emecz

  A Word From the Head Teacher at Undershaw - Foreword by Melissa Farnham

  The Ballad of the Carbuncle - Poem by Ashley D. Polasek

  The Case of the Ruby Necklace - Bob Byrne

  The Jet Brooch - Denis O. Smith

  The Adventure of the Missing Irregular - Amy Thomas

  The Adventure of the Knighted Watchmaker - Derrick Belanger

  The Stolen Relic - David Marcum

  A Christmas Goose - C.H. Dye

  The Adventure of the Long-Lost Enemy - Marcia Wilson

  The Queen’s Writing Table - Julie McKuras

  The Blue Carbuncle - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Dramatised by Bert Coules)

  The Case of the Christmas Cracker - John Hall

  The Man Who Believed in Nothing - Jim French

  The Case of the Christmas Star - S.F. Bennett

  The Christmas Card Mystery - Narrelle M. Harris

  The Question of the Death Bed Conversion - William Patrick Maynard

  The Adventure of the Christmas Surprise - Vincent W. Wright

  A Bauble in Scandinavia - James Lovegrove

  The Adventure of Marcus Davery - Arthur Hall

  The Adventure of the Purple Poet - Nicholas Utechin

  The Adventure of the Vanishing Man - Mike Chinn

  The Adventure of the Empty Manger - Tracy J. Revels

  A Perpetrator in a Pear Tree - Roger Riccard

  The Case of the Christmas Trifle - Wendy C. Fries

  The Adventure of the Christmas Stocking - Paul D. Gilbert

  The Adventure of the Golden Hunter - Jan Edwards

  The Curious Case of the Well-Connected Criminal - Molly Carr

  The Case of the Reformed Sinner - S. Subramanian

  The Adventure of the Improbable Intruder - Peter K. Andersson

  The Adventure of the Handsome Ogre - Matthew J. Elliott

  The Adventure of the Deceased Doctor - Hugh Ashton

  The Mile End Mynah Bird - Mark Mower

  Copyright Information

  All of the contributions in this collection are copyrighted by the authors listed below. Grateful acknowledgement is given to the authors and/or their agents for the kind permission to use their work within these volumes.

  The following contributions appear in this volume:

  The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories

  Part VI - 2017 Annual

  “The Adventure of the Returned Captain” ©2016 by Hugh Ashton. All Rights Reserved. Hugh Ashton appears by kind permission of Inknbeans Press. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure at St. Catherine’s” ©2016 by Deanna Baran. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author. Illustration handwriting by Linda Johnson.

  “The Coffee Trader’s Dilemma” ©2016 by Derrick Belanger. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Case of the Vanishing Venus” ©2016 by S.F. Bennett. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author

  “The Adventure of the Murdered Spinster” ©2016 by Bob Byrne. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author

  “The Adventure of the Traveling Corpse” ©2016 by Nick Cardillo. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Curious Case of the Charwoman’s Brooch” ©2016 by Molly Carr. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Vanishing Apprentice” ©2016 by Jennifer Copping. All Rights Reserved. Originally published in a somewhat different version online as “The Adventure of the Disappearing Man”, ©2014. First publication of this revised version, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Case of the Plummeting Painter” ©2016 by Carla Coupe. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson Learn to Fly” ©2016 by C. Edward Davis. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Curious Case of Mr. Marconi” ©2016 by Jan Edwards. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “Undershaw: An Ongoing Legacy for Sherlock Holmes” ©2016 by Steve Emecz. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “A Message From the Head Teacher of Stepping Stones” ©2017 by Melissa Farnham. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure at the Apothecary Shop” ©2008, 2016 by Jim French. All Rights Reserved. First publication of text script in this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Apologetic Assassin” ©2016 by David Friend. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Frightened Architect” ©2016 by Arthur Hall. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Unwelcome Client” ©2016 by Keith Hann. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Case of the Temperamental Terrier” ©2016 by Narrelle M. Harris. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Tetanus Epidemic” ©2016 by Carl L. Heifetz. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Sunken Indiaman” ©2016 by Craig Janacek. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “Foreword” ©2016 by Colin Jeavons. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Universality of the Man’s Interests” ©2016 by Roger Johnson. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “Sweet Violin” ©2017 by Bonnie MacBird. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Problem of the Holy Oil” and “Editor’s Introduction: A Holmesian Golden Age” ©2016, 2017 by David Marcum. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Irregular” ©2016 by Julie McKuras. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Radicant Munificent Society” ©2016 by Mark Mower. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Two Patricks” ©2016 by Robert Perret. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
/>
  “The Adventure of the Queen’s Teardrop” ©2016 by Tracy Revels. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Apothecary’s Prescription” ©2016 by Roger Riccard. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of a Thousand Stings” ©2016 by GC Rosenquist. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Tempest of Lyme” ©2016 by David Ruffle. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Bubble Reputation” ©2016 by Geri Schear. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Cat’s Claws” ©2016 by Shane Simmons. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Case of the Bereaved Author” ©2016 by S. Subramanian. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “Die Weisse Frau” ©2016 by Tim Symonds and Lesley Abdela. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Adventure of the Wonderful Toy” ©2009, 2016 by David Timson. All Rights Reserved. Originally appeared as an audio book commissioned by Naxos AudioBooks and read by the author in his collection The Complete Sherlock Holmes Read by David Timson. First text publication original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “A Scandal in Serbia” ©2016 by Thomas A. Turley. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “Foreword” ©2017 by Nicholas Utechin. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “A Case of Mistaken Identity” ©2016 by Daniel D. Victor. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Grave Message” ©2016 by Stephen Wade. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.

  “The Exorcism of the Haunted Stick” ©2016 by Marcia Wilson. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.