Books : The Black Dove: A Holmes on the Range Mystery (Holmes on the Range Mysteries)

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Author name: Steve Hockensmith

 : The Black Dove: A Holmes on the Range Mystery (Holmes on the Range Mysteries)
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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN num: 9780312347826
ISBN number: 0312347820
Label: St. Martin's Minotaur
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: February 19, 2008
Publishing house: St. Martin's Minotaur
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 346865
Studio: St. Martin's Minotaur




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Product Description:
In the summer of 1893, Gustav “Old Red” Amlingmeyer and his brother Otto (a.k.a. “Big Red”) find themselves down and out in San Francisco. Though cowpokes by training, the brothers are devotees of the late, great Sherlock Holmes and his trademark method of “deducifying.” But when they set out to land jobs as professional detectives, they land themselves in hot water, instead.



     First their friend Dr. Chan mysteriously takes a potshot at them, fatally wounding Big Red’s new hat. Then a secretive young woman from their past pops up and convinces them that Chan’s in trouble -- and they’re just the men to get him out of it. Unfortunately, they’re too late: By the time they track Chan down again, he’s dead. The police call it a suicide. Old Red calls that a lie. When he and his brother set out to prove it, they put themselves on a collision course with shady S.F.P.D. cops, brutal Barbary Coast hoodlums and the deadly Chinatown tongs.

     Before long, all sides are in a race to uncover the secret that could rock the city. And their only clue to what’s actually going on is the enigmatic, exotic and extremely difficult to find “Black Dove.”




Customer Reviews
User popularity level:  out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - The Amlingmeyer's try their detecting skills in Chinatown
Steve Hockensmith has managed to give us a truly American Sherlock Holmes in Gustav Amlingmeyer, an illiterate cowboy with a mind as sharp as any academic or literary genius. Gustav notices what goes on around him and while he may not say much, what he does say is usually to the point. Gustav's younger brother, Otto Amlingmeyer, on the other hand has had schooling and plays Watson to Gustav's Holmes. In fact, they're waiting in San Francisco to see if Otto's book of their previous adventure finds a publisher, giving them money to move on. Meanwhile, Gustav is finding living in a city wears on him a bit. Otto thinks that Gustav is pining for Diana Corvus, a detective working for the railroad who'd assisted them on their last case. So, it's Otto who suggests that Gustav hone his skills in city detecting by proposing a bet...one that Gustav reluctantly agrees to. Otto is determined to win his bet and since he gets to pick the place for the contest, he leads Gustav into the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown -- a place that adds an additional layer of foreignness and discomfort to Gustav who thrives on the open plains of cattle ranches.

It's this bet that propels the brothers into a case where a false move could cost them their lives. In the course of the investigation we learn more about the brothers as they lead us through an 1893 San Francisco: the wild Barbary Coast, Chinatown, Chinese Tongs, racial tension, corrupt cops and politicians. It may have started with a chance meeting with an old friend, but Gustav can't let go -- he must find the killer and save a young girl -- the game's afoot.

I've been hooked since I read Holmes on the Range. Told from Otto (Big Red) Amlingmeyer's point of view, the narrative is cowboy vernacular, rough but a voice that speaks from the heart -- a reader can't look away because these characters are real people dealing the best they can in a world that's changing out from under them. Perhaps it's the love the brothers have for one another, perhaps it's the side-kick aspect of the stories, whatever it is -- Otto and Gustav are characters that stay with you when you close the covers of the book. Researchers say that mystery readers like to have a world where justice, not necessarily law, triumphs...where the bad guy is punished for his or her crimes. That doesn't always happen in the world Gustav and Otto live in, but nevertheless when you close the book there is a sense of satisfaction -- of a job well done, even when it's not as neat or tidy as one could wish.



Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Old Red & Big Red in San Francisco
THE BLACK DOVE is the third entry in Hockensmith's marvelous Holmes on the Range series, sharing the adventures of two brothers, Gustav (Old Red) and Otto (Big Red) Amlingmeyer. I also had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the very first two entries in the series.

In their newest adventure, the brothers have taken their detective skills to 1893 San Francisco - a den of iniquity that has few rivals in the American West. As they search for the killer of Dr. Chan - a Chinese man they'd known during their short stint working as railroad detectives - the brothers join forces with Diane Corvus. Corvus is a mysterious, sexy woman who also worked for the railroad and can keep both of the brothers guessing and tied in proverbial knots. The case leads them into Chinatown, where hatchet men, whorehouse madams, criminals and even the local police department all seem to have it in for them.

As always, Hockensmith does a phenomenal job with the period details, bringing them to life and making each chapter a pleasurable lesson in the time and the place. The mystery is satisfying, too, never giving too much away, nor keeping critical information from the reader. Like the very first two in the series, I enjoyed THE BLACK DOVE quite a bit.

I did have a few niggling complaints, and these are certainly no reason to pass on buying this book, but I think they're worthy of mention. First, I think that whoever put the cover on this one must not have bothered to look at the very first two. The very first two covers were colorful and artistic. The cover of THE BLACK DOVE is a sepia-toned photo - and the photo bites. This is sincere disservice to the author. Second, I thought the pacing in this book was a little slower than the very first two, and probably could have been tighter. Third, I'm hopeful that the subsequent entry in the series will take the characters back into a more rural, "traditional" western environment. Both of them seemed a bit like fish out of water in a large city, where out on the range, they seemed like naturals.

All that said, THE BLACK DOVE is a fine read and another solid entry in a series that is deserving of a lot of attention and readers. Highly recommended.



Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - For lovers of Sherlock Holmes and westerns!
I know this sounds odd--but if you love Sherlock Holmes and you love westerns--you will appreciate Steve Hockensmith's series about the Amlingmeyer brothers. These are so immaginative and unique. Thoroughly entertaining--there are no words superlative enough for this series.



Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Old Red in Chinatown
Brothers Gustav and Otto Amlingmeyer (Old Red and Big Red respectively) are spending the summer in San Francisco. An accidental encounter with Dr. Chan, a friend from their adventure on the South Pacific railroad, revels he is quite nervous about something. In fact, he shoots at Big Red before realizing who he is. So when Chan turns up dead the subsequent morning, Old Red doesn't buy the suicide pronouncement.

Since Dr. Chan lived in the heart of Chinatown, finding out what really happened to him won't be easy. The residences don't trust white men. Their only clue is "The Black Dove." Will that and Old Red's devotion to Sherlock Holmes be enough to find out what happened to Dr. Chan?

This is the third book in the series, and these characters now feel like old friends (even if I don't appreciate their foul mouths.) Their constant bickering is fun and funny. Although the funniest scene...well, I'll leave that for you to discover. But while the book is funny, it does grow quite serious at times. This isn't light hearted fair but a serious book with some wildly funny parts. And the book wonderfully brings the world of 1893 to life.

The mystery itself is good. It did seem to drag a few times, but once the climax came it was well worth reading.

The only thing I was left wondering is where will the brothers go from here. I can hardly wait to find out.



Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Cool Kansas Cowboys Catch California Killers
This is the third in the series, and clearly the best and most
complicated "mystery" of the three. Mind you, it all made
sense when the strings were pulled together and made a
satisfying whole.

There is less of the Holmesian homage in this book than in the
previous two, but still enough to give the hard-core Holmes
fans a good handhold.

Fast-paced and very entertaining. Highly recommended.


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