title: The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
author:  Ted Riccardi 
description: With only partial success, Riccardi builds on Doyle's references to Sherlock Holmes's travels in Europe and Asia during the Great Hiatus, the three-year gap between Holmes's supposed death and his dramatic return to life. The nine original short stories in this collection focus on the master detective's efforts to apply his talents to a variety of mysteries in such exotic settings as Sumatra and Tibet. Given the uncertain grip of the British Empire over its colonies, the murders and other mayhem Holmes confronts often have potentially grave political repercussions. Since he wasn't present for these adventures, Dr. Watson is unable to serve as a sounding-board for Holmes's theories or as an effective stand-in for the reader struggling to make sense of baffling clues or seemingly motiveless crimes. Like many recent Holmes pastichers, the author transforms the original thinking machine into an Indiana Jones-like character facing century-old deathtraps and charged with recovering legendary jewels. Holmes does little detection, in one instance even violating his basic rule by theorizing in the absence of data. Nonetheless, these well-written tales, with their convincing local color, do entertain, and should Riccardi return Holmes and Watson to their customary roles in future volumes, Sherlockians would have reason to anticipate them with pleasure.<BR>Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  Praise for Absinthe
  
  Winner of the Hercule Poirot Award
  
  “Tense, up-to-date Euro-political intrigue, topped off with that rarest of
  gems: a satisfying finale.”
  
  > —Three-time Emmy-award-winning writer Jim Houghton
  
  “The genre doesn’t get any better than this. Absinthe is intoxicating.”
  
  > —John Enright, author of the Jungle Beat Mystery series
  
  “This book could not be more timely. A riveting read in which the Russians
  support ultra-right-wing politicians and undermine democracy—much more fun
  than the newspapers and no less scary. Most enjoyable.”
  
  > —Theodore Riccardi, professor emeritus, Columbia University, and the author
  > of The Oriental Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
  
  “In Absinthe, Guido Eekhaut has masterfully produced a gripping political
  thriller. Readers could not ask for more: a clever, if slightly tarnished,
  detective; shadowy assassins; shady Russian financiers; and a controversial
  missing list of names. And all set in Amsterdam in all of its glory and
  darkne