Alan Downing

Welcome to the Armchair Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. This collection of pastiches was a labor of love that the authors may one day pursue getting published. The authors would greatly appreciate any feedback that you can provide by sending email to acmosh@yahoo.com, posting feedback, or rating the stories or book. The current average rating for the book is 4.3 out of 5 stars.

The pastiches in this collection span over many years of Sherlock Holmes's career and are presented in approximate chronological order. The collection covers a wide range of well-researched themes based on turn-of-the-century forensic science, historical events and unusual true cases. Each story features interesting and logical deductions that often allow the reader to match wits with Sherlock Holmes. If you're not going to read the stories sequentially, Spontaneous Combustion and The Case of the Decorative Button are the highest rated (see current ratings for more details.) The Typewritist is the shortest of the stories at 680 words while The Adventure of the Monolithic Stones and Spontaneous Combustion are the longest stories at over 6,200 words each.

Alan Downing is the author of fourteen pastiches in the collection. Ronald Downing contributed The Fremont Brothers and The Seance. Without further ado, here is a short synopsis of the stories, their ratings and their links:

• Editor's Notes: This introduction describes how the stories were discovered in a Sussex cottage and outlines the stories to the reader.
• The Baker's Bread: In one of the earliest cases witnessed by Watson, a baker consults Holmes about mysterious disappearing loaves of bread. This brief introduction to Sherlock Holmes is currently rated 3.7 stars. rate
• The Eye Witnesses: A man was murdered in view of several eye witnesses, but none of them agree on the details. Currently rated 4.2 stars. rate
• The Doctor: Holmes deduces the innocence of an arrested doctor based on a brief newspaper article. Currently rated 3.8 stars. rate
• The Miser: Holmes dons one of his favorite disguises to help an old man who threw his dentures at his wife after every meal. Currently rated 4.2 stars. rate
• The Missing Fiance: A young woman requests Holmes to locate her missing fiance, but Holmes deduces much more. Rated 3.7 stars. rate
• The Seance: Can the occult cure Sherlock Holmes of the vice that threatened to end his career in March, 1889? Rated 4.4 stars. rate
• Ophelia: The message "Ophelia. Today. Ewell." foretells a tragic mystery requiring Dr. Watson's knowledge of the classics and Holmes's understanding of human nature. Rated 3.9 stars. rate
• The Adventure of the Monolithic Stones: The search for a missing girl leads Holmes to an ancient circle of stones. Currently rated 4.1 stars. rate
• A Walk in the Park: Watson challenges Holmes to demonstrate that his powers of observation can still be applied in a changing London. Rated 4.5. rate
• The Fremont Brothers: Holmes takes on a pair of swindlers. Rated 3.3. rate
• The Diamond Jubilee: Holmes profiles an anarchist who threatens the Queen on her Diamond Jubilee in the summer of 1897. Rated 3.0. rate
• The Case of the Decorative Button: Holmes methodically attempts to identify a French spy as requested by his brother Mycroft with a button as his only initial clue. Rated 4.5. rate
• Spontaneous Combustion: Holmes investigates the possible spontaneous combustion of a cantankerous old man. Rated 4.4. rate
• The Typewritist: Holmes amazes Inspector Lestrade with his deductions about a typewritten memorandum. Rated 3.4. rate
• The Case of the Invisible Marks: Holmes solves one of the earliest cases involving latent prints, but not in the manner he expected. Rated 4.0. Reprinted in the January 2003 edition of Fingerprint Whorld (the journal of the UK Fingerprint Society) and Minuti� Issue #76. rate
• The Politician: This story examines the motivation behind Holmes's early retirement using a simple case involving a member of parliament. Rated 3.7. rate
• Epilogue: A short conclusion that opens the door for a sequel.
• Acknowledgments
• Selected Bibliography
  

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