"Dazzling. Sherlock Holmes in a Stetson turns out to be a dandy idea." —Boston Globe 1893 is a tough year in Montana, and any job is a good job. When brothers Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at a secretive ranch, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a few free moments to enjoy their favorite pastime: reading stories about Sherlock Holmes. When another hand turns up dead, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to employ his Holmes-inspired "deducifyin'" skills and sets out to solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.
Because 1893 is a tough year in Montana, any job is a good job. When Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at the secretive Bar VR cattle spread, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire around which they can enjoy their favorite pastime: scouring Harper's Weekly for stories about the famous Sherlock Holmes. When the boys come across a dead body that looks a whole lot like the leftovers of an unfortunate encounter with a cattle stampede, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to employ his Holmes-inspired deducifyin' skills. Putting his ranch work squarely on the back burner, he sets out to solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.
Demons. We all have them. They take various forms and affect us in different ways. Some are obvious like drugs and alcohol. Loneliness and depression and self-doubt are not so apparent if that is all you've known until college. In Holmes on the Range, Dan Holmes, Esquire wakes up one morning and realizes he is living his childhood dream. Wife, children, houses, cars, jewelry and cash flow from his legal practice are his. What he doesn't realize is that the demons that haunted him when he was growing up did not disappear as his career blossomed. Then life threw Dan a typical business-oriented speed-bump that he handled by building it into a mountain he could never scale. Those long silent core emotions led him, with eyes wide open, to risk his profession, his marriage, his community standing and his soul to keep things going. Lie built upon lie, larger thefts compounded smaller ones--time was purchased with ever bigger crimes against the community he served while he ignored his family life. Just live long enough for one more economic upturn and a few good deals to come along--everything will be fine. Or win the lottery. FBI agents came calling first. After pleading guilty, ex-attorney Dan Holmes entered the federal prison system for a ninety-six month stay not knowing if he could survive in a world he had seen only in the media. Penal rehabilitation turns out to be a life lived with four hundred other minimum security types in an open campus where any inmate can walk off the property. Accountants, lawyers, physicians, drug dealers, stock brokers, priests, the mentally retarded, the mentally ill, odd pranksters, clever scammers, and people more resembling barking dogs than human beings are all around him. The staff people are there in prison too, and everyone has mostly nothing to do, and a lot of time to do it in. Middle school without teachers--a way wicked wild world so few get to know close up. About the Authors: Sam Skinner was born and raised in Florida. He graduated from college and began a career in banking where he rose to Vice-President, Construction Loans. Then he changed career paths and worked as Chief Operating Officer for a real estate developer in Virginia. It was then that his life took a turn for the worse. He decided to be loyal to his employer when the employer committed bank fraud to try to secure takeout financing for his upside-down real estate portfolio. Sam did not call 911 and report the felonies as soon as he saw them, which is the letter of the law. His loyalty to an individual he liked and admired trumped his moral compass. When everything collapsed, Sam was indicted and pled guilty when the developer did not stand up and take responsibility for the frauds he alone had committed and authorized. Dan Holmes grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and went to law school after graduating college. He worked hard and became successful in his trade and was on his way to enjoying the fruits of his labor. Unfortunately, Dan wasn't prepared for the many trials that life makes you endure and, in his moment of testing, Dan failed miserably.
In the summer of 1893, Gustav "Old Red" Amlingmeyer and his brother Otto (a.k.a. "Big Red") find themselves down and out in San Francisco. Though cowpokes by training, the brothers are devotees of the late, great Sherlock Holmes and his trademark method of "deducifying." But when they set out to land jobs as professional detectives, they land themselves in hot water, instead. First their friend Dr. Chan mysteriously takes a potshot at them, fatally wounding Big Red's new hat. Then a secretive young woman from their past pops up and convinces them that Chan's in trouble -- and they're just the men to get him out of it. Unfortunately, they're too late: By the time they track Chan down again, he's dead. The police call it a suicide. Old Red calls that a lie. When he and his brother set out to prove it, they put themselves on a collision course with shady S.F.P.D. cops, brutal Barbary Coast hoodlums and the deadly Chinatown tongs. Before long, all sides are in a race to uncover the secret that could rock the city. And their only clue to what's actually going on is the enigmatic, exotic and extremely difficult to find "Black Dove."
In 1893, Otto "Big Red" Amlingmeyer and his brother Gustav, "Old Red" find themselves in a situation that they never expected. They have a bit of money and time to do something other than scramble. It's enough to confound even that most unconfoundable of men, their mutual inspiration, Sherlock Holmes. So Old Red decides that it's time for the for the two of them to head off to the Texas hill country, to San Marcos, and deal with the greatest tragedy of Old Red's life. Five years ago, when Old Red was a cowpoke in San Marcos, he had a sweetheart—a fallen woman at the local house of ill repute. They had made plans but before they made their big move, his fiancée was murdered and the case swept under the rug by the local authorities. Now, Old Red is determined to find out what really happened and to finally find a measure of justice for his beloved. But Big Red and Old Red find themselves facing a wall of silence and in some of the worst situations of their lives: ensnared in a riot at the local cathouse, on the wrong end of a lynching party and perhaps worst of all—having to do the one thing you never want to do in the state of Texas: steal horses.
Old West drifters Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer have starred in several Holmes on the Range novels-rustling up award nominations and fans aplenty while they solved mysteries using the methods of their hero, Sherlock Holmes. But the origins of their interest in the infamous consulting detective, what they were doing before their sleuthing adventures began, and how their early stabs at deduction turned out have remained a mystery-until now. Follow along as they get the itch to turn to detective work after being targeted by a killer, plans go haywire when someone is served a side order of arsenic, deadly predators are faced, and the cowboy brothers' secret pasts are uncovered in seven adventure-filled western stories. For the very first time, everyone's favorite Sherlock Holmes-worshiping cowpokes are venturing into the past and uncovering how their love of deduction began. Get ready to be captivated by the mystery, suspense, and cowboy camaraderie. Start your adventure today and be a part of the Amlingmeyer brothers' quest for truth and justice!
In a stunning follow-up to the acclaimed In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger present a brand-new anthology of stories inspired by the Arthur Conan Doyle canon. Echoes of Sherlock Holmes puts forth the question: What happens when great writers/creators who are not known as Sherlock Holmes devotees admit to being inspired by Conan Doyle stories? While some of these talented authors are highly-regarded mystery writers, others are best known for their work in the fields of fantasy or science fiction. All of them, however, share a great admiration for Arthur Conan Doyle and his greatest creations, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Some stories tell of Holmes himself (in Victorian Baker Street or modern New York, in various guises or a different gender), while others explore various Conan Doyle characters. Although not a formal collection of new Holmes stories (though some do fit that mold), these tales are inspired by the Conan Doyle canon. The results are breathtaking—for long-time fans of Holmes and Watson, for readers new to Doyle’s writing, and for all readers who love exceptional storytelling. Featuring stories by Tasha Alexander, Cory Doctorow, Hallie Ephron, Meg Gardiner, William Kent Krueger, Jonathan Maberry, Catriona McPherson, David Morrell, Anne Perry, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and more.
The Sherlock Holmes Book, the latest in DK's award-winning Big Ideas Simply Explained series, tackles the most "elementary" of subjects--the world of Sherlock Holmes, as told by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Sherlock Holmes Book is packed with witty illustrations, clear graphics, and memorable quotes that make it the perfect Sherlock Holmes guide, covering every case of the world's greatest detective, from A Study in Scarlet to The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place, placing the sorties in a wider context. Stories include at-a-glance flowcharts that show how Holmes reaches his conclusions through deductive reasoning, and character guides provide handy reference for readers and an invaluable resource for fans of the Sherlock Holmes films and TV series. The Sherlock Holmes Book holds a magnifying glass to the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective.
