The Baker Street Translation: A Mystery (Baker Street Letters)
This series has quite a premise: two barrister brothers rent office chambers at Dorset House, which makes up an entire block of Baker Street. The offices have location, location—and one catch. The occupants are required to answer the letters that come in from all over the globe addressed to Baker Street’s most famous resident, Sherlock Holmes. This codicil has already caused brothers Reggie and Nigel Heath no end of bother and thrown them in the middle of some intriguing mysteries. This time a persistent letter writer appears in person to question Reggie about nursery rhymes, rhymes that the reader knows from the first chapter (a total jaw-dropper) have to do with the location of explosives. Nigel is in L.A., and Reggie has to cope with a body in an alley who bears Reggie’s business card and with the disappearance of a powerful publishing magnate, who happens to be the dead’s man’s rival for the affections of an actress who bears a striking resemblance to Holmes’ amour, Irene Adler. Lots of Holmes references, both to the canon and to contemporary Holmes worship, plus lots of action and sparkling commentary equals great fun. --Connie Fletcher