There have of course been many parodies and pastiches of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories. I have to say that just about the funniest ones I ever read were written for the hell of it by my brother, who, after reading a couple of John Lennon parodies, was inspired to write about Ramrod Jones and Dr. Bopper. Other parodies were written by William Sidney Porter (O. Henry), and pastiches with Holmes as a character have been written by Nicholas Meyer and Laurie R. King, who pairs Holmes with a female partner (and eventual wife) named Mary Russell.

King's pastiches are probably the best-written of all these. Another well-written one is by Caleb Carr, best known for his series of novels beginning with THE ALIENIST, which feature a Victorian psychologist who solves crimes by what one could call forensic psychology. In 2005, though, Carr was granted permission by the Doyle estate--one gathers he is one of the few writers so honored--to write a new adventure of Sherlock Holmes. The end result was THE ITALIAN SECRETARY, which combines a Holmes story with a Scots ghost legend.

Holmes and Watson are summoned to Holyroodhouse, a Scots residence of British royalty following the union in 1603 of the two royal houses of Scotland and England with the ascension of James I (in Scotland James VI) to the English throne vacated by the death of Elizabeth I. An architect and a construction boss who were to refurbish the parts of Holyroodhouse once occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots, have turned up murdered in a manner eerily similar to the actual 1566 murder of Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio. Holmes's older brother, Mycroft, fears that these deaths point to a plot against Her Majesty Queen Victoria, currently residing in Holyroodhouse, and needs Sherlock's help to prevent an attempt on her life.

However, Holmes finds something considerably stranger going on; it seems that Mary's old rooms are haunted by the spirit of David Rizzio--who seems to be very up to date on nineteenth century opera.

Well plotted and worked out to a satifactory conclusion--the Queen is saved and the "ghost" of Rizzio is laid to rest--the book nevertheless left me a bit disappointed. As a reader, I love nothing better than to settle in on a rainy afternoon with Holmes stories. As a writer, I know that no one can with complete success duplicate the exact style of a character created by another, and while Carr tells a good story, I miss Conan Doyle's style and the atmosphere of his books.

Minor quibbles, though. It's worth a read. Short enough to be read in a single afternoon and does not require major research into the Stuart and Victorian eras to follow the story.

If anybody comes looking for me, I'll be in a corner somewhere with a book.