Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery (Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage) - Softcover

Millett, Larry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816677042 ISBN 13: 9780816677047

Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2012

Synopsis

Sherlock Holmes is bored between cases at 221B Baker Street. So when King Oskar II of Sweden—who has heard of the discovery of the Kensington Rune Stone by a farmer in Minnesota—asks to engage his services, Holmes jumps at the chance to decipher the runes and determine whether the find is real or a hoax. With Dr. John H. Watson by his side, faithfully recording every detail, Holmes makes his way to Minnesota for a third time. But, in the first of many strange and unfortunate coincidences, the farmer who found the mysterious stone is murdered, and the stone itself is stolen on the day the famous detective arrives.

With the help of one Shadwell Rafferty, now a friend and partner, Holmes must solve this baffling case to find both the stone and the murderer.

About this title

About the Author

Larry Millett was a reporter and architecture critic for the St. Paul Pioneer Press for thirty years. He is the author of fifteen books, including five other mystery novels in this series featuring Sherlock Holmes and Shadwell Rafferty, all in new editions from the University of Minnesota Press.

From Library Journal

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous sleuthing pair continues to inspire other mystery writers, as witnessed by these three titles. In Millett's novel, Sherlock Holmes, languishing between cases in London, seizes the opportunity to authenticateAfor the Swedish kingAa rune stone found in Minnesota. He and Watson (the narrator, of course) encounter a wide variety of locals, from a wealthy empire builder and a lusty saloon-keeper to a beautiful ex-brothel owner. Before they can examine the stone, however, someone steals it and kills its owner. Secretive, surprising, inventive, and ill-acquainted with modesty, Sherlock and his latest American adventure (e.g., Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders) merit wide readership. Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock's older brother) and confidential secretary Peter Guthrie take the place of Holmes and Watson in Fawcett's series (Against the Brotherhood) "authorized" by Dame Jean Conan Doyle. Oddly enough, this pair's mission also involves the Swedish king, whom they must smuggle out of the country aboard a fast train to Scotland. Assassination attempts, murder, conspiracy, and secrecy all lend to the intrigue and tension. Literate prose and an overabundance of detail may dry this out for some, but purchase for fans. More Holmes for the Holidays, a follow-up to the 1996 Holmes for the Holidays, features 11 new tributes to Conan Doyle. Authors include not only well-known mystery writers such as Anne Perry, Jon Breen, and Peter Lovesey but also "cross-over" Western and sf writers, such as Bill Crider, Loren Estleman, and Tanith Lee. In Perry's story, which leads off, Holmes and Watson determine how a priceless Stradivarius was stolen from a locked room during a ten-minute time frame. In Lee's story, the pair confront an apparent puzzle dealing with a beautiful woman and a family curse. All in all, a likely purchase for most short story collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0816677042
• ISBN 13: 9780816677047
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336