Skip to main content

Book Review




-- Product Review -- 

While I rarely do book reviews anymore (I was a professional book reviewer for 7-8 years, reviewing an average of 500 books a year in many genres from young children to novels and non-fiction), I could not resist MX Publishing’s invitation to review 5 different books in the Sherlock Holmes genre.



I received:

Sherlock Homes – Tangled Skeins – Stories From The Notebooks

Sherlock Holmes And The Sword of Osman

Ms. Hudson in New York

No Better Place: Arthur Conan Doyle, Windlesham and Communication with the Other Side

The Final Problem – a Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel



These books were delivered to my doorstep August 11th or so in an appropriate sized cardboard shipping box, with no additional or unnecessary packaging -which is great for the environment.



I have been reviewing each book separately and have hyperlinked the titles of the books I’ve already completed in the list above. The next book I will review in the list is: Mrs. Hudson In New York written by Barry S. Brown.






I truly enjoyed reading this book – and what made it stand out among other Sherlock works is that Mrs. Hudson is a detective, and not just any detective, but an owner of the agency of which Sherlock (a chemist by trade) and John Watson not only act as fronts, but are also serious detectives. Sherlock and John hold a deep respect for Mrs. Hudson, the brains behind the mysteries they choose to solve and the founder of the company itself. In this novel, the three work together to solve a crime that happens soon after they embark on a journey to the US to attend a wedding involving distant members of Mrs. Hudson’s family.  It was interesting to witness their comradely and enjoy the humor intricately laced in this late 19th century who-done-it tale. Watch for appearances of other famous and factual characters to appear in the story-line.



Interestingly, the book didn’t have an author bio and upon searching the publisher’s site… I couldn’t find anything there either.  However, after doing a search online I found out that Barry’s book is the 4th in a series titled the “Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street” mysteries.  Beyond this series, the author has written 2 non-fiction books, works of poetry and many papers on the research conducted his professional life where he dealt in treatment and strategies for mental health and drug abuse, among other issues. He currently resides in North Carolina (US).



This paperback is about 286 pages, weighs roughly 358 g. and measures approximately 14 x 1.5 x 21.6 cm. You can find it on Amazon.com - $16.95 (US) for the paperback and $7.69 (US) for the e-book. Alternatively visit Amazon.ca where you can purchase the e-book for $9.99 (CDN) and the paperback book for $22.37 (CDN).


The publisher - MX Publishing - is the world’s largest specialist Sherlock Holmes publisher, with over a hundred and fifty titles and eighty authors creating the latest in Sherlock Holmes fiction and non-fiction. MX Publishing also has one of the largest communities of Holmes fans on Facebook with regular contributions from dozens of authors. 

Interestingly, MX titles are licensed around the world including Japan, China, India, Russia, Italy, Spain, and Poland – and many of their books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. The company itself is based in London, UK. Sadly, I could not find any information about the publishing company regarding environmental responsibility, in-house purchasing, or printing policies (i.e. SFI certified paper, veggie inks, acid/bleach free paper, etc.). However they do support social causes – for instance they have a group of authors who are donating the royalties to the restoration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former home, Undershaw. The building was in terrible disrepair and was saved from destruction by the Undershaw Preservation Trust (patron Mark Gatiss; http://www.saveundershaw.com). Today the building has been bought by Stepping Stones (a school for children with learning difficulties) and is being lovingly restored to its former glory. Steve Emez, MX’x Managing Director, also is very involved with charitable causes and has done many awareness campaigns via his skills with swimming. Find out more about this company via: https://www.facebook.com/MXPublishing







Award-winning authors Dave and Lillian Brummet:

http://www.twitter.com/brummet
http://www.facebook.com/lillian.brummet


Comments