This edition by Penguin contains the full-length Sherlock Holmes novel THE VALLEY OF FEAR along with selected short stories from THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES and HIS LAST BOW. THE VALLEY OF FEAR was written after Conan Doyle killed off Holmes in 1892, but is set before Holmes' disappearance at the Reichenbach Falls. THE RETURN OF SHERLOCK HOLMES opens with a story that shows that Holmes didn't die in his struggle with Professor Moriarty after all.

These stories show a decline in Conan Doyle's writing. As Iain Pears wrote in the introduction to another Penguin edition of Holmes stories, in the latter half of his life Conan Doyle turned to mysticism and spiritualism and was increasingly unable to portray the cold rationalism of Sherlock Holmes. Many of the stories lack motivation. The story HIS LAST BOW, which is final story in the canon according to Holmesian time, is a poorly-plotted bit of propaganda for England in World War I.

There are footnotes to each story, compiled by Ed Glinert. An expert on literature set in London, Glinert explains the geographical settings of the Holmes stories, and defines anachronistic terms that are no longer use. He also points out the mistakes Arthur Conan Doyle frequently made in his stories, which are often quite amusing (contradicting timelines, Conan Doyles' incomplete understanding of obscure sciencs, etc).

Because of the illuminating introduction and the helpful footnotes, I'd recommend over any others this edition of THE VALLEY OF FEAR AND SELECTED CASES

Meyer continues his version of Sherlock Holmes with a tale of Holmes' lost years after the "Moriarty Problem." Holmes becomes a violinist for the Paris Opera and through the intervention of Irene Adler, becomes involved in the strange case of the "opera ghost." There are many problems with this novel. Watson's presence is sorely missed and efforts to replace his role with characters from the opera are unsuccessful. Irene Adler's inclusion is an uneccessary distraction and is used soley to comment on Holmes' sexual repression. The case itself is so familiar to the reader that only the inclusion of Holmes changes the basic story, thus there are no surprises.(who doesn't know the basics of Laroux's Phantom?) This was a very disappointing sequel to Meyer's other Holmes' novels and wasn't owrth the wait.

I liked this book because it combined my two favourite characters: the phantom of the opera (Erik) and Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock stayed the remarkable genius that he is(even though he blundered miserbly sometimes-but,hey,YOU try to do better). But I was really disappointed with the treatment of Erik. Meyer calls him 'the creature' and makes him more insane than even in the original book! Personally, I the most appealling thing about Erik is that he IS a sympathetic character hopelessly in love with Christine Daae. This is why I 'liked' the Canary Trainer, not 'loved' it. (P.S.-Having Gaston Leroux as the music instucter was a creative touch)

But it's not as bad as all that. Nevertheless if you want to read Meyer's Holmes pastiches I'd recommend starting with the other two (_The Seven Per Cent Solution_ and _The West End Horror_). Meyer at his best is splendid.

If you do so, then be sure to ignore the misinformation in the Kirkus Reviews excerpt above. _The West End Horror_ has nothing to do with Jack the Ripper; it concerns a pair of grisly murders that take place in London's theater district. I assume the reviewer is thinking of Edward Hanna's _The Whitechapel Horrors_.

Frankly I wonder why I even bother reading Sherlock Holmes pastiche's anymore. They are usually so dreadful.

Well, this attempt is pretty dreadful too. And dull. Very dull. And the plot is somewhat unbelievable. Did I mention tedious and dull?

A laughable attempt to take advantage of the Holmesian's desire for new adventures. Giant Rat indeed...must be a reference to the author. Please..Please...Please..don't waste your money. Fortunately I borrowed a copy from the Library. After two chapters I started skimming and finally threw the book aside in disgust.

This one didn't live up to expectations, but to be fair, expectations for a fan of Conan Doyle's series are fairly high, and the elusive nature of this case demands equally stunning writing. While this isn't bad, it's not good either; the "mystery" is thin, and rather than finishing up with a satisfactory bang of enlightenment, it crawls across the finish line, adding another full "chapter" after the "Epilogue" notice. The science-fiction elements had real promise, however much they borrowed from Dr. Moreau, but instead of expanding them, Vanneman tries to focus on poorly-constructed minor characters that seem thrown in for the sake of a larger cast. Watson's sexual exploits are equally pointless, and Holmes' romantic attatchment to the Widow Han seems a desperate attempt to recreate Irene Adler. Too many unanswered questions and shoddy plotting make this one to skip. Instead, try some of Nicholas Meyers' Holmes stories - The Seven Percent Solution and The West End Horror are most excellent.

I chose this book for its evocative title and was sorely disappointed by the writing within. The story is a good one and, for that, I would heartily recommend it to my favorite young readers since it addresses several subjects that are important: fear, trust, family, friendship. Sadly, the story is lost in poorly written prose. It is difficult to believe that the author, a teacher, is not capable of better simply by virtue of her occupation. Still, I could not in good conscience recommend this book to any of my favorite young readers since I want them not only to have a good story but to be exposed to good writing.

This was one of the first non-Doyle Holmes stories that I picked up to read, and I was quite disappointed. The plot is thin, and Andrews tries to capture the spark of the Watson-Holmes relationship without much success. Frankly, I think the book is somewhat boring. Since this book I have found numerous other non-Doyle stories that are very good.