Roger Riccard, has once again delved into his imagination to create short Christmastime stories for the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. John H. Watson. This volume contains another set of six, to continue the collection for the Twelve Days of Christmas.
A Partridge in a Pearl Tree – A crown containing the famous Partridge Ruby of Burma goes missing before Christmas, and so does the nun who was wearing it.
The Two Turtledoves – Will the famous photograph and its subjects have a negative effect on Holmes’s success as a detective?
The Three French Henchmen – Watson works with Mycroft Holmes and his agents to foil Professor Moriarty’s gang, after Holmes’s ‘death’ at the Reichenbach Falls.
The Four Calling Birds – An American Men’s Quartet, on a visit to London, seek the detective’s help to prove their innocence of a murder.
The Five Gold Rings – Holmes and Watson seek the stolen gift of Olympic Rings from King Edward to the King of Belgium.
The Six Geese at a Gander – Holmes must stop an assassination attempt at a Christmas Eve dinner where British nobility are the primary guests, but the target is unknown.
The answers to these questions and more lie within. Sit back and enjoy this second volume of Sherlock Holmes: Further Adventures for the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Review
Mad (Mad About Books) Wilson Recommended and rated this book
Given a choice between a collection of short stories and a single longer work, I will almost always choose the novel or novella. Except in rare cases, short stories are like a piece of chocolate—enjoyed for the moment but soon forgotten. For this reason, I find it necessary to note the essence of each tale as I read it. I have taken to reading Christmas-related books and stories in December to put myself in the spirit of the season. However, the tales I choose are not the usual sappy Hallmark Movie type since what I normally read is speculative or crime-related.
This year, I have been reading some of the many books written by the Sherlock Holmes cottage industry of writers. Many of them take the Great Detective and put him in situations that either add to the canon or veer off on another path altogether. I find that most succeed in broadening the scope of this beloved character.
The Partridge in a Pearl Tree — A fabulous ruby shaped like a bird. Precious pearls on a golden tree set upon a golden crown. Theft and deception. Holmes and Watson must follow the clues — one ruby partridge.
The Two Turtledoves — It is 1883, and Holmes and Watson are engaged by one Sir William Roise, whose title stems from his bravery in Afghanistan. An oil painting depicting “two half-naked little girls, engaged in an open-mouth kiss.” Given the Victorian setting, I was surprised that no more was said about an image that would certainly be classified as kiddy porn today — two lovey-dovey sisters.
The Three French Henchmen — Set during The Great Hiatus, the characters tasked with solving the crime are Mycroft Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Inspector Lestrade. Mary Watson, the good doctor’s wife, also plays a significant part. Who is behind the crimes? Perhaps Moriarty’s henchmen out for revenge. Perhaps not — three French men.
The Four Calling Birds — The J-Birds, an American men’s quartet, are performing in London, consisting of Jonas and Jason Hawk, John Crowe, and Jack Finch. Holmes and Watson have been summoned by the American Minister, Robert Todd Lincoln, to the American Legation. (Today, he would be the Ambassador summoning them to the American Embassy.) There is a charge of murder against three of the young men, which caused them to seek refuge at the American Legation. Holmes, with the help of Watson and Mary Watson, must untangle disparate testimony from the wife of the deceased and the accused — four J-Birds singing.
The Five Gold Rings — The gold rings in this story are to be a gift to King Albert I of Belgium from England’s King Edward, for the reinstated Olympic Games of 1920. Dr. Watson is on his way to visit Holmes at his cottage in Sussex, where he is retired and keeping bees — five golden rings.
Six Geese at a Gander — ‘Tis the season to have dinner parties, and what would a Victorian dinner party be without a fatted goose? Or, in this case, six fatted geese? The caretaker of the geese at Kew Palace beseeches Holmes for help figuring out why the six geese he has been feeding have been swapped for six different geese. How does he know they are not his geese? By the pattern of the gray feathers on their backs. Truly a Christmas conundrum for Holmes and Watson — six geese a slaying.
December brings cold weather and snow to the British Isles. Winter weather and holiday merriment will not stay Sherlock Holmes from tackling a case that interests him. Fans of the Great Detective will want to savor these stories as they are reminded of the lively tune The Twelve Days of Christmas and each day’s gift cleverly woven into Dr. Watson’s recounting.
