Review of "Observations by Gaslight: Stories From the World of Sherlock Holmes" by Lyndsay Faye

This addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon is based on the premise that some of Holmes' acquaintances and colleagues wrote stories about the detective in their letters, diaries, journals, and scrapbooks. Six of these stories have been found in a safe deposit box, and are being published in this book, edited by Lyndsay Faye.

"The Adventure of the Stopped Clocks"

Sherlock Holmes' former nemesis Irene Adler (now Irene Norton), whose opera performances are a hit on the stages of Vienna.....



.....is in London with her solicitor husband Godfrey.



Godfrey has been asked to help his brother Gilbert sell securities in exchange for shares of a peppercorn plantation in Sumatra.



The securities deal seems shady, and - on top of that - all of Gilbert's heirloom grandfather clocks have been stopped.



Needing help to figure out what's going on, Irene consults her frenemy Sherlock Holmes, who helps resolve the situation.



*****

"The Song of a Want"

Henry Wiggins, now a solicitor, was one of the Baker Street Irregulars when he was a boy.



In this story, Wiggins recalls the time he and his best friend Meggie were homeless waifs on the streets of London, pilfering to survive.



The children met a disoriented man with a violin, who turned out to be a young Sherlock Holmes.



The children assisted Holmes and Sherlock later returned the favor when Meggie fell into the clutches of a creep known as the Lullaby Doctor.

*****

"Our Common Correspondent"

Inspector Geoffrey Lestrade of Scotland Yard is put off by Sherlock Holmes, whom Lestrade views as a supercilious know-it-all.



However, when a spinster named Wilhemina Sparks moves out of her boarding house and disppears.....



.....Lestrade needs Holmes' assistance to find her.



It seems Miss Sparks had been corresponding with a gentleman for some time, and went off to marry him, but no one knows the man's name or location. (This is the late-1800s version of online dating.)

In this story we learn Lestrade feels compelled to help women in trouble because his sister was in an abusive marriage that ended tragically.

*****

"The River of Silence"

When a beautiful teak box containing a human arm is found in the Thames River.....



......Scotland Yard Detective Stanley Hopkins gets the case.



Hopkins admires Sherlock Holmes and is happy to have the consulting detective help look into the incident. Higgins and Holmes consider all possibilities, from medical student pranks to murder.



*****

"The Gospel of Sheba"

Mr. Arthur Davenport Lomax, a sub-librarian at the London Library, is always willing to help patrons with their inquries.





Mr. Theodore Grange consults Lomax on the subject of black magic, explaining that - for business reasons - he joined an occult group called The Brotherhood of Solomon. It seems the Brotherhood is falling apart because a grimoire owned by a member is making the other participants sick.



Events lead Lomax to consult Sherlock Holmes, who helps devine the problem.

*****

"A Live Well Lived"

Sherlock Holmes' landlady Martha Hudson thinks back on her long association with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, who have rented rooms in her house for more than two decades.





Meanwhile, boxes from an unknown person keep appearing at Mrs. Hudson's door, which she brings to Holmes to investigate.



This is a fun story because Mrs. Hudson includes recipes for dishes she prepares for her her tenants, like batter fried oysters and bacon wrapped brisket of beef.





I've provided the bare outlines of the stories, which also delve into the lives of the characters, their observations about Sherlock Holmes, and the methods Holmes uses to solve mysteries.

I enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by Dan Calley and Polly Lee, and highly recommend it to Sherlock Holmes fans.

Thanks to Netgalley, Lyndsay Faye, and Highbridge Audio for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars