Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years

In 1891, Sherlock Holmes, in a death struggle with his archenemy Professor Moriarty, disappeared over Reichenbach Falls and was presumed dead. Until, that is, he reappeared in London in 1894. Holmes remained mostly quiet on the events of those years and for over a century speculation has run riot about what really happened during the 'hidden years.' Now in this original collection, the truth is finally revealed. Including stories by Peter Beagle, Rhys Bowen, Bill Pronzini, Carolyn Wheat, Gary Lovisi, and others, Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years is a must-have book for every fan who has ever wondered what really happened to the world's most famous consulting detective during his mysterious missing years.

In 1891, Sherlock Holmes in a struggle with his arch-enemy, the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, plunged with him over the Reichenbach Falls to his inevitable death. All of England - indeed the entire world - mourned the irreplaceable loss of the world's greatest detective. And that's where things stood until 1894 when Holmes suddenly reappeared in London, revealing himself to his friend Dr. John Watson, and resumed his activities as a consulting detective. Holmes remained very quiet and mysterious on those missing three years, never really revealing precisely where he'd been and what he'd done in the 'hidden years."

Now, in this anthology of original stories the truth about those thirty-five months is unveiled and Holmes' adventures described. While some stories place Holmes in such familiar locations as New York and San Francisco, others find him high in the Himalayas or above the Arctic Circle. With stories from such writers as Rhys Bowen, Peter Beagle, Carolyn Wheat, Michael Collins and many others, Sherlock Holmes: The Hidden Years is a must-have book for every fan who has every wondered about the untold adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Publishers Weekly

Kurland (My Sherlock Holmes) scores again in this lively all-original anthology chronicling the "Great Hiatus," that period when Sherlock Holmes was believed dead following a tumble into Reichenbach Falls with archfiend Professor Moriarty. In Peter Beagle's engaging "Mr. Sigerson," the best of several tales featuring Holmes under his Sigerson alias, Holmes investigates a case of marital infidelity and fraud. An amnesiac Holmes finds himself in the midst of European high society in Rhys Bowen's "The Case of the Lugubrious Manservant," an appealing tale marred only by a surfeit of characters including Sigmund Freud and the Prince of Wales. Holmes is a bystander throughout most of Bill Pronzini's delightful novella "The Bughouse Caper," in which rival Victorian detective John Quincannon searches San Francisco for a serial burglar, only to be upstaged in the end by "the bloody Englishman." In Kurland's own contribution, "Reichenbach," the "Napoleon of Crime," Moriarty, narrates an imagination-stretching version of the duo's mock deaths as part of a counterplot to foil a "dastardly scheme" to discredit Britain's navy. Stories by Baker Street veterans Gary Lovisi, Carolyn Wheat and Richard Lupoff, plus others newer to the world of Holmes pastiche, round out this enjoyable volume. Agent, Jack Scovil at Scovil, Chichak, Galen. (Nov. 18) FYI: Kurland is the author of The Great Game (2001) and two other Professor Moriarty novels. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Michael Kurland is the author of nearly forty books, including both non-fiction and fiction, though he is perhaps best known for his novels and stories featuring Professor James Moriarty. He is the editor of the anthology My Sherlock Holmes and his novels A Plague of Spies and The Infernal Device were finalists for the Edgar Award. Born and raised in New York City, he lives in Petaluma, California.