Sherlock Holmes and the Folk Tale Mysteries - Volume 1

Book excerpt: A home invasion results in property damage. Children disappear and a disgruntled ex-employee is suspected. Girl visits relative, walks in on scene of carnage. A man searches for days, seeking his lost love. A young woman accuses her father's wife of attempted murder. Dramatic news from CNN? Stories ripped from today's headlines? No, they are cases investigated by Mr. Sherlock Holmes and his intrepid companion and biographer, Dr. John H. Watson. Drawn into the dark underbelly of folk tale reality, Holmes and Watson travel the streets of London and into the far English countryside to discover the truth about some of the most famous accounts found in childhood literature. Described in Dr. Watson’s inimitable style and with the names changed to protect the innocent, these tales recount how Sherlock Holmes investigated cases involving missing children, a trio of brothers threatened with destruction and the contents of an ancient box that told a tale of heroism and death. Enter the world of the world’s first consulting detective. Stand again in Baker Street and look up at the windows of 221B. That shadow on the blind, is it Lestrade, coming to tell of a baffling case he has failed to solve? Or is it Mrs. Hudson, bring tea and sandwiches to a suffering client? Could it be the Great Detective himself, pacing up and down the length of the room, wrapping his mighty brain around yet another conundrum presented for his consideration? Join Dr. Watson in the adventures that live on these pages and you’ll never think the same about folk tales and nursery rhymes again.