Sherlock Holmes Mystery

 With the publication of my latest book, Sherlock 6, there has been renewed interests in my past titles, particularly my Sherlock
Holmes titles of which there are two.

The Canadian Adventures of Sherlock Holmes was my first Holmes title  and had legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted colleague Dr. John Watson as they travel across late 19th century Canada. In their epic journey they encounter incredible characters and memorable mysteries.

My second is Cold-Hearted Murder In 1901, during one of the hottest summers in recent memory, London is experiencing some 'cold' killings. The victims are being ritualistically mutilated. As chance would have it, the first victim was a potential client of Mr. Sherlock Holmes who the great detective failed to assist. Now Holmes and Watson are tracking down the murderers. Fantastically, the entire grisly matter began in the wilds of the Canadian Northwest during the great Klondike Gold Rush. Can the incomparable Sherlock Holmes trap the killers, or will it prove his undoing?

Here is the YouTube video promoting Cold-Hearted Murder.

Sherlock 6 - The Lambeth Poisoner

In my latest book Sherlock 6, there is a chapter about the Canadian poisoner  Dr. Thomas Neil Cream who killed women in Canada, the United States and was finally brought to trial for murders in England. 

Dr. Cream was a McGill-trained physician who performed illegal abortions and was suspected of murder. Cream fled Canada for Chicago where he continued to perform abortions and began an affair with a young woman. He had the woman convince her older husband to take out a life insurance policy, then had her replace his medication with strychnine.  

Dr. Cream was subsequently charged with the man's death and imprisoned in the Illinois State Penitentiary in Joliet.

After a murder Cream would sometimes send blackmail letters to people stating he had evidence of their guilt. 

Gaining an early release Cream eventually relocated in London, England where he continued his drug addition and another murderous streak. He murdered four Lambeth prostitutes a few years after the Jack the Ripper cases.

My story of Cream, entitled The Lambeth Poisoner Case, can be found in Sherlock 6. 

Dr. Thomas Neil Cream 

1850-1892

Sherlock Holmes - The Streets of London

 I think most can agree that one of the appeals to the stories in the Sherlock Holmes canon is the romantic time period where it is always 1895. 

Here we are in the 21st century with every electronic convenience, but some of us long for a simpler time of high-button boots, top hats and floor-length dresses. Who would not want to walk down a fog-enshrouded street lit dimly by gas lamps. On the streets we wish for the sounds of horses hoofs and carriage wheels on the pavement and cobblestones. 

In my new book, Sherlock 6 there are many street scenes that could have come right out of this video.

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Sherlock Holmes & Thomas Aquinas

 In my latest book, Sherlock 6, Sherlock Holmes references Thomas Aquinas twice. 

I am republishing a former blog about Sherlock Holmes and Thomas Aquinas.

I believe that one of the most appealing aspects of detectives--and I put Sherlock Holmes first on this list---is the use of reasoning in crime solving. That was the main thing that attracted me to Thomas Aquinas as a detective. In my latest book The Medieval Adventures of Thomas Aquinas, the medieval theologian/philosopher uses reason in the solving of mysteries.

Reason in man is like God in the world, is a well-known quote of Saint Thomas. He was the man who tried to show the harmony between faith and reason. Thomas believed that God, nature and human beings could be understood through reason. Or as Sherlock Holmes said, There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion. Thomas would agree. 

We cannot have knowledge all at once. We must start by believing; then afterwards we may be led on to master the evidence for ourselves.

Thomas was more than a reasoning machine, of course, for he said, Love takes up where reasoning leaves off. And one of my favorite quotes of his is, Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a warm bath and a glass of wine.
Sherlock Holmes said, Work is the best antidote for sorrow.

I enjoyed learning about Thomas Aquinas and his writings and found it challenging incorporating his teachings into the series of stories in my book.

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I found the two had other attitudes they shared.

In their viewpoint toward woman, both Aquinas and Holmes have come under some criticism as misogynists.

Holmes: Women are not to be entirely trusted—not the best of them. 
—The Sign of Four

Aquinas: Among perfect animals the active power of generation belongs to the male sex, the passive power to the female.
—Summa Theologiae 


Holmes: Women are naturally secretive, and they like to do their own secreting.
—A Scandal in Bohemia

Aquinas: As regards the individual nature, woman is defective and misbegotten...
—Summa Theologiae 


Both Aquinas and Holmes were philosophers and Godly men acknowledging God in the world

Holmes: God help us!... I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words and say: 'There but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.
—The Bascombe Valley Mystery

Aquinas: ... man needs the help of grace in order to be moved by God to act.
—Summa Theologiae 

Holmes: What is the meaning of  it, Watson? What object is served by this circle of misery and violence and fear? It must tend to some end, or else our universe is ruled by chance, which is unthinkable.
—The Cardboard Box

Aquinas: Therefore, God alone can satisfy the will of man...
—Summa Theologiae 

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Sherlock Holmes & Scandal

 Sherlock 6 is my latest book which consists of Sherlock Holmes adventures told in the canonical tradition of the original stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In The Hound of the Baskervilles Watson alludes to Sherlock Holmes's involvement in the affair of exposing the atrocious conduct of Colonel Upwood in connection with the famous card scandal of the Nonpareil Club.

In this particular story I blend two famous Victorian scandals: The Royal Baccarat Scandal of 1890, sometimes referred to as the Tranby Croft Affair, involved some royal personages that culminated in a trial.

The second Victorian scandal was the Cleveland Street scandal of 1889. Police discovered a male brothel, and the government was accused of covering it up to protect royal personages and prominent patrons.

Here is an excerpt from a chapter in Sherlock 6 entitled The Nonpareil Club Scandal. 

IF I WERE to choose the one thing that helped make England

notable among great nations, I would have to say that it was the

spirit of Victorian morality inspired by that distinguished lady

who had sat upon the throne for many decades. For me she

was the only queen I had ever known, and was herself,

responsible for England’s code of truthfulness, duty to one’s

country, personal responsibility and a strong work ethic.

Along with those qualities was a chivalric ideal left over from

our illustrious past, along with a disdain and repulsion for law

breakers and those who indulged in sexual promiscuity.

    Many in England, regardless of their social standing, found

their strength and guidance for British moral behaviour in their

religion and in the good Book. One could find solace in these

societal norms and strict codes of conduct which became

ingrained in the British heart and mind. Many lived out these

mores with personal pride, and accepted them as a way of life.              

    Then there was Sherlock Holmes. 

    The London consultant, as I have stated elsewhere, loathed

certain forms of society with his whole Bohemian soul. I like to

think that I had a somewhat positive influence upon him in the

few years we spent together, but more often than not Holmes

fought against convention. He would keep irregular hours,

sometimes sleeping till noon. He could be the most untidy

person, allowing our rooms to degenerate into disarray.

Holmes could be sullen and taciturn one minute and launch

into a lengthy discourse on medieval architecture the next.

He could be quite charming to a young lady who came to

consult him on a minor problem, but be dismissive to heads

of state who graced our Baker Street room and sought his

counsel upon a pressing problem of national importance.

    Holmes was quite brilliant though, and through our long

association I took him to be unparalleled in his abilities.

    It was November 16, 1888, when I first learned of The

Nonpareil Club, and now that a full decade has passed,

I feel secure to record how a scandal shocked London,

and brought an end to this prestigious club.

A Sherlock Holmes Case of Madness

 Sherlock 6 by Stephen Gaspar is the new Sherlock Holmes book containing six Sherlock Holmes short stories in the canonical tradition taken from the original stories themselves. 

Watson begins The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb by stating:

Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his notice—that of Mr. Hatherley’s thumb, and that of Colonel Warburton’s madness. 

In Sherlock 6 reader learn of the renown Colonel Robert Warburton and the madness that threatens him.

Excerpt from Colonel Warburton's Madness.

Anyone who has some sense of recent history of India and Afghanistan would surely know the name of Col. Robert Warburton, KCIE, CSI, who won accolades and acclaim for his role in numerous campaigns and filial duty to the Empire. In my short tour of duty I actually had the good fortune to meet Col. Warburton once and the added privilege to shake his hand. The last I had heard of the man was that he had returned to England in 1885 with little pomp and ceremony and retired to a house in Kensington.

    To be honest the name Col. Robert Warburton had totally left my mind until the spring of `89 when the very man was sitting in my consulting room. It had been a decade since I had seen Col. Warburton face-to-face, and I had to look at him three times to see if it were indeed the same man. The Col. Warburton I member was a mature but virile man, healthy and solidly built. The man who sat in my consulting room now looked like he had aged thirty years, and those thirty had not been kind. I remember him being about my height, but now appeared to have shrunk a bit. His hair was grey and thin, as was his wide-sweeping military mustache. His once sharp eyes now reflected fear and doubt. His handshake was not as strong as I remembered it. 

    The man appeared weak and feeble and a bit confused and his face was careworn.

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Sherlock 6 now on Kindle!

Sherlock 6 by Stephen Gaspar is now available on Kindle for a fraction of the cost of the paperback.

This is the Kindle cover designed by Greg Maxwell.

 Sherlock 6 by Stephen Gaspar is the new Sherlock Holmes book containing six Sherlock Holmes short stories in the canonical tradition taken from the original stories themselves. 

Sherlock 6 is available on Amazon!