Stephen E. Pierce

Sherlock Holmes and the Story for which the World is Not Yet Prepared (2002)
Story Type: Pastiche (written in third person)
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Mycroft Holmes; The Giant Rat of Sumatra; Professor Moriarty; Colonel Moran
Historical Characters: Admiral John Fisher; Lord Salisbury (Referred to only as "Prime Minister"); Mata Hari (Aielko Zijlker; Pierre Curie)
Other Characters: Batak Trader; Mooncussers (Isaac; Jerry; Mike); Lemmuel Aire; Martin Aire; Captain & Crew of the Matilda Briggs; Villagers; Madeligne Aire; Merchant at Station; Vicar; Hack Driver; Marine Guard; Downing Street Stewards; The Foreign Secretary; The Home Secretary; Forrest Hardy; Astra Moriarty; Clair Ann Passengers; Lucas Chambers; Adun; Ponikum; Chambers' Servants; Rebecca Chambers; Sir Humphrey Applegate; Hans Kroger; Joseph Nienhuey; Bataks; Batak Porters; Sabar; Francois Montsierre; Montsierre's Driver; Andre Mulsonne; Kahlid; Suroto; Donald Verbeek; Captain Robert A. McCarthy; Malay Seaman; Ramli; Boys; Coach Driver; Dining Room Servant; Sumatrans; Willis Barnaby; Peter Verulst; Abdul The Arab; Abdul's Servant; Tahi; The Raja; The Princess; Risma; Batak Guards; Batak Men; Hogar; Paima; Musicians; Lab assistants; Astra's Steward; Chinese Housekeeper; Doctors; Bakir; Morris Wilson; Naval officer; Mrs. wilson; Astra's Pirates; Armageddon Crew; Captain Douglas Avery; Midshipman Stafford; Mr. Vaughn; Captain William Grant; Datuk; Ulilga; Mr. Strouthers; Dr. McDonald; Harry; Algol Crew; Boyle; Captain Browning; Gravediggers
Date: 1889-1894
Locations: The Lizard, Cornwall; The Matilda Briggs; A Cornish Village; A Cornish Beach; Downing Street; The Royal Oak Room; The Clair Ann; Sumatra; Belawan; Medan; Astra's House; Chambers's House; A Carriage; Nienhuys' Plantation; Brastagi; The Karo Highlands; The Rat Temple; Astra's Lab; Pierre Curie's Lab; A Cemetery; Singapore Harbour; The Rasa Sayang; Harrisons & Crossfield Guest House; Barnaby's Tobacco Shop; A Batak Village; The Raja's House; HMS Armageddon; The Algol; The Diogenes Club
Story: In 1894 a group of Cornish wreckers watch the Matilda Briggs smash onto rocks off The Lizard. Boarding the wreck they discover that the crew are all dead, their bodies burned. The leader of the group rapidly falls ill, and a stranger comes to the village and takes away a box found on the ship. Three years earlier Mycroft arranges the death of Moriarty and the assumed death of his brother, who will travel to Sumatra to investigate the behaviour of Moriarty's daughter, Astra, sent as an agent of the government to investigate the possibilities of oil being located there. In 1889 Astra arrives in Sumatra, and is taken into the Karo Highlands, where she visits a temple which has deposits of pitchblende, and which is inhabited by rats three or four times larger than the norm. After learning of the possibilities inherent in the radium she has been working on, Astra arranges the death of Hans Kroger. Holmes journeys to Medan, where he takes on the duties of her assistant. On an expedition to mine the last of the pitchblende from the temple Holmes clears his assistant, Ramli, of the murder of a Batak princess. Returning to Medan he finds that Astra & her staff have all become ill. Holmes assists Astra in developing an infernal machine, but she learns his true identity and imprisons him before he can stop her exploding the device.

Rohase Piercy

"A Discreet Investigation" (1988)
Included in: My Dearest Holmes (Rohase Piercy)
Story Type: Pastiche
Untold Case: Mrs Cecil Forrester's Little Domestic Complication
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr Watson; Mrs Hudson; (Mrs Cecil Forrester; Cecil Forrester)
Historical Characters: (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Other Characters: Anne D'Arcy; Hansom Driver; Hetty; John Chapman; Maurice Kirkpatrick; Kirkpatrick's Servant; Maria Kirkpatrick; Carstairs' Butler; Footman; Lord Robert Carstairs; Kettner's Clientele; (Mrs Kirkpatrick; Manservant; Cook; Mr Richardson; Young Member of Her Majesty's Government; Edward Carstairs; Lady Sylvia Carstairs; The Queen Bee; Charles Courtney)
Date: January, 1887
Locations: 221B, Baker Street; Camberwell; Camberwell Grove; Kensington; Kensington Church Street; Cavendish Square; Kettner's
Story: Watson is woken from a drunken slumber by Holmes, who has, himself, spent the past few days in bed. He has been engaged by D'Arcy to find her missing companion, who has disappeared after receiving a telegram from her mother, who D'Arcy had always believed to have been dead. Watson recognises the handwriting on an envelope received by Kirkpatrick, but can't place it. She had received many similar envelopes over several years, but always destroyed them and their contents. Holmes sends Watson with her to search her companion's desk, where she has already found photos, apparently of Maria's estranged brother. As they travel to Camberwell, she reveals that she had seen Watson the previous evening in company with a young M.P., and he tells her of his unrequited feelings for Holmes. When they arrive they learn that a man has been searching through Maria's desk. Watson recognises the man from the photos in the desk, and realises his relationship to Maria. Holmes deduces that there is blackmail at the heart of the case. They call on Kirkpatrick, and meet his mother, from discussion with whom, Holmes deduces that Maurice's father is Lord Robert Carstairs, on whom they make their next call. The blackmailer, known as the Queen Bee, has got hold of letters written to Carstairs friend, Courtney, brother of Mrs Cecil Forrester, mentioning his son. Holmes realises that the blackmailer is an adventuress he has been aware of for some time, but not yet crossed paths with. Watson visits D'Arcy and pours his heart out, she reminds him of Section 11, and advises him to find a wife, to put himself above suspicion. He is shocked when the Queen Bee's identity is finally made clear. Holmes calls on her and arranges the return of the incriminating letters. Watson announces his decision to leave Baker Street.

"The Final Problem" (1988)
Included in: My Dearest Holmes (Rohase Piercy)
Story Type: Canonical Revisioning
Canonical Characters: Dr Watson; Mary Morstan; Watson's Maid; Sherlock Holmes; Gemmi Pass Guide; Peter Steiler; Professor Moriarty; Swiss Boy; Mrs Hudson; Mycroft Holmes; Mrs Cecil (Isobel) Forrester; (Anstruther; Athelney Jones; Jack Douglas; Inspector Alec MacDonald; Rough with a Bludgeon; The Moriarty Gang; English Lady; Inspector Patterson; Colonel James Moriarty; Irene Adler; Grandmother Vernet; King of Scandinavia; Colonel Moran; Oscar Meunier; Dr Verner)
Historical Characters: Arthur Conan Doyle; Lord Alfred Douglas
Other Characters: Railway Guard; Strasbourg Hotel Diners; Swiss Police; Swiss Physician; Moriarty Gang Trial Crowd; Anne D'Arcy; Valentine Forrester; Café Royal Patrons; Gare du Nord Urchin; Paris Cab Driver; Deux Mondes Footman; Desk Clerks; Parisian Passers-by; Hotel Waiters
(Soldier; Ralph Spencer; Watson's Housekeeper
Date: 23rd April, 1891 - May, 1892
Locations: Watson's Paddington Practice; Railway Station; Canterbury; Newhaven; Dieppe; Brussels; Strasbourg; Hotel; Switzerland; Hotel; Gemmi Pass; Meiringen; Englischer Hof; Reichenbach Falls; Courtroom; 221B, Baker Street; Hastings; Mrs Forrester's House; Café Royal; The Continental Express; Paris; Gare du Nord; Hôtel des Deux Mondes; Boulevard St Michel; Restaurant; Banks of the Seine; Café
Story: Holmes is in France, and Mary, taking a short leave from her marriage of convenience to Watson, is off to visit Mrs Cecil Forrester in Hastings. After seeing Mary off at the station, Watson is surprised to find Holmes on his doorstep. He tells Watson of his fear of air-guns, the attempts on his life, and his plan to leave over the back wall, and of Moriarty, reminding him of his involvement in the Vermissa Valley business. Then he asks Watson to join him for a week on the Continent, to escape further attempts that he believes will be made not on his life, but on Watson's reputation. In Strasbourg they learn that Moriarty has escaped the police, and will almost certainly be on their trail. Holmes tries to persuade Watson to return to England, but they travel on to Meiringen, but not without jealousies being vented en route, and a close encounter with a faling rock in the Gemmi Pass. In Meiringen, Steiler casts aspersions on their relationship. They visit the Reichenbach Falls, but Watson is lured away, and on his return finds only a note from Holmes, his Alpine-stock and cigarette case.

Watson returns to London, attends some sessions of the Moriarty Gang trial, and meets with Mycroft at 221B. Mycroft tells him that Holmes instructions were to keep the rooms preserved as they are. He also advises to Watson that he may write up the Reichebach affair, but should not publish accounts of any other of Holmes's cases. Shortly thereafter, Watson is laid up with brain fever, and sent to Mrs Forrester's home in Hastings to recuperate. After his recovery, Doyle arranges the publication of The Final Problem. Watson gives up his old pleasures and commits himself to a life of retirement. Masry passes away. Mycroft gives Watson Holmes's watch and chain. Watson is sure that Holmes was wearing it when they left Meiringen, and wonders how Mycroft has come by it. It comes with a note giving the address of an hotel in Paris, and it is there that Watson travels to find that he is expected by Monsieur Sigerson. It is of course Holmes, who tells him of events at Reichenbach and since, and that Spencer and Moran are on his trail.

Daniel Pinkwater

The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death (1982)
Included in: 5 Novels (Daniel Pinkwater) and as a novel in its own right
Story Type: Children's Parody
Detectives: Osgood Sigerson & Dr Ormond Sacker
Other Characters: Walter Galt; Winston Bongo; Theobald Galt; Mildred Galt; Bus Passengers; Captain Shep Nesterman; Dharmawati; Snark Audience; Bus Driver; Park Speakers; Park Crowd; Hot Dog Man; Miss Sweet; Bentley Saunders Harrison Matthews / Rat; Uncle Flipping Hades Terwilliger; Heinz; Saunders Harrison Matthews II; Minna Terwilliger Matthews; Aunt Terwilliger; Truck Drivers; Workers; Blind Saxophonist; Screever; Bignose; Gypsies; Bignose's Cashier; Beanbender's Customers; Accordion Player; Ben Beanbender; Grand Shapoo of the Church of the Holy Home Run; Skinny Painter; Madame Zabonga; Paco; Mr Gutzman; The Mighty Gorilla; Roosman Brothers' Watchman; Adolph; Wallace Nussbaum; (Mrs MacMillan; Elevator Man; Winston's Sister; James Blueberry; Scallion; Rat's Grandfather; Mrs Bongo; Mr Bongo; Dr Pierre Ramakrishna; Fat Schneiderman; Mr Anolis; Shandar Eucalyptus; Howard; The Horrible Fly; Karl)
Date: April
Locations: Baconburg; Genghis Khan High School; Winston's Apartment Building; Walter's Apartment Building; Snark Theater; Snark Street Bus; Snark Street; Blueberry Park; Ed & Fred's Hot Dog Stand; Old Town; Rat's House; Hasty Tasty Café; Lower North Aufzoo Street; Bignose's Cafeteria; Tintown; Scrap Ankle Road; Beanbender's Beer Garden; Roosman Brothers Storage Warehouse; Sausage Center Building; Movie Theater
Story: Bored with life at Genghis Khan High School, Winston Bongo and Walter Galt take to "snarking out" - sneaking out to late night movie double features at the Snark movie theater, in a hat. When their bus breaks down on the way home they see a political speaker in the park, eat strange hotdogs and stumble on a fascinating new neighbourhood. The following day Winston goes down with German measles and advises Walter to do some solo snarking. He decides that he will make a speech in the park, after which he meets a girl called Rat, who, he discovers, also snarks. She takes him and Winston home to experience her sound system, and meet her eccentric family. They have heard of Walter's father and his passion for avocados.

Uncle Flipping disappears and they decide to look for him at the Snark Theater the following night, not finding him they retire to a café, where they see the great detective Osgood Sigerson, and his assistant Dr. Ormond Sacker, who are on the trail of master villain Wallace Nussbaum, who has been after Uncle Flipping ever since his expedition to research growing conditions for avocados in Iceland. Rat takes them to Lower North Aufzoo Street - the city beneath the city - and out to Tintown where they meet even more eccentric characters, and hear a singing chicken. They receive a mysterious summons, face a hooded figure and are recruited by Sigerson - who also feeds them avocado pie - to rescue Uncle Flipping from Nussbaum. First stop is a warehouse where they discover a giant avocado computer. The following day Rat's butler and Sacker both disappear, and they confront Nussbaum and his kidnapped orangutan in the movie theatre at the Sausage Center Building.

Captain Daniel M. Pinkwater

"Journal of a Ghurka Physician" (1994)
Included in: The Game Is Afoot (Marvin Kaye)
Story Type: Parody
Detectives: Holmbjorn Sigerson & Pangdatsang Gompa, B.Sc.
Other Characters: Gompa's Father; Surkhang Rampa; Singh Nain; British officers; Soldiers; Brigands; Lopseng; Dzasa; Mrs. Mookerjee; Sitar Instructor
Date: Between 1890 & 1894
Locations: Tibet; Chagpori School of Medicine; Lhasa; Nepal; Kathmandu; India; Darjeeling; The Queen's Hotel; A Lamasery; Dhamma Street
Story: Injured in a battle with brigands, from which he is rescued by his Sherpa orderly, Lopseng, Gompa is invalided out of the Royal Ghurka Regiment. He makes his way to Darjeeling, where on the verandah of the Queen's Hotel he encounters an old friend, Dzasa, who introduces him to the European Holmbjorn Sigerson. As the two are both looking for rooms, they end up sharing accomodation rented from Mrs. Mookerjee in Dhamma Street. Every day, Sigerson gives a detailed account of Gompa's activities, which Gompa tries, out of politeness not to comment on, until Sigerson finally becomes enraged by his attitude.

Daniel & Jill Pinkwater

The Werewolf Club Meets Oliver Twit (2002)
Story Type: Children's Parody
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson
Fictional Characters: Larry Talbot
Historical Characters: Queen Victoria
Other Characters: Billy Furball; Lucy Fang; Henry Count Dorkula; Ralf Alfa; Carla Lola Carolina; Norman Gnormal; Lord William Talbot; Simms; Lord William's Cook; Jack the Schlepper; Policemen; Queen's Flunkeys; Mrs. Talbot; Lord William's Driver
Date: 2001 & 1890
Locations: Honest Tom's Tibetan-American Restaurant; Mr. Talbot's House; A Time Machine; A London Rooftop; A London Street; Lord William's House; Lord William's Carriage; 221B, Baker Street; The Tower of London; Buckingham Palace
Story: The Watson Elementary School Werewolf Club travel back in time to London, 1890, in their teacher, Mr. Talbot's inflatable time machine. They meet the pickpocket, Oliver Twit, and track down Talbot's Great-Great-Uncle, Sir William Talbot. When they realise that they cannot buy the batteries they need to return home, Twit suggests they seek the help of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes agrees to help them if they assist him in preventing the notorious Jack the Schlepper from stealing the Crown Jewels. After they have captured the Schlepper and been thanked by the Queen, Mr. Talbot's mother arrives to help them get home, but they have forgotten where they left the Time Machine. Twit helps them find it and, with Mrs. Talbot's help, they return home.

H. Beam Piper & John J. McGuire

"The Return" (1953)
Included in: The Science-Fictional Sherlock Holmes (Robert C. Peterson)
Story Type: Science Fiction Homage
Main Characters: "Monty" Altamont & Jim Loudons
Other Characters: Murray Hughes; Verner Hughes; Hector Hughes; The Scowrers; Alex Barrett; Reader Stamford Rawson; Tenant Mycroft Jones; The Irregulars; Sholto Jiminez; Birdy Edwards; Atherton; Stanley Markovitch; Irene Klein; Mordecai Ricci; Jefferson Burns; Murdo Olsen; Villagers
Date: circa 2193
Locations: A Helicopter; The Toon; Pittsburgh; The Carnegie Library
Story: After a nuclear holocaust has ravaged the planet, Altamont & Loudons are flying in a helicopter over the former United States, looking for signs of civilisation. In the settlement known as the Toon, which is suffering attacks from the Scowrers, Murray & his father, Verner witness the approaching helicopter and alert the village. Altamont & Loudons are welcomed to the village, and, after explaining their mission to unite all holocaust survivors, shown its manufactories and resources, and Altamont gives the villagers a ride in the helicopter. They learn that the Toon are the descendants of a military platoon, that they worship a god known as "the slain and risen one" in a religion based on logic derived from "The Books". They suspect that the villagers believe Altamont to be the risen one returned. The villagers believe that he has come as a test. They carry out the main purpose of their expedition - to locate and open a vault at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, where microfilm versions of books have been stored, but are attacked by the cannibalistic Scowrers. Back in the Toon, Loudons reveals that he has finally been shown "The Books" and now understands the roots of the societal structure of the Toon.

David Pirie

The Dark Water (2002)
Story Type: Pseudo-Pastiche / Revisioning
Historical Characters: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Neill Cream; Joseph Bell
Other Characters: Two Village Men; Lucas Weltham; Policeman; Stephen Middleton; Mrs. Herne; John Herne; Stable Boy; York Porter; Mother & Child; Edinburgh University Porter; Sir Henry Carlisle; Rose; Locksmith; Salisbury Cabby; Policemen; Inspector Randall; Mr. Hodder; Inspector Ian Yates; Peggy; Cabman; Farmer; Morland's Maid; Sally Morland; Sally's Sister; Sally's Children; Post Office Clerk; Hotel Waiters; Burn; Harbour Inn Clientele; Maid; Boy; Ship Inn Maid; Brooks; Dr. James Bulweather; Inspector Derry Langton; Mrs. Harvey; Angus Hare; Leonora Marner; Monk's Manservant; Sir Walter Monk; Colin Harding; Tommy Norman; Edward Norman; Charlotte Jefford; Balneil; Cab Driver; Ellie Barnes; Constable John Wallace; Monk's Servants; Roger Cornelius; Westleton Nurses; Fisherman; Laing; Hepton; Leonora Marner's Sister; Two Village Women; Monk's Guests; Danny Morton; Constable; Oliver Jefford; Bank Officials; Fisherman; Fisherman's Wife; (Mr. Andrews; Mary Goddard; George Crome; The "Wylde Hunt"; Matthew Snell; William Bowker; Stage Manager; Morton's Cab Driver)
Date: December, 1883 / October, 1898 (Epilogue)
Locations: Wiltshire; Lucas's Cottage; Middleton's House; The Quarter Moon Inn; Salisbury; York; A Train; Edinburgh; Waverley Station; Edinburgh University; Princes Street; Carlisle's House; Rosebank Cemetery; Bell's Rooms; Hotel; Train; Northampton; Hotel; London; Esher Street; Morland's House; Hotel; Charing Cross; Post Office; The Strand; Train; Southwold; The Harbour Inn; Dunwich; The Ship Inn / The Barn Arms; Churchyard; The Witch's Pool; The Glebe; Bulweather's House; Greyfriars House; Westleton House; Marner's House; Harding's Cottage; Norman's House; The Beach; Lowestoft; Southwold Bank
Story: Having been drugged by Cream, Doyle awakens in a dark room in a cottage in Wiltshire. Escaping, he finds the cottage owner's body, and is pursued by the local police, mistaken for the murderer. With the help of a local lawyer he makes his way to Edinburgh to find Bell, but finds himself in the home of Sir Henry Carlisle, who appears to believe that Doyle has some sort of guilty secret. When Bell returns he takes Doyle back to Wiltshire. In the inn near the cottage they find themselves once again involved in Cream's schemes, and learn of another of his victims. They return to London, where Doyle makes efforts to ensure his former landlords, the Morlands' safety. From London they trace Cream to Dunwich, and Bell gives Doyle items to read on the Witch of Dunwich and the disappearance of a local writer, Jefford. Together with Langton, a local police officer, they examine the bloodstains found in Jenner's house. Interviewing the locals they learn of a howling man seen in the woods and a stranger at the Witch's Pool. A dead man is found in the woods, but a post mortem reveals that his death was impossible. After visiting an asylum and hearing that the dead man may be still alive, the body of a pig is found and more murders take place. After the discovery of a runic code Bell tries his hand at dowsing. Events culminate in Cream's reappearance and his announcement of Bell's death.

The Night Calls (2002)
Story Type: Pseudo-Pastiche / Revisioning
Historical Characters: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; Louise Hawkins Doyle; Joseph Bell; Mary Doyle; Innes Doyle; Charles Doyle; Dr. Waller; Neill Cream
Other Characters: Samuel; Stallholder; Prostitutes; Amputation Patient; Students; Macfarlane; Colin Stark; Gordon Crawford; Crawford's Gang; Female Students; Sophia; Elsbeth Scott; Hansom Driver; Davey; Davey's Grandmother; Policemen; Inspector Beecher; Professor Neil Latimer; Waverley Hotel Owner; Hotel Owner's Daughter; Dancers; Katherine Morrison; Katherine's Friend; Katherine's Brother; Waiter; Chambermaid; Sir Henry Carlisle; Dr. Gillespie; Lady Sarah Carlisle; Fullback; Traders; Doctor; Street Urchins; Old Detective; Robber; Porter; Madame Rose's Housemaid; French Prostitute; Crowd; Beggar With A Twisted Lip; Summers; Madame Rose; Night-Clerk; Labman; Lettie Maitland; Short-Sighted Night-Clerk; University Porters; Watt; Rugby Players; Cullingworth; Amelia; Drummond; Kitchen Maid; Miss Maitland's Sister; Cab Driver; Gordon Crawford, sr.; Crawford's Household; Housekeeper; Ellie Carswell; Dunbar Porters; Fly Driver; Family On Beach; Cab Driver; Marie; Madame Rose's Doorkeeper; Agnes Walsh; Mrs. Henderson; Kate; Kate's Friends; Carlisle's Footman; Footmen; Gravediggers; Summers; Dr. Gillespie; Dr. Small; Martin Morland; Sally Morland; Lucy Morland; William Morland; Morland's Cook; Doorman; Old Man With Crutch; Men In Shad Thames; Opium Den Woman; Foreign Seaman; Opium Den Customer; Opium Den Owner; Lord Lovat Clientele; Charles Hanbury; Dr. Baird; Mortuary Clerk; Inspector Miller; Lowther's Neighbours; Children; Loungers; Butcher; Elsie Farr; Women In House; Jenny Galton; Hotel Porter; League Dignitaries; Riverman; Jim; Polytechnic Crowds; Shad Thames Crowds; Shopkeeper; Landlord; Lord Lovat Landlord; Tallowman; Middle-Aged Woman; Hettie; Attacker; Miller's Men; Horse Dealer; Cab Driver; Ben; Macandrews' Maid
Date: 14 October 1898 (Prologue) / 1878-1881 / Late Autumn, 1883
Locations: Doyle's House; Edinburgh; The Doyle Home; Edinburgh University; Bell's Rooms; Lecture Hall; A Hansom; A House of Assignation Near The Docks; Waverley House; Gillespie's office; Police Station; Rutherford's Bar; Jack's Lane; Madame Rose's; A Cab; Seaview; Rugby Field; Carlisle's House; Medical Library; Holy Well House; Hotel; Dunbar; Elsbeth's Cottage; Surgeon's Square; Kate's House; A Graveyard; North Bank Street; Guthrie Street; Cream's Rooms; Victoria Dock; Granton Pier; A Train; The Tay Bridge; Montrose; Fordoun House; London; Esher Street; Madame Tussaud's; Bell's Hotel; Macandrew's House; Shad Thames; Ah Sing's Opium Den; Upper Thames Street; Vauxhall Bridge; A Morgue; Queen Elizabeth Street; Lowther's Rooms; Jones Street; The Strand; Wych Street; A Hansom; Vauxhall Bridge Road; Chapter Street; Grosvenor Road; A Church; The Royal Polytechnic Exhibition; Landell's Wharf; Hanbury's Boatyard; A Public House; The Lord Lovat Public House; Cole Lane; Page Street; Charles Street; Norfolk Street Coffee House
Story: Amid protests from staff & students over the admission of women medical students to Edinburgh University, and problems at home, Doyle teams up once again with Bell, who takes him to a deserted house of assignation. The previous night the police had been called by the women who worked there regarding a man who tried to force them to eat grapes and drink brandy, although tests revealed nothing wrong with these. Another strange assault occurs at a medical ball which Doyle & his friends are attending. Bell believes it to have been the same man. A street musician is also found dead, the police believe it to be a result of drinking, but Doyle knows the man was a virtual abstainer. That night Doyle & his friends Stark & Neill are held up & robbed, they see university patron, Sir Henry Carlisle entering Madame Rose's, a house of ill repute. Several days later Bell takes Doyle to Madame Rose's, where a woman has been attacked while sleeping, but not injured. Searching the house Doyle comes across a man in a dark cloak, pursues him to the street, but loses him. Further searching reveals a room full of blood, but no body. After a pile of coins in the room reminds him of a pile by the dead musician, Doyle begins to suspect Crawford, the leader of the campaign against the women students.

While this has been going on, Doyle has been helping a female student, Elsbeth, sister-in-law of Carlisle, to gain access to the dissection rooms, from which women are still banned. Bell takes Doyle on a consultation to examine Carlisle's wife, who Doyle realises has Syphilis. Elsbeth discovers a pile of coins in her room, placed there while she slept. Later she receives a cardboard box containing two human ears. Crawford is found hanged. Elsbeth is sent away from Edinburgh as a precaution, and Doyle & his friends begin searching for the woman whose clothes were found in the blood-filled room. On one expedition he is called to the room of a prostitute who has been given poison pills by one of her clients, Doyle recognises the pillbox as similar to one shown him by Lady Sarah. Eventually the truth behind Lady Sarah's malady becomes clear, but only brings them closer to apprehending their man through the elimination of another possible suspect. Eventually they catch their man red-handed, but he escapes and flees to America, although not before one final crime aimed directly at Doyle. He continues to taunt them from overseas, and Bell attempts to keep tabs on him through his contacts in the US.

Two years later later, Doyle is working as a locum in London. He sees a poster about a murder which he is convinced is his old adversary's work. He learns that the couple he is staying with, the Morlands, are in debt when the wife asks him to go to an opium den to bring her husband home. Bell takes him to a dead woman's rooms, he sees a card bearing the name of the same benevolent society to which Morland is in debt. A letter from Cream, detailing new crimes, lures him to a house of assignation, and sets in course a search for another woman. Bell & Doyle follow Morland to a meeting of the League and bring an end to its activities. He traces the League's card to a scientific exhibit given by Morland's friend Macandrew, and, attending it with Bell, sees a man he had previously seen at the opium den. Throughout his investigations Doyle hears of a mysterious disembodied head, said to grant eternal life or instant death. Doyle and Bell eventually encounter the head at the opium den, where Bell must face its sting. Taunts continue to arrive from the old adversary, and after bringing the London affair to an end in a subterranean chamber, Doyle encounters him again in an unexpected place.

Zasu Pitts

"Mrs. Hudson Speaks" (1947)
Included in: The Game Is Afoot (Marvin Kaye)
Story Type: Speech by Mrs. Hudson
Canonical Characters: Mrs. Hudson (Martha); Sherlock Holmes; Stanley Hopkins; Mrs. Turner; Wiggins; Dr. Watson; Mary Morstan
Other Characters: Dr. Stamford
Locations: Eastbourne
Story: Mrs. Hudson brings her audience up to date on the present condition of Holmes & Watson, Hopkins' O.B.E., Wiggins's business, the truth about Mrs. Turner, Watson's wives and his bereavement, and denies any relationship with Hudson of the Gloria Scott.

Nick Pollotta

"The Really Final Solution" (1994)
Included in: The Game Is Afoot (Marvin Kaye)
Story Type: Parody
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Dr. Watson; (Inspector Lestrade)
Other Characters: Rupert Jameson
Locations: Hofnagel Mansion
Story: After watching Watson shoot, drown, burn and blow-up Jameson, the mad builder, Holmes wonders if he has found a new opponent worthy of his efforts.

Arthur Porges

"Stately Homes and the Invisible Slasher" (2001)
Included in: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (Feb 2001)
Story Type: Parody
Detectives: Stately Homes (of England) & Sun Wat
Fictional Characters: Tiny Tim Cratchit; (Ebenezer Scrooge)
Other Characters: Scrooge; Mrs. Hutsut; Myalgia Homes
Locations: Homes' Rooms; (Scrooge's Office; The Diogenes Club)
Story: Tiny Tim, now six foot four, twenty-four stone, and a circus performer is accused of the murder of the son of a nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge, who, even more avaricious than the original, he claims has fleeced him out of five thousand pounds. The body has been found in a fifth floor room with no other means of entry, no weapon was found, and Cratchit was in the room at the time of death. Homes learns from his brother Myalgia, at the Diogenes Club, some details of Tiny Tim's background which enable him to solve the mystery.

James Powell

"Death in the Christmas Hour" (1982)
Included in: Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space (Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg & Charles G. Waugh)
Story Type: Homage / Pastiche
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes; Irene Adler
Fictional Characters: Punch & Judy; Little Bo Peep
Historical Characters: Amelia Earhart
Other Characters: Owen Glendower; Austin W. Metcalfe; Allegretta; Jack in the Box; Captain Rataplan; Toy Soldiers; Teddy Bear; Ivy Tinker; Mr. Jacoby; Cat
Date: Christmas
Locations: McTammany's Department Store Window; The Metropolitan Museum of Toys;
Story: On Christmas Eve each year, the toys come alive and celebrate. Last year, during a raid by the alligators, the dollshouse mistress, Lady Gwendolyn, was eaten. This year Judy is discovered dead with an icepick through her heart. Both women had helped Jack in the Box conceal the fact that he was unable to open his box himself, a fact about which he was deeply ashamed. The Sherlock Holmes doll breaks off his reunion with the Irene Adler doll, the new mistress of the dollshouse, to discover that the two deaths are related. Holmes pursues the murderer up the Christmas tree, but it is the Amelia Earhart Christmas angel that saves the day.

Bill Pronzini

"The Bughouse Caper" (2004)
Included in: Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years (Michael Kurland)
Story Type: Homage
Canonical Characters: Sherlock Holmes
Fictional Characters: John Quincannon; Sabina Carpenter
Other Characters: Dogwalker; Dodger Brown; Elmer (or Samuel) Truesdale; Mrs Truesdale; Dr Caleb Axminster; Margaret Axminster; Andrew Costain; Penelope Costain; Messenger; Foyles's Customers; Porters; Galway; Ezra Bluefield; Ben Joyce; Journalists; Captain Kleinhoffer; Sergeant Mahoney; Luther Duff; Wharf Men; Sailor; Salty Jim O'Bannon; Youth; Fiddle Dee Dee Doorwoman; Lettie Carew; Ming Toy; Desk Sergeant; Hack Driver; Axminster's Housekeeper; Jackson Pollard
(Judge Adam Winthrop)
Date: 1894
Locations: San Francisco; Russian Hill; The Truesdale Residence; The Axminster Residence; Quincannon & Carpenter Office; Jack Foyles's Wine Dump; The Barbary Coasty; Lodging House; The Embarcadero; Foghorn Annie's; Pacific Avenue / Terrific Street; Scarlet Lady Saloon; Geary Street; Costain's Offices; Hoolihan's Saloon; The Costain Residence; McAllister Street; Duff's Curio Shop; Oakland City Wharf; Davis Wharf; The Oyster Catcher; Uptown Tenderloin; O'Farrell Street; Fiddle Dee Dee; City Prison; The Montgomery Block; Great Western Insurance Offices; The Cobweb Palace
Story: On stakeout outside banker Truesdale's house, Quincannon hears a violin being played. He fails to capture a burglar, instead finding himself captured by Holmes. Quincannon recognises the burglar as Dodger Brown and sets out the next day to track him down. Holmes offers his assistance and Quincannon sets him up on surveillance on another potential victim's house. Their stakeout is interrupted by a shooting and they discover a body in a locked room in a locked house, but with no sign of the murderer. His eventual capture of the thief leaves the murder unexplained. Quincannon gathers the principals together to explain his theories, but in the end is trumped by Holmes.

Steve Punt & Hugh Dennis

"The Adventure of 221C by Sir Arthur Conan Doily" (1993)
Included in: The Punt & Dennis Instant Library (Steve Punt & Hugh Dennis)
Story Type: Parody
Canonical Characters: Dr. Watson; Sherlock Holmes; Mrs Hudson
Other Characters: Marilyn Worstenholme; Babette's Visitor; Minister of the Crown
Date: Winter 1893
Locations: 221B, Baker Street
Story: A young woman moves into 221C Baker Street, that night Holmes and Watson hear cries of pain from the rooms above. Holmes becomes interested in rumours reported in the press about a Minister of the Crown, who later arrives in Baker Street, but passes Holmes's door. More strange noises are heard from upstairs and Holmes and Watson rush to intervene.

Shirley Purves

"The Heavenly Taxi" (1998)
Included in: Serpentine Muse-ings - Volume One (Susan Z. Diamond & Marilynne McKay)
Story Type: Homage
Canonical Characters: Dr. Watson; Sherlock Holmes
Other Characters: Cab Driver; Traffic Cop
Date: Late March
Locations: Sydney, Australia; Sydney Opera House
Story: An elderly Watson takes a landau ride to Sydney Opera House to attend a Wagnerian opera. Outside he has an unexpected encounter.