by David Marcum
Title Page
The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories
Part IV: 2016 Annual
edited by
David Marcum
Publisher Information
First edition published in 2016 by
MX Publishing
335 Princess Park Manor
Royal Drive
London, N11 3GX
www.mxpublishing.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2016 MX Publishing and the individual authors
The right of the individuals listed on the Copyright Information page 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. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of MX Publishing or Andrews UK.
Cover design by www.staunch.com
Previous Volumes
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
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. Heifitz
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
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 IV - 2016 Annual
“The Adventure of John Vincent Harden” ©2015 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 of the Turkish Cipher” ©2015 by Deanna Baran. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Tale of the First Adventure” ©2015 by Derrick Belanger. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Wargrave Resurrection” ©2015 by Matthew Booth. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Arsenic Dumplings” ©2015 by Bob Byrne. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Relating To One of My Old Cases” ©2015 by J.R. Campbell. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Pri
nted by permission of the author.
“Murder at Tragere House” ©2015 by David Stuart Davies. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Foreword” ©2016 by Richard Doyle. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Undershaw: An Ongoing Legacy for Sherlock Holmes” ©2015 by Steve Emecz. All Rights Reserved. Printed by permission of the author.
“A Word From the Head Teacher at Undershaw” ©2016 by Melissa Farnham. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Impossible Murders” ©2015 by Jayantika Ganguly. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Phantom Coachman” ©2015 by Arthur Hall. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“A Game of Illusion” ©2015 by Jeremy Holstein. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Double-Edged Hoard” ©2015 by Craig Janacek. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Grace Chalice” ©2011, 2015 by Roger Johnson. All Rights Reserved. First text publication of this script. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Disappearing Anarchist Trick” ©2015 by Andrew Lane. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Toast to Mrs. Hudson” ©2016 by Arlene Mantin Levy. All Rights Reserved. First print publication; Originally read at the “Dr. Watson’s Neglected Patients Dinner”, January 30th, 2016. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure at the Beau Soleil” ©2016 by Bonnie MacBird. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The London Wheel” and “Editor’s Introduction” ©2015 by David Marcum. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Fellow Traveller” ©2016 by Daniel McGachey. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Case of the Rondel Dagger” ©2015 by Mark Mower. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“Foreword” ©2016 by Steven Rothman. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Watcher in the Woods” ©2015 by Denis O. Smith. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Highgate Financier” ©2015 by Nicholas Utechin. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Missing Necklace” ©2015 by Daniel D. Victor. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of the Half-Melted Wolf” ©2015 by Marcia Wilson. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
“The Adventure of The Green Lady” ©2015 by Vincent W. Wright. All Rights Reserved. First publication, original to this collection. Printed by permission of the author.
Editor’s Introduction
Amazing Times
by David Marcum
Truly, this is an amazing time to be a Sherlockian - especially if you enjoy new adventures of the Great Detective.
It wasn’t always that way. I first discovered Holmes as a ten-year-old in 1975, I quickly read and re-read the Canon of original sixty stories. But I wanted more accounts to demonstrate why Holmes is the World’s Greatest Detective. Back when I was a kid, a few pastiches were occasionally written, but tracking them down often proved difficult.
As stated in the introduction to the previous volumes in this series, I believe that Holmes pastiches are as important as the Canonical stories, for both providing extra information about the Master, and also for building continued interest in him that always redirects focus back to the originals. Canonical adventures and pastiches are all threads in the Great Holmes Tapestry, and pastiche authors, functioning as “editors” of Watson’s original notes, are tapping into the Great Watsonian Oversoul.
Over the last four decades, since the Great Holmes Resurgence that began with the publication of Nicholas Meyer’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1974), the number of available stories relating further adventures of Our Heroes, Holmes and Watson, has been exponentially increasing. Now, it’s a rare day when I don’t add some new narrative about the traditional Holmes and Watson to my collection, either as a novel or short story, a radio or television show, a movie or script, a comic or an unpublished manuscript, or fan fiction tale. (My collection is in the thousands of adventures now, and many thanks to my tolerant wife and son!)
But even that’s not enough. I - like so many others - want more!
As I related in the introduction to the previous parts of this now ongoing series, The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories, one day in January 2015 I popped awake with the idea of a new Holmes anthology. Such a collection was certainly nothing new. But this one would include stories from some of the best Holmes writers currently in practice, and also a few from both new authors and established masters who hadn’t pulled anything out of Watson’s Tin Dispatch Box in a while. And these authors would donate their royalties to benefit the Stepping Stones School for special needs students, located at the newly renovated Undershaw, former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This was where he “edited” some of Watson’s notes, as the first literary agent, to bring us later tales such as The Hound of the Baskervilles and those found in The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
The response to the first collection was overwhelming. From the initial idea for one book, the project grew to three volumes, totaling nearly 1,400 pages and including sixty-three new traditional Holmes tales, as well as additional contributions. It became the largest collection of new Holmes adventures ever assembled in one place. (It may have been published as three physical books, but it was really always one collection split into three manageable parts.)
Interest grew, and we had participants from all around the world and from many different Sherlockian organizations. There were professional authors, and some who were writing for the first time - since every friend of Mr. Holmes should create at least one pastiche in his or her life.
The volumes were officially released on October 1st, 2015, and to mark the event, a tremendous launch party was held in London. I was able to fly over from my home in Tennessee, and while there I met a great number of Holmes authors that I’d only previously known through emails. It was an incredible experience to see all of these wonderful people that had donated their efforts to the Stepping Stones School. My only regret about that night is that, in the excitement of finally getting to meet so many of the authors in person, I neglected to get very many pictures with them. I hope that someday I can meet them all again and correct that mistake.
Not long after the amazing rush of premiering the books, someone jokingly asked about future volumes, referring to Parts IV, V, and VI. And then another person mentioned that he had a contribution as well. It only took a few seconds for the idea to hit me: Why not have more volumes? Why not make this an ongoing thing? After all, the demand is always there for excellent Holmes adventures, and these are truly excellent. And being able to continue to aid the Stepping Stones School was a wonderful incentive. Publisher Steve Emecz and I had already done the heavy lifting o
f wrestling with and setting up the formatting and style for the previous books. Within days, I was soliciting more contributions for future volumes.
The volume that you hold in your hands, Part IV - 2016 Annual, is so named to indicate that this will indeed by an annual event, as long as there is gas in the tank. (Therefore, look for a 2017 Annual, a 2018 Annual, and so on.) In fact, there was so much positive initial response to a new collection this year that it was decided to produce two new anthology volumes in 2016. But as only one could be the 2016 Annual, I came up with the idea of the second being called Part V - Christmas Adventures, this time with a holiday theme, and in the tradition of those other wonderful Holmes anthologies from the 1990’s, Holmes For The Holidays and More Holmes For The Holidays. As I write this, in early January 2016, I already have a number of stories in hand for that collection, and commitments and one story for the Part VII - 2017 Annual as well!
These new collections, like the previous entries in the series, will feature Holmes stories set in the correct time period. There won’t be any non-Canonical aspects, such as time-travel or vampires, or modern-day settings with cell phones or Holmes as a murderer. These are pure traditional Holmes stories.
As in the previous volumes, I intended to make use of completely new stories for the collection, in one format or another. Again, I was almost completely successful, as “The Grace Chalice” has appeared previously as both a short story and an audio broadcast. However, the script of that story, included here, is its first appearance anywhere in a text format, and will likely be new to most readers. All other tales are completely new and were created for this volume.
I let all of the participants know, like I did for Parts I, II, and III, that since we had contributors from various places around the globe, the format and punctuation of the books would be uniformly consistent, and they could use either British or American spellings in their finished works. Therefore, if you see some stories with color and others with colour, for example, that’s why.
Like the earlier anthology, the adventures in this and subsequent collections will also be arranged chronologically, as was first done so effectively in Mike Ashley’s amazing The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures (1997). I admired the way he did it back then, and it worked great for the first three parts of this series.