Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823
EAN num: 9780140296440
ISBN number: 0140296441
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 336
Printing Date: January 01, 2001
Publishing house: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Release Date: January 02, 2001
Sale Popularity Level: 654594
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
When a cunning villain sets out to destroy the Great Northern railway, Holmes comes face-to-face will all manner of frontier characters, including two-fisted railroad men, rough-and-tumble lumberjacks, and a one-eyed teamster. He also becomes especially attentive to one beautiful woman's (and suspect's) charms. But charm gives way to terror when Holmes finds himself facing a vile arsonist known as the Red Demon on a lonely bridge in a circle of death. Never, says Watson, was Holmes more magnificent than at that moment.
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Rated by buyers -
Ever since Sherlock Holmes came into the public domain, writers of all kinds have tried to recreate the vintage Holmes-Watson fare against the backdrop of gaslit London, an activity that is too profoundly oxymoronic. But Larry Millett has succeded in avoiding this trap by sticking to certain principles, which are:
1. His credentials regarding writing about Minnesota in the 1890-s are strong, to extract maximum leverage from this he has placed his yarn in Minnesota, thereby dispensing with the problematic issue of setting up another adventure in Watson's London.
2. Although his Sherlock Holmes is somewhat different from the 'wisest man' Conan Doyle had envisaged, he is not so different as to be declared an imposter by all (he may be considered to be behaving somewhat oddly, and that also in another country).
3. It is an established fact that no matter how many experiments are conducted, John H. Watson is-was-will remain the best narrator of any adventure concerning Sherlock Holmes; this has been scrupulously followed by Millett, and his language, although not quite Watsonian, has remained English enough.
But of course there are the usual things that happen to be the bane of all Sherlockian pastiches, e.g. an over-fondness on part of the author to 'encash' Sherlock Holmes' inability to decipher women, or to go in for mind-blowing actions that would had never arisen had the authentic Holmes been present, or rather unbelievably(completely unacceptable as well) Holmes putting Watson;s life at risk just to check something out.
However, all things said and done, this is a well-researched and readable pastiche that should be enjoyed by all fans and friends of Sherlock Holmes, not only for the sake of a good adventure, but also to imagine how the master would have fared in other countries as well.
Rated by buyers -
I thought that this author really caught the essance of Doyle's writing style The phrasing and plot were very similar, and in true Holmes fashion, it hits you with the surprising twist at the end you never saw coming! I give thumbs up to this author- Good job!
Rated by buyers 
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First read Arthur Conan Doyle. There are surpisingly few stories. If you like Conan Doyle's Watson and Holmes, try Larry Millett's transportation of them to Minnesota! He has the 'voice' down pat. There are a number of modern writers who have extended Watson's stories of Holmes' adventures and Millett is my favorite.
Rated by buyers 
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This series started out well, with Holmes and Watson solving adventures in the USA (Minnesota, to be exact), but now has become nothing but an excuse for Millett to promote his own detective, Shadwell Rafferty, using Holmes & Watson as the drawing cards. I was very disappointed in this book, and probably won't read another of his.
Rated by buyers 
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Millettt's pastiche of Sherlock Holmes, as a lost mystery written by Watson, has at its core the Hinckley, Minn. fire of 1894. Holmes is asked to come to the US by Mr. Hill to find the Red Demon who is threatening to destroy the Great Northern Railway. On the way to America, Holmes studies up on the railroad and logging industries. Holmes and Watson enter Hinckley as reporters for the London Times writing about America and life in a logging town. There are a series of adventures as they go about looking for clues and end up on the train running in reverse trying to save as many people as possible from the fire crossing the Kettle bridge minutes before it collapses.
It's not the most enthralling of Holmes mysteries but since it's based on a historical incident and is highly footnoted it's an interesting look at the past in a readable format. Since no one knows what really started the fires this is as good a reason as any. However, Holmes is often just not Holmes-like. He insists they assume pseudonyms and then stands about in hallways and at meals calling Watson by name rather than using the assumed one. Such behavior just didn't ring true for Holmes. It's a decent mystery just not a great Sherlock Holmes one, but definitely worth your time.
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