Sherlock Holmes and the King's Evil

February 23, 2009
While not up to the high standard of Sherlock Holmes and the Voice from the Crypt
(2002), Thomas's fourth pastiche collection conveys the tone and spirit of Conan Doyle's original tales with nary a false note. In the clever “The Case of the Tell-Tale Hands,” an aristocrat hires Holmes to look into his cousin's eccentric behavior, which includes wearing gloves at odd times. A school teacher who fears her brothers, both lighthouse keepers, have met with foul play retains Dr. Watson as the investigator in the richly atmospheric title story. Less successful are two tales rooted in history: “The Case of Peter the Painter,” in which Holmes battles anarchists in London alongside Winston Churchill in 1911, and “The Case of the Zimmermann Telegram,” in which the sleuth serves as director of Admiralty Signals Intelligence during WWI. This volume reinforces Thomas's place in the front rank of Doyle imitators.