March 25, 2011

Friday Book Blogging

As a Sherlock Holmes fan, I've discovered that there are quite a few novels that say they pay hommage to the great detective, but in reality are offenses to his perfection. I'm not a Holmes purist, though, so I keep trying, and this week's pick is one of the winners.
Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith is the story of two sturdy German-American cowboys, the Amlingmeyer brothers. Gustave and Otto (or Old Red and Big Red) have discovered Sherlock Holmes in serialized stories in Harper's Magazine and his "Red-Headed League" inspires Gustave to "detectifying."
The charm of the characters combined with the skill of the dialog, and a pretty decent mystery, make this the first in a series that any Sherlock Holmes fan can appreciate with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

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