Sherlock Holmes Stories of Edward D. Hoch

by Edward D. Hoch

  An appreciation—a few short words at least—was certainly warranted for this edition. However, I did not want the sad fact of his passing to preface the book and perhaps interfere with your enjoyment of Ed’s wonderful stories, hence this brief afterword.

  Ed Hoch was a talented and versatile writer. He excelled in the short story, a form of entertainment with often severe limitations that make it very difficult for most writers to do really well. Ed always did his stories really well, producing quality, thoughtful and entertaining tales. In fact, Ed’s incredible short story success beginning in the 1950s numbered almost one thousand stories published professionally. A new story appeared in every issue of Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine every month for the last 35 years! His Simon Ark and Nick Velvet stories, among many others, are avidly read and collected. Ed Hoch was a writing legend.

  Ed was also a great guy, a gentle and kind man. We had fun getting to know each other, emailing each other, as we worked to get this book out. While Ed never saw the final edition, he did see a preliminary of Jukka’s wonderful cover and he liked that very much.

  Ed Hoch passed away of a heart attack on Thursday, January 17, 2008, just after this book had been finalized but before it appeared. He was 77 years old and his death was a terrible blow to his many fans and friends the world over.

  Gary Lovisi

  Brooklyn, New York

  February, 2008

  All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All stories published with kind permission of the author.

  “Introduction” by Edward D. Hoch is copyright © 2007 by Edward D. Hoch. The Stories originally appeared as follows: “The Most Dangerous Man” as by R. L. Stevens in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, February 1973, copyright © 1972 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Return of the Speckled Band” by Edward D. Hoch in The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, St. Martins Press, copyright © 1996 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Manor House Case” by Edward D. Hoch in The Resurrected Holmes, St. Martins Press, copyright © 1996 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Christmas Client” by Edward D. Hoch in Holmes For The Holidays, Berkley Books, copyright © 1996 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Adventure of Vittoria, the Circus Belle” by Edward D. Hoch in The Mammoth Book of New Sherlock Holmes Adventures, Robinson Books, copyright © 1997, by Edward D. Hoch. “The Adventure of the Dying Ship” by Edward D. Hoch in The Confidential Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, St. Martins Press, copyright © 1998 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Adventure of Cipher in the Sand” by Edward D. Hoch in The Adventure of Cipher in the Sand, Mysterious Bookshop, copyright © 1999 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Christmas Conspiracy” by Edward D. Hoch in More Holmes for the Holidays, Berkley Books, copyright © 1999 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Adventure of the Anonymous Author” by Edward D. Hoch in Murder in Baker Street, Carroll & Graf, copyright © 2001 by Edward D. Hoch. “the Adventure of the Domino Club” by Edward D. Hoch in The Strand Magazine, February-May 2005 issue, copyright © 2005 by Edward D. Hoch. “The Addleton Tragedy” by Edward D. Hoch in Sherlock Holmes @ 35, The Bootmakers of Toronto, copyright © 2006 by Edward D. Hoch. “A Scandal in Montreal” by Edward D. Hoch in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, February, 2008 issue, copyright © 2007 by Edward D. Hoch. All Rights Reserved.

  “Edward D. Hoch: An Appreciation” by Gary Lovisi copyright © 2008 by Gary Lovisi

  Copyright © 2008 by Edward D. Hoch

  Cover design by Jason Gabbert

  978-1-4804-5650-1

  This 2013 edition published by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

  345 Hudson Street

  New York, NY 10014

  www.mysteriouspress.com

  www.openroadmedia.com

  EBOOKS BY

  EDWARD D. HOCH

  FROM MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM

  AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA

  Available wherever ebooks are sold

  Otto Penzler, owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, founded the Mysterious Press in 1975. Penzler quickly became known for his outstanding selection of mystery, crime, and suspense books, both from his imprint and in his store. The imprint was devoted to printing the best books in these genres, using fine paper and top dust-jacket artists, as well as offering many limited, signed editions.

  Now the Mysterious Press has gone digital, publishing ebooks through MysteriousPress.com.

  MysteriousPress.com offers readers essential noir and suspense fiction, hard-boiled crime novels, and the latest thrillers from both debut authors and mystery masters. Discover classics and new voices, all from one legendary source.

  FIND OUT MORE AT

  WWW.MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM

  FOLLOW US:

  @emysteries and Facebook.com/MysteriousPressCom

  MysteriousPress.com is one of a select group of publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

  Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.

  Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases

  Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.

  Sign up now at

  www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters

  FIND OUT MORE AT

  WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM

  FOLLOW US:

  @openroadmedia and

  Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia